Grant Crilly is the Executive Director and cofounder of ChefSteps. Grant is a classically trained chef and, prior to ChefSteps, he worked on the award-winning cookbook series Modernist Cuisine and cooked at various restaurants, including L’Astrance in Paris, Busaba in Mumbai, and Mistral Kitchen in Seattle.

Grant Crilly

Joule® Turbo Sous Vide

Digital scale

1/4 Sheet pan(s)

12-inch Carbon steel skillet

Tongs

2-gallon Ziplock-style freezer bag(s)

Plastic wrap

Dutch oven

Fine-mesh strainer

Turkey

Kosher salt

Sugar

Neutral oil

Sage

Okay, so we cook the dark meat and white meat differently? How does this work if I have only one sous vide tool?
Here’s how we do this: The morning before Thanksgiving—Thanksgiving eve, if you will—you presear your turkey pieces, bag them up with oil, the herbs of your choice, and a simple salt-sugar mix, then cook the legs alone for 8 to 12 hours. That evening, lower the temp and add preseared and seasoned breasts. Go to sleep while the bird cooks for another 16 to 24 hours. You have plenty of time to prepare side dishes and desserts along the way. Before serving, remove your turkey from the bags and sear the breasts and legs to crisp up that skin. Carve, arrange your masterpiece on a platter festooned with fresh herbs, and prepare for the Thanksgiving gods to smile upon you.

Does it really take 24 hours to cook turkey legs? And 16 to cook the breasts? 
No, you can have turkey on the table faster than that. You can have the legs cooked in 7 hours if you raise the temp to [f 167]. Turkey breasts cooked at [f 131] will be ready to eat in 8 hours. If you are short on time, just cook them for the shorter time and they will still be super delicious. For the best results, however, we recommend using the extended cook time.

I want to make this a couple days before Thanksgiving, then reheat and serve it. A little help? 
You can cook the turkey up to 4 days ahead of time, chill it down, and then reheat and finish the bird right before dinner time. Once the pieces are cooked, transfer them to an ice bath and chill for 1 hour. They can then be kept for up to 4 days in the fridge (or up to a year in the freezer, should you want to get a jump on next Thanksgiving). On the day of, reheat for 90 minutes and up to 2 hours at [f 126] to get the bird back up to temp, then proceed to Step 10 to finish, and serve.

Wait, that piece you are calling a leg—that doesn’t look like the turkey drumstick I ate at the Ren Faire last summer. 
Here, we are dividing the turkey into breasts and legs, and by legs, we mean leg quarters, with the drumstick and thigh attached. If you want to ask your butcher to break down your bird, explain that you’d like the drumstick and thigh to be kept together.

I want to cook just the legs. What now? 
Use <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/crispy-tender-confit-turkey-legs">this recipe.</a> (NOTE: Got a <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/joule">Joule Turbo</a>? Check out our turkey leg guide in the app and use Visual Doneness to choose exactly how you want your bird to come out.)

I just want to cook the breasts. What now? 
Use <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/the-most-tender-turkey-breast-ever">this one</a>. (NOTE: Got a <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/joule">Joule Turbo</a>? Check out our turkey breast guide in the app and use Visual Doneness to choose exactly how you want your bird to come out.)

I am cooking my turkey and the juices aren’t totally clear. Problem? 
Don’t panic. The color depends on the amount of time the meat has cooked and clarity can depend on the temperature—higher temp, clearer juice.

I’m used to following USDA guidelines and cooking my turkey breast to [f 165]. But the temperatures in this recipe are way lower than I’m used to. Am I going to die if I eat turkey that’s cooked at a lower temperature? 
Cooking poultry to [f 165] ensures the meat is pasteurized immediately; once the meat hits that temperature for even a second, all the bacteria contained within it are dead. This is why the USDA uses this temperature as a guideline, not just for poultry, but for beef and pork. 

However, pasteurization is a function of two variables: temperature and time. As our <a href="https://douglasbaldwin.com/sous-vide.html#Table_4.1">friend and colleague Douglas Baldwin notes</a>, poultry that’s cooked to lower temperatures (but still above [f 130]) than the USDA recommendation can be just as safe as poultry cooked to [f 165], provided it is held at that lower temperature for an extended period of time.

The amount of time depends on the thickness of the piece of poultry, but rest assured that for this recipe, the extended cook time is more than sufficient to pasteurize your turkey. 

I do like the idea of a better-tasting turkey, but I still want that traditional domed look of a complete turkey crown. 
<a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/crown-and-roulade-the-chefsteps-turkey">This technique</a> is, admittedly, ambitious, but it’s an excellent alternative for experienced cooks, and it will truly blow your guests away.

