Sous Vide - a great way to cook!

I had never heard of sous vide cooking until a longtime friend showed me the weird looking device that he was going to use for his Thanksgiving Turkey dinner for the family.

Basically, sous vide cooking takes a raw protein, seasoned and then placed in a sealed bag (all air removed) and cooked very slowly in a warm water bath. The result is probably the most tender and juicy meat, poultry or fish that you have ever tasted.

Our niece was visiting between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so we decided to combine the two holidays with a traditional turkey dinner.

I don't have the fancy French device, but I Do have one of those new, Instant Pots that have become so popular. One of the settings is sous vide.

I purchased a 10 pound Empire (Kosher) turkey breast. If you ever want a truly outrageous chicken or turkey, try the Empire brand. They are very expensive (this breast cost nearly $65), but for a real treat once in a while, it is totally worth it.

I also decided to brine the breast the day before with a brine of water, white wine, coarse salt, juniper berries, and poultry seasoning.

The breast was too large to fit in the Instant Pot in one piece, so I split it in two pieces. Following the instructions on the pot, I submerged the breast in water and started the sous vide.

When the turkey had the proper internal temperature (140 degrees F), I transferred the two halves to a roasting pan and stuck it under the broiler for a few minutes to brown the skin.

Between the sous vide process and using an Empire turkey breast, the dinner ended up being the best Thanksgiving/Christmas feast I've ever tasted. I served it with sage stuffing and broccoli sautéed with olive oil, salt and red pepper flakes.

If you have an Instant Pot that has the sous vide setting, be sure and give it a try. It's a little foreign for us traditional cooks, but so worth the effort.