The Better Way to Cook Turkey: Sous-Vide and Beyond

One of the most exciting developments in modern cooking is the sous-vide method, which allows for unprecedented control over temperature and moisture levels. When it comes to cooking a turkey, this means that you can actually cook the bird well in advance, freeing up your oven and allowing you to focus on other things while the turkey cooks. This is a game-changer for anyone who has ever struggled with last-minute stress and anxiety when it comes to cooking a special occasion meal.

Butchering the Turkey: A New Approach

So how does this magic happen? It starts with butchering the turkey, which allows us to treat the breasts separately from the leg. This means that we can cook each part of the bird individually, using different temperatures and times to achieve the perfect texture and flavor. By separating the breast and leg, we also create a bunch of yummy scraps that can be used to make a rich and flavorful gravy.

Pretreating the Turkey: Searing is Key

Before we can start cooking our turkey parts, we need to pretreat them by searing the skin in a hot pan with some oil. This helps to create a crispy crust on the outside while keeping the inside juicy and tender. We also use a dry towel or rag to press each breast down into the pan for about two minutes, which helps to develop the flavor and texture of the meat. By doing this step, we're able to get a nice sear on both the breasts and legs, which will help them to cook evenly and add depth to the finished dish.

Bagging the Turkey: Salt, Sugar, and Herbs

Once our turkey parts are pretreated, it's time to bag them up in a sous-vide machine. We use a two-gallon ziplock bag to pack each leg and breast separately, as they need to be cooked at different temperatures for a longer period of time. To add some extra flavor and moisture to the meat, we sprinkle both the legs and breasts with a mixture of salt and sugar, and then toss in some fresh herbs. This will help to create a moist and flavorful environment that will result in a juicy and tender final product.

Cooking the Turkey: A Sous-Vide Approach

Now it's time to cook our turkey parts! We'll start by cooking the legs at 150 degrees Fahrenheit for a longer period of time, which will ensure that they're nice and tender. Meanwhile, we'll cook the breasts at 130 degrees Fahrenheit for a shorter amount of time, which will result in a juicy and pink interior. The best part about sous-vide cooking is that it's incredibly forgiving, so even if we want to serve the turkey on Thanksgiving Day, we can cook it ahead of time and reheat it when needed.

A Flexible Cooking Schedule

One of the most exciting things about this approach to cooking a turkey is the flexibility that it offers. We can start cooking our legs up to 24 hours in advance, which means that we can kiss goodbye to last-minute stress and anxiety on Thanksgiving Day. On the morning of the big day, all we need to do is turn down the heat to 130 degrees Fahrenheit and cook the breasts until they're done. This schedule allows us to focus on other things while our turkey cooks, like preparing sides and getting everything ready for our guests.

Searing the Turkey: A Finish with Flair

Once our turkey parts are cooked in the sous-vide machine, it's time to finish them off with a nice sear. We'll use a hot pan with some oil to get a crispy crust on both the breasts and legs. This will not only add texture and flavor but also help us achieve that perfect golden-brown color that we all associate with a well-cooked turkey.

A Perfect Finish: Norman Rockwell-Worthy

And finally, the moment of truth! Our sous-vide turkey is cooked to perfection, and it's time to plate it up. We'll add some finishing touches, like garnishing with fresh herbs or serving with a side of gravy, to make it look truly special. And let me tell you, this turkey looks like it was painted by Norman Rockwell! The skin is crispy and golden, the meat is juicy and tender, and the presentation is flawless.

