Ingredients
4medium chicken breasts,(6 to 8 oz each)
1tspsalt
¼tspblack pepper
1lemon,sliced thin
1½lbsbroccoli florets
2tspsesame oil
½tspred pepper,flakes
pinchkosher salt,or sea salt, or table salt
Preparation
Fill a pot with water and place the immersion circulator inside.
Set the temperature to 158 degrees F and let the water come up to temperature.
Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper, and place them in a gallon-sized zip-top freezer bag with the lemon arranged over top.
Seal the bag with as little air as possible by using the water displacement method to press out all the air.
Just slowly lower the bag with the chicken into the water, letting the pressure of the water press the air out of the bag.
Once the top of the bag reaches the water line and all the air has been pressed out, seal the bag.
This can be done in the pot of water as it heats. (Just be careful if the water is already steaming.)
Set the chicken aside on a kitchen towel until the water has finished heating.
At this point, the bag can be frozen if desired to store the prepared chicken for later.
To prepare the broccoli, place the florets in a gallon-sized zip-top freezer bag, and season with red pepper flakes and sesame oil.
To weigh the broccoli down, add a few heavy soup spoons to the bag (or plan to place a heavy bowl over the top of the water bath to keep the broccoli submerged).
Use the same water displacement technique to seal the broccoli bag.
Once the water has come to temperature, add the chicken and broccoli to the water and cook for 2 hours.
Make sure the cooking bags are completely submerged in the water.
Place a heavy bowl over the pot if the spoons aren’t keeping the broccoli submerged.
Rotate all the bags halfway through cooking to make sure they are cooking evenly, as sometimes they can get jostled around in the water.
When cooking time ends, remove the bags from the water and turn off the circulator.
To serve, remove the chicken and broccoli, and portion in lunch-sized portions or serve for dinner.
