Sous Vide Korean BBQ Chicken

1 . Stage

Make the Korean BBQ sauce: Combine the hoisin sauce, gochujang, vinegar, honey, and soy sauce in a medium bowl. Stir together well and set aside.

2 . Stage

Prepare the chicken: Rub the chicken with 1/3 cup or so of the sauce – enough so that all of the thighs are coated with a little sauce. Reserve the remaining sauce for basting the chicken later. Place the thighs in a plastic freezer bag. Make sure the chicken is in a single layer; use two bags if you need to rather than overlapping the chicken.

3 . Stage

Seal the chicken: With your hands, press out as much air as possible from the bag and partially seal the top. Slowly submerge the plastic bag in a pot filled with water up to the top of the bag, pressing out as much air as possible. Seal the bag the bag once you reach the top. ( Read more here. ) At this point you can dry the bag and freeze the chicken for up to 3 months before cooking.

4 . Stage

Heat the sous vide water bath: When you are ready to cook, add your Joule or other immersion circulator to the pot of water and heat to 158 degrees F.

5 . Stage

Cook the chicken sous vide: Add chicken to the pot of hot water, making sure all of the chicken thighs are fully submerged in the water. Cook for 3 to 5 hours; the chicken is ready any time within this time frame. (Cook for at least 4 hours if cooking from frozen.) Make sure your cooking bags are completely submerged in the water throughout the cooking time. I also like to rotate them once halfway through to make sure they are cooking evenly.

6 . Stage

Heat a gas or charcoal grill to high heat: About 500°F or until you can hold your hand 1 inch over the grates for 1 to 2 seconds.

7 . Stage

Finish the chicken on the grill: Remove the chicken from bags and transfer to a platter. Place the chicken skin-side up on the grill, and grill for 1 to 2 minutes. Baste with some of the extra sauce, then flip the chicken skin-side down. Baste with some more sauce and grill for another 1 to 2 minutes. You should have some nice grill marks on both sides at this point. Continue to baste with BBQ sauce and flip a few times if you like. Remember, the chicken is already cooked at this point, so we're only grilling to sear the outside.

8 . Stage

Serve: When chicken is grilled on both sides, remove it from the grill and transfer to a clean platter. Garnish with sesame seeds and scallions, and serve immediately.