Go to the Recipe: Foolproof Sous Vide Fried Chicken
Hi Folks. Kenji, the myth and legend, has a wing recipe that does the wings sous vide and then has you air-dry (rack in fridge) them overnight before dropping back in fryer to crisp. Is there any advantage to this with this recipe (the air-dry part)? would it help? hinder? Thoughts?
Hello Susan, I can see how it would be annoying to cook from this recipe if you're used to cooking from ingredients listed differently. We're always looking to improve our process of writing recipes to help people cook and will be sure to discuss this with the rest of the team.
For the time being if this helps at all this is how I think of grams and mL. In this specific case 500 g buttermilk I simply see it as 500 mL. I know the density of buttermilk is slightly higher than water, around 1.03 to 1.04 g/mL. Though that is a small difference I understand that will add up when scaling larger amounts, such in this case, we might see the true conversion being 515 g of buttermilk for 500 mL. Thats not a difference that would impact the results of this recipe and those 15 g might be lost in transfer between vessels.
I hope this helps Susan.
recipes would be more accessible if liquid ingredients were in liquid measurements rather than grams. makes them too fussy for NO added benefit. Grams for dry and mls for liquids.
Awesome information, thank you!
Hey Mike,
Baking soda, along with baking powder, are fairly common additions to a flour dredge in fried foods. Their primary function is to provide aeration, creating tiny air pockets within the coating when they're activated by either acid (for baking soda) or water (for baking powder). This leads to a lighter, crispier result (or at least that's the idea).
This isn't my recipe, but baking soda likely works here because the chicken is dipped in buttermilk, which is acidic and reacts with baking soda to produce carbon dioxide, resulting in aeration. If you're worried about added sodium from baking soda, I would consider substituting it for baking powder, which has roughly 1/3 the sodium content per gram. This way, you can reap similar benefits without jacking up the sodium content.
Hope this helps!
What is the purpose of the baking soda in the flour mix? It is omitted in the simpler version w/o adding any other salt. The baking soda adds a rather large amount of sodium, so just curious about that difference as well.
To echo Nick's point, we always recommend using ziplock-style freezer bags for sous vide, which are more heavy duty than "storage" bags. For cooks above 158 °F we also recommend double-bagging as a safeguard in case of seam failure. Check out our guide to sous vide packaging for more info.
We've added the original spice mixture for the dredge back to the recipe as a Tip after Step 6.
We hear ya, and we've added the original seasoned dredge instructions back to the recipe as a Tip after Step 6!
Hello Cornelius I haven't experienced any issues with Ziplock-style freezer bag edges breaking at 185 °F with this recipe.
I have found with recipes such as sous vide potatoes at around 194 °F when you remove the bag from the water that is when there is the most stress on the bags heated seal, and they might break. I would use a spider to help gently remove it from the water as good practice.
Can/do ziplock bags actually withstand an 1hr+ sous vide cook of 185°F before the bag disintegrates?
another dick move by chef steps
Another dick move by Chef Steps. Pulling bits and pieces of recipes and putting them behind the "studio pass" paywall. Good thing I printed this one. I think I'll put it up on the internet and then come back here and share the link.
NOT UNREASONABLE COMPLAINT?
I have used the previous recipe a few times - it might even have been the reason I took out a premium subscription.
Now, the recipe has been updated, and the important spice mix has been hidden behind a studio pass subscription that I don't have or want.
Please can basic spice mix instructions be added to this recipe so I can enjoy it again, or re-post the old "Can't F it up Fried Chicken" with the original mix for me.
Thanks!
I liked the old spice mixture. Does anyone have those proportions?
I do think this is a semi-consistent problem with CS recipes. You often end up with way too much of something like this flour mixture, which is a waste of money (and yes, I know how to use the scaling button).
The other is that a lot of the recipes are over-salted for the average palate (many comments on this). After many failures, I've learned to use 1/2 the recommended amount, and then adjust to taste.
Although sometimes the excess salt actually works (pot de creme with maple syrup and black lava sea salt recipe).
There was way too much flour mixture, even after I scaled the recipe in half.
As long as your water bath is up to temp for the full cook time, the serving size will not change the cook time.
Does the amount of serving size for the chicken change the sous vide time?
Thanks Kyle, so if you were to sous vide, would you personally go skin-on or go skin-off as Grant mentioned that it can become a bit "leathery" when traditional frying?
When traditional frying I do prefer this method of sous vide first and then fry. Brining does help with seasoning. and I do like skin on.
A question: When traditional frying over air frying, would you still opt for skinless chicken and sous vide or go skin-on and dry confit like in the air-fried chicken recipe so you get the added benefit of "unctuous" skin that's broken down?
Would also any pre-brining of the chicken provide any form of noticeble benefit in this process?
Thanks in advance
Hi Pablo, you can do a 50-50 mix of milk and heavy cream to get the right coating thickness, instead of "buttermilk".
Can I replace butter by milk+cream or anything similar?
When I was cooking in restaurants we would cook dark meat at 65C for 4 hours. It would still be pink near the bone and is just typical for sous vide poultry. It may improve during the frying stage but is consistent with the method. Longer will not improve this, only heat increase to convert the hemoglobin. Its purely visual. Try the higher temp and compare textures. Find your happy place.
pink bear the bones but I think it was just me freaking out over nothing
Ahhh I see, it’s just that knee jerk reaction to see pink meat near the bone and think it’s underdone! Would doing it for slightly longer at 68c help? Or a slight temperature increase?
