Are you looking for a show-stopping dish to impress your guests this Thanksgiving or Christmas? Look no further than this sous vide turkey roulade. This recipe combines the succulent texture of sous vide cooking with the elegant presentation of a roulade, making it a perfect centerpiece for your holiday feast.
What is a sous vide turkey roulade?
A turkey roulade is a boneless, skin-on turkey breast that is rolled up and tied creating a beautiful cylindrical shape. This method ensures even cooking and allows for precise temperature control resulting in a perfectly juicy and tender turkey.
Why sous vide?
Sous vide cooking involves immersing food in a precisely temperature-controlled water bath. This method guarantees even cooking throughout the meat, eliminating the risk of overcooking and drying out the turkey.
What you’ll need:
- Whole turkey breast (bone-in and skin-on)
- Parsley
- Cilantro
- Sugar
- Lemon rind and juice
- Chili flakes (optional)
- Oil or butter
- Salt
- Sous vide machine
- Vacuum sealer (optional)
- Large pot or container for the water bath
Step-by-Step Guide
Preparing the turkey roulade:
- Debone the turkey breast: This can be a bit challenging, but detailed instructions with pictures can be found here: [link to turkey roulade guide].
- Season the turkey: Rub the lemon-garlic herb mix all over the turkey breast.
- Roll and tie the turkey: Follow the instructions in the guide to roll up the turkey tightly and secure it with kitchen twine.
- Wrap and refrigerate: Wrap the roulade in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight for optimal results.
Sous vide cooking:
- Set up the sous vide bath: Fill a large pot or container with water and set your sous vide machine to 150°F.
- Seal the roulade (optional): If you have a vacuum sealer, use it to seal the roulade in a bag. This will help to prevent the turkey from drying out and ensure even cooking. If you don’t have a vacuum sealer, you can use the water displacement method.
- Cook the roulade: Submerge the sealed roulade in the water bath and cook for 5 hours.
- Remove and cool: After cooking, remove the roulade from the water bath and cool it down in an ice bath for about 10 minutes.
Caramelizing the skin:
- Choose your method: You can caramelize the skin using a broiler, pan-frying, or deep-frying. Each method has its pros and cons, so choose the one that best suits your needs and preferences.
- Broiler: Preheat the broiler to high and place the roulade on a broiler pan, about 3-4 inches away from the heat source. Broil the skin until it is golden brown and crispy, turning the roulade every few minutes.
- Pan-frying: Heat a large skillet with oil over medium-high heat. Carefully place the roulade skin-side down in the pan and cook until the skin is crispy. Rotate the roulade every few minutes to ensure even browning.
- Deep-frying: Heat oil in a deep fryer or large pot to 380°F. Carefully lower the roulade into the hot oil and fry until the skin is golden brown and crispy, turning it once halfway through.
Serving and enjoying:
- Slice and serve: Slice the roulade into thick slices and arrange them on a platter.
- Make gravy: Use the pan drippings from the roulade to make a delicious gravy.
- Pair with sides: Serve the roulade with your favorite Thanksgiving or Christmas side dishes, such as mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce.
Tips and Tricks
- Make sure the roulade is evenly rolled and tied. This will ensure even cooking throughout the meat.
- Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the roulade. It should reach 165°F before serving.
- Don’t overcook the roulade. Sous vide cooking guarantees a tender and juicy result, so there’s no need to cook it for longer than necessary.
- Get creative with your seasoning. You can use any herbs and spices you like to flavor the roulade.
- Make it ahead of time. The roulade can be prepared and cooked a day in advance, making it a great option for busy holidays.
This sous vide turkey roulade is a surefire way to impress your guests this holiday season. With its juicy, tender texture and elegant presentation, it’s a dish that will leave everyone wanting more. So gather your ingredients, roll up your sleeves, and get ready to create a Thanksgiving or Christmas masterpiece!
Serving Turkey Porchetta
It should be seasoned with salt right away, just like anything else that comes out of a deep fryer, to help the salt adhere to the surface that is still wet with fat and stay there. Additionally, because it was cooked sous vide, the temperature gradient created by the deep-frying process will be very small, allowing for almost instant slicing and serving after taking it out of the fryer, thus maximizing the amount of crispy crust you get.
If your family didn’t have anything to be grateful for before, they certainly do now when this crackling, golden-brown, perfectly symmetrical roast appears from the kitchen to grace the Thanksgiving table.
There’s no need to fight over who gets to keep the dried-out ends of the skinny part of the breast or who gets to take the most skin because it’s completely boneless, making carving a breeze. Who gets to eat the extra-crispy end bits is the only thing worth fighting over here, and in my family, that’s not even really a fight at all. Every year, my wife and my younger sister are able to steal the crispy bits from the chopping board right in front of everyone else.
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Pretty, huh? You’ll make at least one more of these for dinner than is strictly necessary if you have great foresight or are good at following instructions. These make fantastic sandwiches for the following day.
Finishing Turkey Porchetta
Doesnt that look appetizing? No? Well, yes, I suppose youre right. Although a sous vide turkey straight from the bag can be excellent for sandwiches, it needs additional color and texture contrast to be a hot table centerpiece. You could either sear it in a cast iron skillet or cook it in a hot oven, but the latter will always result in some overcooked meat. A cast iron sear is also not always evenly done.
Better yet, take out the deep fryer and do what any gentleman would do in similar circumstances.
Well, so it’s really a wok, but its wide shape and large volume make it ideal for deep-frying in a home kitchen because they lessen the chance of spills and splatters.
And believe me, there will be splatters. Not as many as you would get when deep-frying a real porchetta, but enough that you’ll want to cover the bird, wait for it to stop spitting for a few minutes before opening it again, and gently place it into the hot oil (350°F/177°C works best).
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