K Kruger
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Don't worry about checking the breast temp, just check the water temp. Time will depend on whether the breast is bone-in or not. But if you keep your water at the low end of the range you can hold the breast for quite a while.
Before I got a circulating water bath from a lab to use for sous vide, for making duck confit I simply brought the water to a good simmer or to a boil, then dropped in the bag of duck legs right from the fridge. (This cools the water.) Then I would test water temp. For me, pot on very low heat, I could keep 180 (my target) if I partially covered the pot.
If you go the 180 route I'd go maybe 10-15 min (tops) for bone-in breast. If you can get your water to 150/160 it will take a bit more time but you can let it hang there for a while without worry and simply remove when ready to serve, or when ready to finish the skin if doing so.
Before I got a circulating water bath from a lab to use for sous vide, for making duck confit I simply brought the water to a good simmer or to a boil, then dropped in the bag of duck legs right from the fridge. (This cools the water.) Then I would test water temp. For me, pot on very low heat, I could keep 180 (my target) if I partially covered the pot.
If you go the 180 route I'd go maybe 10-15 min (tops) for bone-in breast. If you can get your water to 150/160 it will take a bit more time but you can let it hang there for a while without worry and simply remove when ready to serve, or when ready to finish the skin if doing so.