French for “under vacuum,” the sous vide cooking method involves vacuum-sealing food into a bag and placing it into a temperature-controlled water bath. It has a handful of benefits: the specific, steady water temperature and lack of air pockets around the food ensures it cooks evenly all the way through – something that’s difficult to do on a stovetop or grill. And when you’re busy puttering around the kitchen preparing other dishes, you’ll love that the sous vide lets you set it and forget it – streamlining your prep time and keeping the oven free for other dishes.
While roasted turkey can sometimes end up dry and tough, the sous vide method guarantees juicy, tender turkey breast (or a whole turkey, if you have a big enough pot) that your guests will love.
In this guide, we’re walking you through how to make a moist sous vide Thanksgiving turkey breast without sacrificing the crispy turkey skin that many people love about a classic oven-roasted turkey—all without the worry of plastic leaching into your food (and then ultimately the ocean).
Sous vide turkey is the secret to juicy, tender and flavorful turkey year-round. Forget dry overcooked turkey – with sous vide your turkey will be moist and delicious every time.
Sous vide involves cooking food sealed in airtight bags immersed in temperature-controlled water This allows you to precisely control the temperature so the turkey cooks gently and evenly to perfection
In this complete guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know to sous vide turkey like a pro, including key tips for brining, seasoning, searing and more. Let’s get started!
Benefits of Sous Vide Turkey
Here are some of the biggest benefits of sous vide turkey:
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Juicy and tender meat – Sous vide gently cooks the turkey at a precise, even temperature instead of blasting dry heat at it like an oven. This keeps the meat incredibly moist and tender.
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Better flavor – The gentle heat infuses the turkey with flavor from any spices, herbs or marinades. No more bland, dry turkey!
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Foolproof doneness – With sous vide, it’s impossible to overcook turkey. You precisely control the temperature to reach the perfect level of doneness.
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Convenience – Once the turkey is in the water bath, it cooks unattended. You can sous vide the turkey the day before for easy holiday prep.
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Versatile – Sous vide turkey works great for whole birds, breasts, legs, wings, you name it!
Sous Vide Turkey Step-By-Step
Follow these steps for flawlessly cooked sous vide turkey:
1. Brine the Turkey (Optional)
Brining isn’t mandatory, but it helps keep the turkey extra juicy and enhances the flavor. Make a brine by stirring together:
- 1 gallon water
- 1 cup kosher salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- Herbs and spices of your choice
Submerge the turkey in the brine, breast side down. Brine for 8-12 hours in the fridge. Rinse and pat the turkey dry before cooking.
2. Season the Turkey
Season the turkey inside and out with salt, pepper and any other spices you want. Herbs like thyme, rosemary and sage are great turkey companions.
Rub the seasonings all over the skin too. This adds flavor as the turkey cooks.
3. Seal and Cook
Put the seasoned turkey in a sous vide bag and seal it using either a vacuum sealer or the water displacement method.
Submerge the bagged turkey in a water bath set to your desired temperature (see temps below). Cook for the minimum time required to pasteurize the turkey.
4. Chill and Sear
Once cooked, immediately chill the turkey in an ice bath. This stops the cooking.
Remove the turkey from the bag and pat dry. Quickly sear the skin in a hot skillet with oil. This makes the skin crispy.
And that’s it – your turkey is ready to carve and serve!
Sous Vide Turkey Time and Temperatures
The two main factors for sous vide turkey are the temperature and cooking time. Here are temperature guidelines based on how you want your turkey cooked:
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For tender, juicy white meat: Cook at 145°F for 2-4 hours.
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For juicy dark meat: Go up to 150-155°F for 4-8 hours.
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For fall-off-the-bone tender: Try 135°F for 1-2 days for ultra-tender turkey.
Always cook at least long enough to pasteurize the turkey. For example, at 145°F you need to cook the turkey for at least 2.5 hours to safely pasteurize it. Refer to a sous vide time and temperature guide for specifics.
Use an accurate sous vide cooker like the Anova Precision Cooker to hold the temperature steady. Monitor the core turkey temperature with a leave-in thermometer.
