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Wild Turkey Cordon Bleu

Difficulty Intermediate
Time
Prep Time: 60 60 mins Cook Time: 3 3 hrs Total Time: 4 hrs
Servings 4
Estimated Cost 20
Description

Wild turkey breast, or any poultry breast for that matter, has always been a struggle for me. It has no fat in it and typically not much flavor. It dries out quickly and is just kinda meh compared to other cuts like thighs and legs. It has zero personality. So it just doesn't get me crazy excited to cook it on the regular. 

But here I am in March with turkey season right around the corner and I still have wild turkey breast in the freezer. This joker I shot on state land in Minnesota and was a tough 3 days. Consider that I'm not a very good turkey hunter and that made it even tougher. Needless to say even a blind squirrel finds a nut and this squirrel had an itch to make something different than turkey nuggets. 

I love cordon bleu, the cheese, ham, and crunchy coating is so so good but my fear was overcooking the turkey breast. Therefore I decided to take a multi-step, unconventional approach to cordon bleu. 

In order to give me the best odds of having a juicy, flavorful turkey breast, I'm going to brine it for 12 hours. This will help it retain moisture and add flavor. 

Then I'm going to have the turkey already cooked before assembly. That's right. I'm going to sous vide it so it is cooked perfectly and still juicy. 

This won't be a traditional cordon bleu. A toasted slice of sourdough will lay on top of a ladle of mornay sauce. Then more mornay on the sourdough, followed by arugula, the turkey, thin-sliced, folded ham, shredded gruyere, a slice of swiss cheese, and then buttery sourdough crumbs. It's like an open-face sandwich but hits all the same notes as cordon bleu only BETTER. My family raved about this one and it will definitely be making it into the rotation when there's turkey (or chicken) breast in the freezer. 

Wild Turkey Cordon Bleu
    Turkey Brine
  • water
  • 1/4 kosher salt
  • 1/4 brown sugar
  • 2 garlic
  • 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
  • thyme, dried
  • rosemary, dried
  • 2 turkey breast halves
    • Mornay Sauce
  • 2 butter
  • 2 flour
  • 1 white wine
  • 2 garlic, minced
  • 1 whole milk
  • dijon mustard
  • 1/4 parmesan, grated (not the canned stuff!)
  • 1 pinch nutmeg
  • 1 pinch salt and pepper (add to taste)
    • The Assembly
  • 4 rustic sourdough bread (Cut about 1/2" thick)
  • 1 arugula
  • 8 thinly-sliced, high quality ham
  • 1/2 gruyere cheese, shredded
  • 4 swiss cheese
  • 1/2 panko breadcrumbs (alternatively, use the same sourdough, pulse into crumbs, add melted butter and toast)
  • 1/4 parsley, minced
Instructions
    Preparation
  1. Brining
    1. Add your brine ingredients to a pot.
    2. Bring to a simmer until salt and sugar have dissolved. 
    3. Place in the refrigerator until cooled. 
    4. Once cool, add your turkey to the brine mixture. 
    5. Allow the turkey to brine for 8-12 hours. 24 max. 

     

  2. Sous Vide the Turkey
    1. Pre-heat your sous vide to 145°F
    2. Remove your turkey from the brine, rinse.
    3. Add turkey to a vacuum-sealed bag or Ziploc bag with as much air removed as possible. 
    4. Sous vide for 3-4 hours. Too short and it's undercooked. Too long and it gets mushy. 

     

  3. Make the Sauce
    1. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter. 
    2. Add the minced garlic. Sauté for 30 seconds. 
    3. Add 2 tablespoons of flour and whisk until thoroughly mixed. 
    4. Cook for 3-4 minutes, then add a splash of white wine. And by splash I mean 1/4 cup. 
    5. Wisk and cook another 3 minutes. 
    6. Slowly add the milk while whisking constantly. You want it to be smooth. Don't add it all at once or it will get lumpy.
    7. Once all milk is added, add the dijon mustard and parmesan. Continue whisking.
    8. If it's too thick, add more milk. If it's too thin, add more parmesan. 
    9. Include the nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. 
    10. Set aside on a low burner. 
  4. Toast the Bread
    1. Bring a large pan (12") to a medium heat. 
    2. Either butter both sides of each piece of bread or add olive oil to the pan. 
    3. Toast both sides of each slice until golden brown. 
    4. Remove from pan. 
  5. Sear the Turkey
    1. Once the turkey is done and the bread is toasted, remove the turkey from the sous vide. 
    2. Pat each breast dry. 
    3. Cut them to the size of the bread. Doesn't have to be exact, just proportionate. 
    4. Add more olive or avocado oil to the pan and sear each side quickly. No more than 30 seconds. 
    5. Set turkey aside. 

     

  6. Assemble and Broil
    1. Pre-heat your broiler and set your top rack to be 8-10" from the broiler. 
    2. On a baking sheet, assemble each in this order.
      1. Bread
      2. spoonful of Mornay sauce
      3. Arugula
      4. Turkey
      5. Ham - 2 slices nicely folded
      6. Shredded gruyere
      7. Swiss cheese
      8. breadcrumbs
    3. Broil until cheese is melted / bubbly

     

  7. Serving
    1. Prepare your plates
    2. Add a ladle of morney sauce
    3. Place the cordon bleu on top of the sauce
    4. Put half a ladle of sauce on half the cordon bleu the long way

    Enjoy! 

     

Keywords: wild turkey, cordon bleu, breast, turkey, turkey breast, sous vide
Read it online: https://bow-and-marrow.com/recipe/wild-turkey-cordon-bleu/
Jarrod Robran