It’s…. BACON! (and a bunch of other stuff)
Wanna make anything taste good? Wrap it in bacon, that’s what we did. For dinner we’re eating chunks of turkey breast wrapped in bacon with a slice of both serrano and jalapeno peppers tucked inside. The turkey was baked until just cooked through then served with a corn salad. The salad consisted of roasted fresh white corn, sweet and tart granny smith apples, red onion, radishes, parsley, lemon juice, dijon, and olive oil.
Meat wrapped in meat (with spicy peppers)
T: this was damn good. Those turkey breast jalapeno poppers were soo juicy, spicy, and delish. The salad was great for lightening the whole thing up. I dug it.
A: me, freaking, too. serious yum. i mean, anything with bacon is yum, but these flavors really worked well together for me. the jalapeno/serrano morsels inside of the bacon-wrapped turkey set it off and the slightly sweet and tangy salad balanced the smokey savory out. i could totally eat some of this right this minute. damn shame we gobbled it all down at the time.
T: you mentioned while we were eating that the bacon helped keep the turkey from becoming dry. That certainly was true. The turkey breasts were very moist. And dry poultry really gets on my nerves so that was a good thing.
A: hehehe 😛 silly. while dry poultry doesn’t really “get on my nerves” necessarily, it does suck. sooooo…. do you have a rating for this particular little ditty?
T: Yeah, I give it a 4.59/5. Super tasty, very well cooked. It lost some points for being so bacon-oriented.
A: what are you crazy?!? you must be mad to deduct points for it being bacon oriented! bacon rocks!
T: bacon does rock, but, like you said, bacon makes everything taste good. So you lost points for difficulty. Plus, it’s not exactly healthy.
Big pile of corn and apple saladA: there was soooo little fat in the rest of the meal that the 1-2 slices of bacon you consumed made up for it not being a damn hamburger or rack of lamb. if you hadn’t binged on the turkey nuggets you wouldn’t feel like you consumed so much bacon! recommended serving size is 3-4 pieces! not 6.
T: Well. That’s doesn’t mean it’s getting a higher score, woman.
A: 😛 i also can’t believe you deduct points for bacon being flavorful without being difficult! hehehe you want me to smoke my own freaking bacon?!? buy me a smoker! 😉
T: then you would lose points for being inefficient. There’s simply no need to smoke your own bacon. Unless you bring in a pig and have nothing else to do with it.
A: heheh okay crackhead. 🙂 I give the meal a 4.65/5. I really really liked it. personally, when i was eating it, i cut up small pieces of the turkey-bacon-pepper nuggets and ate it with a forkful of salad. it really worked. like i said earlier, i would love to have some more and be noshing on it as we speak.
T: I enjoyed eating the turkey/bacon/pepper separate from the salad. Either way it was super tasty. Don’t get me wrong, I really like bacon wrapped around things, like, um, a lot. Feel free to wrap stuff in bacon anytime. I support you.
A: sweet! i’m gonna make bacon wrapped ice-cream sandwiches for dinner tonight!
T: now don’t be a crazy ho. 😉
1 turkey breast, cut into 1 1/2 - 2 inch cubes
thick sliced bacon, cut into 1/2 slices length-wise
1 jalapeno, julienned
1 serrano pepper, thinly sliced
kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper
toothpicks
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season the turkey pieces with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Place a sliceof serrano pepper and a julienned slice of jalapeno lenth-wise onto the turkey. Tightly wrap the turkey and peppers with a 1/2 slice of bacon, securing it with a toothpick length-wise (so when you sear the meat the toothpick doesn't get in the way. Repeat this process until all the turkey has been wrapped in bacon. Preheat an oven-safe pan over high heat. Once the pan is hot sear the turkey bites for a couple minutes making sure to rotate and get color on all sides of the bacon. Place the pan with the turkey into the preheat 350 degree oven. Roast the turkey for another 10 - 15 minutes or until the turkey is just cooked through and has a internal temperature of about 165 degrees. Allow the turkey bites to rest for at least 5 minutes and remove the toothpicks before serving. Goes great with corn and apple salad or as a finger food for parties. Enjoy! (This recipe serves about 3 people)
3 ears of fresh white corn, still in husks
1 granny smith apple
4 radishes
1/2 of a small red onion, finely diced
1/8 cup chopped fresh parsley, loosely packed
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp honey
kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Once the oven is hot, place corn in the oven still in husks. Roast the corn in the husks for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove the corn from the oven and allow the corn to cool for at least five minutes before handling.
