Okay, we know that summer is prime grilling time. But that is no reason to put your love of sous-vide cooking up onto the shelf until fall. As a matter of fact, sous-vide cooking techniques can really help you pull off that large catering job posted on your restaurant’s calendar. Here’s how:
Sous-vide cooking techniques allow restaurateurs and catering teams to prepare and hold foods at low temperatures. And as we all know, that can increase the amount of flavor and moisture in meats that are notorious for drying out at high, grilling temperatures. Prime examples are chicken breasts, thighs, drumsticks and wings.
With sous-vide cooking equipment on hand, large amounts of chicken may be slowly precooked and held before the guests arrive. Then the chicken may be removed from the sous-vide bath and finished off on the grill. The final grilling will give the chicken pieces that golden brown color and crispy skin that most people have come to adore.
So how does one cook chicken using sous-vide techniques? We’d suggest cooking the chicken, with the skin on, at 150 degrees Fahrenheit for two to four hours. Normally, thick chicken thighs and drumsticks tend to take the longest to cook. Thus, you may want to keep that in mind when selecting the chicken pieces and calculating your times.
Feel free to season the chicken pieces as you see fit. However, keep in mind that some raw seasonings and alcohol-based marinades may react differently in low heat. So you may want to stick with the seasonings that you’ve used in the past instead of deciding to experiment with something new.
To learn more about sous-vide cooking, including which food holders are best, please contact us. At Thermodyne Foodservice Products, our heavy-duty, stainless steel, commercial food warmers are perfect for sous-vide cooking applications and more. They also come in a variety of sizes and come with a Money Back Guarantee.