Cooking with the Sous Vide method

High-end restaurants have been using sous vide cooking for years to cook food to the exact level of doneness desired, every time. The technique recently became popular for home cooks with the availability of affordable and easy-to-use sous vide precision cooking equipment like the Anova Sous Vide Precision Cooker.

The “sous vide” part of sous vide cooking refers to the vacuum-sealed bags that are often called for when you’re using the technique. (The French phrase literally means “under vacuum.”) However, these days, when someone says “sous vide cooking,” they’re generally referring to any kind of cooking that takes place in a precisely temperature-controlled water bath, whether you’re actually using a vacuum-sealed bag or not.

I had never heard of  Sous Vide…until my son brought his Anova equipment home in his suitcase from college during winter break.  This concept sounded so foreign to me. Of course, I always think I am the last person to hear about something so hopefully this post will enlighten you too!

We made steaks for dinner using this method~~here is the step by step process.

Sous vide cooking is much easier than you might think, and usually involves three simple steps (instructions taken from Anova website):

1. Attach your precision cooker to a pot of water and set the time and temperature according to your desired level of doneness.

We attached the cooker to a large lobster pot and set the temperature to 131 degrees-which is the preferred temperature for medium rare.

2. Put your food in a sealable bag and clip it to the side of the pot.

My son, Benjamin generously seasoned the steaks with salt and pepper.

And placed them in their own large Ziploc bag.

Next, he added sprigs of fresh thyme.

He sealed the bags and submerged them into the water bath when it was at the desired temperature.

The bags need to have good circulation in the water so we clipped them to the sides of the pot.

The steaks, after 1.5 hours, were cooked to medium rare.

3. Finish by searing, grilling, or broiling the food to add a crispy, golden exterior layer.

The final step was grilling the steaks and getting the nice sear on both sides. This took only a few minutes.

The steaks were cooked perfectly!  From edge to edge, the meat was medium rare, without any overcooking. Using the Sous Vide method, you get high quality results each and every time. Since the steaks cooked in their own juices, the meat was very tender and moist.

This type of cooking does not require your full time and attention.  We literally clipped the bags to the pot and left it alone until it was done. It was also nice to know that sous vide cooking will not ruin an expensive cut of meat.

If you would like a more detailed guide to cooking meat this way, Serious Eats has a Complete Guide to Sous Vide Steaks.

I now understand why Benjamin enjoyed using this during college.  If you are looking for a cool, new cooking gadget…..this is it!  For more information on the Anova Procision Cooker, click here.

It’s nice when your children start to teach YOU new things!