Who doesn’t love good fried chicken? It’s a staple in many home cooks. A crispy exterior with a juicy interior makes the perfect bite of fried chicken. What makes this recipe special is the sous vide method of cooking the chicken.
I’ve been trying all sorts of things using sous vide cooking. I had seen a few people online doing fried chicken using sous vide to get the chicken cooked through. Let me give it a try.
What better time to try out a new way of cooking fried chicken than when the grandparents were over for supper. I had the chicken in the sous vide cooker when they arrived. It only took a few minutes to fry it to crispy goodness and let it cool a bit while I finished up the sides.
I waited to see what my guests said about the chicken. Everyone raved about it. They loved the crispy exterior and the juice that poured out when they bit into it. It’s now my favorite way to make fried chicken.
What Makes a Good Fried Chicken Recipe
Making good fried chicken starts with which pieces you cook up. This recipe uses chicken legs. It also works well with thighs and breasts.
One thing to keep in mind. Thighs and legs are higher in fat than the white meat of the breast. This extra fat gives the flavor and juice that you expect from good fried chicken. However, with the sous vide method of cooking, even the breast meat will come out full of flavor and juicy goodness.
The only adjustment you have to make with chicken breasts is cooking time. You may have to increase it by an hour or so.
Once you get the chicken out of the sous vide bath, the next step is going to be getting the exterior crisp. That’s a key hallmark of any fried chicken recipe.
When heating the oil to cook the chicken, use a thermometer to keep the oil between 400 °F and 425 °F. Putting the chicken in when the oil is too cold, it will absorb too much oil. Go in when it’s too hot and the coating won’t cook evenly.
Finally, letting the chicken set for a few minutes will let the exterior set and give you the perfect crispy crunch.
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Sous Vide Fried Chicken
Perfectly cooked sous vide fried chicken recipe
Ingredients
- 6 pieces Chicken Legs
- Salt and Pepper To Taste
The Wet Mix
- 1 cup Soy Milk
- 1 piece Egg (beaten)
The Coating
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 1 tsp Ground Black Pepper
Instructions
Prepare the sous vide water bath using the immersion circulator. Bring it to 155 °F.
Sprinkle chicken legs with salt and pepper to taste.
Seal seasoned chicken in resealable bag using water immersion method.
Place in water bath and cook for 3 hours
In a medium bowl, combine egg and milk. In another medium bowl, combine flour, salt and pepper to create coating.
After sous vide bath finishes, remove chicken from bag and set aside. Let sit for 20 minutes.
Preheat pan on stove over medium high. Add oil to pan, bringing it to 425 °F.
Coat each chicken leg with flour mixture. Then, shaking off excess coating, dip in egg and milk mixture. Dip back into flour mixture. Place on wire rack. Complete coating process for all the chicken pieces.
Cook 2 or 3 pieces of chicken in the hot oil for 3 to 4 minutes. Take chicken out and place on wire rack to cool. Repeat with remaining chicken.
Let chicken set for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
