Hasselback is a cooking term that originated in the 1700’s in a Stockholm, Sweden restaurant named Hasselbacken. Hasselback techniques are commonly used for cooking potatoes by cutting around as if an accordion, then infusing oil into the cuts this made the potatoes creamy on the inside and crispy on the outside. Now there are all sorts of dishes prepared using this process.
Here is a good way to make Hasselback Wild Turkey.
Split a wild turkey breast lengthwise leaving half the breastbone in each side. A mear clever works well for this process.
Slice cross-grain or against the bias down to the bone making each a half to one inch. Season in between cuts with salt and white pepper.
Prepare your favorite dressing/stuffing. My go to is a couple of carrots, onions, and sweet peppers chopped fine using a chef knife then cooked until soft; toss in a couple of cups of bread crumbs that have been processed fine in a food processor. Preferred seasonings salt, white pepper, sage and tarragon to taste. Work the dressing into each cut as pictured above. Bake on flat baking sheet bone side down at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until internal temperature of 155 degrees.
Remove from oven and let rest for 15 minutes. Internal temp will rise another 10 to 15 degrees as the juices set up in the meat fibers.
Use a filet knife to cut the “steaks” away from the bone for serving. Please accept my apology for not having a picture of the turkey on the dinner plate; my guests were so excited to eat this the dinner plates were snapped up as fast as I could plate the meat. Hasselback turkey turns out very juicy and fork tender.
