What is sous vide?
How does it work?
Here are the answers to everything you’ve been wondering about sous vide cooking at home.
Emma Christensen
Have you ever heard of sous vide cooking?
Or tried it yourself?
What Is Sous Vide Cooking?
Emma Christensen
Before we get too far into it, let’s discuss this whole concept of cooking sous vide.
“Sous vide” (pronouncedsue veed) literally means “under vacuum” or “under pressure.”
It sounds a little crazy – like something the Jetson family might do – but bear with me!
Emma Christensen
Here’s the benefit:
What’s an Immersion Circulator?
What’s so Great About Cooking Sous Vide?
Both resources are great for taking the guesswork out of cooking sous vide.
Emma Christensen
If you’re not back right when the timer goes off, no big deal.
Is It Safe to Cook in Plastic?
Cooking in plastic is weird.
Emma Christensen
They are typically made of food-safe plastic and rated to temperatures well above boiling.
Double-check the package before cooking sous vide to be sure.
I’ve been using Ziploc brand gallon-sized freezer bags for all my sous vide experiments.
Emma Christensen
I think that sous vide cooking is great for some people, but isn’t necessarily for everyone.
The universal advice for first-time sous vide users is to cook a steak.
“Sous vide steak is life-changing,” I heard again and again.
Emma Christensen
I heeded this advice and took my Joule for its first spin with a thick porterhouse.
I cooked it for an hour to a nice medium-rare.
There was much anticipation among those hovering nearby with plates in hand.
Emma Christensen
Tasting it, my husband and I both thought it was… fine.
Just…a solidly good steak.
Certainly not so much better than our regular stovetop steaks that I needed a special tool to cook it.
Undeterred, I carried on.
Time is about the texture."
In other words, the longer the food cooks, the more tender it will become.
But you should probably be a little more careful with something like fish where tenderness can lead to mushiness.
My “Oh, Wow!”
Sous Vide Moment
My first big breakthrough with sous vide cooking was with salmon.
The salmon was silky and soft, but still flaked apart under my fork.
This was definitely the moment when I felt like I finally understood what made sous vide cooking so incredible.
Unlike when I cook filet mignon, however, I wasn’t worried about messing it up.
Why I Think Sous Vide Can Be a Home Cook’s BFF
You guys.
Sous vide is awesome.
Recipes to Try First
Also, check out this post onHow to Use Your New Immersion Circulator.
What recipes do you love and how do you think sous vide cooking fits into your life?
What do you want to know more about?
What recipes or tutorials would you like to see?
