Nicholas Gavin is the Culinary Creative Director of ChefSteps, where he develops recipes and is responsible for making all the food look beautiful. Nick has worked at ChefSteps for over a decade; he and ChefSteps co-founder Grant Crilly worked together at Modernist Cuisine. Nick has worked in professional kitchens both in the United States and abroad, most notably at Mugaritz in San Sebastian, Spain.

Nicholas Gavin

Joule® Turbo Sous Vide

Meat mallet (tenderizer)

1-gallon Ziplock-style freezer bag(s)

12-inch Nonstick skillet

Chicken thighs

Kosher salt

Black pepper

Neutral oil

Thyme

Garlic clove(s)

Do I have to remove the bone?
We think you should! Deboning the thighs speeds up the cooking process.

And the pounding?
Pounding the chicken thighs will help get an even, golden-brown sear on the skin. When you taste it, you’ll see what we mean. Trust us. 

What should I make with my chicken?
For a balanced, delicious, and impressive weeknight meal, try these thighs with <a href="/activities/yam-puree">Fresh and Simple Yam Purée</a> and <a href="/activities/our-favorite-simple-kale-salad">Our Favorite Simple Kale Salad</a>. You can make the purée and salad while the chicken cooks!

Before we begin

Heat sous vide water bath to desired temperature according to our doneness guide.

[f 149]: Tender and steaky
[f 167]: Luscious and juicy (our favorite)
[f 185]: Succulent and fork-tender

Heat sous vide bath

Place chicken thighs, skin-side down, on cutting board. Working with one thigh at a time, use a sharp knife to trim away excess skin (any skin overhanging meat by more than 1 1/2 inches); discard excess skin. Make incisions running along both sides of the bone, and using tip of your knife, cut away and remove bone. 
 
Repeat with remaining chicken thighs.

Cut out bones

Flip thighs over, skin-side up. Using a meat mallet, pound thighs to even thickness, taking care not to tear skin. 
 
NOTE: You can make the process neater by pounding the chicken thighs between layers of plastic. Trim a 1-gallon ziplock-style freezer bag by removing the zipper and cutting along both long sides to remove the seams. Place 2 chicken thighs in center of prepared bag and fold plastic over them. Pound thighs to even thickness. Repeat with remaining thighs.

Pound thighs to even thickness

Season thighs on both sides with salt and pepper. Divide thighs between two 1-gallon ziplock-style freezer bags or vacuum-seal bags, arranging the chicken thighs in a single layer. Add 15 g oil to each bag and divide aromatics (if using) between bags. 
 
Seal bags using water displacement method or vacuum sealer.

Season and bag thighs

Lower bags into sous vide bath until chicken thighs are fully submerged, and clip to side of water bath container. 
 
Cook for 45 minutes. 
 
Once cooked, chicken thighs can be held in sous vide bath for 1 hour (1 hour 45 minutes total) without any loss in quality. 
 
While thighs are cooking, you can fix up some sides to make it a meal.

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Everyone has a go-to kale salad—this is ours. It’s simple and hearty, and it goes great with all sorts of stuff. Make some tonight!

Our Favorite Simple Kale Salad

When you need a basic recipe for yam or sweet potato purée, use this simple but delicious formula.

Fresh and Simple Yam (or Sweet Potato) Purée

Cook chicken thighs sous vide

Remove chicken thighs from bags and transfer to a paper towel–lined plate or tray. Gently pat dry. 
 
Heat a dry 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; the skillet is ready when drops of water instantly bead and sizzle when added to the pan. Add chicken thighs, skin-side down, to skillet, pressing down on them with a flexible spatula or cooking weight to ensure skin makes even contact with surface of skillet. Cook until skin is golden brown and crisp, 2 to 4 minutes. 
 
Transfer chicken thighs, skin-side up, to a tray or plate.

Sear thighs to crisp skin

If serving with a purée and salad, start by spooning a mound of purée onto each plate. 

Top each purée mound with a heap of salad.

Place one thigh on each pile of salad, and serve immediately.

Plate and serve!

If you are old enough to remember a world without the internet, you may also have enjoyed a childhood in which the chicken nuggets at a certain ubiquitous fast-food chain were consumed largely without question. Remember those golden bird bites—crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, magnificent when doused with spicy mustard sauce?  
 
If you did not grow up on the nug, fear not. We’re going to help you experience everything good about that eating experience, only instead of mystery meat, we’re using skin-on, flavor-packed thighs—just as fresh and wholesome as you please. We lose the bone and pound ’em flat, then cook them sous vide for that impossibly juicy interior. Then we sear those suckers skin-side down in a hot pan and serve with <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/fresh-and-simple-yam-or-sweet-potato-puree">a yam or sweet potato purée</a> and <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/our-favorite-simple-kale-salad">Our Favorite Simple Kale Salad</a> for a weeknight meal that feels like a treat but is easy to pull off and simple to source at your favorite grocery store or organic market. And if you decide to serve these thighs with salty fries and a toy promoting the latest Disney film, well, who are we to get in the way of your ’90s nostalgia?

Crispy Sous Vide Chicken Thighs