Sous Vide Chicken

After owning the SousVide Supreme™ for several months now and not really using it all that often, I thought it was time to change that. Our freezer is full of all sorts of sous-vide-able meats - pork belly, beef heart, boneless leg of lamb - but it was high time to try chicken. Boneless, skinless, flavorless chicken breasts, to be exact. I checked out the optimal temperature for cooking chicken in a water bath, marinated a couple of BSCBs, and commenced to cooking.

The result: the most tender, juicy, and flavorful chicken breasts I have ever eaten. The meat had a subtle garlic flavor from the marinade, and really didn't need the sauce I made for it at all, except to make it pretty (in other words, hide its naked ugliness).

I can't picture myself using any other method for chicken breasts from now on.

Sous Vide Chicken with Leeks and Red Curry Peanut Sauce

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon lemongrass paste

Combine ingredients in a zip top bag. Marinate for at least 6 hours or overnight.

When ready to cook, preheat water oven to 140°F. Remove chicken from marinade and pat dry. Place each breast in its own quart-sized sous-vide bag, or use a half-gallon bag for both, and vacuum seal. Cook in water oven for at least 1 hour 35 minutes and up to 10 hours.

Leeks

2 leeks, light green parts only, halved, sliced, and well-rinsed
1 cup chicken stock
olive oil or butter
salt and pepper to taste

Place leeks in a sauce pan with the stock. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and cook at a simmer until leeks are very tender, about one hour. Bring back to a boil to cook off any remaining stock. Remove from heat. Add a bit of butter or olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Red Curry Peanut sauce

Red curry paste
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon lemongrass paste
1 garlic clove, minced

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.

Serve chicken on a bed of leeks, napped with sauce. Or vice versa.

Posted on Minxeats.com.