Cook Your Thanksgiving Turkey to Perfection with ChefSteps's Foolproof Sous Vide Recipe
Hey everybody, I'm Tyler Florence, I'm here in Seattle Washington in the ChefSteps Headquarters. We're taking about Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is one of those things that we talk about every year and we've done it all, we've roasted turkeys, we've smoked turkeys. But this year, I think there's something that's even better And that's actually working with a [UNKNOWN] stick to create the most succulent turkey you've ever had in your entire life. This is one of my favorite cooking techniques of all time. People like turkey breasts. Most people ask for the breast. When it's done great, you can't really go wrong. So we're gonna work on mastering the perfect Turkey breast using my favorite sous vide stick the Joule by ChefSteps. First wanna sear some yummy fall flavored vegetables. I like this flavor profile because this is what stuffing taste like right. Now while those are starting to saute, we have our turkey breast here and we're just gonna give these a quick little douse of our kinda salt and sugar and brine. We are going to give it a equivalent wipeout. We are gonna presear the turkey to kind of give it a little bit of caramelization. And then we going to bag the whole thing up and put it in this warm jacuzzi over here All right, now let me walk you through the process. We got a large pot, anything will work. And then the Joule Sous Vide stick just will sit right at the bottom. And then you have all these kind of cool presets. We're gonna pick the most tender turkey breast ever. So it's preset, it's at 130 degrees. I've got a regular re sellable bag and I'm going to lay the vegetables right in the bottom and we're going to slide this right on top and we're going to drop it into the water. So, that's kind a end as far as the turkey goes. We're going to cook it slow and slow. Overnight. This is some turkey breast we made yesterday .This feels really, really succulent, instead of that hard as a rock, turkey breast that everyone always tries to hack through with a knife. Next up, we hop into the broiler and just get a really beautiful, nice, even crispy, crunchy texture with the skin, and it's fantastic. And that's it. Perfect Thanksgiving turkey. The skin is so crispy, moist and succulent. So [INAUDIBLE] it's the thing, and this [INAUDIBLE] is absolutely spectacular. You can get this recipe plus [INAUDIBLE] sweet potatoes, gluten free Thanksgiving sauce. You can get all these recipes at InStyle.com, and you are gonna have a fantastic Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is here, and with a little help from Chef & Sous vide enthusiast Tyler Florence, you’re about to enjoy the best meal of your life. Follow Florence's steps below for a delicious and in-law-approved Thanksgiving dinner.
Overnight Sous Vide Turkey
Cook for 24 hours at 55 °C / 131 °F
INGREDIENTS
For the Dry-Cure:
Salt, 5 Tablespoons (57.5g)
Sugar, 2 Tablespoons (30g)
For the Turkey:
Turkey Breasts (Skin-on), 2 (875g)
Canola oil, 2–2.5 Tablespoons (15g)
Olive oil, 2–2.5 Tablespoons (15g)
For the Vegetables:
Olive Oil, 4-5 Tablespoons (30g)
Sage, 10 Leaves (8g), plus more for garnish
Carrots, 2 medium (132g), sliced
Celery, ½ of a head (170g), plus more for garnish, sliced
Shallots, 2 (110g), sliced
Garlic cloves, 4 (24g), sliced
Black pepper, ? Teaspoon (.8g)
For the Garnish:
Celery, ½ Cup (48g), sliced
Fresh sage leaves, 2 (.7g)
Lemon, about ½ (7g), juiced
EQUIPMENT
ChefSteps Joule Sous Vide ($199; amazon.com)
1 gallon-sized, ziplock-style freezer bag
Oven-safe casserole dish
INSTRUCTIONS
Set Joule or other Sous Vide Tool to 55 °C/ 131 °F
To make the cure, combine salt and sugar in a bowl and stir or whisk to incorporate. Place turkey breasts on a plate and sprinkle cure all over them in an even layer. (For a more exacting approach, use 1% cure to the total weight of your turkey breasts.)
Heat a pan on high, and add about 2.5 tablespoons each of canola and olive oil (30g total). When the pan is hot, add turkey breasts, skin-side facing down. When the skin is lightly browned, remove from the pan and set aside. (We will be browning the skin again before serving, so don’t worry if they look light in color.) Remove oil from the pan and wipe the pan with a paper towel.
