Passalacqua Winery

Wild Turkey Kiev

Original recipe by Justin Townsend on Harvesting Nature and tested by our own Jessica Boone:

Our Chardonnay from the Stiling Vineyard in Russian River Valley ended up being my favorite. Together, the wine and the dish were fresh and bright—the wine balancing out the richness of the butter while punching up the herbs. Still finishing with crisp and clean citrus notes, the wine pushed the juicy turkey flavors. This delicious combination would wow any guest!

Read all of Jessica's recipe notes and wine pairing recommendations here.

Ingredients

8 tbsp salted butter (1 stick), softened
2 tsp minced fresh parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp minced fresh chives
2 turkey breasts, tenders removed
1 tsp black pepper, divided
2 tsp kosher salt, divided
½ cup all purpose flour
2 cups panko crumbs
2 eggs
1 tbsp water
1 tsp spicy mustard
Oil for frying

Instructions

In a medium bowl, combine the salted butter, parsley, garlic, and chives. Mix well.
Lay out approximately 16 inches of waxed paper and dab the butter lengthways in the middle of the wax paper. Roll the paper to form the butter into a quarter sized roll, about 12 inches in length. Twist the ends of the wax paper and place in the freezer for 6-8 hours, until frozen hard. I froze overnight and into the next afternoon.
Once the butter is frozen, remove the butter from the freezer and divide into quarters. Return to the freezer.
Place the turkey breasts on the cutting board and cut in half along the tendon as evenly as possible. One half on each breast will be slightly larger than the other. That’s okay.
Lay one sheet of plastic wrap down on the counter. Place one half of a turkey breast on the plastic wrap. Cover with an additional piece of plastic wrap.
Pound the breast with the meat mallet, working from the center outward. You want the meat to be approximately ¼-½ of an inch thick. Try not to pound any holes in the meat.
Place another piece of plastic wrap on the counter and lay the pounded turkey breast piece in the center. Season with ¼ tsp of black pepper and ½ tsp of salt.
Place a butter roll quarter in the center and fold the meat tightly over the butter, overlapping slightly. Fold the plastic wrap over the meat roll. Twist the ends of the meat roll until it forms a tight cylinder of meat wrapped around butter.
Place the meat roll in the freezer and complete steps 5-8 on all the other pieces of meat.
Allow the meat rolls to freeze for 30-40 minutes until the meat is firm yet squishy.
While waiting, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Add a medium pot to the stove, add oil, and begin heating to 375 degrees.
Using three bowls, add the flour to one, eggs to one, and panko to one. They need to be large enough to accommodate the meat rolls.
Add the water and mustard to the eggs and whisk well.
Once the oil is at 375 degrees, remove a meat rolls from the freezer once they are slightly frozen. I recommend working with just one at a time.
Remove the plastic wrap from one meat roll and dredge in the flour, coating all sides and both ends. Next, roll it in the egg wash then firmly roll it in panko.
Gently add the coated meat roll to the oil, rolling carefully, and allowing to brown for 1-2 minutes. Once the meat roll is browned, then carefully remove from the oil and place on a baking sheet. Try to place it seam side up to prevent later butter leakage.
Complete steps 15-17 with the other three meat rolls.
Once browned, place all four meat rolls into the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes. Cook to 165 degrees, but be careful inserting the probe. You do not want to puncture into the butter or it will leak.
Once cooked to temperature, remove from the oven and serve immediately.