How To Sous Vide Chicken Thighs (Bone-in And Boneless)

Sous viding has become one of my favorite ways to prepare chicken thighs. I prefer bone-in, skin-on because they have so much flavor but boneless are excellent, too, and great for throwing into dishes. This post covers times and temperatures for both bone-in and boneless chicken thighs.

I love chicken thighs that are just starting to pull away from the bone but still juicy. 165 degrees F for 6 hours is my favorite when I have the time!

4.70 stars from 10 reviews

Featured Review

I made this last night as the first meal with my sous vide machine. After dinner, my dad said that was the best chicken he has had in his life, and in his 65 years, the man has eaten a LOT of chicken. I loved it as well. Flavorful and juicy, with a crispy skin from the cast iron sear. I am definitely looking forward to leftovers!

Dave C

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Tips for Making the Best Sous Vide Chicken Thighs

Here are a few tips and tricks to make sure you pull this off successfully:

• Always season the chicken thighs before sous viding (see next section for ways to do so!).
• Always keep the chicken fully submerged while cooking. To do this, I like to use sous vide magnets and/or place a ceramic plate or bowl on top of them in the water.
• To make them easier to serve and eat, after cooking and searing bone-in thighs, I like to remove the bone with a pairing knife and slice the chicken thighs.

Marinades and Seasoning Options

To make sure your chicken thighs have plenty of flavor, you’ve got options!

1. Add the chicken thighs to a marinade in a bag. I have tons of marinade recipes like this BBQ Chicken Marinade, and in my cookbook Sous Vide Meal Prep! Remove the air and seal. Yes, you can cook the chicken thighs in the marinade! In fact, the marinade makes a great sauce.
2. Season with a seasoning blend or rub. Homemade or pre-made will work! Trader Joe’s has some of my favorites. Remove the air and seal.
3. Simply season with salt and pepper, then remove the air and seal.

Time and Temperature for Sous Vide Chicken Thighs

There are a number of ways to approach your cook times for chicken thighs. I love chicken thighs that are just starting to pull away from the bone but still juicy. 165 degrees F for 6 hours is my favorite when I have the time!

When cooking bone-in chicken thighs, your minimum time should be 2 hours.

Result	Temp	Time	Time (Frozen)
Very juicy and firm	150 degrees F65 degrees C	2-4 Hours	3-4 Hours
Juicy, mostly tender	155 degrees F68 degrees C	2-4 Hours	3-4 Hours
Juicy and completely tender	165 degrees F74 degrees C	2-4 Hours	3-4 Hours
Fall off the bone texture (bone-in only)	165 degrees F74 degrees C	6 hours	6 hours

Bonus tip to make bone-in thighs easier to serve and eat: remove the bone after cooking with a pairing knife and slice the thighs.

Why can I cook chicken at a lower temp than 165 degrees F when sous viding?

The information provided by experts like the USDA around food safety often sacrifices detail in favor of being easy to understand. Which I get! But 165 degrees F isn’t the full story.

Temperature guidelines are there to make sure you kill bacteria, the big one being salmonella when we’re cooking chicken. We want to pasteurize the chicken. Pasteurization is related to both time AND temperature.

The reason 165 degrees F is the gold standard is because chicken is instantly pasteurized at that temperature. The lowest temperature I offer for cooking chicken is 140 degrees F. If your chicken is 140 degrees F all the way through for at least 27.5 minutes, it will be pasteurized! And I recommend a minimum of 2 hours to allow for plenty of time for it to get to temperature and be there for far longer than 27.5 minutes.

At 145 degrees F you only need 9.2 minutes, at 150 degrees F you only need 2.8 minutes, and at 155 degrees F you only need 47.7 seconds! Pretty neat, huh?

To learn more about this, I recommend this article from Serious Eats.

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Sous Vide Chicken Thighs (Bone-In or Boneless)

Prep Time: 15 minutes minsCook Time: 2 hours hrs Yield: 4 people Print Recipe Pin Recipe Leave a Review Sous viding has become one of my favorite ways to prepare chicken thighs. I prefer bone in, skin on because they have so much flavor. The times and temperatures below apply to both boneless and bone-in (except the last row).I love chicken thighs that are just starting to pull away from the bone but still juicy. 165 degrees F for 6 hours is my favorite!

Ingredients 1x2x3x

• Bone-in or boneless chicken thighs
• Seasoning of choice or salt and pepper

Equipment

• Sous Vide Machine
• Sous Vide Bath
• Sous Vide Bags

Instructions

Preparation

• Preheat a water bath using an immersion circulator to a temperature from the time and temperature options listed below.
• Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper or your favorite seasoning blend.
• Vacuum seal chicken thighs or use another air removal method.

Time and Temperature Options

• Very juicy and firm: 150 degrees F: 1-4 Hours (2-4 if frozen or bone-in)
• Juicy, mostly tender: 155 degrees F: 1-4 Hours (2-4 if frozen or bone-in)
• Juicy and completely tender: 165 degrees F: 1-4 Hours (2-4 if frozen or bone-in)
• Somewhat juicy, fall off the bone texture: 165 degrees F: 4-8 Hours

To Finish

• Searing is optional with boneless chicken thighs. To sear, heat a skillet over high heat until smoking. Add butter or oil and sear skin side down until golden brown, 1-2 minutes. Sear for 1 minute on the other side.

Notes

• Always season the chicken thighs before sous viding.
• Always keep the chicken fully submerged while cooking. To do this, I like to use sous vide magnets and/or place a ceramic plate or bowl on top of them in the water.
• To make them easier to serve and eat, after cooking and searing bone-in thighs, I like to remove the bone with a pairing knife and slice the chicken thighs.

Cuisine: AmericanCourse: Chicken, Dinner, Lunch, Main Course, Sous VideAuthor: Chelsea Cole Did you make this recipe?Mention @chel.seacole on Instagram or tag #aducksoven.