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    Home » Recipes » Sous Vide » Sous Vide Chicken » How To Vacuum Seal A Whole Chicken For Sous Vide Cooking

    How To Vacuum Seal A Whole Chicken For Sous Vide Cooking

    Published: May 19, 2020 · Modified: Sep 20, 2022 by Jenna Passaro · This post may contain affiliate links.

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    vacuum sealing whole chicken before and after pin

    Learn how to vacuum seal a whole chicken so you can sous vide it to juicy, tender perfection. Once you see a couple options for vacuum sealing an entire chicken, you’ll be able to pick the one that works best for you. 

    Learn a couple options for vacuum sealing then sous vide cooking a whole chicken, including my favorite one, shown here.

    Vacuum sealing a whole chicken

    Chicken and sous vide are a winning combination, and once you master chicken breast, it’s time to move on to bigger and better things. Like cooking an entire chicken sous vide. But, before you can set the perfect time and temp to cook it, you need to know how to vacuum seal a whole chicken.

    So – can you sous vide a whole chicken the way you sous vide everything else– sticking it in the vacuum bag, getting a good seal, and dumping it in the sous vide machine?

    Yes and no.

    roasted whole chicken cooked sous vide style
    You’ll learn a couple options for vacuum sealing a whole chicken, including my favorite one, shown here.

    That extra cavity in the middle of the chicken makes the airflow complicated, and you could end up with part of your dinner uncooked. Don’t give up on your whole sous vide chicken, though!

    New to sous vide techniques? Learn why is sous vide so popular.

    Prepping the whole sous vide chicken properly means it will cook evenly, turning out juicy and fork-tender.

    In this post, you’ll learn three ways to vacuum seal a whole chicken.

    • Option 1 – use chicken stock
    • Option 2 – allow water to flow inside the chicken
    • Option 3 – spatchcock chicken
    Adding a whole chicken to a vacuum sealed bag
    Adding a whole chicken to a vacuum seal bag.

    Visual peeps: video on vacuum sealing a whole chicken

    What you need to vac seal a whole chicken

    Your main ingredient for the “prep” portion of a sous vide whole chicken recipe is just one whole chicken, cleaned, seasoned, and ready to cook. Depending on the method you choose, you might need a can of stock, a box of stuffing, or just a selection of your favorite chicken seasonings.

    For equipment, you’ll need a vacuum sealer and extra large vacuum seal bags. 

    See the vac sealer I use in my video review for the Foodsaver 4400. 

    Whole Chicken Filled With Chicken Stock
    Cooking a sous vide whole chicken filled with chicken stock is one option – but that’s a lot of liquid to try to vacuum seal — that method is a little too messy for me

    Option 1 – use chicken stock

    Vacuum sealing a whole chicken for sous vide cooking means eliminating that center cavity. You could fill the bird with stuffing, or with pre-made chicken stock.

    vacuum sealed whole chicken for sous vide cooking

    Option 2 – allow water to flow inside the chicken

    If I don’t have stuffing or stock on hand, I sometimes use a larger vacuum seal bag and, after putting the bird in, push the side of the bag all the way into the cavity. This allows the water to circulate nicely, inside and outside the bird, and results in a well-cooked chicken.

    Spatchcocking a whole chicken to vacuum seal it then sous vide it sip bite go
    Here the hubs is getting ready to spatchcock a whole chicken to vacuum seal it, then ultimately sous vide it with the recipe from Sip Bite Go.

    Option 3 – spatchcock it

    There’s another way you can get the same result: spatchcocking. This involves removing the backbone, then flattening the bird so it cooks quickly and well. Get the step by step for using this method in the Sip Bite Go recipe for sous vide whole chicken.

    roasted sous vide whole chicken that was spatchcocked before vacuum sealing it
    What do you need to vacuum seal a whole chicken? A vacuum sealer, large bags, sous vide equipment, and the ingredients.

    More tips for vacuum sealing an entire chicken

    • Extra large vacuum seal bags make sous viding a whole chicken easy: just punch that bag into the cavity so the water can circulate everywhere.
    • If you plan to have stuffing with your meal, fill the bird with it before you vacuum seal.
    • Spatchcock for quicker cook times and a hassle-free sous vide experience.
    • Don’t forget to crisp your chicken up in the broiler or on the grill after you take it out of your sous vide bag!
    • Become a sous vide chicken expert – learn why chicken looks strange after sous vide.

