Thanksgiving 2018 Sous-Vide, Smoke, and a Fry

- September 06, 2020

Yup, it's that time of the year again. Thanksgiving is by far one of my favorite Holidays: food, family, and all the trimmings that go along with it all. Moreover, with that, I always try to modify and improve on the previous versions of my Turkey. I have to admit, and I am not trying to sound arrogant (but of course I am), but when I say to improve, what I am saying is little refinements and slightly modified techniques.

It's not my goal to recreate older posts but to pontificate a bit about what I did this year. For all my Turkey stuff click HERE.
However, I will say that this year was a freaking grand slam.!!! One of the best I've ever made and, of course, eaten. No one has ever made a better turkey than me. Is it arrogant to say this? Damn straight!!!!!!

This year I started out with a whole Turkey and broke it down. I decided on a Turkey Roulade which is the breast glued together and the rest on the side. To learn how to make a Turkey Roulade I have a Tutorial HERE. Note: Turkey was dry-brine, and a little poultry seasoning was added as well.

At this juncture, I decided to inject everything with butter. I love butter.

I chopped up a bunch of traditional herbs, which of course, included Sage. For G-d sake, it's Thanksgiving, and we all know Thanksgiving would not be the same without sage. I divided the herbs among baggies. Why the baggies? Hold on to your britches. I will be providing you those answers right below.

Let's discuss herbs! Yes, salt is the only substance that will penetrate the protein matrix, but that does not mean we cannot perfume the meat. I've done it both ways, and this technique works well. Puncture the baggies multiple times with a sharp object. During the cooking phase, the protein will release moisture/juices and intermingle with the herbs and perfume the meat.
Note: Do not even consider laying the herbs on the meat. Direct contact with the protein will be overpowering, and we want subtle flavors.

Often, across the Sous-Vide world of the internet, professionals and non-specialists alike suggest separating the Dark & White meat and cooking them at different Times and Temps. Yes, that works, and they are not wrong but remember that's just a technique. I went in a different direction and cooked everything together at the same Time & Temp. I've done it the other way too, with great success but wanted to try something different. The T & T is not that critical if you employ other parameters. All parts of the Turkey were cooked together at 145℉ for precisely 8 hours. SV'ing at 145℉ may seem a little low for dark meat, but like I've said over and over again, it's all about the finish that can sometimes dictate the SV Temp. I.e., Deep Fry, Smoke, Smoke & deep fry, Oven or pan finish. After doing this countless times, I've nailed it down. 8 hours at 145℉ may appear long for a breast, and it is but let's not forget that we are cooking a large diameter cylinder, aka a Roulade.

At the end of the cooking process, I shocked everything in an ice-bath and refrigerated everything for a few days to suit my schedule.

On Thursday, I re-themed everything at 135℉ for 3-4 hours. After the little bath, I dried everything off and place on a wired rack with a fan blowing across the surface go dry even further.

For the smoke, I used applewood and leftover herbs. I used my propane smoker because it was raining outside; otherwise I would have preferred my Weber Smokey Mountain. Everything smoked at 180-225℉ for one hour. The internal temp of Turkey never exceeded 135℉.