Chicken Breast

Chicken Breast 101 or was it 201?

Requirements

Special equipment

Optimally a sous vide setup. Though I do not own one. I use my rice cooker (filled with water) that can be told to warm whatever is in it to a specific temperature. You will also need a freezer, this is none negotiable.

Why chicken breast sucks

You want it crispy on the outside.You want it juicy on the inside but do not like foodborn illnesses. You want it fast but it takes to much time. You want it often but you can not keep it in the fridge for long. You want it cheap but buying the amount you can use up before it spoils is expensive.

How to make chicken breast great again

Okay, what if I told you there is another way? I have been eating chicken breast that is juicy, tender and crispy with less then 10 minutes of time invested multiple times a week. At the same time I do not even have to care one bit about potential foodborn illnesses because I already took care of it with some preparation.

But how? Pre cooked chicken breast that is frozen in strips.

1. Buy some chicken breast, optimally at least 1kg but it can be even more.
2. Use sous vide or a watherbath to increase the core temeperature of the chicken breast to your desired doneness. Let it cool and cut it into strips.
3. Freeze strips in a way where they do not form a big ball that you can not untangle when frozen. You can portion them out or put them in large bag in which you distribute them well.
4. If you want chicken breast -> Go to your freezer and get the amount you want -> Put it in a pan with a tiny bit of oil and fry until you have a nice crust. -> Eat your delicously juicy chicken breast.

What the desired doness?

Desired doneness is a difficult topic. Look at this document for more information. It strongly depends on how well you can controll the temperature during the preparation. Because you are going to freeze and thaw the chicken breast I would be more caucious then otherwise. Pasteurization is a combination of temperature, time, humidity and other components that are discussed in detail in the linked pdf. Some people will argue that taking your chicken breast up to 73°C is a crime and use a lower temperature at a longer time for pasteurization. I personally aim for something around 70°C when using the above described method. For my personal risk tolerance that is fine but yours might vary depending on sickness, age, etc.