SV Chicken Breasts (Mrs Bear’s Chicken Salad)

Bearcarver · May 8, 2017

SV Chicken Breasts (Mrs Bear’s Chicken Salad)

I never got involved in Mrs Bear’s Chicken Salad before, but I knew I could make it better for her with my SV Oven.
She always makes 2 Chicken Breasts in the Toaster Oven, and I knew I could make them more moist & tender.

So I found some internet examples for Chicken Breast, & planned my attack.
I actually settled on the one that came with my Sous Vide Supreme Oven.
I put two Breasts in a Vac Bag, along with a 3 pats of butter, removed the air, and Double sealed the end.
Then I set the SV Supreme at 146°, and put the pack in the Bath.
After 2 hours, I removed the pack & put it right into a big bowl of Ice Water to cool fast.

Then I removed them from the Ice water & from the Bag, and Mrs Bear took over from there.

She cut it all up in little cubes, mixed some Miracle Whip, Salt & Pepper, and Celery Seed into it & put it in the Fridge for a few days worth of Sammies for her lunches.

She said it really was a lot better than he Toaster Oven made Chicken Salad.

Below is a quick pictorial review of the process we used:

Bear

Chicken Breasts for Mrs Bear’s Chicken Salad:
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/Bearcarver_2009010/IMG_1130.jpg.html

Breasts sealed with 3 pats of Butter:
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/Bearcarver_2009010/IMG_1131.jpg.html

Into Ice water to cool fast:
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/IMG_1132.jpg.html

Breasts after 2 hours @ 146°:
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/Bearcarver_2009010/IMG_1133.jpg.html

Breasts all chopped up:
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/IMG_1134.jpg.html

Mrs Bear’s Chicken Salad all done:
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/IMG_1135.jpg.html

chef jimmyj · May 8, 2017

Looks good. Before anyone questions the 146 IT...USDA guidelines of 165 are for guaranteed safety of cooks that may not even know what Salmonella is. If you understand safe handling and the concept of Low Temp, Long Time Pasteurization, SV cooking to lower temps and required time,even chicken, is safe...JJ

Bearcarver · May 8, 2017

Chef JimmyJ said:
Looks good. Before anyone questions the 146 IT...USDA guidelines of 165 are for guaranteed safety of cooks that may not even know what Salmonella is. If you understand safe handling and the concept of Low Temp, Long Time Pasteurization, SV cooking to lower temps and required time,even chicken, is safe...JJ

Thanks Jimmy!!

Yup, it's all new to me---Everything I put in my new SV Supreme Oven makes me look up the recipe for time & temp, and then I check the Pasteurization Chart, because it's weird after all these years of following the regular Safe Temp guidelines. It's actually very interesting. I still stay away from the Border line in time & temp, just to add a little of my own safety.

John

gnatboy911 · May 8, 2017

I hadn't thought of doing SV for chicken salad...great idea! I have done chicken breasts at 140, 145, and 150. I preferred the texture of the chicken at 145 the best. All three were moist and tender though.

hillbillyrkstr · May 9, 2017

Hey bear when I did my first sous vide chicken breasts I did them at 150 for a few hours and I thought they were on the dry side. The next time I did them I cooked them at 140 and it was the most moist chicken breasts I've ever had. Been doing it at 140 ever since.

Chicken salad looks great!

HalfSmoked · May 9, 2017

OK whats this new toy look like you called it an oven?? Dang this new fangled stuff and this new tech crap.

Warren

Bearcarver · May 9, 2017

gnatboy911 said:
I hadn't thought of doing SV for chicken salad...great idea! I have done chicken breasts at 140, 145, and 150. I preferred the texture of the chicken at 145 the best. All three were moist and tender though.

Thank You !!

And Thanks for the Points.

Bear

biaviian · May 9, 2017

HalfSmoked said:
OK whats this new toy look like you called it an oven?? Dang this new fangled stuff and this new tech crap.

Warren

T'his may not be the exact oven but it will look like this although Bear's looks to be round.

433M_2.jpg

biaviian
May 9, 2017

https://www.sousvidesupreme.com/Shop/Water_Ovens-/Department.aspx

xray · May 9, 2017

Good looking breasts!!

I love making chicken SV. Chicken salad looks great too, I'll start eating more of it in the summer months.

SmokinAl · May 9, 2017

Great job Bear!

I've been SV'ing them at 140 for 2 hours.

We think they are a little more tender & juicy, than at 145.

I have only cubed them up for chicken salad, or pot pie like you did.

One thing is for sure they are a lot better in the SV than any other method that I've found so far.

Especially if your going to cube them up for salads or chicken pot pie!

Point to you for another good one!

Al

johnmeyer · May 9, 2017

As I've posted many times, I think SV chicken -- specifically for chicken salad -- is perhaps the finest example of how sous vide can produce a result that is far better than you can do with any other method. They key thing is the ability to safely cook the chicken to a far lower temperature than possible with any other cooking method. This lower temperature produces chicken that has a much better taste, moisture, and texture than what you get by frying, sauteing, boiling, broiling, microwaving, BBQing, etc.

