Sous Vide Chicken Breast

You can easily find frozen or fresh boneless, skinless chicken breasts at most local grocery stores. A chicken breast is a favourite weeknight dinner, but it's easy to overcook and dry it out. If this is a struggle for you, you will be delighted with chicken breast prepared using the sous vide method. Drying out chicken breasts using this cooking technique is, in fact, almost impossible. 

The water bath keeps the chicken breast at a constant temperature. While it will get softer the longer you leave it in the water bath, the chicken breast won't dry out. During the cooking process, the chicken breasts are sealed in a bag with butter, garlic, and other seasonings to ensure that they will absorb all the flavours as they cook.

The sous vide method takes approximately two hours, but the water bath ensures that the chicken remains moist, tender, and juicy throughout the cooking process.

What is sous vide cooking?

Sous vide  –  ‘under vacuum’ in French –  is a slow cooking method using a thermal immersion circulator cooker. This electrically powered device circulates and heats water to a specific temperature and maintains that temperature. During the slow cooking process, foods are sealed in a vacuum-sealed bag or pouches. 

How to make sous vide chicken breast

Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 75 minutes
Total:  80 minutes

Ingredients

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2-4 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 garlic cloves minced
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Step 01

Fill a pot 1/3 full of hot or warm water. Preheat the sous vide cooker to 146.5º Fahrenheit (63.6º Celsius).

Step 02

Brush olive oil over both sides of the chicken breasts. Season with salt and crack fresh black pepper over.

Step 03

Place chicken breasts in a one-gallon vacuum seal bag along with fresh herbs. Include two cloves of peeled and smashed garlic in the same bag with the chicken and fresh herbs. Vacuum seal or use the water displacement method to seal. Place in a water bath and cook for 75 minutes.

Step 04

Remove the bags after 75 minutes and discard any herbs or garlic that have been used. Using paper towels, pat the chicken breasts very dry. Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat until hot, and add butter.

Step 05

When butter foams, add the chicken breasts carefully. Cook for one minute on each side or until nicely browned. Serve right away.

Tips

• When sealing the bag, make sure the chicken breasts do not overlap. Therefore, vacuum seal bags should be used instead of ziplock bags.
• Make sure the vacuum seal bag is properly sealed to keep bacteria out.
• Ensure that the bag does not float in the water bath during cooking. A heavy object can also be used to weigh down the bag so it won't float. Just open the vacuum seal, let the excess air out, and reseal it if it floats. 
• Don't brown the chicken breasts for more than 30 seconds per side. If you leave them for too long, you risk overcooking and drying them out.
• As you brown chicken breasts, baste them with butter for extra flavour and juice.