Conclusion

The better way to cook turkey is all about flexibility and control. By using a sous-vide machine and breaking down the cooking process into smaller steps, we can achieve a perfectly cooked bird that's both moist and flavorful. Whether you're cooking for a small group or a large crowd, this approach will give you the confidence and freedom to focus on other things while your turkey cooks. So why not give it a try? Your taste buds – and your guests – will thank you!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enif you're fantasizing about a perfect Norman Rockwell Turkey on your table this Thanksgiving look away this video is for people who want a better turkey an easier way to get it and it's gonna turn out great every time that's what you're into stay tuned you only have to cook turkey once a year so you better make it real good cooking a whole turkey can be very tricky you're always juggling how to get the perfect juicy breast and the nice tender perfectly cooked legs that's really hard with a whole bird but I've got a solution for you we're gonna separate the breasts we're gonna separate the leg we're gonna cook it sous-vide and they're gonna come back together in the end for a better way to Turkey here's the good news about our better way to Turkey one you can actually cook the bird well in advance so you're not stressing last minute - it really frees up your oven no matter what so you can stuff it with pie and bread and stuffing and all sorts of stuff it's gonna cook who woulda thunk it sous-vide so it starts off with butchering our bird that'll allow us to treat the breasts totally separately from the leg and then we're gonna end up with a bunch of yummy scraps to make a gravy out of so we butchered our turkey and I've got this pot of yummy turkey scraps I'm gonna throw some ribs in there and I'm going to put it in the oven overnight now that we have our turkey parts we are going to pretreat them and get them cooking so we're going to pre sear the skin you get a nice big nonstick pan a little bit of oil and get a nice dry heavy kitchen towel or rag and you're going to press each breast down in that pan for probably about two minutes and then you can do the same with the other bread and both legs the next thing you want to do is bag these up this is a two gallon ziplock you definitely want to pack the legs and the breasts separately because you have to cook them at different times temperatures the next thing you want to do is get a little salt and sugar mixture and you're going to sprinkle each breast and leg with a healthy dose of it and then we're going to throw some herbs in there I like to tell the herbs on the meat side that way when the herbs get soft when they cook when I go to serum in the end just for another couple minutes I don't have herbs burning on the skin so we've got our salt and sugar we've got our herbs and they're bagged up and now we're ready to cook here's where it gets fun with this turkey game plan we're going to cook the breasts at a different temperature than the legs and they're each gonna cook for quite a bit of time but the good news is here is that it's very very very very forgiving so you can kiss the breast for up to 24 hours same with the legs and that gives you all that time to decide when you want to get perfect turkey on the table so for the absolute perfect textured leg we're going to be cooking it 150 degrees Fahrenheit and then for the breast you're going to cook them 130 degrees what you're gonna do is cook the legs in advance the day before and then that evening you can just turn the bath down to 130 put the breasts in and you can leave the legs in still and just let that go overnight so you're talking about starting one day in advance here no no no no no no all right it's now Thanksgiving Day and your friends and family are coming over they're probably already there annoying you asking you what this thing is boiling your turkey over there and you're trying to explain to them it sous-vide joule and you're ready to serve up turkey about 10 or 20 minutes before you want turkey on the table you're going to take the breast and you're going to take the legs out of Jule let's get real here you cook them sous-vide the breasts are perfect the legs are perfect you can finish them any way you want you can throw em in a deep fryer you can throw them on your grill you can throw them in the smoker and they're going to be super tender super juicy I'm gonna go for a traditional look today so I'm just going to sear them cuz I want really golden crispy skin so you're going to get a nonstick pan and since we seared the legs and the breasts in advance the second sear isn't going to take very long if you're really in a hurry you are going to turn your broiler on you can put both legs under the broiler and your Swiss your two breasts on the stove that's it easy what do you think looking pretty good huh hmm alright guys it's not a whole bird but I gotta say I think Norman Rockwell would have painted this that's pretty good-looking stuff gorgeous and you can rest assured the breasts are perfect the legs are better than confit turkey freed up my oven freed up my time to do all sorts of other good stuff