Sous Vide Turkey Veloute

Tired of dry and flavorless turkey?  Brining and then cooking turkey sous vide results in a juicy and flavorful piece of meat with no resemblance to the boring Butterball of past.  Pairing this with a velouté based on chicken stock gives the dish a warm and hearty feel, but don’t forget the brioche to soak up all those great flavors.  Try something new this Thanksgiving and check out some other festive recipes used in a recent Modernist Thanksgiving themed dinner party.

Ingredients: Serves Six

Sous Vide Turkey Breast

• 600g Turkey breast
• 75g Apple cider
• 75g Whole Milk
• 10g Sugar
• 10g Salt

Chicken Velouté

• 10g canola oil
• 1 chicken thigh
• 100g diced onion
• 50g diced celery
• 50g diced leeks
• 1,000g chicken stock
• 3 sprigs of thyme
• 3 parsley stems with leaves
• 1 small bay leaf
• 50g butter at room temperature
• 50g flour
• 30g sherry
• 8g salt
• 10g lemon juice
• 30g crème fraiche

Pressure Cooked Vegetables

• 12 Baby Carrots
• 6 Radishes, trimmed
• 6 Cipollini  Onions, peeled
• 15g butter
• 2g Salt

Preparation

• Combine the apple cider, milk, sugar, and salt in a container and stir to dissolve the dry ingredients to create a brine.
• Place the brine and the turkey in a vacuum bag and seal with a chamber vacuum sealer.  Alternatively you can use a Ziploc bag and remove as much air as possible.

• Place the turkey in the refrigerator for 12 hours.
• Approximately 3 hours prior to service, heat a water bath to 135°F.
• Remove the turkey from the brine, dry, and seal in a new vacuum bag.  Cook the turkey sous vide for 2 ½ hours.

Chicken Velouté

• In a stock pot, heat the canola oil over medium high heat and add the chicken leg, skin side down.  Sear for 10 minutes or until a nice golden brown crust has formed.

• Add the onion, celery, and leeks and cook for about 5 minutes or until the vegetables begin to soften.
• Add the chicken stock, thyme, parsley, and bay leaf and bring to a simmer.  Simmer until the mixture has reduced by half (about 1 1/2 hours).

• When the stock is almost finished reducing, cream together the flour and butter in a small bowl.  The resulting mixture should resemble a cookie dough.
• Once the stock is finished reducing, whisk in the butter and flour mixture ensuring it is entirely incorporated and no clumps remain.
• Bring the mixture once again to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes on medium low heat stirring frequently.  This will cook out any of the raw flour taste.
• The soup should thicken dramatically and coat the back of a spoon once finished.
• Strain the mixture through a fine sieve and season with the sherry, salt, and lemon juice.  Whisk in the crème fraîche and keep the soup warm until ready to serve.

Pressure Cooked Vegetables

• Melt the butter in a pressure cooker.
• Add the vegetables and salt and stir to coat thoroughly.
• Fasten the lid and bring the pressure cooker to 1bar, then turn the temperature down to low.
• Pressure cook the vegetables for three minutes, then run cool water over the pressure cooker to depressurize.
• Serve immediately or chill and then reheat in a microwave for 2 minutes.

To Finish

• Cut the turkey into small pieces and arrange in a deep bowl.
• Place 2 of the carrots, 1 radish, and 1 onion in each bowl.
• Finish by drizzling the chicken velouté into each dish.
• Serve & Enjoy