Sous Vide Chicken Breasts--HELP Please!

[Skip]

I have been experimenting with SV Chicken Breasts with limited success. The Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts I have are quite thick and large. The last time I SV'd them for 1.5Hr at 145* then seared over extreme hot coals for 2 min/side---they were tough! Today I reread Clint Cantwell's article and he suggests 2.5 Hr at 150* then sear which to me seems going the wrong way. Am I thinking backwards? Were the tough ones NOT SV'd long enough? I'm tempted to use Clint's 2.5Hr at 150*. Thanks in advance.

[Spinaker]

Skip! I think Clint's numbers seem a bit closer to what you will be looking for. For what it is worth, Chefs Steps recommends 149X55 mins. I have done that before and been really happy with the results. I am sure Clint's temp will be fine too. Hope all is well, my friend!

[Polarbear777]

I go lower because I like them juicy. 135 for 3.5 hours. But that’s me.

[trasmc]

I'm somewhere in the middle of everyone else it seems - 146 for about 3 hours. I've tried warmer (seemed tougher) and cooler (didn't like the texture), so this seemed to work best. Let us know where you wind up!

[EdF]

That's right about where I'd start my explorations.

[shify]

For chicken breast time doesn’t matter, as long as it’s long enough to get up to temp. Probably a minimum of 45 min or so depending on how thick your chicken is. It’s not like pork shoulder where you are trying to break down collagen. The temp is personal preference. I like 150.

As as far as tough chicken, I think you overcooked on the sear. 4 min over high heat is almost enough to cook a breast from raw.

[barelfly]

I SV chicken breast like you have been doing, 145* but only for about an hour, maybe just over. I also sear on the grill but I flip it every 15-30 seconds until they are where I want them, which is about two minutes total. It’s been a bit since I last did them this way, so I don’t remember if I iced them down prior to sear. But I have been happy with the tenderness this way.

[SouthTexasRover]

I would have to agree with Shify it may be over sear. It was hard for me to get out of the habit of searing for longer period of time after SVing. A minute per side should be more than enough on screaming hot cast iron or screaming hot anything for that matter. I had the same habit with fried chicken too. I would fry too long being used to frying from raw.

[Potkettleblack]

I’m going to weigh in against a hard sear on BS chicken. Seared chicken is like wood.

My tips:
get nice chicken. Pasture raised, local, kosher, Purdue, whatever. Hormone treated chicken isn’t worth eating.

Depending on your end goal: either lower, like 134-140 or higher, 149-155. Depends on the texture you’re going for.

Put it down the stopwatch. Pinch test it after the first hour. If it pinches how you like, pull.

[Hulagn1971]

I sv chicken breasts at 147 for an hour then a quick light sear in a CI skillet, max a minute per side. If I'm making chicken salad the sv temp goes up to 150 for about an hour and a half, no sear.

[MBMorgan]

I'd suggest starting here: http://www.douglasbaldwin.com/sous-v..._Turkey_Breast to ensure that you're properly pasteurizing the chicken ... then have a look here: https://www.seriouseats.com/2015/07/...en-breast.html for some additional info. As others have already suggested, it actually sounds like your SV time/temp is about right but the extreme sear is probably the problem.

[Skip]

Thanks everyone for your posts on SV Chicken Breasts. As you can see the Boneless Breasts were quite thick. I dry brined for about 8 hours and seasoned with BBBR that was spiked with a little extra Chipotle Powder. They ended up in the SV bath @147* for 2.5 Hours. I then gave them a "very light" charcoal sear. I'm very satisfied with the final result-tender and juicy. Served with a salad and grilled pineapple. Thanks again everyone----my Pit Friends came thru again!!!!