Before we begin

Print this out and stick it on your fridge so you don’t forget a gosh-darn thing.

THANKSGIVING EVE
Morning: 
Heat sous vide bath to [f 149]. 
Break down turkey into 4 pieces: 2 airline breasts, 2 leg quarters. 
Presear breasts and legs. 
Make dry brine, scaled to weight of breasts and legs. 
Season and bag legs and breasts separately. 
Start cooking legs. 
Refrigerate breasts. 
Make turkey stock (optional). 

Evening (8 to 12 hours later): 
Adjust sous vide temperature to [f 131]. 
Add breasts to sous vide bath with the legs.

THANKSGIVING DAY
20 minutes before the feast:
Remove turkey from bags and pat dry. 
Sear breasts and legs until skin is golden brown and crispy. 
Carve and serve.

Turkey Checklist

Heat sous vide water bath to [f 149].

Heat sous vide bath

Using a sharp knife, <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/turkey-butchery-how-to-separate-breasts-thighs">break down turkey into airline breasts (boneless breasts with drumettes attached) and leg quarters (keeping thighs and drumsticks attached)</a>. Reserve carcass and wings for stock in Step 8 (optional) and giblets for <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/instant-turkey-gravy">gravy</a>. 

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How to butcher a turkey and separate it into breasts and leg quarters.

How to Break Down a Turkey: Breasts and Leg Quarters

Break down turkey

Weigh turkey breasts; record weight. Weigh turkey legs; record weight. 

In a small bowl, scale salt to 1% of weight of turkey breasts; scale sugar to 0.5% of weight of breasts.

In a second small bowl, repeat dry-brine scaling process for turkey legs, scaling salt to 1% and sugar to 0.5% of weight of turkey legs. Set aside.

You can also save yourself the hassle of doing any arithmetic by using our poultry brining calculator.

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The Ultimate Guide to Brining Turkey

Scale dry-brine mixture

In a 12-inch carbon or stainless steel skillet, heat 30 g oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Holding one breast by the drumette end with the skin facing away from you, gently add, skin-side down, to pan. Using a towel, tongs, or a cooking weight, press down firmly on breast to maximize contact with pan. Cook until skin is golden brown, rotating occasionally to ensure even browning, about 90 seconds. Transfer breast, skin-side up, back to sheet pan.

Repeat with second turkey breast. 

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Presear steaks and roasts before sous vide.

A Guide to Presearing for the Best Sous Vide Steaks and Roasts

Presear breasts

Drain excess oil from pan and wipe clean. Add 30 g oil and heat over medium-high heat until shimmering. Holding one leg quarter by the end of the drumstick with the skin side facing away from you, gently add leg, skin-side down, to pan. Press down firmly on leg to maximize contact with pan. Cook until skin is golden brown, rotating leg occasionally to ensure even browning, about 90 seconds. Transfer leg quarter, skin-side up, back to sheet pan.

Repeat with second leg quarter.

Presear legs

Season turkey pieces with corresponding salt-sugar mixture from Step 3, then divide between two 2-gallon ziplock-style freezer bags or vacuum-seal bags, placing legs in one bag and breasts in the other. Arrange pieces in an even single layer in each bag, making sure they don’t overlap. (If using 1-gallon ziplock-style freezer bags, add one leg or breast per bag.)

Add 30 g oil to each bag. (If using 1-gallon ziplock-style freezer bags, use 15 g oil per bag.) Massage outside of bags until pieces are evenly coated on all sides. Divide sage (if using) evenly between bags, placing leaves on flesh side of turkey.

Seal bags using water displacement method or vacuum sealer. Refrigerate bag of breasts.

Bag and season turkey

When adding herbs to a sous vide bag with skin-on poultry, you want to avoid adding them to the skin side, which will cause indentations and discoloration, negatively affecting presentation and making it harder to get an even sear on the skin. By adding the herbs to the flesh side of the meat, you get all the flavor and none of the drawbacks.

Adding herbs to meat cooked sous vide

Lower bag of legs into sous vide bath until turkey is fully submerged, and clip to side of water bath container. Cover container.

Cook for at least 8 hours, and up to 12 hours.

NOTE: This is not the total cook time for turkey legs; keep them in the sous vide bath. Once legs have cooked for at least 8 hours, you can proceed to Step 9 to lower the temperature of the sous vide bath and add breasts. If you’re just cooking turkey legs, cook for the full 24 hours at [f 149]; legs can be held in sous vide bath at [f 131] for an additional 12 hours (36 hours total) without any loss in quality.

Cook legs sous vide

For long cooking times, it’s important to cover your sous vide bath container to reduce evaporation. You can use a lid, a cut-up yoga mat, or some high-quality plastic wrap to cover the container.