Sous Vide Whole Turkey
You can sous vide an entire whole turkey with fantastic results. Here’s how:
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Brine the turkey as desired. Rinse and pat very dry.
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Truss the turkey which helps it keep its shape. Tie the legs together.
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Season the inside cavity and all over the skin.
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Bag in a large sous vide bag, removing as much air as possible.
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Cook at 145°F for 12-24 hours depending on the size.
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Chill, pat dry and roast at 450°F for 30 mins to crispen the skin.
The meat will be perfectly cooked edge to edge without drying out. The long sous vide cook time ensures pasteurization.
Sous Vide Turkey Breast
Boneless, skinless turkey breasts are ideal for quick weeknight meals.
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Season turkey breast fillets well.
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Bag in a single layer to maximize surface browning.
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Cook at 145°F for 2-4 hours until pasteurized.
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Chill, pat dry and sear.
Turkey breast cooks faster than a whole bird so reduce cook times as needed.
Sous Vide Turkey Wings, Legs and Thighs
Sous vide shines for juicy turkey dark meat. Follow these guidelines:
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Season wings, legs or thighs generously.
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Bag in single layers if possible.
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Cook at 155-165°F for 6-12 hours for ultra-tender meat.
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Chill in ice bath, dry and quickly sear.
The collagen in the dark meat breaks down into succulent gelatin during the long sous vide cook.
Finishing Sous Vide Turkey
After chilling the cooked turkey, you need to add color and texture to the exterior:
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Searing – Roast in a hot oven or pan to crispen and brown the skin.
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Grilling – Quickly char the turkey over high heat. Take care to avoid burning.
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Frying – For crispiness, fry in oil for 2-3 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.
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Torching – Use a culinary torch to rapidly brown and crispen the skin.
Each method adds delicious caramelized flavors and makes the exterior more appealing.
Sous Vide Turkey Gravy
What’s turkey without gravy? Here’s how to make phenomenal gravy:
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Roast turkey wings and neck in the oven to make a flavorful stock. Simmer for 2-3 hours.
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Strain the stock and skim off most of the fat.
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Make a roux by cooking equal parts butter and flour. Whisk in the stock.
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Cook until thickened then season with salt, pepper and herbs.
The homemade stock ensures rich, flavorful gravy that’s the perfect partner to your juicy sous vide turkey.
Key Tips for Sous Vide Turkey Success
Here are some top tips for flawless sous vide turkey every time:
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Dry thoroughly before searing to help the skin crisp up. Blot turkey with paper towels.
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Minimize bags to enhance browning during searing. Avoid crowding.
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Pre-heat plates before serving to keep the turkey hot for carving.
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Make it ahead – sous vide turkey reheats beautifully so you can prep it 1-2 days early.
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Rest before carving as you would a traditionally roasted turkey, at least 15-30 mins.
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Use leave-in thermometers to monitor the core temperature. Remove when done.
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Shock in an ice bath immediately after cooking to stop the cooking process.
Get Perfectly Cooked Turkey Every Time
As you can see, sous vide is an ideal way to cook turkey with complete control and precision. The results are tender, succulent meat with unbelievable flavor and juiciness.
Want more turkey inspiration? Check out our recipes for sous vide turkey porchetta, turkey roulade and this herb-roasted sous vide turkey.
Happy cooking! Let us know how your sous vide turkey creations turn out.
How to Sous Vide Turkey Breast
To get started, break down the turkey by white and dark meat if you’re cooking a whole bird. And if you’re Team Crispy Skin, you’ll want to carefully remove the skin in one piece. To do so, slide your thumb under the skin and gently pull it up while pushing it away from the breastbone and to the neck – you can then peel the skin down the turkey breast to the wings.
Next, preheat the water. If you’re using an immersion circulator, you can set the specific temperature you need (more on that in a minute!) right on the display, or on a corresponding phone app if your machine is equipped with bluetooth. If you’re using the pot and digital thermometer method, experiment with the dial on your stove top until the digital thermometer in the pot of water hits the temperature you’re looking for.