    There you have it: three ways to vacuum seal then sous vide a whole chicken.

    See how to make smoked whole chicken on the Traeger.

    sous vide whole chicken with the home chef's sous vide cookbook

    Once you vac seal and sous vide an entire chicken, make a meal out of it.

    Finish it in the oven broiler or on the grill, then serve chicken with some delicious sous vide onions, mashed potatoes, or sous vide corn on the cob. It is also delicious with tangy Greek salad, or my favorite make-ahead Mexican salad. For a nourishing lunch, sous viding a whole chicken is a meal prep option to sous vide chicken breast for salad.

    Looking for other sous vide recipes to cook in large batches?

    Sous vide brisket and sous vide pulled pork are favorites at my house for entertaining a crowd or meal prepping for a few days. We love to turn leftovers into breakfast tacos the next day.

    Love chicken dinners? This trick for making chicken sous vide from frozen is amazing!

    Recipe from The Home Chef's Sous Vide Cookbook by Author Jenna Passaro with sous vide chicken

    Find new ways to enjoy your favorite dishes in The Home Chef’s Sous Vide Cookbook.

    Best whole chicken recipes from Sip Bite Go

    • Smoked whole chicken
    • Smoked spatchcocked chicken (coming soon)
    • Sous vide whole chicken
    • Air fryer whole chicken
    • How to spatchcock chicken
    • Crock pot whole chicken

    New to sous vide cooking?

    Want an easy sous vide dinner idea? Well, I have one that’s casual enough for a weeknight after work. But looks super impressive – which makes it fancy enough to serve for a holiday. Try my sous vide whole roast chicken. 

    If you’re new to cooking sous vide, you might be wondering: why sous vide is so popular? My personal reason is because it’s an easy way to make restaurant style meals at home.

    Learn the basic steps for sous vide cooking. Become a pro and get into these sous vide recipes for entertaining.

    You just need a few things to get started, including this guide on how to vacuum seal meat.

    Share your sous vide cooking

    Find me on Instagram @sipbitego. I love seeing photos of delicious food.

    Tasty whole chicken recipes from Sip Bite Go

    • Pellet smoker beer can chicken
    • Smoked whole chicken
    • Smoked spatchcock chicken
    • Air fry whole chicken
    • Sous vide whole chicken
    • Crock pot whole chicken
    • Vacuum seal whole chicken
    • How to spatchcock chicken
    « How To Sous Vide A Whole Chicken [Step-By-Step Guide]
    What To Buy And Freeze For A Month From Costco »

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    jenna passaro food blogger from Portland Oregon

    Hey, I’m Jenna Passaro.

    I develop easy recipes that can transform your kitchen into a restaurant – and you into a true home chef.

      

    Where to start?

    Learn the secrets to smoking tasty Traeger recipes and making pizza at home. And cook amazing tri tip steak dinners.

    Or, fall in love with something new to cook with your air fryer, pellet smoker, BBQ grill, sous vide cooker, and more…

    You’ll notice, I kind of geek out over new cooking trends and tools!

    Instagram me @sipbitego & chef hubs @handmodelpatrick

    My story. Growing up, I didn’t learn to cook.

    (I was actually banned from cooking for years)

    And then in my 20’s I didn’t have to cook because my job as an event planner involved a lot of travel and it was easier to eat out. At the time, I was 100% positive that restaurant food would always taste better than cooking at home, and there was nothing I could do about it.

    Until I fell in love with a chef. He would come over and cook me delicious meals right in my own kitchen. My mind was blown.

    Since then, I’ve been on a mission to figure out easy ways to make restaurant style food at home and share it here on Sip Bite Go.

    Love to eat out and travel? I can totally relate. See my guide on where to eat in Portland, OR.

    jenna passaro the home chef's sous vide cookbook

    Never in a million years did I imagine I’d ditch the 9-5 lifestyle in my late 20’s, move across the country on a whim, start a new life, start a food blog, and write a book.

    But here I am!

    See my book on Amazon: The Home Chef’s Sous Vide Cookbook.

     

       

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