This Whole Chicken Recipe makes some of the juiciest, most mouthwatering chicken you'll ever have. Your family and friends will think it's smoked chicken, but you'll know the secret! Now it's up to you whether you want to tell them.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
This Sous Vide Whole Chicken Recipe is extremely easy to make and turns out as if it's been smoking for hours. It is incredibly juicy, just smokey enough and full of amazing cajun butter flavors.
Try serving this chicken with Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes, and if you love grilled chicken recipes, you may also want to check out this Amazing Pollo Asado!
Ingredients
Chicken: For this whole chicken recipe, you'll need, well, a whole raw chicken. Now, some stores will sell them already split in half. If they don't, however, you'll need to do that yourself. Just grab a sharp knife and completely halve the chicken into two sides.
Butter: Salted butter is pretty much my go-to in most recipes. However, unsalted will work just fine as well.
Hot Sauce: Lousianna works perfectly, but for a spicier option, I also recommend Tobasco.
Cajun Blackened Seasoning: Most store-bought cajun seasonings are very high in salt. Therefore, I make my own. Check out this recipe for Cajun Blackened Seasoning!
Liquid Smoke: Because this chicken isn't smoked, I felt it needed some smokey flavor added. Careful, though; it doesn't take much liquid smoke at all!
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Begin by preparing the Sous Vide Circulator in a large pot of water to 145°f for 2 hours.
Step 2: Next, prepare the whole chicken injection—this mixture of melted butter, cajun-blackened seasoning, hot sauce, and liquid smoke. Melt the butter in a glass measuring dish or bowl and add the cajun seasoning, hot sauce, and liquid smoke. Stir the mixture together to combine the injection thoroughly.
Step 3: Using a stainless steel injector equipped with a large needle, inject the butter mixture into the breast, thigh, and leg of each chicken half.
Now, place each chicken half in a large vacuum seal bag and spread any leftover injection over the top of the chicken.
Vacuum-seal the bags and place them in the prepared Sous Vide water bath.
Step 4: As soon as the chicken is done cooking Sous Vide, remove them from their bags and place them on the hot grate facing up. Season the topside with more cajun seasoning.
Allow the chicken to get some color and darkened skin, flip the chicken over, close the lid, and allow the fire to crisp up the top side of the chicken. This should only take about 5 minutes a side at the most.
Expert Tips
- This whole chicken recipe also works perfectly with chicken quarters. The same process produces the same results every single time.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can smoke, and sous vide chicken. Now, the smoking portion of this will not be the normal low and slow smoking method. I recommend starting with the sous vide bath and then placing the chicken on the grill to get the smokey flavor and beautiful colors on the chicken.
For most sous vide chicken recipes, you will want to sous vide the chicken for at least two hours. This also depends on the temperature you are cooking at.
When smoking a chicken quarter, you will want to cook it to the recommended temperature of 165°f for white meat and 175°f for dark meat. This is why it's very beneficial to sous vide the chicken first. That way, you seal in the juices, kill bacteria, and then smoke the chicken for a much shorter time.
More Recipes You'll Love
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📖 Recipe
Whole Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Whole Raw Chicken - halved
- 1 Cup Melted Butter
- 1 Tbsp. Cajun Seasoning
- 2 Tbsp. Hot Sauce
- ½ Tbsp. Liquid Smoke
Instructions
- Prepare the Sous Vide circulator in a large pot of water to 145°f for 2 hours.
- In a glass measuring bowl, combine the melted butter, cajun-blackened seasoning, hot sauce, and liquid smoke stirring to fully incorporate.
- Using a stainless steel injector equipped with a large needle, inject the butter mixture into the breast, thigh, and leg of each chicken half.
- Place each chicken half in a large vacuum seal bag and spread any leftover injection over the top of the chicken halves.
- Vacuum-seal the bags and place them in the prepared Sous Vide water bath.
- While the chicken is cooking in the water bath, prepare a charcoal grill at 400°f.
- As soon as the chicken is done cooking Sous Vide, remove them from their bags and place them on the hot grate facing up. Season the topside with more cajun seasoning.
- Allow the chicken to get some color and darkened skin, flip the chicken over, close the lid, and allow the fire to crisp up the top side of the chicken. This should only take about 5 minutes a side, at the most.
Video
Notes
- This whole chicken recipe also works perfectly with chicken quarters. The exact process produces the same results every single time.
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