Go to the Recipe: Sous Vide Holiday Turkey
For how long, and at what temp, would you recommend smoking, if that is the preferred finishing step?
This looks great! Thank you ChefSteps. Breast temp was much lower than I've dared to go in past low temp endeavors. I've been a 63c guy for years. Looking forward to seeing what 55 does for that white meat.
I'm going to a family member's. I assume that I can pre-cook the turkey and cool in an ice bath. Then at their house, I can bring it back to breast cooking temperature and continue. Is that correct, and if it is can you give some guidelines about how long the reheat step will take?
Yes, I've done this and frozen it and driven quite a few hundred miles and reheated. No problem.
Fantabulouserriffic.
maybe a cold smoke then sous vide and finish in a pan?
What time/temp would you recommend for a crown? We never buy a while turkey.
Here in Germany a christmas goose is more common. Compared to turkey, they have tougher meat and skin. Any time/ temp recommendations? would like to adapt this recipe.
How well would this translate to chicken?
Any limits/changes based on size of the turkey?
Chefsteps has plenty sous vide chicken recipes. Download the Joule app. I cook chicken breast @ 140F for 60 minutes and give it a quick sear skin side down in a hot pan.
Following. I've made goose before and loved it! You'd need a big bag though.
Can you comment on the length of the cooking times you choose? They are surprisingly long. For example, Serious Eats has a turkey breast at that temp for 4 hours. http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/11/sous-vide-turkey-breast-crispy-skin-recipe-thanksgiving.html
no brine?
Why does the cooking time for the thighs in this recipe differ so much from The ChefSteps Turkey recipe you posted 2 years ago? In the other recipe, it says the thighs go for 3-6 hours (even if it isn't a roulade) at 150 degrees. Now you are doing 150 degrees for 12 hours. Why the large difference?
Sure but this one is a different recipe. I was asking about this one.
Doing a (not so) dry run this weekend, will let you know my results Thanks you guys!!
What would you recommend if I wanted to cook this a day or two in advance? Ice bath when done, refrigerate in bags, and then reheat in circulator at 131F for an hour before finishing?
Any worries over using drumette-less breasts—that is just doing boneless turkey breasts?
Thanks for the question Coleman. I updated the Before We Begin section with your answer.
Let us know how they turn out please!
Thanks Todd. David, I updated the Before We Begin section with a detailed answer.
Let us know what you think, Benjamin!
I may be wrong, but, by putting the 1.5% salt/sugar solution in the bag, the turkey will create its own brine for the cook time.
Hi guys, have a quick question involving Joule using cooking turkey as an example. I come from a big family and our Thanksgiving party usually calls for 3 turkeys. The question I'm asking is that can Joule handle cooking 3 times the amount at the same time or would it call for doing this 3 days in advance?
Please do one of these video step by step for a duck sous vide! Thanks!
Just wondering: given that you're cooking the carcass to make stock, would there be any way to 'mount' the cooked breasts and legs on the carcass afterwards, so you can still bring a big bird-looking thing to the table? Or would it not work?
@Richard Fine Mounting is probably not the best word for it, as they would come right off, however, there's no reason why You couldn't lay the breast back on the carcass or lay the legs next to it.
Yes, it can. Just make sure There's adequate separation between the breasts to allow proper water circulation.
@Aaron Kent chicken is a much less hardy meat. If You cook it as long as they propose for the turkey, you're going to be left with mush. They have recipes for cooking chicken sous vide, as Kai recommended. The ones you should look at are
https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/crispy-chicken-legs
https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/sous-vide-chicken-breast
If you are looking for a direct translation for this recipe to chicken, there isn't one. Take a look at those recipes, and plan accordingly.
I tested out on two large Turkey legs. The meat came out amazing, very moist and flavorful. The skin needed a little work. I did one just in the skillet with moderate success, the addition of herbs and butter to the oil while searing added fantastic flavor, though I didn't succeed in getting the skin as crispy as I'd hoped. I dipped the other leg in a pot of hot oil to fry, the skin seemed to turn out a bit better. I quickly tossed in the pan with the herbs and butter and basted a bit - this was my preferred choice.
@Jason Hucks @Mike Hudick this recipe might do it for you
Thanks!!
Could you finish it by frying it after sous vide? Say you decided to switch from frying the turkey to doing the sous vide, but you already bought a giant box full of peanut oil...?
Sure. It'll possibly overcook some parts depending on how long you have it in, but go for it
Presently, my appartment is ungodly hot. Why? Because I just had my oven on at about 500°F for about an hour to roast the bones of a turkey. Just filled my dutch oven with water; added carrots, celery, garlic, onion, and whole peppercorns; and decreased my oven to 225°F. The turkey won't be ready until well into tomorrow evening, so that'll give me lots of time to plan and make sides, as well as figuring out any tweaks that need to be made come the holidays. Thank you ChefSteps!
