Does sous vide chicken stock work?

This has been on my "sous vide experiments" list for a few months but I haven't gotten around to it yet. In addition to my circulator I have a Sous Vide Magic so I was going to try doing the stock in the crock pot, unsealed. But with the circulator using the ice cubes would probably work well, or just use water and seal in a ziplock using the displacement method. Of course, you could probably add all the ingredients including the water into the pouch and then freeze it all together, that would eliminate most of the air caused by gaps between ice cubes.

Anyway, if you give it a shot please let us know how it turns out!

While the idea is interesting, to me it's probably not worth the effort. At temps that close to boiling you can simply simmer it on the stove. There's no problem with denaturing the proteins since that's part of what you're after. Anything that coagulates or gives off scum will be strained out. And you're not going to be able to intensify the stock thru reduction when the bag is sealed.

According to the good guys that blog for the FCI, a pressure cooker produces the best tasting stock. Haven't had a chance to try it yet, pretty much the opposite of SV (very high temp for a brief time).

Still, I look forward to hearing how it works for you.

I greatly prefer using a crockpot for stock: a layer of veggies like onion and celery, then the chicken parts. Cover with water and cook on low for 9 hours. No skimming required to produce a clear broth, since it never comes to a boil. About a quart of water per pound of chicken parts is about right.