Poaching the Christmas Turkey in the Brewzilla

[DocAnna]

Yes that's the plan.

Over the past few years I've come to the conclusion that the best way to roast a chicken is to poach it first in herbed stock/water then roast hot and quick. The problem is maintaining a poaching temperature for long enough. With a chicken it's a bit of a compromise, bring the water to the boil, add the chicken then turn the heat off and cover. 20 minutes for the sunday roast will do if I bring it to a simmer first then take off the heat, 40 min if not heating again.

Turkey is a different kettle of fish (to purposefully mix my metaphors), and will require longer to poach. Ah ha but I now have a nice brewzilla with a thermostatic heating element. So the plan is to heat the water to about 75 as a strke temperauture, add the family turkey, drop the water temperature (for the mash stage) to 70 deg for about 3 to 4 hours till the internal temperature matches then hot roast with the roast potatoes for about 45 minutes to brown up the skin (after slathering with lots of butter) , it won't require the same resting time since it's already been poached and will remain poached. This is how the French used to cook large birds so seems like a good idea. I am a wee bit nervous about cleaning the brewzilla after this but it seems a remarkably low stress way of ensuring moist cooked through turkey that isn't dried out and still has crispy skin.

For purely scientific purposes I will try to add photos here, for novelty it seems a brilliant way of using the brewzilla. I'd love to find a way to do the whole turkey sous vide but I don't think I could find a vacuum sealable bag that would take the whole bird.

Anna

 

[Obadiah Boondoggle]

As Alexei Sayle said "Turkey it's just a fat b**t**d chicken"

 

[Clint]

Giant vac bag....a place I used to work used what we called "synthene" to bag and vacuum seal rolls of composite materials that were then stored at -20c... easily big enough to bag a massive turkey.
Should have added that it's also used to vac bag and cure composites in an autoclave oven at high temperatures and pressures...I don't know how food friendly it is though..

 

[NPi]

I've heard Heston does something similar with chicken, that I believe is bloody tasty.

I think the difference is cooking low rather than high, before a quick blast on high to crisp.

https://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/heston-blumenthals-roast-chicken
Will follow with interest

 

[DocAnna]

Giant vac bag....a place I used to work used what we called "synthene" to bag and vacuum seal rolls of composite materials that were then stored at -20c... easily big enough to bag a massive turkey.
Should have added that it's also used to vac bag and cure composites in an autoclave oven at high temperatures and pressures...I don't know how food friendly it is though..

Really not sure about using something not food friendly here. This is my family and in-laws I’m feeding and at odds with popular culture, I rather like my mother in-law. I might try vacuum packing my next beef roast though and cooking it this way, I can happily see a place for the brewzilla in my kitchen... well other than it is a teeny bit big.

Anna

 

[RichardM]

Really not sure about using something not food friendly here. This is my family and in-laws I’m feeding and at odds with popular culture, I rather like my mother in-law. I might try vacuum packing my next beef roast though and cooking it this way, I can happily see a place for the brewzilla in my kitchen... well other than it is a teeny bit big.

Anna

I've sous vide steaks in my Braumeister then browned them in a frying pan. They were very good.

 

[Clint]

A quick Google finds food safe vac bags...used in the meat industry...synthene,cryobag being a couple so you should find something if you decide to have a go!

 

[RichardM]

It doesn't have to be a vacuum bag. A zip lock bag will do. Put the meat in the bag, squeeze the air out, close the zip almost all the way, gently lower it in to the water so the water pressure forces the remaining air out then fully close the zip just before you are in danger of getting water in to the bag.

 

[-Bezza-]

Turkey Roasting bags and a clip-it is surely the answer? Perhaps double-wrap for extra protection. Don't want fluids accidentally getting into that bird. etc, etc.

The whole point of sous-vide is to get the meat to the target temperature but not let it go over, thus keeping it moist. Great in theory and I figured that if you're only getting to something below 100C, you can't overcook it. Well that was wrong - I left the steaks too long and they lost all their texture and were just a bit mushy. But avoid that and I reckon you'd be on to a winner, winner, turkey dinner.

