This is an unsponsored post.
Here’s my latest purchase. It’s a sous vide machine called the Anova Culinary Bluetooth Precision Cooker. It has a great reputation and great reviews and I can’t wait to try it out!
But what’s sous vide? I’m glad you asked. “Sous Vide” is French for “Under Vacuum.” The meat (or whatever you are cooking) is placed in a vacuum bag, or any resealable bag with as much air removed as possible, and then placed in a water bath for a few hours with a maintained temperature usually of 130 to 140 degrees. The device can go just under the boiling point as well. I plan on using this meat temperature guide a LOT in the coming months.
Because you are not using a heat higher than the done temperature of your food, it’s impossible to burn the food. And since the outside of a steak is cooked by direct heat and the inner fibers of a steak are cooked by the outside fibers, you can cook the entire piece to the same doneness. Most sous vide chefs then brown the outside of the meat with a propane torch, a hot pan, a wood fire, or whatever their preferred method is. This gives the attractive char on the outside without damaging the inside juiciness.
A few weeks ago, Dayna and I revisited the steak house we went to shortly after we were married. The steak was incredible and arrived quickly, much faster than it could have been cooked if it went from room temperature to the grill, especially for the thickness of the steak and the consistent doneness of it. To cook a steak that consistently over high heat just can’t be done. You will have layers of doneness. The only way to do it is with lower heat and longer time. With sous vide, you can cook the meat for hours beyond what the instructions call for because there’s no high heat to push out the moisture.
You can sous vide just about anything from beef to chicken to fish to vegetables. I plan on using this device a LOT in the next year, but I promise not to inundate you with pictures of food. That’s what Instagram is for. Food and cats.
