Hi, friends! 

Can you believe we have 7 days left until Thanksgiving?! I’m still finalizing our Thanksgiving menu. I’ve been on Pinterest pinning all kinds of recipes to my Thanksgiving Recipes board.

What about you? Do you know what you will prepare for Thanksgiving dinner?

Today’s post is pretty cool because the folks at Kosher.com are sharing a Thanksgiving turkey recipe: Sous Vide Lemon Herb Turkey.

It’s a great recipe from Michal Frischman for Kosher.com. If you like what you see, make sure you pin the recipe to your Pinterest so you can save it for later. Hope you enjoy today’s Thanksgiving recipe! 🙂

Thanksgiving is the Perfect Time to Cook Sous-Vide!

If you’ve been paying attention to food trends lately, you’ve very likely heard of sous-vide, even if you’re not completely sure what it is. Thanksgiving is the perfect time to try the sous vide cooking method.

That’s because, undeniably, poultry is where sous-vide shines. Unlike red meat, which can be eaten with a gradient of done-ness so the outside is gray and the inside is pink, with poultry, you need to cook it through.

With a larger cut, like turkey breast, it’s impossible to cook the inside without overcooking the outside. Sous vide allows the entire piece of turkey to cook at the same time, so it’s completely, perfectly done. It‘s amazingly flavorful and never, ever dry!

Don’t let the name intimidate you. Sous-vide (soo-veed) means “under vacuum”, a reference to the way food is packed before you cook it using this method. The equipment used to cook the food is called an immersion circulator.

So you’d properly say, “I’m cooking this delicious turkey sous-vide,” not “I’m cooking this delicious turkey in the sous-vide.” But I digress.

Sous-Vide Lemon-Herb Turkey
Find more delicious recipes at Kosher.com! Click this image to check out their Instagram page. They have so many yummy recipes! | Photo courtesy Kosher.com Instagram

Should You Jump on the Sous-Vide Bandwagon?

Why are people going crazy for sous-vide cooking? And should you jump on the bandwagon?

The premise behind sous-vide is actually simple. In traditional cooking methods, such as dry heat (baking, roasting, broiling, frying, searing) or moist heat (boiling, braising, poaching, simmering), the goal is to get the center of the food cooked to the temperature that you want it to be.

Unlike grilling, here’s how sous-vide works:

1. Season your food (or even add a marinade or sauce) and place it in the bag you’ll be cooking in. You can invest in a vacuum sealer or just use Ziploc® bags (Brand name bags seems to leak less).

2. To vacuum seal with a zip-top bag, place the item in the bag, then keep the zip top open, and lower the bag into the water immersion circulator.

3. Allow the water to press the bag closed, and lower it in until just below the zipper, so all the air is now pressed out.  Then, zip the top and remove the bag from the water bath.

4. Bring the water in the circulator to the temperature that you want your food to be, and then place the bag back in the water bath with the immersion circulator.

5. Cook it for a predetermined time, then remove from the bag and pat dry. The sous-vide cooker circulates water around the pot. The circulation prevents hot and cool spots from forming in the water to ensure an even temperature throughout your food. Your food never overcooks. It’s just how you like it, every time.

See below for a few options for immersion cookers!

Sous-Vide Lemon-Herb Turkey Recipe from Kosher.com

Ingredients

1 2-pound (1-kilogram) boneless, skinless turkey breast, sometimes known as turkey London broil (see note)

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 teaspoon dried dill or 1 tablespoon fresh

1 teaspoon dried parsley or 1 tablespoon fresh

1 teaspoon dried basil or 1 tablespoon fresh

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons flour

Prepare the Turkey

1. Mix the honey, lemon juice, herbs, salt, and pepper.

2. Place the turkey in a heavy-duty ziplock bag or in a vacuum sealer bag.

3. Add marinade to the bag. For a ziplock, submerge the bag in a bowl of water until just below the opening of the bag so the air is squeezed out, then seal the bag. For a vacuum sealer, set the machine to wet seal.

4. Place the turkey in a sous-vide set to 143°F (62°C). Cook for four hours or up to eight hours.

5. When ready to serve, heat oil and flour in a small saucepan.

6. Stir well and cook for one minute.

7. Add the juices from inside the turkey bag and whisk until no clumps remain.

8. Slice the turkey thinly and serve with gravy on the side.

Note: You can follow the same time and temperature for any size turkey you would like to use.

Variation: To cook in the oven, keep the skin on and bone in. Bake at 375°F (180°C) for about an hour or until the thickest part of the turkey breast reaches an internal temperature of 160°F (70°C). Remove and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes.

Pin this to save for later! 🙂

There are several types and brands of precision immersion cookers. I found three immersion cookers you can purchase at Target, ranging in price from about $149 – $199. The Anova Sous Vide Wifi Precision Cooker (#3)can be controlled remotely via Wi-Fi. The Anova Sous Vide Bluetooth (#1) model is $149. There are also sous vide water ovens (see #2 and #5). See the list below.

1. Anova Sous Vide Bluetooth | $149

2. Hamilton Beach Sous Vide & Slow Cooker | $149.99

3. Anova Sous Vide Wifi Precision Cooker | $199

4. Sansaire Sous Vide Machine | $199.99

5. SousVide Supreme Demi Water Oven | $306.99


Special thanks to Kosher.com for sharing their Sous-Vide Lemon-Pepper Turkey recipe with Good Life Detroit! Follow them on Instagram here.

Make sure to check out the kosher.com ongoing cooking series. They will address choosing the right times and temperatures in sous-vide cooking for a range of different foods and much more.

You can also rely on recipes for sous-vide at www.kosher.com, at many other online resources, and on the app your immersion circulator is linked.

Written by

Jennifer Hamra

Freelance creative Jennifer Hamra created her blog Good Life Detroit in 2015 after relocating from Tennessee to Southeast Michigan.

Inspired by her love for personal blogging and photography, Jennifer likes to share her favorite Detroit things, from cool places to visit (the hidden gems are her favorite!) to the amazing people she has connected with over the years.

When she's not busy juggling family life and her creative projects, you can find her at an art gallery, community event, farmers market, or spending quiet time at home with a good book and cup of tea.

Jennifer lives in the metro Detroit area with her husband Travis and their six children.

Connect with Jennifer on social media @goodlifedetroit on all social media platforms or via email at [email protected].