What size cambrio would be best for this recipe? Would it be better to use sous vide bags instead of ziplock due to the long cook time?
how to convert your dinner roll recipe to parker house? roll out similar to steam buns and bake 400 on sheet pan. or use a 6 inch deep hotel pan to mimic the dutch oven technique?
Can you recommend sous vide-ing a whole turkey (at 130F or otherwise) to be finished in a outdoor turkey fryer? Thanks!
Can you use the juices from the bag for the gravy? @Grant Lee Crilly
@Grant Lee Crilly where are u my hero
Can you sous vide the whole crown? If so at what temperature?
also very curious about the timing/temps compared to serious eats
Does any one know this? I'm really confused and I'm not sure which one I should follow.
@Kaihttps://www.vacmasterfresh.com/fresh-bites-blog/its-goose-season-heres-how-to-cook-your-bird/
What's the size and make of that roaster?
I just got done eating the most moist turkey I've ever had! I followed the directions without making any changes and it was perfect. Finished the meat on the grill and it was delicious. You guys rock!
Just did a "Friendsgiving" dinner for about 45 people. 4 Turkeys total. One was fried, the others were broken down and Sousvide. Hands down the Sousvide method was much more preferred over the entire bird fried. I splurged and got the Meathead grill, which was OK, but not as good as I hoped, maybe I was impatient on the grill. To digress, the thing does leave bad ass grill marks. I have to say, my go to method is take the turkey breasts or thighs directly to a fryer, crisp up for 2 min and then transfer to a pot with butter, veg oil of choice, and herbs for a quick basting . Everyone was beyond pleased with it.
This recipe is turned out so good. I made a trial run this weekend. Your video on cutting up the turkey helped so much. Used the carcass for the turkey stock. Thank you for sharing.
I did a dry run on Friday night and tried adding the juices from the bag to the gravy while i was making it. I had roasted off some turkey necks and some veg and had it simmering in some unsalted chicken broth. I added the bag juices from one of the bags and it was extremely salty, but had a great concentrated turkey flavor. I'd recommend adding it in smaller increments so you don't over-salt the gravy.
Yay, thanks for the feedback, David! Feel free to post pics on forum or social channels too—we love seeing how the recipes turn out at home.
Fantastic, thanks for the feedback. So glad you got great turkey.
Hi Will: Grant says use the standard 17 L Cambro. As for the bags, he did a ton of trials (I know because I watched, and also because I ate a lot of turkey), and the ziplocks held up well at these times/temps. Of course you can always opt for the sous vide bags to be safe. We do generally advise using sous vide bags above 70 C./ 158 F—so if you're working at hose temps, yeah.
Hi Omar. The kitchen did a lot of turkey trials this year to create amazing guides and recipes with Joule. We suggest an alternative approach with shorter cook times in the "Before We Begin" section above, but this recipe represents the most amazing results we found when serving turkey this way.
Hi Joel,
You can sous vide the crown using the cooking directions from the turkey breast. The only issue is getting a nice golden-brown finish on it. Grant suggests deep-frying it.
Is there a specific turkey you guys think is best?
How long and what temp on the grill? Did you add wood chips? I plan on doing that as well. In the process of a dry run for Thanksgiving and looking for any guidance. Thanks!
How was the texture of the turkey breast? I think that I would love the 131F texture, but worry my family will be unaccustomed and put off. For example, they have not been fans of 140 or 145F chicken, so I am unsure how this translates with turkey.
It was extremely tender but not so much that it was mushy. I was more hesitant about the meat being pink but it turned out great.
Honestly I'm not sure on the exact temp but it was medium-high on my grills settings. I just left the pieces on long enough to get some nice grill marks and crisp up the skin. I thought about adding wood chips but didn't end up doing it. Next time I'll give them a try though.
Thanks in advance for the advice... Would the same process work for a completely boneless, skin-on turkey breast? That is, 8 hours at 131 for a fully boneless turkey breast?
For Step 3: Make stock with the extra bits (optional but awesome). Can this be done in a pressure cooker (read Instant Pot)? If so, can you recommend a time frame?
Thank you for the reply. Doing a friendsgivings this weekend and going to try this recipe. Can't wait. Might add some duck fat to the bags.
Yes!
I found it moist but perfectly firm- only the legs were pink, but pink like BBQ meat is pink. I've smoked turkey and it was also pink. Fully cooked. No pink juices.
If you try this, I'd be interested in your comments/results/suggestions.
