Sous Vide Chicken Thighs: Time and Temperature

Sous vide chicken thighs cook at 165°F (73.9°C) for tender, very juicy meat. A thigh 1 in (2.5 cm) thick needs a minimum of 1 hour 30 minutes, with a best window of 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours 30 minutes and a maximum of 4 hours.

The skin comes out of the bag soft, so it is crisped in a hot skillet after the bath.

Temperature and doneness

The calculator has three settings for thighs. Two of them use the same temperature and differ only in time.

The Time column of the table gives the shortest and the longest minimum time for thighs from 0.5 in (1.3 cm) to 2 in (5.1 cm) thick. For the long cook it gives the minimum and the maximum, which are the same at every thickness in that range. The table footer says the times are for pieces straight from the refrigerator, not frozen. From frozen the long cook of a thick thigh is longer, as the frozen section below shows.

How the three compare:

• 150°F (65.6°C) gives a firm, very juicy thigh that is slightly chewy.
• 165°F (73.9°C), short cook, the default, gives a tender and very juicy thigh that still holds on the bone. The best window is 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours 30 minutes for a 1 in (2.5 cm) thigh.
• 165°F (73.9°C), long cook is the falls off the bone setting. The meat is very tender, pulls easily from the bone and is a little less juicy than the short cook. The minimum is 4 hours and the maximum is 8 hours for thighs up to 2 in (5.1 cm) thick.

Dark meat needs a higher temperature than breast meat to become tender. That is why the default here is 165°F (73.9°C), against 145°F (62.8°C) in the guide to chicken breast. Chicken wings use the same 165°F (73.9°C) default with a shorter cook, and the chicken temperature chart lists the settings for every cut together.

The two 165°F (73.9°C) settings differ in time. Douglas Baldwin's guide to sous vide cooking says collagen, the protein in connective tissue, begins to dissolve into gelatin above 122°F to 131°F (50°C to 55°C). The long cook gives that process more time at the same 165°F (73.9°C).

Anova's time and temperature guide lists the same pair: 165°F (73.9°C) for 1 to 4 hours for juicy and tender thighs, and 4 to 8 hours for thighs that come off the bone. Those ranges carry no thickness. The calculator's minimum depends on thickness, so a thick thigh needs more than the short end of the range.

Time by thickness

Measure the thickest thigh through its thickest part, including any bone. The times below are for thighs straight from the refrigerator.

The minimum grows with thickness because the center of a thicker piece takes longer to reach the bath temperature. Anova's flat range of 1 to 4 hours starts at 1 hour, which fits thighs up to 0.75 in (1.9 cm) thick. A 1.5 in (3.8 cm) thigh needs 2 hours 30 minutes, and a 2 in (5.1 cm) thigh needs 4 hours.

The maximum for this setting is 4 hours for thighs up to 1.5 in (3.8 cm) thick. For thicker thighs the minimum is close to or past 4 hours, so the maximum is the minimum plus 1 hour: 4 hours 15 minutes at 1.75 in (4.4 cm) and 5 hours at 2 in (5.1 cm). It is a texture limit. The thighs are pasteurized at the minimum time, and extra time makes them softer but does not make them unsafe.

The 150°F (65.6°C) setting has similar times, from 1 hour for the thinnest thighs to 3 hours 45 minutes at 2 in (5.1 cm).

For the long cook the minimum is 4 hours at every thickness in the table, the best window is 4 to 8 hours and the maximum is 8 hours. Those times are for thighs straight from the refrigerator.

For a thickness between the rows, enter it in the calculator.

Boneless vs bone-in thighs

The calculator does not have a separate setting for bone-in thighs. It asks for the thickness, measured through the thickest part including any bone.

What changes is the measurement. A bone-in thigh that measures 1.5 in (3.8 cm) needs 2 hours 30 minutes at 165°F (73.9°C). A boneless thigh laid flat at 0.75 in (1.9 cm) needs 1 hour.

