Eli5: What’s so special about sous vide cooking that can’t be done via other cooking methods?
In: 3670
It just keeps things at the correct temp without overcooking. Anyone with experience cooking steak will be able to make it right either way. The reason restaurants do it is so they can get a steak out in 10 minutes instead of searing for 2, oven for 10, rest for 10.
It just keeps things at the correct temp without overcooking. Anyone with experience cooking steak will be able to make it right either way. The reason restaurants do it is so they can get a steak out in 10 minutes instead of searing for 2, oven for 10, rest for 10.
Using a sous vide is brilliant. One point I’ve seen left out is the tenderness you’ll get when you sous vide. Think about slow cooking a stew, when the meat comes out, it’s practically falling apart. When vacuum sealed, all the juices are retained in the meat so instead of it being released into the ‘gravy’ as it would in a stew, you are getting the same effect without loss of flavour. We souse vide lamb belly and chicken mostly in our kitchen and the difference in tenderness is noticeable.
Using a sous vide is brilliant. One point I’ve seen left out is the tenderness you’ll get when you sous vide. Think about slow cooking a stew, when the meat comes out, it’s practically falling apart. When vacuum sealed, all the juices are retained in the meat so instead of it being released into the ‘gravy’ as it would in a stew, you are getting the same effect without loss of flavour. We souse vide lamb belly and chicken mostly in our kitchen and the difference in tenderness is noticeable.
I just avidly read a bunch of well written answers, a blog post, and now I’m looking into buying a sous vide machine, all in the span of 10 minutes and from not even knowing what sous vide consisted in lol.
So, what’s everyone’s recommendation for a machine?
Cheers
EDIT: I bought a ANOVA Nano, it’s coming in 4 days!
I just avidly read a bunch of well written answers, a blog post, and now I’m looking into buying a sous vide machine, all in the span of 10 minutes and from not even knowing what sous vide consisted in lol.
So, what’s everyone’s recommendation for a machine?
Cheers
EDIT: I bought a ANOVA Nano, it’s coming in 4 days!
It’s really precise.
The machines have a temperature tolerance of +/- 0.5 c.
They include pumps that keep a large volume of water at a very specific temperature for hours.
If you try to do it by hand you get much bigger temperature swings.
It’s really precise.
The machines have a temperature tolerance of +/- 0.5 c.
They include pumps that keep a large volume of water at a very specific temperature for hours.
If you try to do it by hand you get much bigger temperature swings.
– It essentially pasteurized the meat since the temp has killed most food borne bacteria
– Because of that, it has a long shelf life in the fridge
– It locks in and let’s the meat absorb so much flavor if you put herbs or whatever marinades you throw in there so be careful and adjust your seasonings accordingly, and it can also impart colorations easily so better chop up your green herbs, and helps distribute the flavor, if you throw in a sprig of rosemary it will only impart the flavor on the area it’s touching and it will be strong and noticable because of this as it really locks everything in.
– Likewise you lose less moisture making it a juicy piece.
– Perfect cooking, just set to the desired internal temp and it will be like that all over the meat.
– Aside from that most connective tissue or collagen dissolves/breakdown at around the 50-60°C mark depending on meat, so the meat will be much more tender. All you have to do is give it a quick sear for color and extra flavor depending on what you want
– Quick servicing, if you mass produce a lot of sous vide meat in your kitchen during non service hours, you can have a lot on standby ready to sear and serve, all consistent and all flavorful as the previous one implying you didn’t change the recipe or temp settings
– Less food wastage
Cons:
– Expensive upfront cost if you plan on doing this seriously as one of your main cooking methods for your restaurant, although you will ROI fast sooner, it’s really just the initial cost you have to sink in for a bunch of machines.
– Takes a while to actually cook the meat in the sous vide when we aren’t in service and doing production
– It essentially pasteurized the meat since the temp has killed most food borne bacteria
– Because of that, it has a long shelf life in the fridge
– It locks in and let’s the meat absorb so much flavor if you put herbs or whatever marinades you throw in there so be careful and adjust your seasonings accordingly, and it can also impart colorations easily so better chop up your green herbs, and helps distribute the flavor, if you throw in a sprig of rosemary it will only impart the flavor on the area it’s touching and it will be strong and noticable because of this as it really locks everything in.
– Likewise you lose less moisture making it a juicy piece.
– Perfect cooking, just set to the desired internal temp and it will be like that all over the meat.
– Aside from that most connective tissue or collagen dissolves/breakdown at around the 50-60°C mark depending on meat, so the meat will be much more tender. All you have to do is give it a quick sear for color and extra flavor depending on what you want
– Quick servicing, if you mass produce a lot of sous vide meat in your kitchen during non service hours, you can have a lot on standby ready to sear and serve, all consistent and all flavorful as the previous one implying you didn’t change the recipe or temp settings
– Less food wastage
Cons:
– Expensive upfront cost if you plan on doing this seriously as one of your main cooking methods for your restaurant, although you will ROI fast sooner, it’s really just the initial cost you have to sink in for a bunch of machines.
– Takes a while to actually cook the meat in the sous vide when we aren’t in service and doing production
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