Sous Vide Skinless Fried Chicken

I wanted to try this idea for a recipe and I am glad I persevered. This recipe takes some planning, as you want to brine the chicken 4 to 8 hours in advance. I tested rinsing the brined chicken as well as NOT rinsing the brined chicken and found no distinct difference. The beauty of this dish is that you don’t have to fry the chicken for long — it is fully cooked after 4 hours in the Anova Precision Cooker. Your job is to make sure you get a nice crust on the chicken — 2 to 3 minutes in the hot oil at the most.

Author

Barbara Freda

I grew up in a cooking family and after getting a degree in Spanish and Anthropology, realized what I really wanted to do was to go to culinary school. After working in a NYC bank for a few years, I managed to get to culinary school and got my first jobs in NYC kitchens, including a long stint at Union Square Cafe in its earliest years. After (sadly) leaving NYC, I realized I needed to step away from the 80-hour work weeks, so I left the heat of the kitchen for the cool of the computer keyboard: I started writing about food, the business of food, and technology in the food industry, as well as teaching cooking classes. Recipe development remains one of my top loves, and the opportunity to develop recipes for Anova has been fun every step of the way.

Prep Time: 05:00

Recipe Time: 04:00

Temperature : 145.4F / 63C

Ingredients

• 4 cups water
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 pounds bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed
• 2 pounds bone-in chicken breasts, skin removed
• 8 sprigs fresh thyme
• 6 strips orange zest
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 bay leaves
• 8 black peppercorns
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• Paprika
• Garlic powder
• 3 to 4 cups vegetable shortening, for frying

Directions

1. Whisk together water, sugar, and 1/4 cup salt in a large bowl until dissolved. Add the chicken thighs, chicken breasts, thyme, orange zest, garlic, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Cover and refrigerate for 4 to 12 hours. (You may seal the chicken and brine in zipper lock bags, if desired.)
2. Set the Anova Sous Vide Precision Cooker to 145ºF (63ºC).
3. Remove chicken from the brine and transfer to 2 large zipper lock bags. Discard brine. Seal the bags using the water immersion technique and place the bags in the water bath. Set the timer for 4 hours.
4. A few minutes before the chicken is finished, prepare the ingredients for dredging: Pour buttermilk into a shallow bowl. Pour flour into a second shallow bowl and season with salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder. Place a cooling rack in a rimmed baking sheet.

Finishing Steps

1. When the timer goes off, remove the bags from the water bath. Remove the chicken from the bags and pat dry.
2. Dip chicken into buttermilk, turning to coat. Remove and let excess buttermilk drip back into the bowl. Transfer to the flour and turn to coat. Shake off any excess flour and transfer to the prepared cooling rack. Let rest for 30 minutes. Return chicken to the flour and toss to coat.
3. Melt the shortening in a deep cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Continue heating the shortening until it reaches 350ºF.
4. Gently place chicken in hot shortening, meat side down. Fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip and continue to fry on second side until golden brown, about 2 minutes.
5. Transfer chicken to the cooling rack to drain for 3 to 5 minutes before serving with your favorites sides, such as greens and biscuits.
6. If preparing ahead, let the chicken cool for 20 minutes. Refrigerate on the cooling rack. Let chicken come to room temperature before serving or gently warm in a 200ºF oven.