help with Chicken on the bone............cooked sous vide in a water bath

Hi Aaron : )

I have had great success using either of the following methods.

Do what you are going to do to the chickens in terms of spices and fat and vacumn the bag. I generally do 2 legs and thighs per bag. I use onion and garlic powder, sea salt and cracked pepper, red pepper flakes and cajun spice rub. I add 1 tsp of unsalted butter and a sprig of thyme and majoram typically to the bag.

If I need them for this evening's dinner I will use Douglas Baldwin's recipe of 176 degrees F (80 degrees C) for 4 to 6 hours.

If I am cooking them for a future use, then I place them in a 160 degree F (70 degree C)overnight. I have generally used the sous vide for that night's dinner so I have to wait until that is out before I place them in the bath. So for me, that would probably be around 9:00 PM before the dishes are cleaned and I am ready to proceed. I generally get up around 8:00 or 8:30 AM and remove them from the bath at that time. I follow Mr. Baldwin's recommendations of letting them rest for about 15 minutes and then I put them in an ice bath before putting them in the freezer.

The meat in both methods is wonderfully moist and tender. I do not remove the skin before sous vide bath. I do broil the skin side up on the legs and thighs before serving. My best results are using a jelly roll pan with a rack on it and keep it about 1 inch away from the broiler element for 3 to 5 minutes for the best crispy skin results.

Hope this helps.

Sara Peterson
Naples, FL