I just made souse vide chicken thighs. .. set water temp @ 140 and left them in for an hour..
I had a q though. .. rather than individually bag each tiny thigh, I laid them flat in several rows in a large ziplock baggy and laid it in the water.... does it matter that theyre in the same baggy? They werent bunched up or touching each other.
also, when I took them out 1.5 hours later, the water temp had dropped to 125-130. Should I care?
Completely fine the way you bagged them. No need at all to bag them separately. The temperature drop should not matter too much since I assume you are going to pan fry it a bit briefly before serving. A few points to note as to why the temperature may have dropped:
1. Could be the starting temperature of the Chicken was a bit cold. You can bring them to room temperature before putting them in to lessen the chance of a temperature drop once it goes in the water.
2. The amount of chicken at the temperature before adding may have been too much resulting in the temperature drop. (Number one, bringing to room temperature could solve this)
3. Size of the cooler in relation to amount of food placed in it. The larger the cooler, the less chance of a temperature drop when food is placed in it.
4. The amount of water filled. The more water that fills the cooler, the less chance of a temperature drop.
Once you narrow it down, there is an easy solution to it. Also, you can try starting the water a higher temperature to account for the drop. Ideally you want chicken to be held at 140 degrees for at least 30 minutes to kill everything and to ensure proper cooking.
You should be completely fine though after your pan fry.