and I don't have to think about it I just know it's gonna be perfect that's really good I love cooking with Jules you should get one go to chef CENTCOM get your jewel right now suck it Norman Rockwell look at it mmm whoa I can't stop looking at it it's really prettyif you're fantasizing about a perfect Norman Rockwell Turkey on your table this Thanksgiving look away this video is for people who want a better turkey an easier way to get it and it's gonna turn out great every time that's what you're into stay tuned you only have to cook turkey once a year so you better make it real good cooking a whole turkey can be very tricky you're always juggling how to get the perfect juicy breast and the nice tender perfectly cooked legs that's really hard with a whole bird but I've got a solution for you we're gonna separate the breasts we're gonna separate the leg we're gonna cook it sous-vide and they're gonna come back together in the end for a better way to Turkey here's the good news about our better way to Turkey one you can actually cook the bird well in advance so you're not stressing last minute - it really frees up your oven no matter what so you can stuff it with pie and bread and stuffing and all sorts of stuff it's gonna cook who woulda thunk it sous-vide so it starts off with butchering our bird that'll allow us to treat the breasts totally separately from the leg and then we're gonna end up with a bunch of yummy scraps to make a gravy out of so we butchered our turkey and I've got this pot of yummy turkey scraps I'm gonna throw some ribs in there and I'm going to put it in the oven overnight now that we have our turkey parts we are going to pretreat them and get them cooking so we're going to pre sear the skin you get a nice big nonstick pan a little bit of oil and get a nice dry heavy kitchen towel or rag and you're going to press each breast down in that pan for probably about two minutes and then you can do the same with the other bread and both legs the next thing you want to do is bag these up this is a two gallon ziplock you definitely want to pack the legs and the breasts separately because you have to cook them at different times temperatures the next thing you want to do is get a little salt and sugar mixture and you're going to sprinkle each breast and leg with a healthy dose of it and then we're going to throw some herbs in there I like to tell the herbs on the meat side that way when the herbs get soft when they cook when I go to serum in the end just for another couple minutes I don't have herbs burning on the skin so we've got our salt and sugar we've got our herbs and they're bagged up and now we're ready to cook here's where it gets fun with this turkey game plan we're going to cook the breasts at a different temperature than the legs and they're each gonna cook for quite a bit of time but the good news is here is that it's very very very very forgiving so you can kiss the breast for up to 24 hours same with the legs and that gives you all that time to decide when you want to get perfect turkey on the table so for the absolute perfect textured leg we're going to be cooking it 150 degrees Fahrenheit and then for the breast you're going to cook them 130 degrees what you're gonna do is cook the legs in advance the day before and then that evening you can just turn the bath down to 130 put the breasts in and you can leave the legs in still and just let that go overnight so you're talking about starting one day in advance here no no no no no no all right it's now Thanksgiving Day and your friends and family are coming over they're probably already there annoying you asking you what this thing is boiling your turkey over there and you're trying to explain to them it sous-vide joule and you're ready to serve up turkey about 10 or 20 minutes before you want turkey on the table you're going to take the breast and you're going to take the legs out of Jule let's get real here you cook them sous-vide the breasts are perfect the legs are perfect you can finish them any way you want you can throw em in a deep fryer you can throw them on your grill you can throw them in the smoker and they're going to be super tender super juicy I'm gonna go for a traditional look today so I'm just going to sear them cuz I want really golden crispy skin so you're going to get a nonstick pan and since we seared the legs and the breasts in advance the second sear isn't going to take very long if you're really in a hurry you are going to turn your broiler on you can put both legs under the broiler and your Swiss your two breasts on the stove that's it easy what do you think looking pretty good huh hmm alright guys it's not a whole bird but I gotta say I think Norman Rockwell would have painted this that's pretty good-looking stuff gorgeous and you can rest assured the breasts are perfect the legs are better than confit turkey freed up my oven freed up my time to do all sorts of other good stuff and I don't have to think about it I just know it's gonna be perfect that's really good I love cooking with Jules you should get one go to chef CENTCOM get your jewel right now suck it Norman Rockwell look at it mmm whoa I can't stop looking at it it's really pretty\n"