Sous Vide Cooking

Have you tried Sous Vide (“sue veed”) cooking yet? It IS worth writing home about, so here’s what you need to know:

What is it?  Sous Vide means “under vacuum” in French.  It is a culinary technique of cooking food evenly without overcooking it and retaining moisture.
How does it work?  Food is sealed in a plastic pouch and placed in a water bath that is maintained consistently at a lower than normal cooking temperature.
How long does it take?  Ranging from 1 hour up to 48 hours, it definitely takes longer than normal cooking times.

I received ChefSteps’ Joule Sous Vide Tool as a birthday gift and I love it because it is so easy to use and the food comes out amazing! Select the type of meat on the app (which also has recipes), the thickness or weight as requested and the perfect level of doneness (check the pictures in the app as a reference for rare to well done ).

I’ve cooked only beef with it so far, but let me tell you, it’s cooked every cut PERFECTLY!  I started with a bacon wrapped filet mignon, then a 3.5lb chuck roast, to several ribeyes including for lunch today with my family and all turned out moist, tender, flavorful and medium rare just as I like it.

Nothing used to annoy me more than overcooking a ribeye steak, but now I don’t have to worry about ending up with a medium well steak using Joule. It is very difficult to overcook using sous vide.  You can actually leave it in the water bath for quite some time after the cooking time is over without overcooking because of the low temperature. Joule does tell you how long you can keep it in after the set cooking time without overcooking it. Note that for steaks, pan searing is highly recommended afterwards and Joule will advise how long to sear the meat as well without overcooking it in the pan. I never cared for chicken breast but that will definitely be the next thing I cook with Joule and if it comes out juicy and tender like the beef has, I see taking yet another step towards healthier eating becoming a reality in the near future!

When I cooked the roast, it took 18 hours (yes, that long) but I received compliments from everyone who ate it because of both the flavor and tenderness.  Because it was such a long cook time, I was curious about the energy consumption and came across a discussion which, you can read more about at the link I referenced here, about how it is an efficient way of cooking and can actually be made more efficient with some extra effort.

Last but not least, since cooking is done in a sealed plastic bag, not having the smells permeate the whole house while cooking is a real bonus since I dislike having my house smell like food long after I’m done eating.  For that reason alone, I switched from broiling my steaks in my Breville convection oven (I have set off my smoke alarm on more than one occasion that way) to Joule sous vide.

If you were considering sous vide before, I definitely recommend investing in one.  It literally changes the way you cook in a way that I believe is for the better!  If you already have one, please share a recipe with me!