This Sous Vide Turkey Breast is cooked slow and low to guarantee the most perfectly tender, juicy, succulent results! Flavored with a lemon, garlic and herb spice mix, this sous vide turkey roulade is a great alternative to a whole turkey for Thanksgiving or Christmas!ADVANCED - This recipe requires the turkey breast deboned and formed into a roulade. This technique requires some advanced knife skills. However, you can ask your butcher to do this for you as well, which will make this recipe easier! Since this is a sous vide recipe, you will require a sous vide circulator and container that is large enough to comfortably submerge the large roast. Serves 6 generously, but will serve 8 people with more side dishes.
For the turkey roulade (the final turkey roulade will be 5 - 6 lbs)
1whole turkey breast (2 turkey breast pieces)bone in and skin on
Turkey gravy
2cupsunsalted chicken stockbetween 2 - 3 cups
3tbspbutter
3tbspflour
Generous pinch of black pepper
More saltif needed
Instructions
For the lemon and garlic herb mix
Place all the ingredients in a small food processor and process until you have a paste. Transfer this herb paste into a small bowl and cover and set aside until needed.
¼ cup parsley leaves, ⅓ cup cilantro leaves, 1 tbsp brown sugar, 10 garlic cloves, Rind from 2 lemons, Juice of 1 lemon, 1 tsp salt, ¼ cup oil, ½ tbsp chili flakes (crushed red pepper)
When the turkey breast has been butterflied and shallow cuts have been made and the skin prepped, rub all of the lemon herb mix over the turkey breast as shown in pictures in the post.
Roll up the turkey breast (as noted in the guide on how to make a turkey roll), and wrap it with the turkey skin.
Using kitchen twine, secure the turkey roulade and wrap it with plastic wrap. Place the turkey roulade in the fridge overnight, up to 1 day. (You can keep it at room temperature for up to 1 - 2 hours and then roast it, but storing it overnight in the fridge is better to secure the shape of the turkey roulade.)
The following day
Remove the turkey roulade from the fridge.
Fill your sous vide container (I use a 12 qt container) with water and attach your sous vide cooker. Set the temperature to 150°F and cover the sous vide container (with a lid or sous vide floating balls).
Remove the turkey roulade from the plastic wrap and pat dry with paper towels until there's no moisture on the surface.
Rub the surface of the turkey roulade with butter (or oil), and sprinkle the surface with kosher salt and black pepper (black pepper is optional).
Generous pinch of black pepper, More salt
Place the turkey roulade in a large vacuum bag. Vacuum seal the turkey roulade.
When the sous vide water reaches the correct temperature, lower the turkey roulade into the water and make sure it's completely submerged in the water. Cook the roulade for 5 hours.
Remove the turkey roulade from the sous vide container, and place it in an ice bath to cool down for about 10 minutes.
Open the vacuum bag and remove the turkey roulade, and pour the “drippings” (that might be congealed because of the ice bath) into a small bowl or jug. You can use this to make gravy or use it like au jus for the roulade.
Pat dry the surface of the turkey roulade with paper towels. You can caramelize the skin in 3 different ways (see below).
BROILER - Set the broiler setting to high (grill setting in the oven). Place the turkey roulade on the broiler plate, about 3 - 4 inches away from the broiler. Let the skin caramelize all over by turning the turkey roulade every few minutes. Keep a close eye on the roulade in the broiler, because caramelization happens fast!
PAN FRYING - Add some oil into a large non-stick skillet (add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan with ½ inch of oil). Heat over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot enough, carefully place the turkey roulade on the pan, and let the skin caramelize in the heat. Rotate the roulade every few minutes to allow the entire surface to caramelize. PLEASE BE CAREFUL as the oil may spit. So please take precautions to not burn yourself. Remove from the the pan and place it on a wire rack to drain excess oil.
DEEP FRYING - Add enough oil into a large pot (large enough to accommodate the whole turkey roulade), so that the oil comes at least half-way up the turkey roulade (about 3 - 4 inches). Heat the oil to about 380°F and carefully place the turkey roulade in the hot oil. Allow the turkey roulade skin to caramelize (about 2 - 3 minutes), and then flip it over to caramelize the other side. PLEASE BE CAREFUL as the oil may spit. So please take precautions to not burn yourself. Remove from the oil and place it on a wire rack to drain excess oil.
The sous vide turkey breast is now ready to be served. Slice it into ½ inch slices and arrange on a platter to serve immediately. Slice the roulade only when you’re ready to serve it to prevent drying out. Serve with gravy and other Thanksgiving side dishes.
Turkey gravy
Measure how much pan drippings you get from the turkey roulade in a measuring cup.
Add enough turkey stock / broth (or chicken stock / broth), to make 2 cups of liquid.
2 cups unsalted chicken stock
Place the butter in a pot and let it melt over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the flour, and whisk until there are no lumps in the flour. Keep stirring this roux until the color changes to brown, and it smells quite nutty.
3 tbsp butter, 3 tbsp flour
Whisk in the stock and pan drippings and black pepper, and whisk until there are no flour lumps. Bring the gravy to a boil and then lower the heat. Cook until you have a gravy with a desired consistency. If the gravy becomes too thick, you can add more stock to thin it out. Taste the gravy and season with extra salt if needed.
Generous pinch of black pepper, More salt
Pour the gravy into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Make sure the plastic wrap is touching the surface to prevent any gravy skin from forming on top.