The FDA recommends that poultry be cooked to an internal temperature of 165°F to destroy salmonella, which is a heat-resistant pathogen found in raw poultry meat and eggs. However this temperature can lead to a dryer turkey breast meat – even if you’re using the sous vide method instead of roasting. Many home chefs believe that extended cooking at lower temperatures is just as safe as shorter cook time at higher temperatures. (Want to learn more? The folks at Serious Eats have a seriously informative breakdown of how turkey pasteurization works.)
Below, you’ll find the temperatures and corresponding cook times that are popular with sous vide enthusiasts so you can choose one that’s best for you and your family.
- Water bath: 138°F
- Internal temperature: 136°F
- Cook time after reaching internal temperature: 1 hour
- Total cook time: about 3 hours
- Water bath: 145°F
- Internal temperature: 143°F
- Cook time after reaching internal temperature: 16 minutes
- Total cook time: about 2.5 hours
- Water bath: 152°F
- Internal temperature: 150°F
- Cook time after reaching internal temperature: 4 minutes
- Total cook time: about 2 hours
- Water bath: 167°F
- Internal temperature: 165°F
- Cook time after reaching internal temperature: 10 seconds
- Total cook time: about 1 hour and 45 minutes
While the water preheats, season the white meat turkey pieces with salt and pepper and place them in a large Stasher bag or bowl, leaving the top unzipped. If you don’t have a vacuum sealer machine, you can use the water displacement method for removing excess air from the bag before sealing it off. The method is simple: lower the opened Stasher bag or bowl slowly into the water bath, being careful to not let any water slip inside the bag. Once the water level is as close as possible to the very top of the bag zipper, close it tightly. The water pressure squeezes the air out of the bag, allowing you to get a nice vacuum seal without fancy tools.
Once your water bath has reached your desired temperature, it’s time to start cooking. Place the Stasher bag into the water bath, making sure that the water level is above the meat. If it’s not, you can use silicone covered cooking weights inside the bag to weigh down the turkey breast, or metal clothespins attached to the bag and side of the pot to keep everything submerged.
The temperature that you sent the water at will determine the cook time, so refer to the chart above to know how long to set a timer for. (The beauty of the sous vide method, though, is that leaving your turkey in the water bath a little longer won’t overcook it, unlike leaving it in the oven for longer than intended.
When the time is up, use tongs to carefully remove Stasher bag from the hot water bath and transfer that bag (still zipped up) to a bowl of cold water. This gets the turkey breast to a temperature where you can more comfortably handle it, but it also helps cool down meat so that you can then sear it or reheat it in the oven without raising the temperature further and overcooking it. There will be turkey drippings in the Stasher bag – be sure to save these, because you can add them to gravy for extra flavor. (And if you plan to reheat the turkey in the oven, a generous splash of turkey drippings helps the turkey breast from drying out in the process.)
As the turkey cools, spread the skin in a single layer on a baking sheet and broil on high for a few minutes until crispy. Be sure to stand right next to the oven and keep the oven light on because things can burn quickly with the broiler. So if you’re tempted to walk away from the kitchen for a minute, don’t do it!
If you aren’t eating right away, then you can reheat the sous vide turkey breast by popping it back into the water bath at 145°F for about 45 minutes, or in the oven at 325°F for about a half hour.
To serve, place the crispy skin on top of the sous vide turkey breast, or served to the side. Add fresh herbs, thyme, rosemary, sage, as garnish, alongside your favorite Thanksgiving dishes.
Why Should You Sous Vide Turkey?
Roasting a whole turkey in the oven can be fickle and frustrating. For one thing, many oven temperatures aren’t actually very accurate and the heat isn’t always evenly distributed, making it difficult to know exactly how your turkey will turn out. And turkey itself can be tricky: white meat (like turkey breast) cooks at a lower temperature than dark meat (like turkey legs or thighs). In practice, this usually results in unappetizing, dry breast meat that’s been overcooked at the expense of ensuring the dark meat is cooked enough. Or worse, undercooked dark meat (which can be a health hazard) for the sake of a moist turkey breast. The solution to this age-old dilemma? Separating white and dark meat and using different methods for each: dark meat in the oven because it’s more forgiving when it comes to roasting, and white meat in the sous vide water bath to ensure it stays juicy, tender, and cooked evenly.
