Almost ruined Thanksgiving!

Teresa_Reed_1199907

I’m Teresa from Ohio in the U.S. I used the recipe for a bone-in turkey breast this year, starting the day before Thanksgiving. The instructions said to heat water to 131 degrees and cook for anywhere between 8-24 hours. Mine cooked for 20 hours. I checked it using an instant read thermometer upon removing and it was only 128 degrees. I thought I was supposed to cook it until 160 degrees. What have I done wrong?

Find more posts tagged with

Hi! My name is ________!

Comments

brian_martin2001

I'm not sure what recipe you're specifically referring to, could you please provide a link? Regardless, if your water bath isn't set to 160, you'll never reach 160. 160 is the recommended cooking temperature as it is near instant death for the pathogens associated with poultry. However, cooking food to a safe temperature is a relationship between time and temperature. For instance: the recipe here:

https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/the-most-tender-turkey-breast-ever

The temperature will not exceed 131, however, due to the length of time it's cooking for, it will be safe to consume.

fisher23

If you cook at 131°, it can never get above 131°. Sous vide uses time and temperature to achieve pasteurization, cooking the ChefSteps turkey sous vide at 131° for 24 hours is perfectly safe. The 160° is for other methods of cooking where the turkey only has to reach that temperature for a few seconds. Sous vide has totally different temperatures where it is safe to consume, it is dependent on the time at the temperature, almost always above 130°.

tshewman

Hi Teresa, am from OH myself so feel free to ping me. See what John and brian wrote. If you need a break down of the 160 fallacy, let us know.