Sous Vide cooking?

[Wayne]

I keep reading friends on FB and other places shouting the virtues of "Sous Vide" cooking. To me, an untrained kitchen hack, it just seems like "boiling-in-a-bag", much akin to the same way you do with those frozen veggies in a bag from the grocery store...

Toss in that you're really supposed to have a food vacuum sealer THEN take the food out and sear it in a hot pan (or via torch) for "the proper sear" and I just don't get it...

I'm hoping maybe that @the_leander (or anyone really) who's actually tried it can share their experiences and/or recommendations?

Wayne

 

[the_leander]

I keep reading friends on FB and other places shouting the virtues of "Sous Vide" cooking. To me, an untrained kitchen hack, it just seems like "boiling-in-a-bag", much akin to the same way you do with those frozen veggies in a bag from the grocery store...

Toss in that you're really supposed to have a food vacuum sealer THEN take the food out and sear it in a hot pan (or via torch) for "the proper sear" and I just don't get it...

I'm hoping maybe that @the_leander (or anyone really) who's actually tried it can share their experiences and/or recommendations?

Wayne

I have tried it and whilst there are some technical differences to boil in the bag the principles are pretty much identical in both forms.

The major difference between the two really is time. Sous Vide style tends to slow cook foodstuffs in their packaging whilst most boil in the bag stuff is designed for quick cooking. So you'd typically put meats that need to be slow cooked to tenderise so as to prevent the meat drying out.

And yes, I did upset my tutor when I made the comparison. Turns out that self made boil in the bag is totally different than the stuff you buy in shops.. Because reasons.

--edit--

The blowtorch/grill use is purely to make it look like it's not boil in the bag or microwaved. Where I'm working now buys in individual belly pork joint portions that are Sous Vide by the company before it gets to us. We then (officially) reheat this in boiling water before placing it under the grill to crisp the skin. In actuality most of the time we're that busy we poke a hole in the bag, throw it into the microwave and then blast it with a blowtorch. The results are identical but the latter is twice as fast.

 

[the_leander]

I should also add that the reason you're seeing things like Sous Vide being mentioned a lot these days is that, 1) thanks to the downturn people are looking for cheaper cuts of meat that typically require more preparation than stuff you'd typically find in a supermarket. 2) pretentious, middle class hipsters looking for working class chic. Because surviving from pay cheque to pay cheque is totally something to aspire to, apparently...

Sous Vide's big selling point is that it scales well, really well. Get yourself a ton of really cheap cuts of meat, bag them up, throw them into a vat of hot water overnight. Come back next morning, dry off the packaging, allow to cool, apply date tags and box. Sell to both pretentious hipster douchbags and "foodies" for 100% the actual value of the product.

 

[Wayne]

I should also add that the reason you're seeing things like Sous Vide being mentioned a lot these days is that, 1) thanks to the downturn people are looking for cheaper cuts of meat that typically require more preparation than stuff you'd typically find in a supermarket. 2) pretentious, middle class hipsters looking for working class chic. Because surviving from pay cheque to pay cheque is totally something to aspire to, apparently...

I hadn't even considered the money aspect, but the pretentious part, I got right away.. I understand though, because there are kitchen gadgets I'm fond of, like my T-Fal Actifry and the Ninja brand "cooking system" (ie, metal crockpot)...

I also never tried cooking fish, so I can see how that might work better, but for steaks and such, the idea of (essentially) boiling it just feels somehow odd, or wrong... Reminds me of the movie "Better Off Dead" where the clueless, ditsy mom boiled bacon (which turned out green and slimy) for "health reasons"...

Wayne

 

[FluffyMcDeath]

pretentious hipster douchbags

Those are for the béchamel!