Smoked and Sous Vide Turkey Breast
This impossibly juicy, smoked and sous vide turkey breast is nearly foolproof and perfect for holidays or any time you crave a show-stopping turkey sandwich. The result? The juiciest, most flavorful smoked turkey breast you’ll ever taste. Give it a try, and you might never cook turkey any other way!
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
- 3-4 lb turkey breast skin removed
- 1 stick butter cut into 8 equal slices
- 2 tablespoons black pepper
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon seasoned salt
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Make the Texas-style rub: Combine the black pepper, kosher salt, seasoned salt, and garlic powder in a small bowl, and mix together well.
- Prepare the turkey breast for the smoker: Season the breast liberally on all sides with the rub, pressing gently to adhere. If needed, you can rub turkey juices from the package on the breast to lightly moisten the surface of the meat – this helps the seasoning stick.
- Preheat the pellet smoker: Set your grill or smoker to about 180 to 200°F (82 to 93°C). If your pellet grill has a Super Smoke mode, you can use that as well. *We used our favorite Smokin’ Pecan pellets and set our pellet grill to 190°F.
- Smoke the turkey breast: Put the turkey breast on the top rack of the grill, and smoke until it hits an internal temperature of 130°F (54°C) on a digital thermometer. Then remove the smoked turkey breast from the grill and allow it to rest until the internal temperature stops climbing. *Total smoking time for me was 3 hours and 15 minutes.
- Vacuum seal the turkey breast: Once the turkey breast is at a constant temperature, place the breast in a vacuum sealed bag. Lay 4 slices of butter on top and 4 slices on the bottom of the breast. Insert a wireless probe-style thermometer into the thickest part of the meat, and then vacuum seal the bag tightly.*NOTE – The thermometer probe will be sealed in the bag to monitor the internal temp. You don’t want to puncture the bag to add the thermometer after sealing, because then your turkey will be exposed to the water.
- Put the vacuum sealed bag in the hot water: Place the vacuum sealed bag in the 160°F water and cook for approximately 2½ - 3 hours, or until the internal temperature of the breast reaches 160°F.
- Remove the vacuum sealed bags from the water: Remove the turkey breast from the water once the sous vide process is complete, and allow the turkey to rest, still sealed in the bag, for about 15-20 minutes.
- Slice and serve: Open the bag, reserving all of the buttery juices for drizzling on top of the sliced turkey. Slice the breast and serve!
Video
Notes
- For the turkey breast - I used a bone-in split turkey breast that weighed 3 pounds. This recipe will work for a larger breast, but you will need to adjust the cooking times accordingly.
- Internal temperature for poultry - The safe internal temp for turkey breast is 165°F, per the USDA's guidelines. However, if your turkey breast stays at 160°F internal for at least one minute, you're safe. Always cook to a specific temp, not to a certain time.