Deep frying pigeon, sous vide first?

[Josh71]

I bought 2 frozen whole pigeon, without head and already cleaned.

 

Thinking to make kind of Asian style dish which is pigeon marinated in soy sauce and Chinese 5-spice powder then deep fry it.

 

I had this dish several time in the past and it was hit and miss in term of the texture of the pigeon meat.

 

Sometimes it was succulent, soft and tender, few times it was succulent, moist, but tough (hard, not tender).

 

I am thinking to "sous vide" it before deep frying, because I read that doing sous vide can tenderize the meat, at least I experienced that with beef steak

 

So, here is my plan:

 

- Cut the 2 pigeon into 4 pieces (simply cut split each of them)

- Marinade with soy sauce, Chinese 5 spice powder, for few hours

- Air dry it in the refrigerator over night (to dry out the skin)

- Sous vide at 53C (129F) for 1 hour, this should still keep the meat at medium-raw ...

- Pat dry and air dry it for 30 minutes

- Deep fry

 

Do you think the sous vide step will make it "better" (tenderize)?

 

Thanks.

[KennethT]

53C for 1 hour will not tenderize significantly. Also, there is no purpose to air drying the bird before SV, since SV is a 100% humidity situation, and will negate any drying you do beforehand.

What temperature do you use for deep frying?

If I were to do a hybrid process, I would marinate, then SV, then chill and air dry in the refrigerator. Then I'd deep fry at a very high temp 400-425? just long enough to get the color and bring the core to temp.

I find squab breasts need no tenderizing, so you really only need to cook to core temp (and pasteurize if desired). The thigh sections can be a little chewy, so I give them 4-5 hours, and then they come out great. But I've never tried a post deep fry... that could change things.

[Josh71]

53C for 1 hour will not tenderize significantly. Also, there is no purpose to air drying the bird before SV, since SV is a 100% humidity situation, and will negate any drying you do beforehand.

What temperature do you use for deep frying?

If I were to do a hybrid process, I would marinate, then SV, then chill and air dry in the refrigerator. Then I'd deep fry at a very high temp 400-425? just long enough to get the color and bring the core to temp.

I find squab breasts need no tenderizing, so you really only need to cook to core temp (and pasteurize if desired). The thigh sections can be a little chewy, so I give them 4-5 hours, and then they come out great. But I've never tried a post deep fry... that could change things.

 

I will deep fry at high temperature, just to get quick nice crisp in the outer.

Thinking about 200C which is equal to 392F.

 

You right, I think I don't need to air-dry before sous-vide.

 

But, I am interested in your comment "53C for 1 hour will not tenderize significantly".

 

Do you have other suggestion? Or why you came with that comment ...

 

Hmmm ... or, I can do experiment. I have 2 pigeon, so I can cook 1 with sous-vide first, and the second one without !

[jmacnaughtan]

You shouldn't normally need to tenderize pigeon breasts at all.  It seems like you're either overcooking them (they shouldn't be any more than medium rare, and I find them perfect when rare) or maybe your birds are just old.

[Josh71]

You shouldn't normally need to tenderize pigeon breasts at all.  It seems like you're either overcooking them (they shouldn't be any more than medium rare, and I find them perfect when rare) or maybe your birds are just old.

 

This specific dish requires to deep fry the pigeon cut, not just the breast.

 

Yeah, probably the birds were just old when I got it not tender.

[EnriqueB]

Pigeon breasts are tender cuts, and deep frying them after marination should be enough, no SV needed.

 

On the other hand, the thights are tougher and do benefit from SV tenderizing. I do 3 hours at 65ºC following Modernist Cuisine profile and they are perfect.

[Josh71]

Pigeon breasts are tender cuts, and deep frying them after marination should be enough, no SV needed.

 

On the other hand, the thights are tougher and do benefit from SV tenderizing. I do 3 hours at 65ºC following Modernist Cuisine profile and they are perfect.

 

How was the doneness of the meat at 65C 3 hours? medium still?

[EnriqueB]

How was the doneness of the meat at 65C 3 hours? medium still?

 

Tender, moist, but not "falling off the bone".