Go to the Article: 5 Common Misconceptions About Sous Vide Cooking
Hello. Thank you for answering some of my concerns. I have a question however. If you are not ready to invest in a sous vide machine yet but want to sous vide would a portable induction top work? I want to get one for frying like the one used in cant f it up fried chicken. Please advise. Also if you can give me the name of the induction cooker that would be great too.
I followed ChefSteps videos and posts for about a year before I finally got my sous-vide setup...I've been very satisfied with the results, For me the #1 selling factor of sous vide for home cooking is the totally relaxing preparation for consistently cooked food, and ready to serve "when you're ready" Plus my wife finally enjoys eating rare steaks as there are never any raw bits ... so she buys me steaks to cook every week now instead of once a month
Nice article. On that vacuum thing: I don't vac anything. I use a very thin, 1 mill, small kitchen garbage bag and let it compress via the weight of the water. The bags are 7 gallons so they're long enough to clip to the side of the 5 gallon tank I cook in and..since they are not sealed a I can place a thermometer probe in the food and I know when it's done. I tried zip lock bags but no one makes a good one. Eventually you'll get steak or chicken that's water logged.
I think the best thing about SV, aside from the absolute control, is the fact that you can walk away. You can work on other things or take a nap. It's going to be right when you get back!
I totally agree about zip lock bags. They DO leak. I have been using FoodSaver vacuumed up bags only because i freeze a lot of things and then take them out, thaw in the bag and sous vide them. I'd like to try your idea of small kitchen bags, next time :-)
Yes portable induction will work but will take a little babysitting and best if it has the ability to make small changes in temp. One like the vollrath 59500p would work well. Downside is it's twice the price of the joule. Want the best of both worlds and spend the same as you would for that, get the Joule and a Maxtor 1800.
Thanks to Grant & the team nothing is impossible in the Sous Vide kitchen, I have even sprouted seeds, mixed them with greens from my Aquaponics & cooked Sous Vide, served up with 65c fish from my backyard farm. Below the fish in the bath are some Lamb shanks on a 48hr cook.
You're killing me. My Joule has been on order since January and I am told that it won't be shipped until May. Every Joule advertisement is salt in the wound.
Are you at all worried about leaching chemicals out of the garbage bag and into your food?
I have been using Sous vide at home since I got ahold of a copy of Baldwins draft of his PHD thesis on the mathematics of sous vide eight years ago. Top use in our home: purchase in bulk (learn how to fabricate beef,chicken,etc), season and vacuum seal in portions convenient for your family, label, cook sous vide, ice bath, and freeze. You will then have a quantity of delicious, perfectly cooked portions you can quickly bring to temperature (in sous vide without over cooking), sauce and serve. You will save the cost of the equipment within months. Of course we use it for multiple other applications.
I have worked in restaurants which use sous vide and I cannot imagine an up scale, cost conscious operation not using the technique today.
Mine has been on order since December! I feel your pain but still have the anticipation. Christmas in May, anyone?
I am using 4 Avona that cost $200 each & $200 to ship to Thailand & $300 import duty,,, Never looked back & yes Baldwins draft is printed & on the bench daily, BTW he joined chefsteps June 2014
I was tempted to try sous vide cooking when I read that you could use a beer cooler and hot water. I chose instead to experiment cooking chicken breasts via "sous vide" by using the ziploc bag method and a pot of water maintained on the stove top at 145 degrees F. I was curious as to whether the chicken would taste better compared to poached, broiled or sauteed. It took a little bit if finesse to get the water to 145 degrees. I started with hot tap water and added boiling water until it was the correct temperature. I set the gas setting on low and without any further adjustments, the temperature remained steady between 145-147 degrees. Good enough for me. I cooked the chicken for an hour and finished with a minute or so in a skillet. I have tried this three times and so far no bag leakage. The chicken was somewhat more tender and to a certain extent the process was somewhat easier. While I didn't use a sous vide gadget it was clear to me that the sous vide method does take a lot of the guesswork out of cooking meat- but I would still recommend using a meat thermometer. I would agree that the sous vide method allows inexperienced cooks to prepare a nice meal. This is definitely an item I would recommend. However, as an experienced home cook with time on her hands, I prefer the challenge of cooking sans sous vide. For me, sous vide is an interesting method that I will use from time to time. For now, the sous vide gadget isn't high on my list of gadgets to acquire. There are ways to test sous vide cooking before making the investment in a somewhat expensive tool. If you don't currently own or have room for a full set of pans, the cost of the basic unit is far less than the price of a good set of pans.
