Description
Sous vide turkey breast with a simple dry brine offers the moistest, most tender, and incredibly flavourful turkey taste along with crispy skin!
Ingredients
- 1 turkey breast, boneless, skin-on (about 3–4 pounds)
- fresh thyme
- fresh sage leaves
For the dry brine:
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
For the honey garlic glaze:
- 4 heads of garlic, peeled
- Olive oil
- 1/6 cup honey
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients for the dry brine. Rub it on all sides of the turkey breasts. Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours.
- Once ready to cook, preheat water to 145°F (63°C) and set the timer for 2.5 hours. (I use KitchenBoss G320 Sous Vide Cooker.)
- In the meantime, pat the brined turkey dry with paper towels, roll it up and tie with butcher’s twine. For two separate breasts, pack them together top to tail with the fat end of one breast going against the skinny end of the other one. Then tie them up with butcher’s twine to secure the cylinder shape, like a roulade.
- Place the prepared turkey breast in a vacuum seal bag and vacuum seal or in a Ziploc bag and use the water displacement method to submerge the turkey under the water. Cook for 2.5 hours.
- One hour before the turkey is done, make the honey garlic glaze. Toss garlic heads with a little olive oil and roast at 375°F in an oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Let cool and squeeze out the cloves into a food processor to purée. Add honey, salt, and pepper to taste. Set aside.
- Once the turkey is done, transfer it into an ice-water bath to chill, about 5 minutes. Switch the oven setting to broiler. Remove the turkey breast from its cooking bag, reserve the cooking juice. Pat the breast dry and brush the honey garlic glaze liberally on all sides. Broil for 5 minutes or until the glaze is golden. Sprinkle with fresh thyme, chopped sage leaves, and serve thinly sliced, hot, or cold.
To make the glaze and finish the turkey on the stove:
Follow steps 1 to 4 above.Â
Step 5: Peel garlic. Over medium-low heat, simmer the garlic in one cup of olive oil for 15-20 minutes until the garlic cloves are wrinkly and easy to poke through with a fork. Set aside and let it cool. Transfer the garlic cloves into a food processor to purée. Add honey, salt, and pepper. Reserve the garlic-infused oil for other use.
Step 6: Remove turkey from its cooking bag. Pat it dry. Heat a cast-iron skillet over high heat until really hot. Add a knob of unsalted butter, sear the skin side for 60-90 seconds until the turkey skin is golden brown and crispy. Remove from heat. Slice, drizzle with the honey garlic glaze and sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves. (If your turkey is refrigerated, warm it up in a 130°F water bath for about an hour before searing.)
Notes
- Reserve the turkey cooking juice and add it to the leftover honey garlic glaze. Combine well and pass around the table to enjoy it as a gravy.
- The nutrition facts do not include the honey garlic glaze.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 244
- Sugar: 5.9g
- Sodium: 417.5mg
- Fat: 6.1g
- Saturated Fat: 0.9g
- Carbohydrates: 6.8g
- Fiber: 0.3g
- Protein: 41.6g
- Cholesterol: 93.9mg