Instant Pot Smart – Juicy Turkey

For thanksgiving, I was tasked with bringing the turkey to my aunt’s for dinner. I gave my frozen turkey the recommended time to defrost and to my horror, it was still completely frozen that morning! I ended up running to the store to pick up a ham. But with a defrosting turkey in my fridge that still needed to be eaten, I invited the same family members over to our house to partake two days later. Would you believe that it was still frozen on the inside on the fifth day of defrosting?!

I wanted a perfect turkey and I has also been wanting to try the sous vide method. Boy, am I ever glad I did. I carved the raw turkey into parts: sous vide the turkey breasts in my Instant Pot Smart and pressure cooked the rest of the parts in my Instant Pot DUO.

Instant Pot Smart Juicy Turkey – Sous Vide Method

Ingredients

2 turkey breasts
salt and pepper
3 sprigs fresh thyme
3 fresh sage leaves
2-3 strips lemon zest
2T butter

Instructions

1. Fill your Instant Pot liner to the 10 cup mark with water. Start the script. Use a thermometer to make sure the water reaches 145 degrees F before putting the turkey in.
2. Remove each turkey breast from the bones. Season both sides with salt and pepper. There’s a fat end and a skinny end to each breast. Place the cut sides together fat end to a skinny end so that you form a cylinder like roast that is evenly distributed throughout. At this point you can use kitchen twine to tie up your roast.
3. Put the roast in a Ziploc bag and add the herbs, lemon zest and butter.
4. Leave the bag opened and slowly lower the bottom of the bag into the water bath in your Instant Pot Smart until the roast is completely submerged, allowing the air to escape through the top. Squeeze the rest of the air out at the top and seal the bag.
5. Sous vide the roast for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
6. Remove the roast from the bag and place it on a sheet pan. Discard the herbs and lemon zest. Roast it under the broiler until the skin is browned, turn it over and roast the other side.
7. Remove from the oven, slice and serve with all your fixings.

Recipe Script

Download Script

Heat to 155 degrees F and hold temperature for 3 hours.

 

Instant Pot Turkey Legs and Wings

Ingredients

2 turkey legs
2 turkey wings
salt and pepper
1T olive oil
1T butter
3 sprigs fresh thyme
3 fresh sage leaves

Instructions

1. Separate the drumstick from the thighs of the turkey legs. Remove the tip and separate the wings at the joints as well.
2. Set the Instant Pot on Sauté and adjust to More. Once it says Hot, add the turkey parts and brown in 3 batches (wing parts, drumsticks, thighs) and remove onto a plate. Add more olive oil or butter as needed. Pour the fat into a medium saucepan for gravy.
3. Pour in 1 cup of water to deglaze, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pot.
4. Cancel the Sauté mode. Put in the trivet, return the drumsticks and thighs. Close and lock the lid, making sure the sealing knob is on sealing. Press Manual, adjust time to 10 minutes.
5. Once the cooking is done, release the pressure by quick pressure release (turning the steam knob to venting). Press Cancel.
6. Add the wings and close and lock the lid, making sure the sealing knob is on sealing. Press Manual, adjust time to 15 minutes.
7. Once the cooking is done, release the pressure by quick pressure release (turning the steam knob to venting). Remove the turkey parts from the Instant Pot and place them on a sheet pan.
8. Roast it under the broiler until browned or skin is crispy, turn it over and roast the other side. Remove from the oven, slice and serve with all your fixings.

 

Turkey Gravy

Ingredients

2T butter added to the turkey fat to make 1/4 cup fat
1 onion chopped
2T flour
1 cup chicken stock
drippings from turkey legs and wings
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Heat saucepan on medium/low, melt butter and turkey fat together. Sauté onion for about 10 minutes until just starting to brown.
2. Add flour and cook for 2 minutes stirring constantly.
3. Whisk in chicken stock and turkey drippings.
4. Salt and pepper as needed.

My mom, who dislikes turkey and who usually takes a small piece of dark meat just to be polite, had THREE servings of breast meat! It was that juicy and that good. The dark meat was also tender, flavourful and delicious. I will never roast a turkey in the oven again!

Another great thing about doing the turkey in the Instant Pots was freeing up my oven to make other sides and desserts.

Hope you’ll give it a try and if you do, please let me know how it goes in the comments below.