Browning Sous Vide Turkey

I am using the new sous vide recipe this weekend. It looks like everyone has given positive feedback on the texture and taste of the meat so far but I see that a few have had trouble adequately browning the skin after sous vide. From what I see in the comments it looks like frying in oil was the most successful but I don't want to use oil because it is messy and dangerous in an apartment. I am wondering if there are ways to speed up the browning process using a glaze (i.e. maybe brown sugar bourbon) that will quickly caramelize when exposed to heat. Has anyone had any experience in this? I was thinking maybe placing meat in ice bath first so I don't have to worry about over cooking. There are many ways of going about this as indicated in the recipe. I am planning on using a wood pellet smoker at 450 F so I am hoping that I will find a way to get adequately browned crispy skin with smokey flavor before the meat dries out. Does anyone have any suggestions? Any methods that you have found that work for you?

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tshewman

Cooking Whole or pieces??? Pieces should be a huge issue is searing and coat with a clarified butter works well. After cooking SV, if you have access to LN2 pour it over the skin prior to searing works really well. If whole, put it in the freezer for 20-30 min (if whole it won't freeze) after removing from water bath and then coat with preferred coating (butter/oil) and sear to finish. The wood pellet smoker should be fine, but if you can go higher with the temp, that will reduce the chance of cooking the interior as the time in the smoker would be less.

ChefSteps_customer_284308

I plan on cooking pieces because I don't see any practical way of cooking a whole bird sous vide. I don't have any LN2 otherwise that would be the ultimate way to chill before searing. Using the freezer for a half hour should work fine. Thanks for the suggestions...

tshewman

May want to lessen (e.g. 15min) it a bit if doing pieces.

wolfiegirl

I'm curious about the 450° smoker....what were you planning on doing? If a crispy skin is your goal, I don't think that's gonna get you there. A hot skillet, some clarified butter and you're there. As far as others having issue with browning, it might be simply be a case of they just don't know exactly what to do. So if you know how to properly sear meat (before and after the sous vide), I think you'll be fine keeping it simple and elegant.

whenric

Agree with what's been said. Also, see Doug Baldwin's post on Maillaird syrup: https://forums.egullet.org/topic/123530-maillard-ing-sous-vide-meat/#comment-1661657

Basically: 100g water, 3g corn syrup, pinch baking soda

ChefSteps_customer_284308

I was considering using the wood pellet smoker to brown the skin because it is convenient, it is outside the apartment, and it imparts smoke flavor. It probably isn't the best way to brown or make the skin crispy. Using a skillet is limited because the surface of the turkey isn't flat and the browning is limited to the surfaces that are in contact with the skillet but might work well for breasts. I think a broiler would work well to brown the uneven surfaces but would smoke out the apartment and take up prime oven real estate right before guests arrive. It appears that regardless of method I will have to make compromises and there is no perfect method to finish meat.

ChefSteps_customer_284308

Interesting reading on the Maillard reaction! This would go allow with my idea to make a bourbon brown sugar glaze. A pinch of baking soda would make the reaction occur more readily. I should be able to develop good flavor on the skin quickly at temperatures of 350 F or above with a glaze similar to finishing with BBQ sauce. As for crispy skin, it will be very difficult or impossible without drying extensively and deep frying or broiling.

wolfiegirl

You could confit the legs and then take the meat from the bone. That could be done days before solving having to even deal with the legs having to brown in any way whatsoever. Confit poultry is succulent and delicious! A spot of gravy with your other sides and Bob's your uncle! All you're doing day of is searing the skin of the crowns and reheating the confit leg meat (which is easily done by dropping it back into the water bath for a short while.). No worries about smoking up the apartment or having to deal with the smoker. Less stress, mess and more time to actually enjoy the day.

ChefSteps_customer_284308

Confit as in simmered in a bath of duck fat or sous vide with oils added to the bag? A turkey cassoulet would be an amazing non traditional thanksgiving idea. Another idea I just came up with is to add flavor by cold smoking the turkey first.

tshewman

The brown sugar is a sucrose not lending itself well to the idea. Just a heads up.

ChefSteps_customer_284308

That is right! Sucrose is not a reducing sugar so it will not promote the Maillard reaction. I will have to use corn syrup.

wolfiegirl

Ryan, I'm putting my response to your confit question here since it didn't show up in the thread of responses below. Luckily I copied it before I left the page!

CONFIT......

Salt and herb* your turkey legs and fridge them for about 12 hours; at the end of the time, brush off the herbs (thyme, rosemary, sage...whatever you prefer), wash the salt from the legs and pat them dry. CS presears their legs before bagging... https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/crispy-tender-confit-turkey-legs .... but I've never done that step before so that's up to you. Then into a vac bag, re-season lightly (mind the salt since they've already been treated to salt) and slather the legs generously on both sides with duck fat. Don't skimp but you don't need to fill up the bag with that magical stuff! Temp and time are sort of up to you but I would recommend 158° for 24 hours (more time and temps in the CS recipe which you might want to check out). I'm telling you, the meat will be juicy, tender and oh so very moist.

*check this out for ideas on herbage, etc to flavor the legs prior to sous vide (during the fridge time). Good stuff! https://www.gressinghamduck.co.uk/recipes/duck-confitYeah, it's duck but if it's good enough for lovely duck legs, it's gonna be just as good on turkey legs!!

ChefSteps_customer_284308

I did a trial run with a bourbon Maillard glaze and I was happy with the results. When cooking on a skillet the skin browned in under 15 seconds on each side. The smoker created beautiful browning and grill marks in just a few minutes without drying the meat out. The only method that didn't work well was broiling because it seemed to be too hot and uneven which resulted in black blisters on the skin. I might have to try the broiler with the meat on the next rack down next time. It seems that the broiler is the best chance besides deep frying to achieve really crispy skin. It looks like a variation of Maillard glaze along with skillet or smoker will be a good combination to brown and add flavor to the skin. The skin had good flavor but I still wish I could add more flavor to the thick breast meat.

ChefSteps_customer_284308

Thanks for the info! I think starting with a cold smoke and slightly curing the legs will add even more flavor. I think limiting it to a few spoonfuls of duck fat will be perfect to insure I am making turkey infused with duck fat rather than duck fat infused with turkey. I think I will also include rosemary, thyme, garlic, and truffle to add more flavor.

wolfiegirl

I'd love to hear your results!

Gobble gobble!!

ChefSteps_customer_284308

The results were perfect! The smoke from the cold smoke penetrated the meat completely during the 24 hour sous vide. With the bourbon Maillard glaze it browned in 5 minutes on the smoker. Surprisingly, I liked the light meat more although both were amazing. For the first time the turkey was the best thing on the plate. I don't think I could have made a better Turkey!