To Vacuum or Not to Vacuum...That is the question

In one of the latest ChefSteps postings "Level Up Your Sous Vide Skills" the food was mostly in bags where the air was removed using the water displacement method. http://www.chefsteps.com/activities/level-up-sous-vide-presentation

I know that pulling a vacuum on softer foods can change their shape. Outside of that I am not sure whey they chose to use water displacement method over a chamber vac. I have a large Chamber Vacuum at home would love to know when to use it and when not to? Any rules of thumb or guidelines would be great. Thanks!

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Comments

Brendan_Lee_56950

I use it for everything except for chicken and really delicate fish since they can change texture very easily. The trick to the chamber is learning the pressures needed for different proteins. Something hearty with a lot of connective tissue like a pork shoulder I will pull a regular vacuum but for things like a ribeye or a pork tenderloin/loin i will dial it back to about half or maybe lower. Vegetables I usually always pull a full vacuum because they have the tendency to puff up from moisture/gas being released during the cook. Seafood varies, for shrimp I like to pull 1/3-1/2 vacuum so they will hold their outstretched shape when cooking, same for more hearty fish but for delicate fish i use the zippy's.

FrankM_3301

I use zip lock bags for around 90% of my water bath cooking (home cooking, not a pro). The other 10% are for really long cooks, like 100 hr oxtail...not because I need the vacuum, but simply to ensure that water doesn't enter the bag.

Josh_82912

Thanks y'all for the comments. This is exactly what I was looking for!

Judi_Kuhns_Chesley_13123

I use a glass jar for cooking things like beans or slow steeping soup in the sous vide.

Blackbird_56994

How does that work? Do you vacuum the jar? I have an attachment for my brand new vac sealer, but haven't even attempted to use it yet. Do you cover the jar with water, or sit it in it like bain marie?

ttpoker

Once you start cooking lots of custards, milks or unshelled eggs, you discover very quickly that a chamber vac doesn't need to be used in most scenarios unless your cooking for long periods of time, or performing a cook-chill step. Even with proteins I tend to use an open ziplock now, this way I can pop-in the thermometer to monitor the cooking process.