Other differences:

• Stacking. Arrange the thighs in a single layer in the bag. If they overlap, measure the whole stack and use that thickness.
• The bag. The water displacement guide covers double bagging a zipper-lock bag when the food has exposed bones.
• Searing. Anova's chicken thigh recipe by Kate Itrich-Williams takes the bone out before the bath: lay the thigh skin side down, cut along the bone and pull it free. The boned thigh is then pressed flat in the pan with a spatula.
• Color near the bone. USDA FSIS explains in Chicken from Farm to Table that darkening around bones occurs mostly in young chickens. Their bones are porous, and pigment from the marrow seeps into the meat. FSIS says chicken meat that turns dark during cooking is safe to eat.

How to sous vide chicken thighs

1. Heat the bath to 165°F (73.9°C), or 150°F (65.6°C) for the firmer option.
2. Season the thighs with salt and pepper.
3. Bag in a single layer. Use a vacuum sealer or a zipper-lock freezer bag.
4. Cook for at least the minimum time for the thickness. Keep the bags fully under the water and not overlapping. Crowded or overlapping bags heat more slowly, and the times shown will be too short for them.
5. Dry the thighs well. Lift them out of the bag and pat the skin dry with paper towels.
6. Crisp the skin in a hot skillet, as described below.

If you are cooking ahead, the meal prep guide covers chilling and reheating cooked chicken.

How to crisp the skin

The bath cannot crisp skin. Jason Logsdon's guide at Amazing Food Made Easy points to the moisture in the bag as the reason.

Sear after the bath. This is the calculator's method: dry well and crisp the skin in a hot skillet. The Anova recipe gives the details:

1. Pat the thighs thoroughly dry.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Add the thighs skin side down and press them firmly with a flexible spatula.
4. Sear for 3 to 5 minutes, until the skin is crisp and golden brown.

Or cook the skin separately. Logsdon's guide takes the skin off before the bath and crisps it close to serving time, either in a hot skillet with oil or on a rimmed baking sheet in a 375°F (191°C) oven.

Chicken thighs from frozen

Frozen thighs can go straight into the bath. At 165°F (73.9°C) the frozen minimums are:

• 0.5 in (1.3 cm): 1 hour
• 0.75 in (1.9 cm): 1 hour 30 minutes
• 1 in (2.5 cm): 2 hours 15 minutes
• 1.25 in (3.2 cm): 3 hours
• 1.5 in (3.8 cm): 3 hours 45 minutes
• 1.75 in (4.4 cm): 4 hours 45 minutes
• 2 in (5.1 cm): 6 hours

The long cook keeps its 4 hour minimum from frozen for thighs up to 1.5 in (3.8 cm) thick. Thicker frozen thighs need longer: 4 hours 45 minutes at 1.75 in (4.4 cm) and 6 hours at 2 in (5.1 cm). The maximum stays at 8 hours.

In the calculator, the heat-through time from frozen is 1.55 times the thawed time, and the pasteurization time is longer by a matching allowance. That allowance is the calculator's own rule. No published table covers pasteurizing from frozen.

The guide to cooking from frozen covers other foods.

Safety

FoodSafety.gov lists 165°F (73.9°C) as the safe minimum internal temperature for all poultry, including thighs. The default bath for thighs is set to that temperature.

The 150°F (65.6°C) setting is below the USDA figure. The USDA temperature is a single reading with no hold time. The lower temperature pasteurizes the thighs only because they are held for the full minimum time shown.

The explainer on whether sous vide is safe covers how pasteurization by time and temperature works.

Common problems

The thigh is chewy. That is the texture at 150°F (65.6°C). Use 165°F (73.9°C) for a tender thigh.

The meat is too soft. It stayed in past the maximum. At 165°F (73.9°C) the limit is 4 hours for the short cook on thighs up to 1.5 in (3.8 cm) thick and 8 hours for the long cook.

The skin is soft after searing. The Anova recipe guards against this in two ways: it pats the thighs thoroughly dry, and it presses them flat against the pan.

The bag floats. Any part of a thigh above the water heats more slowly than the times assume. Push the air out again and hold the bag under.