While a proper sous vide machine or immersion circulator will make the whole process easier, it’s not necessary: you can cook turkey using a large pot of water on the stove and a digital thermometer to create a temperature-controlled water bath. No matter your equipment of choice, you’ll also need a sous vide bag. Look for vacuum seal bags that are big enough for what youre cooking, able to withstand hot water, and fully leak proof so that the water doesn’t seep into the bag and result in soggy, boiled meat. In other words? Skip the unsustainable single-use plastic bags and grab a large Stasher bag like the Stand-Up Mega Bag or a big Stasher bowl like the 8-Cup Bowl. The durable, food-grade platinum silicone is heatproof up to 425° Fahrenheit – well beyond the temperature of our water bath! And unlike other reusable bags and bowls, Stasher reusables are leak-free with a patented Pinch-Loc® seal that won’t let anything in — or out — of the bag. (Basically the sous vide method’s match made in heaven.)
You’ll also need a rimmed cookie sheet for roasting the turkey skin separately (if you prefer), and a roasting pan for dark meat, if you’re serving that too.
How to Sous Vide a Turkey with Chef Michael Voltaggio Part 1 | Williams-Sonoma
FAQ
How long would it take to sous vide a turkey?
| Sous Vide Turkey Temperatures and Times | ||
|---|---|---|
| Very pink, soft, extra moist | 132°F (56°C) | 4 hours |
| Pale pink, soft, moist | 138°F (59°C) | 3 hours |
| White, tender, moist | 145°F (63°C) | 2 1/2 hours |
| White; traditional roast texture | 152°F (67°C) | 2 hours |
Is it worth it to sous vide a turkey?
One of the best things about sous-vide cooking a turkey is that you can cook it to the exact temperature you want for just the right doneness—whether dark or light meat. Use the USDA safe poultry temperatures chart and dial in just the temp you want, then make sure it cooks at that temperature for the food-safe time.
What container is used for sous vide turkey?
Container – You can use a large stainless steel pasta pot or this plastic sous vide container. Bags – I like to use 2-gallon ziplock bags for the turkey parts.
Is turkey safe at 140 degrees?
A food thermometer should be used to ensure a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F has been reached to destroy bacteria and prevent foodborne illness.Oct 22, 2019
Can You sous vide a whole turkey?
This sous vide turkey is moist, tender, juicy, and sure to be a party pleaser. Our aim was to have a semi-traditional whole turkey that we could carve at the table. Of course, you can get better results if you were to separate the turkey (white and dark meat) and cook it at the desired temperature for each. But that’s not what we’re going for here.
How do you cook a Turkey in a sous vide cooker?
Set Anova Sous Vide Precision ® Cooker to 150°F / 65.5°C. Place sous vide turkey in water bath for 6 hours. Remove bag of turkey and place in an ice bath for 30-60 minutes. From here, you can store in fridge for up to 5 days prior to finishing and serving. If serving immediately, proceed to next step.
What is the difference between a roasted turkey and a sous vide Turkey?
Sous vide turkey is much more forgiving, reliable, and moist. But roasted turkey has superior crispy skin. Sous vide delivers tender, juicy turkey by cooking at precise low temperatures for extended times. Proper preparation like spatchcocking, dry brining, and aroma liquids are key to maximizing moisture and flavor.
How to cook a 2 lb turkey breast sous vide?
Choose your doneness texture and then preheat your water bath to the specified temperature. Cook Time: 3 to 4 hours in the water bath for a 2 to 4 lb turkey breast. Now that you’ve got your equipment and ingredients ready, let’s go through the simple steps to cook turkey breast sous vide. Step 1: Set Up Your Sous Vide Cooker
What temperature should a sous vide Cook a Turkey?
Sous vide machines can maintain temperatures within ±0.1°F, which ensures consistent results. The keys to sous vide cooking are precision temperature and longer cook times. For turkey, low temperatures around 145-150°F are used to gently cook the meat without drying it out.
Does sous vide make a tender Turkey tender?
Using sous vide always results in uniformly tender turkey that is very moist.. Below are more sous vide time and temperatures for many of the specific items.