Turkey Cutlets

Name: Turkey Cutlets with Vegetables in White Wine: Skillet Recipe
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Cuisine: American cuisine
Ingredients: Turkey breast steaks (200-250 g) 2; Frozen mixed vegetables 400 g; Butter and olive oil 1 tbsp each; Dry white wine 1/2 cup (100 ml); Salt, black pepper, sweet paprika, fresh thyme to taste; Dill, lemon juice optional, for serving

☆ Rate it

1 h 30 mins

How long to cook turkey cutlets?

Turkey breast steaks of 200–250 g are first seared over high heat to a golden crust on both sides, then braised with vegetables under a lid for 15 minutes once half a cup of white wine comes to a boil. Then the lid comes off and all the liquid cooks away. Before searing, the meat is scored in a grid with 3–4 cm spacing so it cooks through better.

If for whatever reason you don’t eat pork or beef, you’ll love turkey cutlets. Surprisingly, a well-fried turkey breast steak is a lot like a pork escalope in texture and flavor. The meat is fried in oil in an ordinary skillet, without any breading, and served with vegetables as a main course.

A domestic turkey is a big bird. Where I live you rarely see a whole one in stores – turkey dishes aren’t very popular here. But turkey parts are easy to buy. We usually get drumsticks for a rich soup or turkey aspic, and use the wings for broth. The breast is most often cut into pieces and frozen – it makes excellent patties.

When we break down a large breast – they always weigh more than 1 kg – we cut a few steaks from the thickest part. They’re cut across the grain, about 2.5-3 cm thick. We don’t freeze these pieces; they go straight into the pan. The only prep is pounding them lightly so they’re an even thickness. It’s also worth scoring them in a crosshatch about a third of the way through.

Given how thick and dense turkey breast is, I don’t use breading. It browns too fast, while the inside of the meat stays undercooked. I sear the big breast steaks until golden brown, then braise them covered in broth or a little table wine. That makes the meat soft and tender, with a lovely flavor and aroma.

Don’t freeze turkey meat for cutlets – it loses some of its juices when it thaws. Choose a large breast, over 1 kg. Cut the steaks at a right angle to the grain, in one stroke of the knife, so the surface is smooth.

For tasty, fragrant turkey cutlets, don’t overdo the spices. Just salt and pepper the meat and rub both sides with a little sweet paprika. Give it some time for the salt to dissolve and the spices to soak in. When braising with the vegetables, add 1-2 sprigs of fresh thyme – it goes wonderfully well with turkey.

More with turkey

Homemade Chicken Sausage

2 h 30 min

Turkey Drumstick Cutlets with Cheese

1 h

Turkey Stew

1 h

Turkey Pasta in a Spicy Cream Sauce

30 min

Turkey and Cabbage Soup

1 h 30 min

More turkey recipes

Ingredients

2 servings

Turkey breast steaks (200-250 g) 2
Frozen mixed vegetables 400 g
Butter and olive oil 1 tbsp each
Dry white wine 1/2 cup (100 ml)
Salt, black pepper, sweet paprika, fresh thyme to taste
Dill, lemon juice optional, for serving

Step-by-step recipe

Turn on cook modeKeeps your screen from turning off while the recipe is open

Preparing the turkey

Trim the pieces of breast of any leftover skin and fat, and remove the silverskin. Rinse the meat and pat it dry with paper towels.
Put the steaks on a cutting board and pound them lightly. Don’t pound them thin like beef entrecôte or veal for Wiener schnitzel – it’s enough for the pieces to be flat and an even thickness.
Marinate the turkey. With a large knife, make shallow cuts on one side of each steak in a crosshatch pattern, 3-4 cm apart. This helps the meat cook through. Salt the turkey cutlets and season with freshly ground black pepper. Rub a little sweet paprika all over the meat. Leave the steaks to dry-marinate for 30 minutes.

Searing and braising

Sear the turkey. Melt 1 tbsp each of butter and olive oil in a skillet. When the fat is good and hot, add the prepared steaks and sear them over high heat until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Flip the cutlets and brown the other side the same way. Transfer the seared meat to a plate.
Fry the vegetables for the side dish in the leftover fat over medium heat until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. If you like, cut up fresh vegetables – carrots, parsnips, onions – and add green peas, beans and corn. Or, much easier, fry a ready-made frozen vegetable mix, which you can find in most stores. Then season them with salt and pepper, but only a little.
Return the seared turkey to the skillet, pushing the vegetables to the side. Add 1-2 sprigs of fresh thyme and pour in half a cup of dry white wine (100 ml).
Cover the skillet and set it over medium heat. Once it comes to a boil, turn the heat down and braise the meat and vegetables, covered, for 15 minutes. Then remove the lid and let all the liquid evaporate.

Serving

Put the meat on a plate and add the vegetables. If there’s any liquid left in the skillet, pour it over the meat. If you like, sprinkle with finely chopped dill and drizzle with lemon juice – many people enjoy that. Don’t add any sauce, though: it would drown out the flavor of the turkey.
Turkey cutlets with vegetables are served hot.
Instead of vegetables, you can serve mashed potatoes or fried rice. As an alternative to the skillet, you can grill the cutlets or bake them in the oven after brushing the meat with fat.

Calories and macros

465 kcal

Serving ≈ 360 g

Protein60 g57% of kcal
Fat11 g24% of kcal
Carbs21 g19% of kcal

100 g129 kcalProtein 16.6 gFat 3.1 gCarbs 5.7 g

Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.

Enjoyed the recipe? Pick me as a preferred source on Google, and you'll see my recipes more often in search. Choose on Google →

How did you like this recipe?

Thanks for rating!