Sous vide/que chicken results

[dubob]

I have these boneless/skinless chicken breast in the freezer that are feeling a little left out of life. So, what the hey; might as well put one of them back in the game. So, I thought and thought and thought; how can I make this a special treat for one of them. Eureka; sous vide (SV) and finish on the grill.
Found a couple of recipes and investigated them and asked around on this and other sites for some tips and or pointers as to how to proceed. The help was forthcoming in abundance. Thanks to all y’all that pitched in for this cook. Much appreciated.
I sealed 2 breasts separately and selected an SV temp of 150F and left them alone for about 4 hours. I added some locally manufactured chicken rub from one of my go to premium meat butcher shops. After the 4-hour bath, I put one breast on the grill to finish and the other breast went on the sear box to finish. I kept an IT probe in each and didn’t let either one get above 150F during the finish grill.
The inside meat was very, very moist and tender. As good as those roasted chickens you buy at the market when you just don’t have the time or desire to cook something at home that day. The outside meat was tough and leathery. Thankfully it was only about 1/16 inch thick. I wasn’t impressed at all with finishing them on the grill/sear box. But they WERE skinless. I’m thinking that in the future, I should probably just do the SV on skinless chicken and do skin on chicken on the grill. Does that sound good to all y’all?
And it isn’t a cook unless there are pictures, so here’s a couple.
Here they are ready for their spa soak with rub applied.

Lounging in the hot tub.

Ready for the grill

On the sear box

After the sear

If you look close, you can see how moist they were

And what would any meal be with out a good salad loaded up with lettuce, onions, radishes, cucumbers, celery, tomatoes, bacon bits and then topped off with some very finely chopped red peppers and Ken's Steakhouse Sweet Vadalia Onion dressing?

 

[link]

That looks really good. The chicken looks perfect.

 

[retfr8flyr]

Skinless breast doesn't do well trying to sear it. Next time try 145° for 2 hrs and then either eat it as is, or if you have a propane torch, hit it with the torch lightly, just for some color. This is the way I do my skinless breasts and they come out very nice.

 

[dubob]

Skinless breast doesn't do well trying to sear it. Next time try 145° for 2 hrs and then either eat it as is, or if you have a propane torch, hit it with the torch lightly, just for some color. This is the way I do my skinless breasts and they come out very nice.

I've never been able to taste color. This is the second skinless chicken breast cook I've done and neither did well on the outside. I think in the future the grill will be used for birds with skin attached and the SV will be used alone for the skinless birds. Color, to me, matters not. Appreciate the tip though.

 

[bregent]

Looks great. For frozen breasts, I usually go 2 hours at 140F. I don't think you need to go 4 hours at 150.

 

[dubob]

Looks great. For frozen breasts, I usually go 2 hours at 140F. I don't think you need to go 4 hours at 150.

It tasted great as well. Every thing I've read so far about SV cooking says that you can't over cook. Some folks even talk about leaving there beef steaks in the bath for up to 15 hours with no ill effects. The only thing a longer bath will do is break down more fat and connective tissue so the meat just keeps getting more tender. I did a pork steak for 24 hours and have a London Broil steak in the bath right now for tomorrows dinner. It will do a 24 hour bath as well. The reason my chicken went 4 hours is I had some afternoon errands to run and started the SV cook before I left. the 150F was seleted because of a test done a while back were three chicken breasts were done at 145F, 155F, and 165F. The author wasn't a big fan of 140F/145F chicken but said for those that are, the 150F mark would be a good compromise for doneness and texture. The 165F wasn't good at all according to the author. Mine - at 150F - was excellent in texture, moisture, and tenderness.

 

[SmokinAl]

They sure look good to me.
I do them a little differently.
I smoke them at 225 until the IT gets to 130, then into the SV for 4 hours set at 136.
They have a nice smokey flavor & are very juicy!
Al

 

[xray]

Good looking chicken! I love SV chicken breasts.

If I am eating them alone or on top of something, I will do a quick pan sear just to make them visually more appealing.

If I am doing them chopped up or shredded in another dish, I will leave them as is. When I make chicken salad, I will immediately place in an ice bath after SVing and throw them in the fridge until I mix it up with mayo, fresh dill, small grapes and salt and pepper.

Here’s one of my favorite ways to eat SV chicken:

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/southwest-chicken-salad-sous-vide.262686/

 

[bregent]

It tasted great as well. Every thing I've read so far about SV cooking says that you can't over cook.

That's not my experience. The longer you cook, the more protein you will break down. SV is great because it helps to tenderize, but if you cook too long, food gets mushy. The difference in texture between the 2 hours I go, and the 4 that you did would not be noticeable. I only commented about not needing to go that long from a safety standpoint. Depending on thickness, most breasts would be fully pasteurized at 150F in less than 90 minutes so going longer is not needed for safety.

(http://www.amazingfoodmadeeasy.com/...ing-times-by-thickness#sous-vide-by-thickness)

 

[dubob]

That's not my experience. The longer you cook, the more protein you will break down. SV is great because it helps to tenderize, but if you cook too long, food gets mushy. The difference in texture between the 2 hours I go, and the 4 that you did would not be noticeable. I only commented about not needing to go that long from a safety standpoint. Depending on thickness, most breasts would be fully pasteurized at 150F in less than 90 minutes so going longer is not needed for safety.

(http://www.amazingfoodmadeeasy.com/...ing-times-by-thickness#sous-vide-by-thickness)

Understood and thank you. Still new and learning. Chicken is different than beef/pork. Got it. I had to go 4 hours on that cook or not go at all. I'll try to plan better the next time I do chicken. Planning to do a chicken SV cook with BBQ sauce in the bag later this week. Should be good.