Stress-Free Sous Vide Turkey Day Prep

Nov 15

Nov 15 Stress-Free Sous Vide Turkey Day Prep

Holiday, Meat, Poultry, Recipe, Sous Vide

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It’s two weeks before Thanksgiving, my turkey is prepped and cooked. I'm sitting pretty for Turkey Day!

I served dry turkey once years ago and it honestly still haunts me. Since then I've been vigilant about cooking turkey sous vide and not only is the meat super juicy, I can also prepare the bird far in advance so I can actually enjoy the holiday festivities. I'm hosting two dinner parties so my 12lb bird will be eaten at separate meals; my friends get a turkey roulade (made with white meat) and my family will enjoy the dark meat.

First, I break down the defrosted turkey and organize the parts by dark meat, white meat, back, and giblets. There are plenty of tutorials online for how to do it!

I use my Avid Armor Ultra Series USV20 Chamber Vacuum Sealer System to seal up the dark meat with salt, butter (or fun cannabis oil infusions), aromatics, and herbs. The tenderloins get sealed up with butter and no salt for my baby. My chihuahua gets the giblets. The back and neck get roasted and turned into stock and gravy. Nothing is wasted! Breaking down the turkey also frees up a lot of fridge space for sides and desserts. Just remember, it takes 1-3 days to defrost your turkey in the fridge (depending on the size) so plan ahead!

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My Friendsgiving turkey roulade is rolled with a filling of toasted panko, fennel seeds, shallots, garlic, lemon zest, fresh rosemary, oregano, and prosciutto. It's rolled up tight, tied, and vacuum sealed.

All the bags of meat go into the water bath at 65ºC (149ºF) for 4 hours. Once it's done, drop the bags in an ice bath to quickly chill then store in the fridge or freezer until the day of the dinner. Before serving, reheat the turkey in a 55ºC (131ºF) water bath for at least an hour then quickly pan sear for golden brown skin. If you need more of a reference, there’s a recipe for sous vide turkey in Sous Vide At Home, the first cookbook I ever worked on.

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