Chicken breast texture

I tried making my first chicken breast sous vide last night and while it was edible, the texture reminded me of raw chicken. Don't recall the temp 100% at this moment but I think it was 144F and it cooked for 2 hrs. bag was vacuum packed with some rosemary marinade my wife bought at the store. Can someone tell me if this is normal? I was expecting moist and nice texture but all I got was a average tasting with weird texture chicken breast.

the breast was boneless and skinless. If anyone can tell me temp and time to get delicious chicken breast it would be greatly appreciated.

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Tim_Sutherland_52834

For my chicken breasts (I cook 12 skinless/boneless in a slow week) I brine them in a 1% salt 0.4% sugar (water and meat = 100%) for at least 4 hours and then SV 60C for 2 hours, with a little chicken fat. I do not vac pack the breast but only use displacement method with ziploc bags. With this there will be a faint pink tinge to the flesh and they will be super moist. A trip to the plate via a grill or flattop adds colour, flavour and texture.

I do not flavour the brine or in the bag as the breasts are used for numerous dishes (Mexican to Moroccan), age ranges (2 to 60+) and taste ranges (the 6 yr old finds pepper hot, while the 8 yr old wants hot sauce and soft poached quail eggs with every meal). I use sauces to flavour the plate.

I tip when SV more than one breast in a ziploc bag is to put the breasts and liquid fat in the bag, force all the air out via displacement and seal the bag. Remove the bag from the water and push the breasts apart so they are not touching and so they are flat with a nice shape. This allows them to cook evenly and maintain a "chicken breast" shape. For the tenderloins I run a 6" wooden skewer through them before pulling them in the bag. Kids get the tenders with a dipping sauce while the adults get the breasts

Samuel_68313

I tend to do mine at 60c for 1 hour and 15 minutes in a ziplock with just a little fat of some kind. Using this method I prefer the texture if it is not brined personally, but depending on what I am making I will add herbs or something to the bag. The oil from the MC confit garlic recipe works really well.

It definitely has a slight pinkness to it when cooked like that, but I find the texture to be superb.

willybez

Thanks @Tim Sutherland and @SamuelG. Seems like 60C is the preferred temp. Does either one of you know at 60C how long it would take to pasteurize the chicken? I know I will have some guest asking me those questions as soon as you serve them some pinkish chicken. as long as it is really safe it should be OK.

Do you think vacuum packing may have altered the texture of the chicken? I see that both of you use zip lock bags so just wondering if it was due to lack of vacuum sealer or just prefer using the zip lock for chicken?

Either way I will try both methods and report back of the texture.

Samuel_68313

I use a ziplock due to the fact I don't have a vacuum chamber.

I did a little research and found this: http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/04/sous-vide-basics-low-temperature-chicken.html

According to their graph once the internal temperature reaches 60c it needs 35 minutes to become safe. They go on to recommend a minimum of one hour 35 minutes at that temperature, which means maybe I have been doing it a little unsafely! Though I must have cooked it least twenty times like that with no ill effects. Besides, the breasts I use normally have the fillet removed and are quite small to begin with so they are obviously getting up to temperature a bit quicker.

To be safe just stick a probe thermometer in there and then time thirty five minutes once the internal temperature reaches 60c.

Tim_Sutherland_52834

For a 25mm thick breast 1:40hr should be fine. I use ziplock bags on soft textured proteins as the vac chamber will cause the texture to come more dense.

Chris_Young_80640

In my experience, 60 °C / 140 °F can be very good (it's a temperature I like), but I really recommend you do a side-by-side of 60 °C versus 65 °C. I've learned over time that a lot of people prefer the slightly dryer texture, and whiter appearance of 65 °C chicken breast. When I roast a whole chicken for visiting friends, I usually aim for 65 °C unless I know that they'll enjoy 60 °C.

Samuel_68313

Has anyone tried going lower than 60c? is it worth even trying or is the texture and appearance too off-putting to really enjoy?

TODD_ANDERSON_36806

I would have a hard time eating chicken to a temp of 140 in fear of getting sick. Am I out of the loop here? But I will eat duck that is pretty pink. A little confused according to FDA standards here. Thoughts, feedback appreciated as always!

Lennard__34626

If 60C is the absolute lowest temp I want to eat chicken, shouldn't I be cooking it at 60.5 or 61? I remember reading that it always plateaus below the actual set temperature so you should always go slightly higher?

Brendan_Lee_56950

Yeah, I always set 1C higher. I actually tend to split the difference and shoot for 63C which is still a very juicy and tender bird but not the traditional texture you'd expect. I get ooo's and ahh's with that temp.

Chris_Young_80640

Very, very low risk of getting sick from eating chicken (or any other meat) cooked at 140F / 60C if it has been held at that temperature for at least 12.1 minutes. That achieves at least a 6.5 log reduction in salmonella (and more for every other bacteria that's easier to kill than salmonella).

Johan_Edstrom_5586

I've gone lower, the texture isn't very appealing. (Mostly by mistake)... I usually set mine around 61-62.

That is also a good temp so I can use more finishing methods.

