What is Sous Vide?
Sous vide is a cooking technique that’s gaining popularity in the home. This technique, although previously associated with fancy dinners at high-end restaurants, is relatively easy once you learn the process and can be made from the comfort of your own home. So, what is sous vide, and why should you consider the sous vide cooking technique for your future dinner plans? Let’s find out!
Sous vide is French for “under vacuum” and is a cooking technique where food is vacuum-sealed and slow-cooked at a constant low temperature in water until it is cooked perfectly through. While cooking at a precisely heated water bath, the sous vide method helps to make reliable and delicious meals each and every time with little to no margin of error! This method helps produce foods with not only excellent flavors but outstanding textures and consistency, as well. If you’re asking yourself, “Why should I cook sous vide?”, stay tuned to find out some of the unique benefits associated with this cooking technique when compared to others.
What are the benefits of cooking sous vide?
No more overcooking
While trying to ensure that your food, especially meat, is cooked thoroughly, oftentimes they end up being tough, dry, and overcooked. This is extremely common with traditional cooking methods such as cooking in the oven or on the stovetop. However, with the sous vide cooking method, you have precise control over the temperature you are cooking your food at. Better yet, it helps to ensure that the food you are cooking is cooked consistently throughout while maintaining the food’s natural integrity. The best part, however, is that you can cook your meat to be well-done, however, it will still be filled with juices and flavors because they were cooked in a self-braising environment. This is extremely different from traditional meats cooked well done where they’re more so cooked to death and bone-dry.
Saves you money
You’re probably wondering how the sous vide cooking method can help to save you money. However, it’s relatively simple. With the sous vide cooking technique, it works to help tenderize any meat – even the cheaper ones. Cheaper cuts of meat don’t necessarily mean that they are worse. It typically means they are the parts of the animal that were used most often, so they are a lot tougher to break down. However, the sous vide cooking method works to break down even the toughest proteins, leaving you with a tender and delicious cut of meat each and every time.
Sous vide is healthier
The sous vide method requires a lot less of the traditional ingredients used to cook meat and vegetables, such as fats, salts, and oil. Slow cooking the food with the sous vide method helps to preserve the natural nutrients found in the food. This method is also great for those on special diets such as gluten-free, Keto, or Paleo.
Great for meal prepping
The sous vide method is also great for prepping meals ahead of time. In fact, this method can be used to prep meals weeks, or even months in advance. In fact, there are companies such as Cuisine Solutions that create restaurant-quality products with the sous vide method for the world’s top chefs and passionate foodies. The sous vide cooking technique was initially mastered in the late 1960s to help ensure that prepackaged foods had a longer shelf-life as well as to pasteurize and seal commercially prepared foods.
What are the best foods to cook sous vide?
The sous vide cooking method is great for cooking just about anything; however, meats and vegetables tend to be a fan favorite when using this cooking method. Specifically, meats and vegetables that tend to get tougher throughout cooking or may not be as easy to cook through consistently.
Tougher cuts of meat
As mentioned previously, the sous vide method works to break down tough proteins found in tougher cuts of meat and provide juicy and tender meat as the result. Examples of tougher cuts of meat would be a chuck roast, lamb, chicken breasts, pork chops, or beef brisket.
Carrots
Carrots are one of those vegetables that are extremely difficult to cook thoroughly. However, that is what makes them so perfect for the sous vide cooking method. It allows them to achieve the perfect texture, as well as infuse the natural flavors found in the bag that they were cooked in.
Eggs
Eggs aren’t necessarily difficult to cook, however, they are one of those proteins that are hard to cook consistently through. The sous vide method helps to provide a sense of control over the consistency and texture of the egg, and once the right temperature and amount of time to cook them is established, you will have delicious eggs every time.
Steaks
Steak is one of those meats where people struggle to get the exterior crispy while keeping the interior more on the rare side. However, using the sous vide cooking method creates a perfect steak each and every time. Just ensure the water is set to the temperature that you desire, and once thoroughly cooked to your liking, you can quickly sear the meat in a cast iron to gain the crispiness on the exterior.
If you enjoy cooking and trying out new recipes, then consider trying out a new cooking method, as well. Once perfected, the sous vide method is sure to provide consistently cooked and flavorful food each time.
