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Cooking with Sous Vide

Oven. Grill. Smoker. Griddle. There are more than a few ways to cook great food with fire. But let's take a look at another great cooking element: water.

Sous Vide (French for "under vacuum") is a way of cooking where food is placed in a sealed bag and submerged in a hot water bath, generally for extended periods of time, at a very precise temperature.

Reasons we love sous vide:

Simple Precision: Sous vide keeps it straightforward. Seal, immerse, and set the temperature. No fuss, no guesswork.
Space-Savvy: A compact sous vide setup fits in your kitchen cabinet. No need for grand culinary real estate.
Budget-Friendly: It won’t break the bank. A modest investment yields gourmet results.
Foolproof: Even kitchen novices can’t derail it. Consistency reigns supreme.
Delicious: Sous vide can transform humble ingredients into culinary masterpieces.

Downsides:

Uniform Temperature: Sous vide treats all ingredients equally. While it ensures precision, it can be a challenge if guests need varied meat doneness.
Time Investment: You'll need to plan ahead—the magic of sous vide is the time it takes to transform food, so as long as you can prepare food a few hour ahead of time, you're all set.

The Process:

Preparation: Season your food with your choice of herbs, spices, and oils. Trim as much fat as you can. We've found that very thick fat, such as a ribeye, doesn't render as well as thinner marbling, so be sure to remove any large areas of fat prior to cooking.
Bagging: Place the food in a sous vide bag, removing as much air as possible. This can be done with a vacuum sealer or by using the water displacement method, where you slowly submerge the bag in water to push out the air before sealing it.
Water Bath: Set your sous vide machine to the desired temperature. The exact temperature will depend on the type of food and your preferred level of doneness.
Cooking: Place the bagged food in the water bath and let it cook for the recommended duration. Cooking times can vary greatly depending on the food, ranging from 30 minutes for vegetables to several hours for meats.
Finishing: Once the food is cooked, you can finish it by searing, grilling, or broiling to add texture and flavor.

Products We Use and Recommend

Anova Sous Vide

Anova is a leading brand in the Sous Vide space, and ours has worked well for several years with heavy use. It connects to wifi so you're able to control the temperature from anywhere via the Anova App. This should get you everything needed to start the sous vide journey.

Buy it here on Amazon

Vacuum Sealer

You can use plastic bags to get started with sous vide, but the vacuum sealer is much more efficient and can serve multiple purposes. It increases cooking surface area, traps in liquids more efficiently, and you can prepare and freeze food in advance. We initially purchased an inexpensive unit and regret not upgrading to this unit.

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Sous Vide Container

You don't need to spend a ton on a sous vide container. You could use a large pot to get up and running. However, this container has a lid that serves two purposes: it contains heat, making it more efficient. Additionally, it has a metal insert to ensure your food stays submerged.

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Our Favorite Meals

Filet Mignon

Hands down the best thing we've made in the sous vide. If you cook a filet on the grill, it will gradually cook the meat from the inside out. If you get a nice crust on the outer edges, the rest will cook gradually throughout until you get a small pink/red center. With the sous vide method, you get a perfectly cooked steak, with a crust on the outside and the rest is cooked to whatever level you choose.

Set your sous vide accordingly for the following results:

Rare: 126

Medium Rare: 132

Medium: 140

Medium Well: 148

Well Done: 156

Cooking Time:

1 inch: 1h hour

1.5 inches: 1.5 hours

2 inches: 2 hours

2.5 inches: 2-2.5 hours

Season the steak lightly with whatever you prefer. You can add butter, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and seasonings such as rosemary and thyme. Insert those into the vacuum bag along with the steak and toss it in.

Once the steak has cooked for the suggested time, remove from the bag, pat it as dry as you can, and let it rest for a bit. At this point the steak will appear grey, and you'll need to finish it off on cast iron skillet for perfection.

Pre-heat a cast iron skillet to the hottest temperature possible. Warning: this may generate a lot of smoke so turn on the fan and maybe open a few windows. Add a bit of high temperature oil, such as avocado or canola, right as the skillet reaches the highest temperature and begin searing. It will take 1-2 minutes per side, and be sure to sear each side as well. You can add aromatics and garlic at this stage, and if you like the traditional steakhouse flavor, add butter into the pan as well.

Chicken Thighs

Thighs have more flavor and fat content, and are more tender than chicken breasts. The sous vide method helps melt the fat, and make some of the most tender chicken we've ever had.

This recipe is easy. Trim the fat and season the chicken. Insert an even layer into the vacuum bag and put it into the sous vide. We cook at 165 for 3-4 hours for a Costco sized portion of chicken.

ALTERNATE METHOD: whenever we go skiing we prepare a few chicken thigh sous vide bags before we go. The chicken is cooked in the sous vide and refrigerated for 24 hours, then seared right before dinner. For some reason this has always yielded the best results. Maybe it's the altitude.

Hamburgers

Cooking burgers using the sous vide method is a fantastic way to ensure they come out perfectly juicy and cooked to your desired level of doneness every time. Here’s the method we use:

Form the Patties: Aim for patties that are about 6 to 8 ounces each for the best results. Use a gentle touch to avoid over-compressing the meat.
Season: Sprinkle both sides of the patties with salt and pepper. You can also add other seasonings according to your taste.
Bag It: Place the seasoned patties in a zip-lock bag. Use the water displacement technique to remove as much air as possible from the bag before sealing it. Do NOT use the vacuum sealer for burgers. Vacuum sealing the bags compresses the burgers and will result in a dense, thick patty.
Sous Vide Cook: Set your sous vide circulator to the desired temperature. For medium-rare burgers, 133°F is a common recommendation. Cook the burgers for at least 30 minutes to an hour.
Sear for Finish: Once cooked, remove the burgers from the bag and pat them dry with a paper towel. Sear them on a hot pan or grill for about 1-2 minutes per side to develop a crust.

Pork Tenderloin

Sous vide is an excellent method for cooking pork tenderloin, ensuring consistent results. Here’s how to do it:

Remove the silver skin: This tough connective tissue doesn’t soften during cooking, so take it off.
Season: Coat the tenderloin with olive oil, salt, and sugar.
Package: Use a vacuum sealer or the water displacement method to seal the pork in a bag.
Cook: Set your sous vide machine to the desired temperature:

• Medium-rare: 130°F/54°C for 1 to 4 hours.

• Medium: 140°F/60°C for 1 to 4 hours.

• Medium-well: 150°F/66°C for 1 to 4 hours.

Sear: After sous vide, sear the tenderloin for a nice crust. Sear in the cast iron at the hottest temperature with a bit of oil.

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