Sous Vide Chicken Breast Recipe in Creamy Spinach Ricotta Sauce (2024)

FAQs

What is the best temperature for sous vide chicken breast? ›

That's why the optimal temperature for cooking chicken sous vide is 145ºF for at least 1 hour. Now before you start thinking “that can't be safe!” let's talk about why this is actually perfectly safe. Killing bacteria is a function of heat and time.

Poultry, including chicken, should be cooked to 165 degrees to be safe for consumption. Why is my sous vide chicken breast rubbery? Overcooking sous vide chicken breast is the main reason why it turns out rubbery.

So the general answer to "How many chicken breasts can I put in one sous vide bag?" is as many as you can fit in a single layer. I hope this helps you figure out how to best seal and cook your sous vide food in the future!

Sous Vide White Meat Safety

This can be done at any temperature above 130°F (54.4°C) though chicken is usually cooked above 136°F (57.7°C).

Early sous vide proponents (including myself) claimed that you could absolutely not overcook your meat this way. Turns out this is not true. It's still possible to overcook meat using a sous vide cooker, but it's much, much more difficult.

Why It Works. Cooking chicken sous vide allows for unparalleled control over cooking temperature and, therefore, level of juiciness.

Best Sous Vide Chicken Breast Temp

You can drop the temperature pretty low and still be safe, but most people don't go below 136°F (57.8°C). After experimenting a lot over the years, I've settled on 140°F (60°C) as the best sous vide chicken breast temp for my preferences.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add the chicken, skin side down, and sear until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Slice chicken off the bone and serve with a lightly dressed arugula salad.

Sous vide allows for long, slow cooking at a low temperature, which breaks down these tissues and results in tender, juicy meat. Prepare the meat with generous salt and any other desired seasonings, then cook for a long time at a low temperature.

We call for 1½ hours in the sous vide bath, but you can leave the chicken in the bath for as long as 4 hours. Because the water stays at a steady temperature of 150°F, you won't risk overcooking your chicken with additional time.

How do you know when sous vide chicken is done? ›

Chicken needs to be cooked until it is safe to eat. This can be done by heating it to 165°F and held for 1 second, or to 140°F and held for 30 minutes. The timing in my sous vide recipes are designed to ensure your food is cooked long enough to be pasteurized, and more time and temperature options are provided below.

Ziplock and Glad brand bags are made from polyethylene plastic, and are free of BPAs and dioxins. A good rule of thumb is that when a bag is rated as microwave safe (which requires FDA approval) you can use it for sous vide. Even Dr. Schaffner agrees.

Set the sous vide to 145-degrees. Vacuum seal the chicken breasts using your preferred method. 2 breasts per bag, along with salt and pepper, fresh herbs and lemon slices. Cook for 1 hour, up to four hours.

Food cooked at low temperatures for extended periods of time can cause bacteria to multiply rapidly. The longer food is in the “danger zone” — temperatures between 40°F and 140°F (4.4°C to 60°C) — the faster bacteria can multiply and the more dangerous they can become.

Sous vide retains more nutrients and vitamins than other methods of cooking. Exposure to heat, water, and oxygen are the things that typically destabilize all of those wonderful nutrients when we're cooking, whether by charring meat to over-carbonization or leaching vitamins into water while boiling.

Again, you want to aim for 165 degrees F, but remember that once you remove the chicken from the heat, it will continue to cook. To have the juiciest breast, pull the dish outaround 160-162 degrees and the chicken will continue to cook an extra few degrees once removed from the heat.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) instructs us to cook meat to a safe internal temperature: namely, 165 degrees for poultry and 145 for beef and pork.

Bake Chicken Breast at 425°F

425°F is the best temperature for baking chicken. The chicken turns golden on the outside and unbelievably juicy inside. At a lower temperature like 350°F, the chicken can dry out, as it will need to be in the oven for a longer period.