Something I learned About Torching and Sous Vide Chicken

Something that isn't often described in recipes for sous vide cooking is a strange torch flavor you can get when post searing with a blowtorch. While some of the strange flavor remains you can get rid of quite a bit of the off flavor by simply turning the torch down until the flame is dark blue and sputters a little. Turning the torch all the way up keeps some of the fuel from combusting and just deposits it directly onto the food. While the chicken above was still a strange texture and flavor, it tasted a little less strange with a torch that has been turned down.

This chicken was brined prior to cooking sous vide. The texture was better than the post from earlier but was still very strange in a different way. It was firm and juicy but in the same way that cheap lunch meat is firm and juicy. It was brined overnight using a "equilibrium" brine technique. I attempted to mask the off flavor with curry but that was a miserable failure.