Brendan_Lee_56950

Anyone else think about mortal combat whenever "finishing methods" is brought up? haha

Johan_Edstrom_5586

Now I do

TODD_ANDERSON_36806

@Chris - Thanks! @Brendan Lee - Thats hilarious haha

rsantayanajr

I may be a little late to the party but thought I'd share some info I heard while listening to back log of cooking issues podcasts - On a couple of occasions he has mentioned doing taste tests and noticing off/rubbery textures to chicken and fish prepared under vacuum - says he just uses zip locks, as it seems most people here and myself usually do.

I have been working my way thru all the backlog of his podcasts but once I noticed that Chris Young was on one of the more recent episodes I started listening in on the latest podcasts as well.

Anyway, love his podcast, love this site. Cooking issues and ChefSteps - definitely on my list of top resources and general weekly reads/listens.

lfmichaud

If you want the exact reference on the cooking issue website about the meat texture

http://www.cookingissues.com/2009/06/17/boring-but-useful-technical-post-vacuum-machines-affect-the-texture-of-your-meat/

The important part about your problem:

"Chicken texture changes dramatically as the amount of vacuum is increased. In every case, the oil packed chicken was preferred to the no-oil chicken because it had a better mouth feel. By far, the 90% vacuum chicken was the best. As the vacuum level increased, the chicken oddly became wetter, but with a drier finish in the mouth after chewing, and seemed mushy. The 99% had a particularly bad texture, mushy but not moist. The 99.9%+ was the most overall unpleasant, because of the overly wet meat with the dry finish in the mouth. Bizarre. "

Cooking issues has long been one of the best references

willybez

Thank you guys for the advice. I gave this a try again and this time my wife said and I quote: " this is the best chicken I have eaten in my entire life, no kidding..." end of quote.

Cooked it for 90 min at 61C in a zip lock back and finished it on a piping hot grill (600 F) for a min or so (until I got some grill marks on both side).

I do have to agree with her, it was moist, delicious and perfect texture.

Thanks again for the advice and feedback.

T__2156

That's it. Nice.

Marc_34938

Looks like this is an old thread, but since it's been bumped, I read through the discussion. @SamuelG asked about cooking chicken breasts at a temperature lower than 60 C. It's only a slight difference, but I routinely cook them at 59 C. When I first started cooking sous vide, I experimented with chicken in the 60-62 C range, but I found that I preferred the texture at 59 C. I find it very moist and tender.

willybez

@Augustinus‌ can you tell me how long at 59 do you cook it? Curious to keep experimenting despite the great experience I just had.

Did you use water displacement method or did you vacuum packed your protein.

Finally, did you brine your chicken or not? I did not brine mine.

Thanks

Marc_34938

@willybez@hotmail.com: I have been pretty flexible with the cooking time. The 6.5D Salmonella reduction table for chicken in Modernist Cuisine indicates that the pasteurization time might be about 28 or 29 minutes at 58.3 C, so I figure on leaving the meat in the bath for a half hour after its internal temperature reaches 58.3 C. The total amount of time depends on the thickness of the meat. When I've monitored the internal temperature of chicken, I found that it usually takes 45 minutes or less to get within 1 C of the bath temperature. Based on that, it would be reasonable to allow a cooking time of 1 hour and 15 minutes. In practice, I shoot for 1 hour and 30 minutes or even a little longer, for an additional margin of safety. Recently, though, I discovered by accident that cooking for 3-4 hours produces a pretty nice result. Obviously, that's way more time than required for pasteurization, but the final product almost has a "melt in your mouth" quality to it. Some people might find it too soft, but I definitely enjoy it.

I continue to use the water displacement method for all my sous vide cooking. It's quite convenient, and it allows you to check the internal temperature of the meat during cooking. I don't usually brine my chicken. I simply put some rosemary in the bag with it and let it cook. After 3-4 hours, the rosemary flavor permeates the meat more completely than at 1.5-2 hours.

t.stanoulis

I find the texture of chicken breast to be a touch rubbery for my tastes at 59C. I personally like to brine it skinless, sear it, and zip-top-displace it with a bit of water (this makes a flavourful jus), and cook a couple of hours to 62C core. Zip-top seems way better than vacuum sealing for chicken breast, from a textural perspective, as it can become mushy or spongey if compressed fully. The skin I think is better separate, turned into a crispy tuile or crackling.

I'll give 58-59 another shot, since you recommend it, @Augustinus.

Marc_34938

Thomas Stanoulis: Hmm. I've had a few chicken breasts that turned out rubbery at 59 C, but I discovered that only a portion of the breast meat had that texture. Other parts of the breast seemed normal. I still have not figured out why that happened, but since it happens relatively infrequently, I assumed it was some anomaly in the meat. Most of the time, I like the result at 59 C.

I have experimented with brining a couple times, and I definitely liked the result. To me, the main benefit was allowing the salty flavor to permeate the meat. I'd have to try it a few more times to see if I notice a perceptible difference in moisture or an improved texture.

VineLover_1022617

Do you like to cook something new? I love very much. Therefore, I will advise your favorite recipe.

Sous Vide Recipes Chicken

Try it.

Ingredients

2 4-oz. chicken breasts
4 slices of lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/8 teaspoon cracked pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt

1 sprig rosemary or any fresh herb of your choice