Sous Vide: Bone-in Chicken, Indexed
The benefits of pasteurization, preservation, and moisture retention combine to remove the inconvenience and risk of this popular poultry .
Ingredients
Chicken, bone-in, 1 each: 2 breasts, 2 thighs, 2 legs, 2 wings, OR
any number of mixed/matched pieces–all legs, all thighs, all breasts, etc.
Equipment requirements
Immersion circulator, portable or stationary.
Heat rated container, minimum of 2 gallons/8 liters.
Heat rated sous vide bags.
Infrared or probe thermometer.
Serves: 2-4+
Level of difficulty–2
Procedure:
Preheat the sous vide bath to
135 F/57 C.
Vacuum seal the breasts, thighs and legs in separate bags. Put both wings in one bag. Keeping all the pieces separate makes it easier and safer to cold shock when completed. Small bags are easier to organize in the refrigerator and give you the flexible option of only unsealing however much chicken is required in real time situations. Remember–if the seal on the bag is not broken, the shelf life of the contents is greatly extended.. Process for a minimum of
4 hours.
This process will pasteurize and preserve the chicken. Let sous vide work for you! The chicken may be held in the bath at that temperature for up to 8 hours without any detectable difference in quality or wholesomeness.
After the time has elapsed remove the bags of chicken from the bath and submerge in iced/tap water until they achieve 70 F/21 C–about half an hour. Refrigerate to 40 F/4 C–this is necessary to assure food safety. As long as the bags are not opened, the chicken can be kept in this state for at least a week.
Chicken Cacciatore
Coq au Vin
Chicken al Mattone
Brick Chicken
Smokey Roast Chicken
Indoor/Outdoor Chicken
Fried Chicken
Sous-B-Q Chicken
About
Chicken is typically reasonably priced but it is also very perishable. Improper and/or incomplete preparation can result in potential exposure to Salmonella.
The process described below will yield individually sealed, pasteurized chicken that can be refrigerated up to at least a week. The specific method described in this article can be the foundation of almost any recipe utilizing bone-in chicken. It can then be utilized for large parties or just one person at a time as per your preference and according to the demands of the particular situation. Adults and children with preferences for dark or light meat or even specific pieces can be accommodated without creating any waste.
