Rick Rodgers's Rolled Herbed Turkey Breast

I've made this twice now and I think it's destined to become a family tradition. My first time making it I was a little intimidated by the need to filet a turkey breast, but it turns out it's pretty fast and easy. And a heavy rolling pin worked fine to hammer the meat, no special tool required there.

Editing after my third go-round with this recipe: using a separately purchased turkey breast makes this an easier and approachable recipe. I did find it a bit challenging to remove the breast bones from the whole turkey.

For me, the shallots and sage leaves need to be sauteed before adding to the filling, I found them to be too strong and unbalanced when put in raw, as the recipe specifies. I also found it helpful to have the prosciutto and pancetta sliced as thinly as possible to keep from overwhelming the delicate white meat flavor.

The real beauty of this recipe is not only that it allows you to roast the breast meat separately (avoiding overcooking), but that it also allows you to make large quantities of wonderful stock the day before roasting the turkey, so you have it for the best stuffing and gravy you'll ever experience.