turkey and turkey sandwiches
Groceries are expensive. Inflation over the last four years has been atrocious. I haven’t looked for a couple of years, but around that time I took a peek at the deli counter at our local grocery store. Turkey breast was $15-16/lb. That’s more expensive than steak in many cases! It was one of the many examples I experienced in the grocery store that made my mind wonder how lower income families even make it by in this economy, and in this case, afford packing lunches for kids. I realize that there are other options than turkey for sandwiches, but even looking at the bread aisle and peanut butter and jelly … it’s all very expensive.
In November, it’s pretty easy to find whole turkeys for $1/lb. We all buy our single turkey for our Thanksgiving dinner with family, but why have we never thought of taking advantage of this deal? $1/lb when the breast meat goes for $15/lb at the deli counter and chicken is 3-5x that year round. Even if you want organic meat, it’s still $3-4/lb … a bargain. So we started buying a couple of extra turkeys in November. We break them down into their respective pieces and vacuum seal them for future meals. I made braised turkey legs in a vinegar-based liquid and my husband still talks about how delicious that meal was a year later. And that brings me to lunch meat. I started using the breasts to make turkey lunch meat. It’s pretty easy to make and results in delicious turkey breast for sandwiches. When I was pregnant, I craved turkey sandwiches. I’m not sure if it was the nutrition in them that lead to the craving or the fact that you’re not supposed to have them. So there’s an added bonus – you can even eat this turkey sandwich when you’re pregnant. No worry of listeria here.
This recipe uses a sous vide cooker. You can probably find a recipe where you can roast the breast in the oven at a lower temp to retain the juiciness of the meat. Sous vide is great for that.
sous vide turkey breast for sandwiches
Ingredients
Sous Vide
- 1 boneless, skinless turkey breast
- Optional: olive oil, garlic salt, black pepper
Roasting
- 1 TBSP kosher salt
- 2 TSP paprika
- 1 TSP black pepper
- 1 TSP garlic powder
- 1 TSP dried thyme or oregano
- 2 TBSP olive oil
Instructions
If you're pulling the turkey breast out of the freezer, you can place it directly in a pot of water with your sous vide machine. Assuming the turkey breast was vaccum sealed in a BPA free bag. If it's fresh, or if it was frozen in something else, you can add the optional ingredients before vaccum sealing.
In a large stock pot full of warm water, attach your sous vide machine and set to 145F. Place the sealed turkey breast in the water bath and set the timer for 3 hours.
Once the turkey breast is finished in the sous vide vessel, remove from the bag and place in a casserole dish. Season with roasting ingredients, and roast at 350F until turkey reaches 165F. Slice with a very sharp knife and enjoy on sandwiches.
Notes
Inspired by: Anova Sous Vide