Sous Vide boneless chicken breast makes a great sandwich

jls9595

140* for 2 hours since they went in directly from the freezer. Wife left me alone this morning with our 4 week old daughter to get her nails done and shop so I couldn't really cook anything for lunch. Pulled out the old sous vide which I hadn't used in a while. Reminded me why I bought it. 

EggObsessed

@jls99595:  Your chicken looks so great!  I haven't tried SV chicken breast yet in our SV, but now I'm dying to.  Thanks for sharing!

nolaegghead

Even better if you blast it with a torch. ...

caliking

Nice Sammy.

@EggObsessed - of the things I've cooked SV so far, chicken breast has been the surprise hit. I've cooked more chicken breast in the past year or so, than I have in the past 20!

jls9595

nolaegghead said:

Even better if you blast it with a torch. ...

It would have been better but I was too hungry to go out and get the torch from the garage. This was the first chicken breast I've done SV, will be doing more for sure and I'll make sure to torch it next time.

NDG

jls9595 you are not kidding!  I did 3 chicken breasts last night - first time doing a SV protein.  Just tossed all in 1 bag with dizzy dust (no oil/butter) vacuum sealed, and pulled out 2 hrs later for a quick sear.  What a game-changer!  I was skeptical, but my wife and I kept looking at each other after every bite in amazement - as good/juicy as a beef burger!

DaveRichardson

Sold!!!!

tz666

ok im new to this SV thing and Im building a crock pot temp controller to try it but 2 hours at 140? When I egg yardbird I go to 170 internal is 140 acceptable temps for chicken comsumption? I just dont know and Im looking for advice

NDG

@tz666 . . honestly I had the same question as I am brand new to SV as well.  Havent had much time to get into the science just yet.  

I did mine at 146F for 2 hours . . stabbed with my thermapen and it was exactly 146F internal - imagine that!  Next I seared on cast iron (steel temp near 600) for about 3 mins a side.  Never took the temp again (sorry FDA) but damn it was tasty burger . . . I mean chicken sammich!    

NDG

I have heard that Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast is a top choice for SV . . so I might have reached the peak on my first attempt . . but it was so good, I am ok with that!

tz666

I am more interested in SV for chicken breast, sure once I get set up I will try everything. I like the way a reverse sear does steaks but if a chicken breast by itself can be cooked and look that juicy and tender it must be a miracle. 

SmokeyPitt

The chicken looks great! 

@tz666  I think everyone has that initial reaction (how can this be safe?)  Here is an article that I think explains it pretty well:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/04/sous-vide-basics-low-temperature-chicken.html

Basically with a constant temperature of sous vide you can sterilize the chicken over time.  165 is the temperature at which yard bird would be sterilized nearly instantly.  If you can hold the temperature at 140 or so for 35-40 minutes, then it will be sterilized. 

tz666

I found this chart and it seems that the longer you cook the lower the temperature for safe consumption gets

tz666

I knew it had to be safe if @jls9595 was still alive to post the pics but needed the science. Im going to need to be able to prove it to the wife

Skiddymarker

@tz666, use the same chart and have referenced it here a number of times. What we have noted is the longer cooks at lower temps may be safe, but to us, anything under 142º-145º tends to come out with a less than desirable texture. 

@NDG - try a beef burger in the sous vide. MCAH has a number of great tips. Watch how you vac pack so as not to compress the patty too much. Into the the bath at 130º for an hour. Pull it and either torch it, CI sear or drop into a 400º deep fryer for less than a minute. MCAH makes much of seasoning exactly one hour before the bath, I have seasoned after cooking or two or three hours before and do not notice the difference. Then again, I love bleu cheese and frizzled onions on my burger, so it might be hard to tell what kinda meat it really is.