Pink bones doesn't mean that is undercooked. With sous vide chicken the meat will seem undercooked especially near the bone but it is cooked. The lower temperature doesn't allow for the myoglobin to change color which is what gives it the pink color. Also 85C is too high and will firm the texture.
Pink bones or undercooked chicken?
I wonder if someone could help me out here, I followed this recipe to the letter and unfortunately got pink bones. 68c for 3 hours and the chicken was undercooked.
Has the temp been changed? I saw another commenter saying they did it at 85c and it was fine so have I missed something?
Your air fryer can be more compared to your convection oven (which is what it actually is.). There is (currently) no alternative to a deep fat fryer.
Can I use Air Fryer, if so what temp and time
They can be but it is not necessary, just a ziplock style bag will work all the same.
It's hard to tell, but were the bags of chicken vacuum sealed?
You sure can.
This is a fabulous recipe. I'm making it again this weekend for a crowd, for Sunday brunch. Can I sous vide the chicken Saturday, ice it down, hold it overnight, reheat it say to 130 degrees, then fry?
thank you Matthew!
You can add vinegar to milk and let it rest. It will thicken just like buttermilk and have a tang. 16/1 ratio with the vinegar the small part.
Hello guys, what can I use as buttermilk replacement? In Italy is impossible to find it.
check out the air fried chicken activity, it should give you some helpful info.
Can I bake the breading on rather than deep frying? I’m thinking panko, egg and oil breading. Anybody tried this? (I scanned the comments but didn’t see success stories. Google will be next. Will add a reply if I get it to work.)
We loved it. Made this last night and so very good. Echo comments about the breading ingredients being way more than needed - did a cut up whole chicken minus the wings and 1/3 buttermilk & flour was still more than needed. Removed the skin before breading - it was soggy and shriveled anyway - and had no problem with breading sticking. Didn’t have buttermilk so mixed whole milk, a little cream, and 1T/cup white vinegar in advance and worked fine. Not sure if we missed much by not having the real thing. Single breading was perfect for us. Don’t skip deboning the breasts before cooking and cutting half lengthwise before breading. Kept my oil hot and was only a couple minutes for frying. Juicy/tender chicken with perfect crispness.
I strain the oil through a coffee filter, put it in the fridge and use it several more times: fish and chips is a favorite.
I use an induction plate and take the unit outside. I then use a small dutch oven with just enough oil to cover one or two pieces. This is a good balance of minimizing oil, yet using just enough to maintain temperature. I only do a couple pieces at a time, but good results. I pour the oil on the ground outside my house.
Great work. My major concern with this is what does one do with the oil after cooking? Do you toss after making chicken once? And whether it's one time or ten times, what do you do with that amount of oil? Not judging, just learning. Cheers.
Sid,
If you love frying food, forget frying in pan with inconsistence temperatures and grease flying all over the kitchen. Google, T-Fal UltimateEZ Clean Deep Fryer; the mess is gone, and food is fried perfectly on all sides.
I’ve had one for about 2 years, it’s about as perfect frying you can get. Good Luck.
My kids love this recipe. They prefer the crispy vs crunchy and I add a little more onion and garlic powder to spice it up a little more. Easy to prepare and the results are consistent. Thanks!
I'm not sure you read the recipe. Salmonella wouldn't be an issue since the chicken is cooked before ever touching the flour.
My first time making fried chicken and this recipe produced spectacular results with minimal fuss. My only issue was the oil temp dropping progressively after each batch, which I later found was due to a layer of the coating sinking and coating the bottom of the pan. I followed the crunchy method and mine came out crisp which was fine but I am just wondering if there is a way to avoid my issue in the future. The breading is a starting point and definitely benefits from some minced herbs like thyme and sage.
You recommend bread and pastry flour. Bread has the highest protein content and pastry the lowest ? NO?
I wouldn't. Our friends Sam and Ella would be all over that party. Nobody wants them to visit. Trust me, it is worth getting new flour every time you cook chicken. Just my two cents.
I just found a 3 station crust recipe: arrowroot flour, beaten egg, almond flour (sifted). I haven't tried it yet, but the photos looked decent.
Thinking about finishing under the broiler.
I tried this with a KFC clone breading and really liked it. I did try an air fryer, and the results were not as good (but maybe acceptable.) Now I'm on keto, so I'm thinking about making a double-eggwash version with almond flour and pork rind "bread crumbs."
Love it! The family asks for it often and it goes fast.
Sounds good.
Hi all! can the flour mixture be reused if put in container and popped in the freezer since the chicken is already cooked ?
I think they changed it. There was a response on another post where one of the members replied. It has a better explanation. Take a look at the comments. https://www.chefsteps.com/forum/posts/crispy-crust
How come no one from Chefsteps ever answers questions here?? He clearly says use high protein flour, but he uses pastry flour, which is low protein. Which is it? Can someone from Chefsteps explain before I send this thing back?
Looks great and I bet taste even better, but where is the chicken gravy recipe? Search the whole site, no where to be found. Please give us a link or the recipe, please!!
I always wonder why we use buttermilk for fries. Anybody?
Made this yesterday...used the App and selected 185 temp. Dried cooked chicken really well...one dip buttermilk and then flour..straight into The deep frier. Maybe the best fried chicken I've ever made...very moist, lovely brown and crispy....no pink bones!!! My husband agreed...fantastic way to fry chicken. My grandmother would have loved Joule!!!
