Herb Infused Stuffed Cornish Hen

Sous Vide Details: Cook Cornish Hen at 155ºF for 4-8 hours

Ingredients, Serves 1-2:

• 1 cornish hen (thawed)
• 3 tablespoons small diced celery
• 2 tablespoons small diced carrots
• 2 tablespoons small diced onions
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
• 1 teaspoon chopped thyme
• Few sprigs of rosemary and Thyme
• Salt and pepper to taste

Cornish hen is an interesting dichotomy for my friend.  She loves chicken, but small whole chicken?  Not so much.  Something about the movie "The Birds" early in her life causes her to have the hibijibis when it comes to small whole birds!  Well, I think cornish hens are "cute"!  So I decided to see if sous vide might change her opinion.

Pre-heat water bath to 155ºF. Typically cornish hens are purchased frozen solid, so you'll need to leave it in the refrigerator until it thaws out completely (maybe 1-2 days).  Once thawed, remove the wrapper and wash thoroughly.  Remove any parts from the cavity and pat dry with a towel.

Now, to make the stuffing, mix the celery, carrots, onions, EVO, and chopped rosemary and thyme.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Use a spoon and fill the hen cavity with the stuffing mixture.  Sprinkle hen with salt and pepper.  Place the hen in a bag and add the sprigs of rosemary and thyme.  Seal the bag and place in the water bath.  Cook for between 4 and 8 hours.

When done, remove from the water bath and pat dry.  I used a kitchen torch to sear the skin.  If you don't have a torch, place the hen on a baking sheet into the oven on broil and broil until the skin is browned.  Once browned, you're ready to plate and serve!

I presented to my friend and while she loved the taste, she still had the hibijibis on the "whole" presentation!  Oh well, at least it tasted wonderful!  Cheers.

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Thai Chicken and Coconut Soup

Sous Vide Details: Cook Chicken at 142ºF for 2 hours

Ingredients, Serves 2-4:

• 1 skinless chicken breast
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 13oz can of unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 red pepper, seeds removed and thinly sliced
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms (use your favorite mushrooms)
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup small diced celery
• 1 stalk of lemongrass, smashed and halved (3" length)
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons minced ginger
• 1/3 cup chopped Thai basil
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1 fresh lime
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVO)
• 1-3 tablespoons chopped Thai peppers (depending on how spicy you want it)
• Salt and pepper for taste

I LOVE Thai food and Thai soup is a special treat.  So I decided to try to re-produce a Thai chicken coconut soup that I always get from my local favorite Thai restaurant.  The key to Thai soup is the delicate flavor.

First we want to get the chicken cooked and what better way than to sous vide the chicken.  Sous vide chicken is incredible!  Pre-heat water bath to 142ºF.  Take the chicken breast and lightly salt and pepper.  Place in plastic bag and seal.  Place in water bath and cook for 2 hours.

A half an hour before the chicken is done, you can start on the soup.  In a large pot, heat the EVO on medium high heat.  Add the garlic and ginger and stir until their aroma is released.  Add the mushrooms and cook until soft.  Add the lemongrass, red peppers, celery and carrots and cook for 3 minutes.  Add the Thai peppers and cook for 1 minute.  Add the chicken stock, coconut milk, fish sauce and sugar and turn heat down to a simmer.  Simmer for 10 minutes.

When the chicken is done, remove from the water bath and bag and cut up the chicken into bite size pieces. Add the chicken and chopped Thai basil to the soup and cook for 3-5 minutes to infuse flavor.  Finally squeeze the lime juice into the soup.  Ladle the soup into bowls and top with cilantro and scallions.  Enjoy!

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Turkey Bacon Wrapped Chicken Roulade

Sous Vide Details: Cook chicken roulade at 142ºF for 2 hours

Ingredients, Serves 2:

• 1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 5 slices of turkey bacon
• 1 1/2 cup of spinach
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons grape seed oil

Chicken by itself, even cooked sous vide can be a little "boring" at times.  I've found that an easy way to spice it up both flavor-wise and visually is to make chicken roulade, or a chicken breast roll.  It turns a boring breast into a fancy main entree!  For this particular roulade I thought I'd spice it up even more by wrapping it with turkey bacon, a little healthier than normal bacon.