If you are looking for another food where low temperatures can do fun and interesting things, try eggs. For instance, if you have ever tasted homemade mayonnaise, you know that it is far better than anything you can buy. However, many people are spooked about using a raw egg. Well, it turns out you can pasteurize that egg in your sous vide, heating it to a high enough temperature to make it perfectly safe, but not so high that the yolk sets. The white will get a little translucent, but since you're going to toss that (most mayo recipes call for using just the yolk), it doesn't matter. The egg pasteurization requires incredible temperature precision because the difference between the pasteurization temp and the heat at which the yolk will set is only a few degrees.

HalfSmoked · May 9, 2017

Biaviian said:
HalfSmoked said:

OK whats this new toy look like you called it an oven?? Dang this new fangled stuff and this new tech crap.

Warren

Click to expand...

T'his may not be the exact oven but it will look like this although Bear's looks to be round.

433M_2.jpg

biaviian

May 9, 2017

https://www.sousvidesupreme.com/Shop/Water_Ovens-/Department.aspx

Thanks for the info I appreciated it.

Warren

Bearcarver · May 9, 2017

HalfSmoked said:
OK whats this new toy look like you called it an oven?? Dang this new fangled stuff and this new tech crap.

Warren

Biaviian got it right---"Sous Vide Supreme".

They call it a "Water Oven".

It doesn't have a circulator. ZERO Noise!!!

It has the heat coming from the Bottom & all 4 sides, and Heat Rises.

Once it gets to your heat setting, it uses no more than the electric you use for a light bulb. I forget, but I think it was a 60 Watt.

Bear

Biaviian said:
T'his may not be the exact oven but it will look like this although Bear's looks to be round.

433M_2.jpg

biaviian

May 9, 2017

https://www.sousvidesupreme.com/Shop/Water_Ovens-/Department.aspx

That is the Exact one I have----Love It !!

Bear

biaviian · May 9, 2017

Bear, I have only seen chunky salad like that one other time. A restaurant has bitesize chunks in their salad. It is a random pizza place that serves it in a bowl with crackers. A butcher by my house has amazing chicken salad but it uses shredded chicken. You know what they say, once you go chunky you never go back.

chopsaw · May 9, 2017

Great job . I do mine at 145 . So good , and can use for many things . Looks like chicken salad is next .

Bearcarver · May 10, 2017

Xray said:
Good looking breasts!!

I love making chicken SV. Chicken salad looks great too, I'll start eating more of it in the summer months.

Thank You Xray!!

And Thanks for the Points.

Bear

gary s · May 10, 2017

Sorry I'm late, You know I have been busy. Love Chicken salad Pretty neat !!

Nice Job with the SV

Gary

Bearcarver · May 10, 2017

SmokinAl said:
Great job Bear!

I've been SV'ing them at 140 for 2 hours.

We think they are a little more tender & juicy, than at 145.

I have only cubed them up for chicken salad, or pot pie like you did.

One thing is for sure they are a lot better in the SV than any other method that I've found so far.

Especially if your going to cube them up for salads or chicken pot pie!

Point to you for another good one!

Al

Thank You Al !!

My first time around on all these things, I'm going by Recipes that came with my SV Water Oven, or an average of times & temps I find on the Internet.

Then I can adjust from there.

As for this Chicken Salad, I didn't eat any, but Mrs Bear loved it. I only made it for her.

I'm not a Big salad person. I'll eat a Lettuce & Mater salad with Hot Bacon Dressing, but No Chicken Salad, and I never had any use for Potato salad.

And Thanks for the Points, Al.

Bear

Bearcarver · May 11, 2017

Biaviian said:
Bear, I have only seen chunky salad like that one other time. A restaurant has bitesize chunks in their salad. It is a random pizza place that serves it in a bowl with crackers. A butcher by my house has amazing chicken salad but it uses shredded chicken. You know what they say, once you go chunky you never go back.

These "Chunks" that she cuts are only about 3/8" square. I like it, but I leave it for her.

Mrs Bear eats Oatmeal for Breakfast, and things like Chicken Salad for lunch to keep her "Girlish" Figure.

It seems to work, because she still looks pretty good for approaching 70 Years on the planet.

Bear

chopsaw said:
Great job . I do mine at 145 . So good , and can use for many things . Looks like chicken salad is next .

Thank You!!

Yup---My first test at 146° showed no signs of being Dry--- plenty juicy.

Bear

dirtsailor2003 · May 11, 2017

Looks like a tasty way to make chicken salad. I'd have to cold smoke the breast prior or grill the breast after. I like that smoky grilled flavor in my chicken salad.

SV Chicken Breasts (Mrs Bear’s Chicken Salad)

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