Sous Vide Chicken Thighs
Chicken thighs are an easy sous vide staple. Crisping the skin after cooking transforms this kitchen basic into an impressive entree. This recipe works best with boneless, skin-on chicken thighs. You can ask your butcher to remove the bones for you, or you can do it yourself following the directions below. (It's really not that hard!) Serve the chicken thighs with your favorite vegetable side.
Author
Kate Itrich-Williams
Prep Time: 00:20
Recipe Time: 01:30
Temperature :
160F / 71.1C
Ingredients
- 2 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Vegetable side, for serving
Directions
- Set the Anova Sous Vide Precision Cooker to 160ºF (71ºC).
- To remove the bones from the chicken thighs, first place one chicken thigh skin side down on a cutting board. Find the center bone. Use a sharp boning knife to slice through the meat along the bone. Using small strokes, cut the meat away from the bone.
- Continue to cut the meat away from the bone until the bone is mostly exposed. Hold one end of the bone and gently pull it away from the meat, continuing to cut away the meat using short, careful strokes. Once you reach the other end of the bone, cut it free from any cartilage.
- Trim away any additional tough cartilage or bony pieces from the thigh. Repeat with second chicken thigh.
- Season the thighs with salt and pepper and place in a large zipper lock or vacuum seal bag. Seal the bag using the water immersion technique or a vacuum sealer on the dry setting. Place in the water bath and set the timer for 1 1/2 hours.
Finishing Steps
- When the timer goes off, remove the bag from the water bath. Remove the thighs from the bag and pat very dry.
- Heat olive oil in a medium non-stick or well-seasoned cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the thighs, skin side down. Use a flexible spatula to press the thighs firmly in the pan.
- Cook thighs, continuing to press with the spatula, until the skin is crisp and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Flip thighs and transfer to a plate. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving with a vegetable side.