Cover for long cooking times

While legs are cooking, you can make turkey stock.

In a stock pot or Dutch oven, combine reserved turkey carcass, neck, and wings with onion and peppercorns, and add enough water to cover by at least 2 inches. (If you have trouble fitting the carcass in the pot, fold the spine over itself to snap it into 2 pieces.)

Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cook, skimming stock occasionally, until stock is flavorful and slightly reduced, about 4 hours. 

Remove from heat, add sage and thyme, and let steep 15 minutes. Set a fine-mesh strainer in a large bowl or container. Skim away fat and coagulated protein on the surface. Stain stock through prepared strainer and let cool to room temperature. You can speed up cooling by placing container in an ice bath and agitating stock occasionally.

Once cooled, transfer stock to airtight containers and refrigerate or freeze until ready to use. Stock can be refrigerated in airtight containers for up to 1 week and frozen for up to 6 months.

Yellow onion(s)

Black peppercorns

Thyme

Make stock (optional)

Reduce sous vide temperature to [f 131]. Leave the bag of legs in the bath.

Lower bag of breasts into bath until turkey is fully submerged, and clip to side of water bath container. (You do not need to wait for temperature to cool to [f 131] before adding breasts. The temperature will drop significantly as soon as you add the breasts.) Re-cover container.

Cook for 16 hours, and up to 24 hours.

Once cooked, breasts can be held in sous vide bath for 4 hours longer (up to 28 hours total) without any loss in quality.

Lower sous vide bath temperature and add breasts

This recipe is designed to be very flexible and forgiving, but we don’t recommend keeping legs in the sous vide bath for longer than 36 hours. So, if you used the upper limits for all time ranges provided (12 hours for legs at [f 149] before lowering temperature to [f 131] and adding breasts, then an additional 24 hours cooking with the breasts), and still are not ready to finish and serve, then remove the legs at 36 hours. Rapidly chill them in an ice bath, then when you’re getting closer to dinner time, add them back to the [f 131] sous vide bath for 90 minutes to reheat before searing and serving.

Even sous vide has limits. When to pull the legs.

Remove turkey from bags and transfer to a paper towel–lined plate or tray. Gently pat dry.

In a 12-inch carbon or stainless-steel skillet, heat 30 g oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add breasts, skin-side down, to skillet. Press down firmly to maximize contact with pan. Cook until skin is golden brown, rotating breasts occasionally to ensure even browning, about 90 seconds. Transfer back, skin-side up, to plate or tray.

Drain excess oil from pan and wipe clean. Add remaining 30 g oil and heat over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add legs, skin-side down, to skillet. Press down to maximize contact with pan. Cook until skin is golden brown, rotating legs occasionally to ensure even browning, about 90 seconds. Transfer back to plate or tray, skin-side up.

Sear breasts and legs

Transfer turkey to a cutting board. Slice breasts to desired thickness and transfer to platter. (We prefer carving thicker pieces, because the turkey is plenty tender and juicy, but it’s up to you.) Carve legs by locating the knee joint connecting the thigh and drumstick, and cut in between to separate them. Cut around thigh bone for smaller serving portions, if desired. Serve.

Carve and serve

Turkey legs and breasts can be cooked in advance, rapidly chilled in an ice bath for 30 minutes, and refrigerated in their bag(s) for up to 4 days. To reheat, heat a sous vide bath to [f 126] and cook turkey for at least 90 minutes and up to 2 hours before searing and serving.

Make-ahead and storage

Holidays are all about tradition, even though observing traditions often trumps tastiness. And there’s no better example than the Thanksgiving turkey, which is often dry, overcooked, and bland. This year, we’re asking you to consider stepping away from tradition and making the best dang turkey you’ve ever had. The key to success? Using sous vide. A precision temperature-controlled water bath will deliver excellent results, every time. Not only will the white meat be plump and juicy and the dark meat silky and rich, the skin will be a deeply burnished brown, and it’ll be crisp. The secret is to treat both the breast and legs as if they’re tougher cuts of meat—because they are! A long, low-temperature cook will transform them into centerpiece worthy of the name. The best part? No guessing when they’re “done,” and you can hold them for hours and hours in the water bath and serve them whenever you’re ready. EDITORS’ NOTE: We’ve updated this recipe to be more user friendly and more convenient to prepare. The leg quarters are cooked for a shorter amount of time on their own (8 to 12 hours, rather than the original 12), before lowering the sous vide temp, adding the breasts, and cooking them together for a longer amount of time (16 to 24 hours longer, compared with the original 8 to 14 hours). This gives you a much bigger window for finishing and serving your Thanksgiving feast anytime in the afternoon/evening.

Sous Vide Holiday Turkey