I looked everywhere online to find a way to sous vide a whole turkey. Nothing! The recipes either recommended taking the turkey apart (just not compatible with a traditional Thanksgiving), or getting a very small 10-pound turkey. So this is the way I did it, and it turned out awesome.
Ingredients
- quarts organic chicken stock: 3 piece
- kosher salt: 0.75 cup
- rosemary: 1 Tbsp (dried)
- thyme: 1 Tbsp (dried)
- savory: 1 Tbsp (dried)
- sage: 1 Tbsp (dried)
- turkey, neck and giblets removed: 1 piece (15 pound)
- large (25-pound capacity) brining bag:
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
-
Combine chicken stock, salt, rosemary, thyme, savory, and sage in a bowl.
-
Place turkey in the brining bag and fill with brine, making sure to fill the cavity. Transfer the bag to a 5-gallon pot filled with water. Slowly push the brining bag under the water while you seal it, squeezing air out as you go; remove as much air as possible so bag does not float.
-
Attach a sous vide cooker to the edge of the pot. Wrap it in a dish towel for insulation. Cover the pot with plastic wrap to reduce evaporation. Set temperature to 150 degrees F (65 degrees C); cook for 18 to 24 hours.
-
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
-
Remove turkey from the brining bag and transfer to a large roasting pan. Discard brine.
-
Bake in the preheated oven until nicely browned, about 30 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone, should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Remove from the oven, cover with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil, and allow to rest in a warm area for 10 minutes before slicing.