Pre-heat water bath to 142ºF.  Lay out a large sheet of saran wrap on your counter top.  Place the chicken breast bottom side up in the middle and place a second large saran wrap on top.  Using a meat mallet or the bottom of a skillet, pound the breast till it is roughly 1/2" thick.  Holding both saran wrap sheets, flip the breast over and remove the top sheet.  Place the slices of bacon, perpendicular to the counter top edge, slightly overlapping over the chicken breast then place a new large sheet of saran wrap on top of the bacon.  Again, flip the sheets and breast over again so the bacon side is on the bottom.  Remove the top saran sheet and distribute the spinach over the chicken breast.  Then sprinkle the cheese over the spinach.

Now slowly roll the chicken breast into a log, using the bottom saran wrap to help form the log.  Pinch and twist the ends to compress the log at each end.  Place the chicken roulade (including the saran wrap) into a plastic bag and seal.  Place in the water bath and cook for 2 hours.

When the roulade is done, heat the grape seed oil in an iron skillet on medium high heat.  Remove the roulade from the water bath and open the plastic bag.  Remove the roulade and cut open and remove the saran wrap.  Pat the roulade dry with a paper towel.  Place in skillet and sear the bacon on all sides, roughly 30 seconds per side.  To slice it cleanly, you can place the roulade on a cutting board and place a new piece of saran wrap over it and then use a sharp knife to slice it into clean pieces.  Remove the saran after slicing.  Plate it up and server!  Enjoy...

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Soy Sauce Chicken

Sous Vide Details: Cook Chicken at 148ºF for 5 hours

Ingredients, Serves 4:

• 1 whole chicken (remove organs)
• 3 slices of fresh ginger, julienned
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
• 3 stalks of scallions, cut into 2" pieces
• 2 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Shao Xing wine
• 1 teaspoon white pepper powder
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 cups water
• Special tools: Chamber vacuum, heavy meat clever

This is a dish my mother made and everyone loved.  I decided to try to make it using the sous vide method!  A new twist on an old recipe.  Hopefully my mother will be proud.

Pre-heat the water bath to 148ºF.  Mix all ingredients except the chicken in a large bowl making sure the sugar dissolved into the mixture.  You will need a large plastic cooking bag that is large enough to hold the whole chicken and all the liquid.  Also since we are going to cook the chicken in the soy sauce liquid mixture, it works best if you have a chamber vacuum sealer.  If you only have a bar sealer, use a bag with about 12" of extra length after you put the chicken in.  Also, you might have to seal it twice to get a good seal since some of the liquid will probably get caught in the seal area.  Drape the bag over the counter edge when you're sealing (for a bar sealer).  Once the vacuum starts watch the liquid.  When all the air is out and the liquid starts to move up the bag, press the "seal" button.

Place the whole chicken in the bag neck first so the cavity hole is exposed.  Pour the soy sauce mixture into the bag, making sure you fill the cavity.  Carefully place the bag in the chamber vacuum and seal the bag.  Set the vacuum seal pressure to a low setting.  Some of the liquid may come out as the bag is sealed.  Just wipe the bag off around the seal area and re-seal a second time if necessary to get a complete seal.  The chicken should be immersed in the soy sauce mixture within the bag.  Place the bag in the water bath.  Cook for 5 hours.  This ensures the whole chicken gets cooked.

Once the chicken is done, remove from the water bath and let stand in the bag for 10 minutes.  Get out a large cutting board and a heavy meat clever.  This will be used to cut the chicken up into small pieces with the bone in, a traditional method of presenting soy sauce chicken.  Also this dish is normally served at room temperature or even cold.  Take the chicken out of the bag.  Reserve some of the liquid for sauce.  Separate the legs and wings from the body at the joints.  Using your clever, CAREFULLY chop the legs and wings into small pieces, chopping right through the bones.  BE CAREFUL!  Now separate the breasts from the backbone part of the chicken by slicing horizontally from the bottom of the chicken to the neck area.  You can then separate the breasts by cutting down through the breast bone.  Again, carefully use your clever to cut the breasts into small pieces.

