Sous Vide Crispy Chicken Thighs

About a month ago, I posted videos of Michael Voltaggio’s recipe for sous vide crispy chicken thighs but tonight was the first time I actually made them. Man, his recipe is awesome. I’m competent in the kitchen but this recipe (and the SousVide Supreme) will make you look like a phenomenal cook. The only hands-on stuff I had to do was season the thighs, vacuum seal them with a pat of butter, dump them in the water bath, and brown them. I seasoned the thighs differently from how Mr. Voltaggio did but I followed his technique and that’s the part that will make you look like you have mad skillz.

Time to make Sous Vide Crispy Chicken Thighs!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 6 skin-on, boneless chicken thighs
• Diamond Crystal Kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• Your favorite seasoning (I used garlic powder and dried thyme)
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, ghee, or duck fat
• 2 tablespoons lard

Equipment:

• All of my recommended kitchen tools are listed here.

I started with my store-bought, skin-on, boneless thighs.  Hey, if you guys have great knife skills debone the thighs yourself.  I don’t have the skills or the time or the inclination. Sorry.

[Update on 5/30/12: I have since honed my deboning skills and I routinely use bone-in and skin-on thighs. I save the bones for quick pressure cooker bone broth.]

I patted the thighs dry and then I seasoned the flesh side with salt and pepper and some seasoning (I used garlic powder and dried thyme).

 Then, I vacuum sealed each thigh with a pat of butter. (Use ghee if you’re on a Whole30.)

I dunked all six thighs in my SousVide Supreme set at 150 F and I left them in there for 1.5 hours. When I took them out of the bath, I dunked two thighs in an ice bath (to cook off later in the week) and I stuck the other four thighs in between two baking sheets with my cast iron skillets on top for around 30 minutes.

I removed the flattened thighs from the plastic bags and dried them thoroughly.

I heated 2 tablespoons of lard over medium heat (not high) and when the lard started smoking, I added two thighs, skin side down.  I left them undisturbed for 5 minutes and then I flipped them over and fried them for an additional minute.

Then, I removed the chicken thighs and placed them on a wire rack…

…before sprinkling some fleur de sel over the crisped skin.

You can serve the chicken thighs with your veggie sides of choice.

These thighs are awesome.  Super crispy skin and juicy, tender, flavorful meat. It takes so little time and tastes so good!  Definitely a dish I’d serve company because you can sous vide it ahead of time and just crisp up the skin when it’s time to nosh. I can’t wait to fry up my remaining two thighs in the fridge!

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