What Is Cooking ‘Sous Vide’
I received a Sous Vide cooking apparatus as a gift, and my first question was "What is Sous Vide?"
I've learned several things since I started my research, but the most important thing I learned about Sous Vide: it makes the best steak I've ever eaten. And the best pork chops. And the best baby back ribs. And easy yogurt.
(/suːˈviːd/; French for 'under vacuum') is a method of cooking in which food is placed in a plastic pouch or a glass jar and cooked in a water bath for longer than usual cooking times - Wikipedia
Here's the gist of Sous Vide: put the item you want to cook into a plastic food bag, seal it shut, submerge it into a controlled-temperature bath, and let it cook. The Sous Vide unit has a water circulation pump and a heating element with a digital control panel to allow you to set cook time/temp, etc.
The longer you leave meat in a Sous Vide cooking bath, the more tender it becomes WITHOUT overcooking. If you like your steak medium-rare, set the Sous Vide to 140 degrees, submerge your sealed package, and allow it to cook for at least one hour. The steak will achieve NO MORE THAN 140 degrees through and through. After you remove the steak from the Sous Vide bath, allow it to cool slightly and then finish it on a very hot cast-iron skillet or on a very hot grill. The finishing is what browns the meat and gives it that "browned" flavor we like so much.
Buddy was interested in getting a sous vide cooker and sent me a text asking if I still like mine. This was my reply. from r/sousvide
I was hesitant about cooking a steak Sous Vide, but after my first attempt, I was hooked. Perfect medium-rare steak that was juicy, tender, and cooked perfectly through and through; no brown/chewy on the edges and pink/tender inside. A perfect steak through and through!