For plating, place the dark meat on a large plate and then place the breast meat on top.  Take some of the reserved sauce and strain out the ginger, garlic and scallions.  Pour some over the chicken and pour the rest into a serving boat.  Garnish with scallions and server!

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Chinese Chicken Salad

Sous Vide Details: Cook Chicken at 142F for 1 1/2 - 2 hours

Ingredients, Serves 4:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 4 sprigs of thyme
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 head napa cabbage sliced cross-wise into thin slivers
• 2 romaine lettuce hearts sliced cross-wise into thin slivers
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup shredded almonds
• 1 1/2 cups sliced scallions (green onions)
• 1 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 cup chopped mushrooms (optional)
• Chinese Rick sticks
• Vegetable oil for cooking rice sticks (~4-8 cups)
• Dressing:
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup EVO
• 1/2 cup water
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons ground mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon sesame seed oil

One of San Francisco (and probably California in general) signature dishes is Chinese Chicken Salad (CCS)!  In my humble opinion, it is also one of the most widely "interpreted" salad I've ever seen.  You can go pretty much all over the US and if you ask for a Caesar salad, you know what to expect.  Same with a Cob salad or a Spinach salad.  But order a Chinese (or Asian) chicken salad, and sit back in anticipation because you really don't know what is coming out!  In general, what does come out is very good, but I've seen (and tasted) pretty bad CCS!  The variety is its strength and weakness.  Here, I give you my interpretation of the famous CCS, sous vide style!

Salt and pepper the chicken breast to taste and place in food bag along with the thyme sprigs.  Heat the water bath to 142F.  Seal the chicken and place in the water bath and cook for 1-2 hours.  When the chicken is done, take out of water bath and bag, pat dry and either shred by hand into small pieces or cut into small pieces.

While the chicken is cooking, pour vegetable oil into a deep pan until there is roughly 2" of oil in the pan.  Heat the vegetable oil on medium high heat.  When the oil is hot enough to sizzle when you drop a VERY SMALL drop of water in it (be careful here!), carefully place the rice sticks (little bit at a time) into the oil.  The rice sticks will puff up immediately.  Using a metal strainer, remove the rice sticks quickly before they brown and place on paper towel.  Do this with as much rice sticks as you want for the salad.

For the salad, add the shredded chicken, cabbage, romaine, almonds, scallions, carrots, cilantro and
mushrooms into a large bowl and mix well.

For the dressing, add all the dressing ingredients into a shake-able container and shake well.  Toss the salad with a portion of the dress just to coat.  Remember, a little goes a long way!  If you're not going to use all of the salad immediately, only toss that portion you are going to use.  Keep the rest of the salad in an air tight container in the refrigerator separate from the dressing to keep fresh.

To present, place some rice sticks on the plate.   Add some salad on top of the rice sticks.  Place some chopped cilantro or thinly sliced scallions on top and present!

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Best Chicken Pot Pie Ever!

Sous Vide Details: Cook Chicken at 145F for 1-2 hours

Ingredients, Serves 8:

• 2 Skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 2 Skinless, boneless chicken thighs
• 8 Sprigs of thyme
• 8 Sprigs of rosemary
• 8 Sprigs of sage
• Crust:
• 3 C Flour
• 1 t Salt
• 1 t Baking Powder
• 1 C Unsalted butter (2 sticks) cut into cubes
• 1/4 C Vegetable shortening
• Filling:
• 1 1/2 C Your favorite mushrooms (chanterelle, oyster, shitake)
• 1 C Peeled sliced carrots (you can use baby carrots)
• 1 C Peas (Frozen or fresh)
• 1 C Red pearl onions
• 1 C Chopped celery
• 1/2 C Unsalted butter (1 stick)
• 3/4 C Flour
• 16 Oz Chicken Stock
• 6 Fresh sage leaves
• 4 Sprigs of Thyme
• 2 Sprigs of Rosemary
• 1 C Sliced fingerling potatoes
• 1 Egg beaten
• Salt and pepper to taste

I don't normally love chicken pot pie, but this recipe is incredible!  Pre-heat the water bath to 145F.  Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.  Place the breasts in one bag and the thighs in another.  Add the sprigs of thyme, rosemary and sage evenly to both bags.  Seal and drop in water bath.  Cooked for 1-2 hours.