Add 30 g (or 4-5 tablespoons) of olive oil to the pan and heat to medium-high. Add sage, carrots, celery, shallots, and garlic and sweat the vegetables until lightly caramelized and tender. (Note: you may need to adjust heat as you go.) Transfer veggies to a plate or bowl.
Transfer turkey breasts to a ziplock-style freezer bag, arranging them in a single layer so that they don’t overlap, which can cause uneven cooking. Add the cooked vegetables to the bag. Lower bag into the water with Joule/ Sous Vide tool. Cook 24 hours. (You can make all the other delicious dishes while your turkey cooks!)
Once the turkey breasts have cooked, set your oven to the broiler setting, or 260 °C/ 500 °F. Transfer vegetables to an oven-safe, shallow casserole dish and arrange in a single layer. Top with turkey breasts, skin-side up. Broil for 5 minutes, or until the skin is golden-brown and crispy, and the vegetables become more caramelized and tender. Garnish with fresh sliced celery, chopped sage, and lemon juice.
Sous Vide Sweet Potato Mash
Cook for 1 hour at 90 °C / 194 °F
INGREDIENTS
For the Sweet Potato Mash:
Butter, ½ cup (95g)
Garlic, 3 whole cloves (12g), peeled
Sweet potatoes, about 1.5 (825g), sliced into ¼ inch half-moon shapes
Ground cinnamon, heaping ¼ teaspoon (1g)
Thyme leaves, 6 Sprigs (1g)
Salt, 3 teaspoons (8g)
For the Garnish:
Pecans, ½ Cup, chopped
Olive oil, 2.5g
Kosher Salt (.2g)
Honey, 1 Tablespoon (15g)
Scallions, ½ cup (16g), sliced
Cracked Pepper, a pinch (.5g)
Sea Salt, 2 teaspoons (2g)
EQUIPMENT
Vacuum sealer, such as FoodSaver ($59; amazon.com)
Vacuum sealer bag
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat Joule to 90 °C / 194 °F.
Combine garlic and butter in a saucepan and heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring frequently, until the butter has browned and the garlic is golden.
Combine garlic, butter, sweet potato slices, cinnamon, thyme, and salt in a vacuum sealer bag. Seal. Add sealed bag to the water with Joule/ Sous Vide tool and cook for 1 hour.
While the sweet potatoes cook, toast pecans for garnish. Add 2.5g olive oil to a pan with chopped pecans and .2g kosher salt. Heat over medium-high until toasted. Remove from pan and set aside.
When sweet potatoes have cooked, transfer ingredients to a bowl and mash with a potato masher for a rustic texture. (You can use an immersion blender to create a more silky mash.)
Just before serving, garnish with toasted pecans, honey, sliced scallions, sea salt, and pepper.
Thanksgiving Sauce (way better than gravy, plus it’s gluten-free!)
Cook for 1 hour at 90 °C / 194 °F
Diced Carrots, celery, onion, butternut squash, Yukon Gold Potato and sage cooked with chicken stock in a quart size jar at 90C/194F for 1 hour. Puree smooth in a blender and season with salt, pepper and lemon juice
INGREDIENTS
For the sauce:
Butternut Squash, (180g) small-diced
Sage, about 4 picked leaves (3.5g)
Celery, 1–2 stalks (54g), small-diced
Carrots, 1 medium (47g), small-diced
Onion, ½ small (48g), small-diced
Butter, about 3 Tablespoons (45g), diced into cubes
Chicken Stock 1? cups (320g)
Yukon Gold Potato, 1 whole (180g)
Salt 1½ Teaspoons,(8g)
Black Pepper, a pinch (.6g)
Lemon Juice, ¾ Tablespoon, (12g)
EQUIPMENT
Quart-sized mason jar
Joule or other sous vide tool
High-power blender
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat Joule to 90 °C / 194 °F, making sure you water level is high enough that a quart-sized jar will be completely covered once added to the pot.
Prep all ingredients and add to the jar, pushing them down as you go to get everything packed in tight. Secure “fingertip-tight” with a fitted canning lid. Add jar to the water with Joule/Sous Vide tool and cook one hour. Once it has cooked, add mixture to the pitcher of a high-power blender and blend until smooth. Return to the jar and keep sauce heated with Joule/Sous Vide tool until you serve it or transfer directly to a gravy boat and start the feast.