 

[Brew_DD2]

Really not sure about using something not food friendly here. This is my family and in-laws I’m feeding and at odds with popular culture, I rather like my mother in-law. I might try vacuum packing my next beef roast though and cooking it this way, I can happily see a place for the brewzilla in my kitchen... well other than it is a teeny bit big.

Anna

Relegate dishwasher/washing machine to another room.

 

[Clint]

Relegate dishwasher/washing machine to another room.

Yes! Nasty,noisy things that are the work of evil! All those buttons and settings...

 

[Drunkula]

A zip lock bag will do.

You can do this but you've really got to test the bags as some will leak right through the side seams. Especially Ikea ones, they're crap. So really test them first. And yes, I'm talking about just having the bag in the water and the top seal clear of the surface.

Turkey Roasting bags and a clip-it is surely the answer?

Yes. Roasting bags work great. I'd done sous vide and stewed grain to make crystal malt in roasting bags no problem.

Also Merry Christmas everyone while we're here.

 

[DocAnna]

Ah... it seems sous vide cooking a whole turkey has been done before Sous Vide Whole Turkey

At least cooking in a brewzilla could be quite original, it doesn't have quite the same exact temperature control but this could be the start of something interesting cooking with it. I am thinking of using a giant zip lock as @RichardM suggested which would mean I shouldn't have quite the same cleaning concern that I'd have with plain poaching.

Anna

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Do you need a bag to sous vide the turkey? We will brine ours in a plastic fermenting bucket but could I put the sous vide in?

 

[DocAnna]

Do you need a bag to sous vide the turkey? We will brine ours in a plastic fermenting bucket but could I put the sous vide in?

For Sous vide then yes, we'd need a bag but for poaching then no it's not required. The traditional way of poaching a large bird like a goose or turkey doesn't need a bag (fairly clearly since it's a traditional French method) and my usual Sunday chicken roast is just done in a large casserole - for noting I put the chicken in upside down (breast side down). Normally I use a couple of bay leaves, half a lemon in the cavity and a large sprig of rosemary - half in the cavity, half in the water - and about half a teaspoon of whole pepper corns. That though is a neat fit in a pot so it would be difficult to scale up for the turkey.

As for doing it in a fermenting bucket - that's a great idea if you have a sous vide cooker - which I don't unless you count the brewzilla. I was planning the vacuum just to be the immerse to push the air out and then seal approach.

Anna

 

[gibbo_sd]

This is my go to turkey sous vide recipe. Can be done in advance which is well handy.
Not got an all in one brew system have something similar to the Joule in video and do it in a large stock pot ...

 

[Deadhead]

I see no flaws in any of these plans (poaching or sous vide). Do tell us how it comes out! :-D

 

[CD]

We always cook our turkey overnight for 13 hours or so in the bottom (plate warming) oven of the Aga, followed by half an hour in the top (roasting) one just to brown the skin. Its swathed in bacon rashers for most of the time.

 

[An Ankoù]

I've followed this thread with horror and trepidation. While I applaud the sense of experimentation and discovery, I fear for subsequent brews. Poaching a turkey in a brewzilla or any other vessel is going to leave it tainted with turkey grease. A bagged turkey, or one wrapped sous vide requires only the merest leak to completely contaminate the vessel. My advice is don't do it unless you want your next few batches of beer to come out challenging my tripe and andouillette imperial shandy in all its horror.

 

[Leon103]

I've followed this thread with horror and trepidation. While I applaud the sense of experimentation and discovery, I fear for subsequent brews. Poaching a turkey in a brewzilla or any other vessel is going to leave it tainted with turkey grease. A bagged turkey, or one wrapped sous vide requires only the merest leak to completely contaminate the vessel. My advice is don't do it unless you want your next few batches of beer to come out challenging my tripe and andouillette imperial shandy in all its horror.

I was thinking the same thing.