Now for the crust.  Mix the flour, salt and baking powder in a food processor with a dough blade.  Add the cubes of butter and shortening and process until the mixture is coarsely mixed.  With the machine running, add 1/2 C ice cold water and continue mixing until a dough is formed.  Knead into a ball and flatten into a disk.  Wrap in saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

To make the filling, fill a large saucepan about half way with salted water.  Bring to a boil and add carrots.  Boil for 2 minutes.  Using a large ladle strainer or slotted spoon, remove the carrots from the saucepan into a bowl.  Add peas and boil for 1 minute.  Remove and add to the bowl with carrots.  Add celery to saucepan and boil for 1 minute.  Remove to the bowl with the other vegetables.  Add pearl onions to the saucepan and boil for 2 minutes. Remove onions to chopping board.  Cut the bottoms off and slide the insides of the onion out and add to the bowl with all the other vegetables.  

In another large saucepan (with high sides), melt the butter over medium heat.  Whisk in the flour and cook for 7 minutes, whisking constantly.  Add the herbs, chicken broth and 1/2 C of the mushrooms.  Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring regularly.  Using a large strainer, strain the mixture and discard the solids.  Return liquid to saucepan and add all vegetables: carrots, celery, onions, peas, potatoes and the rest of the mushrooms.  Simmer until chicken is ready.

When the chicken is ready, remove from water bath and bag and shred and add to filling mixture.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Keep on low simmer. 

Pre-heat oven to 400F.  Take the dough out of the refrigerator and knead into a malleable ball.  Sprinkle liberal amount of flour on a clean counter top.  Roll the dough out until it is 1/4" thick and can cover a 11" x 8" x 2" baking pan (pyrex).

Using a slotted spoon, fill an 11" x 8" x 2" baking dish with the filling.  Place the dough topping over the filling and trim 1/2" larger than the dish edge.  Fold under and crimp onto the edge of the dish.  Slice a 1" slot into the crust in the middle of the dish for venting.  Brush the crust with the beaten egg mixture and lightly  salt and pepper.  Place the baking dish on a baking sheet (to catch any overflow) and place in middle of oven and bake for 45 minutes or until crust is a golden brown.  Remove and let cool.  Then dig into the best chicken pot pie around!

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Chicken and Portabello Mushroom Roulade with Mushroom Espuma Sauce

Sous Vide Details: Cook chicken at 145F for 1 to 2 hours

Ingredients, Serves 2:

• 1 Chicken breast with skin on (boneless)
• 1/2 Large cap Portabello mushroom (stem removed)
• 1 T unsalted butter
• 1/2 T Tarragon, chopped
• 2 T EVO
• 1 T Grape seed oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Mushroom Espuma Sauce:
• 5 oz mushrooms (you can use shitaki, portobello or any other kind you like)
• 1/3 C White wine
• 1/3 C Chicken stock
• 1/4 C Water
• 2 T EVO
• 1 t Cheyenne pepper
• 1 T Tarragon
• 3 threads saffron
• 1 Egg yoke
• 1 Stick of melted unsalted butter (4 oz or 8 T)
• 1/3 C heavy cream
• Special kitchen tools: Cream whipper (used for the espuma sauce)

Sous vide is a perfect method for making a chicken roulade presentation (roll).  It plates really well.  Start by taking a chicken breast with the skin on and putting into a heavy duty 1 gallon zip lock bag.  Using a cooking mallet, pound the chicken flat.  

Thinly slice the portabello mushroom.  Heat the butter in a sauce pan on medium heat.  Put the mushroom slices in and cook on medium low for 1 min per side until they are soft and slightly brown.  Sprinkle with tarragon spice.  Set them aside.

