Sous-vide Chicken

On thighs (drumsticks and wings too)...

• The best chicken is bone-in and skin-on thighs. This is because
  1. this form is less expensive at purchase time,
  2. thighs are always juicy,
  3. the bone imparts more flavor and
  4. once cooked, it's very easy to remove the bone (and the skin if you don't like that).

  Once cooked sous-vide, the job is to crisp up the skin. Chill the thigh in an ice bath or refrigerate it before the sear. This will give the thigh a little more time to get extra crispy skin and avoid over-cooking the chicken meat.

• For thighs, drumsticks and wings, sous-vide thus:

  Texture desired	Temperature	Time
  firm, slightly tough	150°	1-4 hours
  tender	165°	1-4 hours
  fall-off-the-bone	165°	4-8 hours

• Here's a good way:
  1. Pre-heat immersion cooker to final temperature before adding chicken.
  2. Season generously with salt and pepper.
  3. Add additional aromatics such as thyme, tarragon, rosemary, garlic, etc.
  4. (Cooked chicken can be stored in refrigerator up to 3 days before finishing.)
  5. Discard aromatics and blot chicken.
  6. Sear the presentable side in a non-stick or cast-iron skillet oiled heated to shimmering, 4-5 minutes.
  7. Turn and cook another minute.
  8. Consider a traditional pan sauce to finish.

• Unless boneless, the thigh meat might come out slightly pink. This is because sous-vide will not (violently) cook it. As long as it's reached 150° to 165°, it's achieved the "safe zone" and is safe to eat. Get over it.

• Though your mileage may vary, sous-vide chicken wings to reduce the amount of time in the oven or fryer and make the shoulder part juicier. Take care to ice them down (and blot them dry) before searing and saucing the skin.

Breast meat...

The usual procedure is to rinse the cut, pat it dry, annoint it with olive oil, add light salt, pepper and herbs to taste such as rosemary, sage or thyme. Put it into a bag, suck and seal it. We're assuming boneless and skinless here although don't forget that, if you take care for it, skin-on can be a huge deliciousness beyond.

Sous-vide is the best way to do chicken breast meat because, if you exericise a little caution, it's a way to ensure juiciness that always eludes you with any other cooking method.

Cut	Amount	Temperature	Time
1" thick	2 breasts	150°	1 hour
2" thick	2 breasts	150°	2 hours