I take issue with cooking in plastic. We only know what we know and part of what we know is that there are ocean islands made up of plastic refuse that never degrades. In fact the more food safe it is, the less likely it is to degrade. I applaud you for giving a nod to mason jars but this product and most of what you espouse encourages throwing away more plastic. I love sous vide, but that cannot be a good thing.
I appreciate your concern about the environment, but there are reusable bags you can buy at this link.
Gigi, I think then you can just move on then as you obviously have missed the plot. Sous vide does not replace your other methods and tools, it just adds to it. Used correctly there are thing that cannot be done with any other method you have mentioned. 72 hour beef short ribs at 145F is one that comes to mind. Nothing else can match it. The closer you come to the lowest safe temps is where this process makes it unique. Lastly using this tool along with traditional methods is common. One never takes out a steak that's been cooking at 132F without browning traditionally.
And for those that wish to enhance their knowledge. I have never had pork taste as tender and juicy as pork tenderloin done at 141F for 4 hours then browned in a cast iron skillet. Its the best I have ever have had. No other method I know can compare to this.....
Hey at least you have not been waiting 2 years for you coolest cooler! I still am!
Eeeek I would never use garbage bags as a lot are treated with stuff! And most likely plasticizers that make them stretch. Very bad idea!
Our very existence on this earth is killing it. I am pretty sure it does not compare to the environmental damage k cups or microbeads are doing.
I have a sous vide cooker and I seldom use it. I mostly eat flash cooked vegetables and quick grilled chicken. It's a lot more work to use it than to not use it. I keep waiting for that a-ha moment but it hasn't happened yet
If you are cooking in plastic bags at a temperature that is going to cause it to break down and be a health issue I do believe you are well above the temperature range you are going to reach with even boiling water. I do like the mason jar creme brulee but then I like creme brulee any time I can get it.
There is another element in sous vide cooking that is worth mentioning: It allows you to "Time Shift" by doing the cooking when you have time - like on the weekend - so that you may eat a delicious meal when you don't have time to cook during the week.
Preparing this food in this way also gets you thinking of meat, vegetables, and sauces as components to be combined in different ways rather than as just ingredients in a single dish. All in all cooking in a low temperature water bath will transform the way you think about food and about cooking.
I have been sous vide cooking for 5 years. I have done it on the stove, in a thermos, and in my Nesco Roasters. Some people thought I was nuts. It's not old days "seal a meal cooking". Like ChefSteps says you cook at a low temperature longer, sometimes much longer. I did the ChefSteps version of Pastrami and the Lady & Pups version (intended for oven and it was good from the oven), both awesome sous vide. I will be doing my take onProsciutto, sous vide next. I have Pastrami brined boneless leg of lamb and pork loin going now. Just for fun I hang eggs in the hot water in cone coffee filters to poach. Last night I did baked potatoes with butter, (the sous vide was already going) 2 hours at 160, then out of the bag and into the oven at 350 convection for about 30 min, they turn a lovely brown, they were hot all the way thru and I like my baked potatoes a little on the crunchy side inside. For me they were perfect. I have 2 Joule's ordered, one for me and 1 for my girlfriend.
My Ah-Ha moment occurred when I took the time to sous vide a chuck roast I bought on sale. After 24+ hours I shocked it in ice water and put it in the frig. A day or so later I fired up the grill and after bringing the roast up to room temp, threw it in the grill for a decent char. It was the most delicious beef I have had. More tender and flavorful than any prime rib before or since. Now, it is my favorite cut of beef and I will never pass up a sale on chuck roast. I try to have one in the frig and one in the freezer available for those times when I need a quick and satisfying meal for a carnivorous family or guests.
