​How To Cook A Turkey Sous Vide

When it comes to Thanksgiving, the turkey is undoubtedly the star of the show. There are so many ways to cook a turkey it can be hard to decide how you want to do it this year. There’s the tried and true method of roasting it in the oven, or you can even use a smoker and smoke the turkey for a new twist and flavor. There isn’t a wrong way to cook your turkey, but there is a superior way. Cooking your turkey sous vide this year will be a game changer at your Thanksgiving table, and will leave guests begging you to do it again next year.

What Is Sous Vide Cooking?

Sous-vide (pronounced “soo-veed”) is a method of cooking that involves sealing the food in a vacuum sealed bag and then cooking it in consistently temperature-controlled water that never reaches the boiling point. Sous vide is actually a French term, that by definition means “under vacuum” which makes sense given the vacuum sealed bags involved. This type of cooking is generally used in fancy restaurants by gourmet chefs, but you can do it at home as well! The reason people love it is because the water used for cooking never boils, it means that you’ll never have an overcooked piece of meat using this method.

Cooking Sous Vide At Home

If you want to try your hand at cooking any meat sous vide, but specifically your Thanksgiving turkey, then we have some easy recommendations to help you get started.

Equipment Needed

A large pot to cook the meat in water

Sous vide circulator (you can order one on Amazon here)

Vacuum sealed bags (can be found on our website here)

A vacuum sealer (optional but highly recommended for best results, can be bought

on our website here)

A whole, fresh turkey

Olive oil, butter and whatever spices you want to use

The turkey will need to be separated into different cuts of meat for best result. The turkey should be cut into four pieces consisting of two breasts and two legs. As a tool to help you with cooking your turkey sous vide, we made an easy Thanksgiving guide that you can print out and use at home! We hope this guide is helpful, and if you happen to cook your turkey sous vide this year we invite you to share it with us by tagging #fieldtosealed on your Instagram and we might just feature you on our Avid Armor page!

Sous Vide Thanksgiving Turkey

The Day Before Thanksgiving

Early in the day:

Set sous vide cooking tool to 150 degrees Fahrenheit

Take four turkey pieces and place in stock of your choice

Cover pot with stock and turkey pieces and heat in oven for 8 hours at 225 degrees

Sear breast and legs just slightly on stove

Make brining mixture and apply to all turkey pieces

Bag all four pieces with oil and herbs of your choosing

Begin cooking legs in the heated water, store breasts in the fridge

Later in the day (about 12 hours later):

Lower sous vide cook tool to 131 degrees

Add turkey breasts to the water with the legs

Thanksgiving Day

Twenty minutes before eating:

Remove all turkey pieces from their bags and pat dry

Set oven to broil

Heat a pan on the stove medium-high

Broil legs in oven

Finish breasts in the pan

Enjoy!