Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Sous Vide Turkey Breast

That's cranberry jam on that sandwich!
It's not too late to talk turkey. Yes, Thanksgiving is over, but turkeys aren't done being sold. You can buy a lovey turkey breast all on its own, or do what I did - buy a whole turkey and cut it into reasonable pieces.

Right now, I have one breast and two thighs in the freezer. One breast has been cooked. The carcass, legs, and wings were roasted. Some parts became stock that then became gravy or soup. Meaty parts had their meat removed and added to the soup.

In years past, I smoked turkey breasts, or I cooked them on the barbecue grill. This time, I decided to go the easy route - I cooked it via sous vide. Some turkey went into sandwiches, and some went into other recipes. But mostly, I wanted that breast for sandwiches. It's one of my favorite things to do with turkey, and by cooking it sous vide, I had a super-tender breast that wasn't the least bit dry.

I'm finding that cooking pretty much anything sous vide is insanely easy now that I have the Anova Sous Vide with bluetooth and wifi which has an app with a bunch of recipes. I basically just typed in "turkey breast" and picked one of the recipes to get the time and temperature. I didn't continue with crisping the skin since I just wanted the meat for sandwiches.

Sous Vide Turkey Breast

1 boneless turkey breast (can be skinless or not)
Seasonings (whatever you like - I tried a smoked salt)
Butter or olive oil (optional)

Put the turkey breast in the sous vide bag along with whatever flavorings you like. I had gotten some salts (about a tablespoon each) as a sample, so I used some of the smoked salt. I didn't add any fat, but I considered it momentarily. But any herbs or flavorings you like would be fine, I'm sure. Seal the bag.

Set the sous vide for 145 degrees and three hours. Place the bag in the water and cook.

When the ime is up, you can brown the skin in a hot pan with a little oil (pat the turkey dry first), if desired I just let it cool and used it for sandwiches.

The turkey breast meat was cooked through, but it was definitely pink. If that bothers you, then you might want to cook it at a higher temperature. I thought it was fine. And when I used it in dishes where I heated it further it wasn't overcooked, so that was a bonus,
Yum