While the corn is roasting, work on the rest of the salad. Add the lemon juice, honey, and dijon mustard to a mixing bowl. Stir to combine then slowly whisk in the olive oil. Core and dice the granny smith apple into 1/2 inch pieces. Dice the radishes into a similar size. Add the apples,radishes, and finely diced red onion to the mixing bowl with the vinaigrette. Toss to coat. The vinaigrette will help prevent the apple from oxidizing. Set aside until the corn is done.
Once the corn has cooled a bit, remove the husks and silk. Cut the corn off the cob by standing the corn up and carefully cutting off rows of kernels. Add the corn kernels and parsley to the mixing bowl with the rest of the salad. Mix the salad until the corn is fully incorporated and everything is evenly coated with vinaigrette. Taste then season as necessary with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. This salad goes great with spicy bacon-wrapped turkey bites. Enjoy! (salad can be prepared several hours in advance, then refrigerated - serves 2-3 people)
You guys had me at bacon!
Seriously, if I could, I would have bacon at every meal. I’m a big fan of using bacon drippings in just about everything, from my chili to my loaded baked potato soup to frying hash. If you wrapped my arm in bacon, it would probably take a couple of bites before I realized what I was doing. And even then I might not stop. Great post!
ps~i put up a post with pictures of the actual chicken tonight bottle from the store…thought you might like to know!
hahaha bacon does rock! mmm, this looks delicious! what? smoke your own bacon? T, no!
Mmm Bacon! Nothing should lose points for being wrapped in that stuff! I made a spinach salad with bacon recently–making the dressing using bacon drippings & vinegar instead of olive oil. Not the healthiest salad, but damn it was good. Wonderful website by the way!
I bow to you Amanda!!! That meal looks fabulous.
Your plates are so well put together, and photographed beautifully…I wanna know how you do it!
I really, really want to try this recipe. I very rarely cook turkey, it’s always chicken. And, we haven’t had bacon in an awfully long time. That’s it…it’s on my list!!!!
Tyler, you shouldn’t mock Amanda’s idea of bacon wrapped ice-cream sandwiches. Look here
http://www.alacuisine.org/alacuisine/2006/02/smoked_bacon_an.html
I made it tonight – both the turkey and the salad. I was a little generous on the turkey rolls…made them a little bigger, so they wouldn’t be bite size. They were great!!!! (Except, they did look a little like an uncircumsized penis!)
The corn salad was a dream. I loved it!
i just made these for my family, and boy did they love them. however, it is quite labor intensive, which means i’ll probably rarely, if ever, make them again. which is a shame because they are really really really good…
Y’all sure have been eating these bacon wraps for a long time now….aren’t you tired of them yet? BUT, they look delicious and that salad – fantastic!
Just discovered your blog through blogcatalog…. it’s fantastic and very funny. Your pictures are great. I’ll be back often!
You guys are too funny. That sounds like a good weeknight dinner though – I bet the salad and the bacon go really well together. Then again, bacon pretty much goes with everything! 🙂
I just made this for dinner! It was great, even though I didn’t have radishes for the salad, and had to use canned corn. I also used chicken breast instead of turkey. It was easier and faster than I expected. I’ll definitely make it again. Thanks!!
there you go again, stuffing thingsd in the most devine ways! haha and you GOBBLED the turkey, you devils!!
Y’all are having to much fun!
How can you go wrong with bacon~ unless it is paired with ice cream. =C
I so want to live with you… need a roommate? This looks fantastic!
I love your blog and visit it often
but you’ve had that chicken and mango thing on top for so long…. why not go for a little change, something that would make you both look like the cool couple you really are….
(just a suggestion, of course…. I will still lover your blog even if I have to see that thing on the top of the page)
🙂
I agree, I think bacon would make anything taste good. I’ve never thought of wrapping bacon around turkey but it does sound good, especially with jalapeno. YUM!