Depending on how handy you are, it may be a great solution. I made a temp controller with about $60 worth of components that merely cycles the power on and off of any 110v appliance. You put the temp prove in the water and the water container on the heater. The heater is plugged into the temp controller and the desired temp is set on the digital controller. There are plans on sites like Makezine and Instructables. I added circulation by using a $10 aquarium pump that would survive high temperatures (above 180 F). By the way, I also have seen the wisdom in the Joule and have placed my pre-order. It's the wireless connectivity that convinced me.
i don't understand why you defrost then cook SV. I simply take an item from the freezer and drop it straight into the SV tank. I add about half an hour for the defrosting. Think about it. It defrosts quicker, as it is surrounded by a hot water bath, and spends minimal time in the danger zone as it is pulled right through with no time at all sitting on a bench at room temperature.
We have the San Saire Immersion Circulator ($200 at Sur la Table) and have used it only a few times. We are loving the results. My son-in-law made salmon "lox" and it was fantastic! I understand that the finished foods can be held, sometimes for several hours, after the cooking is completed. How long can foods actually be held and is there a general timetable for holding various foods? I would like to know if I could begin preparation in the morning and finish the final searing (or whatever) when I return home after work but don't want to risk loosing my main course to guesswork. Anyone have that information? Thanks!
The food spends no time in the danger zone, if you defrost it in the refrigerator, as recommended by food safety experts. I have wondered about popping the food directly into the SV bath, though. Concerned that the outer parts will cook a bit more than normally, with the extra time to get the center up to temperature.
Rod: I also have my Joule on pre-order. In the meantime, I've been using my Instant Pot Smart as a makeshift SV device. Where did you find a $10 aquarium pump that would survive high temperatures? Make/model/manufacturer/place of purchase information would be greatly appreciated!
How long after cooking in sous vide iu can use meat fish general food?
I think the plastic "concern" is a bit of a contrivance. Most food is wrapped in the stuff and there are tons of microwaveable dishes that are cooked in it. Plates, cups and flatware are made of it and what about those micro-plastic balls?
There are other methods but they all take advantage of the same thing: exacting temperature control and low temperature cooking. If you could set a pan at 125 degrees and keep it at that you would not need sous vide. I don't use SV that much because I find it yields a sloppy piece of meat that is somewhat poached in its own juices. But I like the idea of not letting a piece of beef get above 125 degrees F. So I use a laboratory "hybridization oven" with temperature control much tighter than SV. I can set that thing at 125.2 and that's where it stays. Its a dry heat so I put the meat in there wrapped in tin foil and allow it to equilibrate with the oven temp. Usually I have a probe in it so I don't have to guess when it's ready. The meat is coked as in SV, to rare all the way through but its not blanched and wet. Because it's dry is sears much faster ( I use a custom made pan 1/2 thick on a 60,000 btu burner ) and I get less heat into the deeper portions of the flesh.
I'm sure the folks that use SV a lot get excellent results. I guess I would too but I don't.
For some reason there's lots of trolls out there scaring people off sous vide on sites like Amazon. I don't get it. I love grilling, but it's pretty undeniable that there are health risks from cooking meat over open flame for the entire prep time. Sous vide cuts that time to a tenth of cooking without it. Oddly, the trolls seem to have a problem with civility, grammar and spelling.
Why don't all you plastic happy chef's just skip the middle man and eat the plastic. Yay then you'll chemically castrate yourself and you're offspring or for females make yourself and your children sterile. Then the population control plan will succeed. you'll have done a great service to the world and also those with low IQ will end their genetic family line from the world. Yay. Use only titanium camping cookware or lead free clay etc if you actually care about your health and family. Yay more yummy teflon you chefs are the coolest!!
"Triggered"
Actually, your last sentence is very consistent with the personality of a troll. Best to ignore, unless you enjoy laughing at them. ;-)
I like the points you make, Gigi, but as someone else commented, sous vide doesn't replace all other methods of cooking. Also, three years on, sous vide gadgets are very cheap. I just bought two as gifts and another for myself at $70 each. It's a beautiful thing when you can let your food cook pretty much unattended until just before serving so you've got many hours to attend to other business and avoid resorting to a fast-food meal for your busy days.
I dont want no more kids anyways sign me up...
