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I'm throwing a party together soon and I wanted to sous-vide some chicken thighs. Because (1) It's tasty, (2) it's easy, (3) leaves open all my pans, stove and oven for other foods.

The problem lies in finishing it off. Typically I remove the chicken, put it in a ice water bath till cool, dry it off then finish it in a small pan till golden and crispy. It's delicious but there's no way I can finish off 30 of these in a timely and efficient way.

I tried broiling but they were not as golden and crispy and were overcooked by the time they had any crispness.

Any ideas? (I'll also take other ideas to feed ~15 people as a main that doesn't take much effort/time)

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  • A reach but try finishing first
    – paparazzo
    Nov 6, 2016 at 15:06

2 Answers 2

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You could use a searzall with the chicken on a large baking sheet (make sure you have adequate space to do this without accidentally setting anything else ablaze).

I usually use one in conjunction with pan-searing, so I'm not sure it could do the total job for you, but you certainly could use the broiler method and then finish up with the searzall (or, slower, any culinary torch) to get the sear that you want.

Outside of that, a gas grill would probably be your best bet.

Bonus: It's a torch. Torches are fun, and possibly a neat way to entertain your guests.

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    Yay! Flame-thrower!
    – Stephie
    Nov 5, 2016 at 16:42
  • I love the searzall, but this will not be more efficient for the original poster, given his situation. It will be much slower than a pan or the broiler. Again, I love my searzall...but...not for this application.
    – moscafj
    Nov 6, 2016 at 12:44
  • @moscafj I've not tried it on chicken, but it worked quite well on beef fillet. I used a searzall on an Iwatani cassette gas torch - is your setup the same? I did brush the tops of the fillets with a bit of olive oil to help the process (something I should probably put in the answer)
    – user293
    Nov 6, 2016 at 16:19
  • @TimPost I am sure it will finish a chicken thigh, but the original poster was looking to do 30 of them, and he wants them fast. I am just saying that the searzall is not the tool for that particular job. In my opinion, deep frying would be quicker and he would achieve a superior result.
    – moscafj
    Nov 6, 2016 at 17:04
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Given your situation, I would deep fry. You can do several at once...it will only take a minute or two (especially if you pre-sear before sous vide) and you will have crispy skin.

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