Making Sous Vide Chicken in WaterBy Angelica Malin

Let’s face it, we have all made mistakes while cooking ingredients in the kitchen now and again. One of the biggest problems home chefs face is overcooking food. It is inevitable that we are going to overcook meals at some stage, which is why so many people are looking for ways to ensure their food is cooked properly, without having to worry about overcooking it. 

Overcooking steaks can make a beautiful piece of beef taste like leather. A good chicken breast can end up a stringy mess if cooked for too long. 

A popular cooking method amongst top chefs is sous vide cooking. In the past, top chefs around the globe used this method of cooking when preparing meals at high-end restaurants, but nowadays, with home cooking becoming more popular than ever before, lots of people are giving it a go at home. 

There are several meals you can cook with sous vide cooking methods, including chicken. Let’s take a look at how you can cook sous vide chicken in water. 

First, what is Sous Vide Cooking?

If you heard people discussing sous vide cooking, it might seem like they are speaking a different language, well, that’s because they are. It is French for ‘under vacuum’. Others often refer to this method of cooking as LTLT, which stands for ‘low-temperature long time’ cooking. 

Chefs place the ingredients in a plastic pouch, then they put the pouch in hot water and set the heat at the desired temperature. While the pouch is immersed in the water, the ingredients will start to cook. 

Chefs often use an immersion circulator to ensure the temperature remains constant while cooking. However, you don’t need an immersion circulator to master the technique, but it could prove beneficial. It helps heat the water, and it also keeps the water moving to ensure the food cooks evenly. 

By using this technique, the days of overcooking meals will be a thing of the past!

Why you should use this Technique when Cooking Chicken

 

Chicken is one of the most popular ingredients used by people all over the world. However, to avoid cooking boring and bland chicken meals, why not give sous vide cooking a go. 

There are several sous vide chicken recipes out there that will make for an exciting dinner. Although you won’t overcook the chicken by using this technique, you have to be careful not to undercook it. Consuming undercooked chicken can be extremely dangerous, so it’s of vital importance that you control the temperature properly. One of the best ways to ensure your chicken is cooked evenly is by using sous vide cooking methods. The technique allows you to manage the temperature with ease. It allows you to keep all the moisture in the chicken, so you don’t lose out on any of the healthy nutrients the chicken has to offer. 

When you get the hang of the technique, you will be able to produce great tasting chicken whenever you please. It allows you to cook the same meal over and over again in the exact same time frame, which is one of the reasons so many restaurants rely on sous vide cooked meals today. Consistency is key in the restaurant business, so it’s not surprising that so many chefs use sous vide methods. 

It Makes Chicken Great!

Nobody wants to eat dry chicken for dinner, but cooking juicy chicken without using sous vide cooking methods can prove challenging. By using this technique, it will ensure that your chicken will taste juicer. 

When cooking sous vide chicken, you don’t have to cook the chicken at a high temperature. Instead, you can lower the temperature, and wait for it to cook. If you are wondering about safety, chicken that is cooked at a low temperature is still safe to consume. So why not set the water temperature at 140°F, put your chicken into the pouch, and wait for it to be cooked!

It’s Possible to Cook Frozen Chicken Directly with Sous Vide Cooking Methods

Making time to cook healthy meals can be difficult, so if you have stored chicken in your freezer, and you haven’t the time to defrost it, you can put the frozen chicken into a pouch, place it in a sous vide cooker, and wait for it to be cooked. 

However, it will take longer to cook in comparison to cooking chicken that hasn’t been frozen. It is believed that it will take approximately fifty percent longer, but it is safe to eat. If you forget to thaw your chicken, you can turn to sous vide methods without having to stress. 

The Benefits of Cooking Chicken Breasts with this Method

When cooking a chicken breast with traditional cooking equipment such as an oven or a stove, the meat has to reach 165° F in order to make the ingredients safe to consume. However, the issue is that a lot of these appliances heat the chicken breast at much higher temperatures. Although it might appear cooked, the center of the chicken might be raw. 

By cooking chicken breasts with the sous vide method, you will be able to decide on the temperature of the water, so the entire breast is cooked properly. Because the temperature of the water remains constant throughout the entire process, the breast will be cooked evenly. You won’t have to take a wild guess at the temperature because you will have set it yourself. 

Not only will the breast be cooked to perfection, but the texture of each breast will also be tender. Because there is no added fat, it is a much healthier method of cooking in comparison to traditional methods. If you want to make the chicken breasts a bit more exciting, why not add some flavors to the pouch before you start cooking. A small teaspoon of ground pepper might do the trick! 

Is it Difficult to Cook Sous Vide Chicken Breasts?

If you are able to cook pasta, you should have no problems making sous vide chicken breasts. 

1. First, grab some sort of cooking vessel from your kitchen. Pour water into the container, and grab your sous vide machine. Set the sous vide device at 145° F and put it into the water. 
2. Pour a small amount of olive oil over the chicken breast and season it with both salt and pepper. If you want to go the extra mile, why not add some fresh thyme to the pouch.
3. Once your chicken is ready, carefully put the pouch into the water.
4. Leave the chicken submerged in water for at least 90 minutes.
5. After the ninety minutes is up, remove the pouch from the vessel, and take the chicken breast out of the bag.

If you plan on eating the chicken breast at a later stage, wait for it to cool down. 

Conclusion

Cooking sous vide chicken is one of the safest cooking methods out there. Because the technique is growing in popularity among home chefs, there are tons of great sous vide chicken recipes online. There are several sous vide cooking tutorials uploaded to streaming services like YouTube, and there are plenty of websites that publish new and exciting recipes too. Sous vide machines are readily available, and you can find them for sale both online and in traditional stores that sell cooking devices.