Thanks Given... For Science!
Nov. 26th, 2018 09:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madbakerThis week's Resolution Recipe: Roast Turkey Sous Vide.
I was not in a mood to do the full-on Thanksgiving cooking sprint. Besides, it was only me, the wife, and my dad. So we reduced the dishes to a minimum* and did what we could to make cooking on the day easier. There are plenty of directions for cooking a Thanksgiving bird in pieces, but few that allow for a full stuffed roast bird that you can present before sloppily carving. This was one.
10ish lb whole turkey, fresh or thawed (We got a fresh 12 lb heirloom breed bird)
64 oz chicken stock, cooled [i.e. not freshly made and hot] (I used house-made)
Remove any giblets, neck bone, paper packets, etc. from the cavities. Place the bird, neck down, in a large vacuum sealable bag. Pour the stock into the main cavity and around as needed. Gingerly seal the bag on high; make sure that it is fully sealed, since the stock will wick up.
Bring a humongous vat of water to 150 and sous vide the bird with the recirculator for 6 hours. Remove from the vat and let cool in the sink for 30 minutes. Then place it in a cool water bath for 30 minutes. This will equalize the bird's temperature so that it will crisp up in the oven. Refrigerate overnight.
The next day, carefully unseal and drain, reserving the stock and liquids for gravy. Pat the turkey dry, salt and pepper it, and stuff according to your One True Stuffing Recipe. Place on a racked roasting pan and cook in a 350 oven, uncovered, for 90 minutes. Let rest for 30 minutes before carving.
What worked: It cooked fully, and reduced cooking time on the day substantially. As well as any real worries about undercooking. It still produced a very showy classic roast turkey.
What didn't: Welp. We couldn't fit the turkey into my Cambro 12-quart, which is my preferred container for sous vide because I have a folding top with a cutout for the Anova. So I don't lose heat from the top, can still see and access the things cooking, and it's not so bloody huge that I have to heat 20 gallons of water. I used to have a 20 quart but I got rid of it; this would have been the only time I used it and we just don't have the space, let alone desire, to keep anything used that infrequently. We used the Yeti cooler instead, which has great insulation. With heavy tinfoil on the top we kept the heat in nicely.
We had a Gravy Incident late at night when removing the turkey from the bath. Apparently the weight of the turkey and stock, combined with the heat, weakened the pre-sealed bottom seam of the large sealable bag. When the wife picked it up, it burst open. We lost all of the lovely juices and stock into the water bath, so there was no gravy on the day. [Fortunately we didn't lose the turkey!]
I wasn't quite convinced the turkey was fully cooked after 90 minutes, so I gave it another 30. When combined with the resting period, the white meat was a little dry. I suspect the original directions were correct and everything would have been fine.
Will I make it again? I might. Despite the problems it worked. I'd possibly double-seal the bottom, and be careful how we lift it.
*turkey, stuffing, [gravy], roast yams, roast Brussels sprouts, fresh cranberry sauce from the store. And pecan goo in a jar for dessert.
I was not in a mood to do the full-on Thanksgiving cooking sprint. Besides, it was only me, the wife, and my dad. So we reduced the dishes to a minimum* and did what we could to make cooking on the day easier. There are plenty of directions for cooking a Thanksgiving bird in pieces, but few that allow for a full stuffed roast bird that you can present before sloppily carving. This was one.
10ish lb whole turkey, fresh or thawed (We got a fresh 12 lb heirloom breed bird)
64 oz chicken stock, cooled [i.e. not freshly made and hot] (I used house-made)
Remove any giblets, neck bone, paper packets, etc. from the cavities. Place the bird, neck down, in a large vacuum sealable bag. Pour the stock into the main cavity and around as needed. Gingerly seal the bag on high; make sure that it is fully sealed, since the stock will wick up.
Bring a humongous vat of water to 150 and sous vide the bird with the recirculator for 6 hours. Remove from the vat and let cool in the sink for 30 minutes. Then place it in a cool water bath for 30 minutes. This will equalize the bird's temperature so that it will crisp up in the oven. Refrigerate overnight.
The next day, carefully unseal and drain, reserving the stock and liquids for gravy. Pat the turkey dry, salt and pepper it, and stuff according to your One True Stuffing Recipe. Place on a racked roasting pan and cook in a 350 oven, uncovered, for 90 minutes. Let rest for 30 minutes before carving.
What worked: It cooked fully, and reduced cooking time on the day substantially. As well as any real worries about undercooking. It still produced a very showy classic roast turkey.
What didn't: Welp. We couldn't fit the turkey into my Cambro 12-quart, which is my preferred container for sous vide because I have a folding top with a cutout for the Anova. So I don't lose heat from the top, can still see and access the things cooking, and it's not so bloody huge that I have to heat 20 gallons of water. I used to have a 20 quart but I got rid of it; this would have been the only time I used it and we just don't have the space, let alone desire, to keep anything used that infrequently. We used the Yeti cooler instead, which has great insulation. With heavy tinfoil on the top we kept the heat in nicely.
We had a Gravy Incident late at night when removing the turkey from the bath. Apparently the weight of the turkey and stock, combined with the heat, weakened the pre-sealed bottom seam of the large sealable bag. When the wife picked it up, it burst open. We lost all of the lovely juices and stock into the water bath, so there was no gravy on the day. [Fortunately we didn't lose the turkey!]
I wasn't quite convinced the turkey was fully cooked after 90 minutes, so I gave it another 30. When combined with the resting period, the white meat was a little dry. I suspect the original directions were correct and everything would have been fine.
Will I make it again? I might. Despite the problems it worked. I'd possibly double-seal the bottom, and be careful how we lift it.
*turkey, stuffing, [gravy], roast yams, roast Brussels sprouts, fresh cranberry sauce from the store. And pecan goo in a jar for dessert.
