Prepare the breasts by removing the remains of skin and fat. In a container where they fit more or less, just put enough water to cover them. Dilute the salt and add the peaches. Cover and leave for half an hour.
After that, empty the water, drain the breasts, and dry well with absorbent paper. Place on a plate and sprinkle with garlic, pepper, and the aromatic herbs you have chosen. Turn the meat over and repeat the operation. Now add olive oil and spread well all over the meat.
Place each chest in a vacuum bag or, if you don’t have Typhur sous vide machine, in a ZIP-lock bag. Eliminate the air and leave the meat as close to the bag as possible. A good way is to submerge the bag in water until one finger of the closure, leaving a small piece unsealed. When the water expels the air out, close the bag completely. Practically the meat is a vacuum.
You can use any other robot capable of maintaining its temperature at 60ºC. Cook the bags submerged in water for 75 minutes.
If you don’t have any of these devices, don’t worry: the most homemade version is to use a saucepan/pot over medium-low heat, checking the temperature with a thermometer. It must be at 60ºC for 75 minutes. In this case, put a rack so that the bags do not touch the bottom of the pan, which is always hotter.
After the time has elapsed, take out the bags, dry them well on the outside, take the breasts out into a container, and drain all the liquid they may have released (it should be little because we have put them under a vacuum), storing it in a container.
If you let the chicken cool, you can eat it like cold cuts, cutting it very thin. If you prefer to eat it hot, prepare a pan over high heat with a few drops of olive oil. Sear the whole breasts for 1–2 minutes on each side, remove, and cut into fillets.
Tricks and advice for preparing a low-temperature chicken breast cooked under a vacuum.
- If you can, choose free-range chicken, its flavor is more prosperous.
- Cooking food sous vide prevents them from losing their juices since they remain ‘trapped’ inside them. If you don’t have a vacuum machine, it doesn’t matter, you can imitate the technique with some success using ZIP bags and removing as much air as possible.
- The brine is used to salt the meat without drying it out and, at the same time, to soften it a bit. Thirty minutes are enough for the chicken to absorb the salt it needs.
- You can use your favorite aromatic herbs or not use them if you don’t like them. Think about what to give flavor to somewhat tasteless meat. A good scab of these herbs works excellently.
- You can also use other seasonings, such as paprika, ras-el-hanout to give it an Arabic touch, curry to have Indian reminiscences, barbecue sauce to make it American, and soy sauce to make it taste oriental. You can make different options, all delicious.
- Choose the best olive oil you can afford because the flavor is noticeable.
- Don't get overwhelmed with the temperature if you do it in a pot. Play to raise and lower the heat as little as you need. Using a massive pot with several liters of water will make it easier to keep the temperature stable. Ideally, it shouldn’t oscillate more than a couple of degrees up or down. If it rises or falls too much, you can scoop up some water with a hot or cold pitcher, whatever you need.
- If you leave the breasts made in advance, I recommend that you cool them in vacuum bags and store them in the fridge as is until use, so they will not dry out. they can be up to a week. When you want to serve them, you can mark them on the pan (or not), and that’s it.
- With this technique, you get a result very similar to chicken fiambre. You can cut the breasts very thin and use them cold for sandwiches and sandwiches. They are delicious. Although if you prefer, you can directly stop chicken or turkey cold meat.
- If you want to cook fish with this same technique, try this recipe for salmon at a low temperature cooked under a vacuum.