Now, you will need a large counter space cleared and clean.  Lightly dampen your counter with a towel and then place a sheet of saran wrap on the counter with about 2 inches hanging over the edge.  It should be twice the width of the chicken breast's longest dimension.  Smooth it down on the counter so there are no bubbles.  It should stick to the counter top.  Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken breast and then lay it on the saran wrap 2 inches from the counter edge with the longest side parallel to the edge of the counter.  Lay the mushroom slices in the center of the breast, again parallel to edge of the counter.  Now pick up the saran wrap that is overhanging the edge and wrap it over the chicken.  Using your fingers and cupping your hands, pinch the wrap back towards you, essentially rolling the chicken breast onto itself.  Slowly roll the saran wrap away from you squeezing the breast into a roll.  Make sure there is no air between the saran wrap and the chicken breast.  Pinch both ends together as you roll so that the chicken breast is "pressurized" into a tight roll (like a sausage roll).  When you've completed the wrap, twist both ends to create an air tight roll.  Put the roll in a bag and seal.

Put the chicken breast roulade into the water bath at 145F and cook for 1-2 hours.

Now fro the espuma sauce.  Espuma is Spanish for "foam".  Espuma sauces are incredibly light and airy as they are infused with N2O in a pressurized cream whipper canister.  I have a blog on this topic coming up.  First clean and rough chop the mushrooms to a size of your liking.  In a large sauce pan, heat up the EVO over medium heat and add minced garlic.  Cook until just starts to turn golden brown.  Reduce heat and add minced shallots.  Cook until soft but not brown.  Add mushrooms and cook until softened.  Add chicken stock, white wine, water, Tarragon, saffron, and cheyenne pepper.  Simmer for 5 minutes.

Empty sauce pan into a stick blender container and puree until smooth.  Strain mixture.  Slowly whisk the egg yoke into the mixture.  Return mixture to stick blender container and slowly blend in melted butter until the mixture is a smooth emulsion.  

Following your whipper's instructions, pour mixture into the whipper, tighten cap and charge whipper with N2O cartridge.  Shake whipper prior to plating.

When chicken is done, heat a cast iron skillet on high with the grade seed oil.  Take it out of the water bath and bag.  Using a paper towel, pat dry the chicken roulade.  Place roulade into the skillet and sear the outside on all sides.  When completed, slice the roulade with a sharp knife into 3/4" slices.  You can cut square or at a slight angle, whichever you want.

Now for plating, take the whipper and turn it upside down.  Pointing directly at the plate, press the release lever and create a medium sized espuma landing for the roulade.  It should be foamy and delicate.  Now place the chicken roulade in a row slightly overlapping one another.  Add whatever sides you wish and serve!

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Non-Seared Sous Vide Chicken Breast with Pesto Sauce

Sous Vide Detailed: Cook chicken at 140F for 1 -2 hrs

Ingredients - Serves 4:

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 2T Basil
• 8 Thyme twigs (or savory or oregano)

I think chicken is the most transformed dish with sous vide.  The texture is virtually indescribable!  It is buttery, moist and cuttable with a fork.  For this dish, I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  I seasoned with sea salt and pepper on both sides, popped them in a bag and added some rough chopped thyme and basil.  You can also use rosemary, savory and even oregano.  Don't use a lot since the bag magnifies the aromatics versus normal cooking techniques.  I cooked the chicken breasts at 140F for 1-2 hours.  While most literature recommends you "sear" the chicken breasts before serving, I actually like the "non-seared" look and texture so I don't sear, but feel free to fire up the grill and sear them to your liking!

I typically cook up to 6 breasts in separate bags and then quick chill them (in ice bath water or I just pop them in the freezer).  Then I can use them as I want and it makes a quick healthy meal.  I typically make different sauces (pesto, mushroom, etc..) which is fast and easy and creates a variety.  The texture of the chicken is like eating fillet minion!  The picture below is with pesto sauce (Click here for that recipe) and rough chopped basil (from my garden).

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