Image source: https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/theinspiredhome/images/_845xAUTO_crop_center-center/sous-vide-brisket.jpg?mtime=20170307114842
In fact, it goes beyond just tenderizing and flavor. You can cook hard cuts like chuck, short ribs, and brisket for up to 72 hours--and get medium-rare results! Why would you want to cook them for 72 hours? They're done after just a couple of hours, but you'll control the texture by how long you choose to cook them. The longer they go, the "flakier" they get, producing a texture equivalent to a medium-rare steak.
1 c heavy cream
2 T. sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
2 t. orange-flavored liqueur
Set your circulator or water bath to 180F (82C).
Mix all ingredients collectively in a bowl until fully blended.
Pour into sous vide bag. Seal in a chamber vac, or use the air displacement method to remove as a lot air as possible. Put bag in preheated water bath.
Cook for half-hour. NOTE: Do not go above 180F or over half-hour as this may cause curdling.
After half-hour, remove the bag from the water bath. Massage it gently to make sure everything is incorporated. Let cool.
Slice a corner off the bag and pour into ramekins. Chill for at the least 2 hours.
To serve, dust the tops of the custards with sugar and torch until the sugar caramelizes.
(recipe adapted from Anova Culinary)
Yogurt
If you own a yogurt maker, it's time to retire it (and make some space in your kitchen). And if you do not, you've just gotten the easiest way to make yogurt on the planet. And for this recipe, you use a mason jar, so there's not even any bagging required. You can control the texture by how long you let it go--for thicker "Greek" style yogurt, let it sous vide (incubate) for about 10 hours.
Poached Fruit
Add a small extent of spice and syrup to peaches, apples, plums, or other fruits and put them in a hot sous vide bath--around 185F. Both fruits and veggies need these higher temps to excursion down the pectins and starches in the fruits and produce tender results. But be careful, because unlike cooking at lower sous vide temps, these high temps can cause mushiness if you leave a bag in too long.
A Not-So-Good Cut of Steak
Unlike pretty a lot every other cooking method, sous vide produces brilliant results on hard and tender cuts of meat alike. Why? Because you'll control the cooking time as well as the temperature. So with hard cuts of meat, you'll do long "braises" that not only tenderize hard cuts, but keep all the juices in the meat, so it stays incredibly flavorful.
Salmon
The proteins in fish are very delicate, which is why it is so easy to overcook it, making it dry and hard. This is why low temperature cooking methods like sous vide are ideal for salmon.
A Good Cut of Steak
This is what sous vide is best known for, and why folk flocked to this technology once the prices got here down to an affordable range (less than $200). Because you cook a steak at the exact temperature required for the doneness you prefer, there is no risk of getting it too done--might be the worst sin you'll commit against a luxurious cut of beef.
My first experience with sous vide salmon was wonderful. Sous vide cooked the salmon to medium rare perfection (about 120F), which is hard to attain in an oven or on a stove top. But the extraordinary thing was the texture: it was soft and almost custard-like.
For more details on sous vide cooking and other fun kitchen technology, check out therationalkitchen.com.
2. Leftovers
There a lot of sous vide recipes all over the Internet these days, but you do not see a lot about leftovers. Yet sous vide is perfect for leftovers. Whether they're refrigerated or frozen, sous vide is the simplest, most hands-off way imaginable to reheat your leftovers. Just set your water bath to 131F (just above the danger zone) and drop them in. No worries about burning or drying out in the oven, or having to stir in a microwave or on a stovetop.
Here are a couple of examples.
To make it even easier, get into the habit of storing your leftovers in sous-vide friendly bags. And if you have a vacuum sealer, even better, because you'll just seize them out of the freezer or fridge and throw them right into the bath. The dinner question--solved!
Got a new sous vide circulator or water bath? Here are a couple of things to try--some basic, some you may not have thought of. This is on no account a complete list. But sous vide does all of these things specially well.
You can use sous vide chicken breast for all the things you use poached chicken breast for: chicken salad, shredded chicken for tacos, enchiladas, casseroles, salads, etc. Or, if you want some browning to eat the breast on its own, you'll finish it in a large hot frying pan or (my favorite) on a grill. Don't give it too a lot heat, though, because it will overcook it. About 30-45 seconds a side should do it.
Sous vide is good for all lean cuts of meat, including chicken, turkey, and many cuts of pork.
Suddenly, it's possible to make a steak-house quality steak at home. But if you're not into that, there are a lot of other uses for sous vide.
If you love creme brulee and have been afraid to make it at home, it's good to try this.
Creme Brulee
A lot of home cooks cringe at the thought of making creme brulee. All that work and then you curdle the egg by tempering too quickly with the not cream! Well, no such worries with sous vide creme brulee. And no messy water baths in the oven, either. You just mix the sugar, cream, and egg yolks collectively and pour them into a bag, or several small mason jars with lids (even though sometimes you'll get leaks with this method). Cook until done, pour into ramekins (if you use the bag), then cool and torch the top as usual.
Note: Sous vide offers a lot of leeway in cooking time and temperatures for most proteins so you'll get the results you want. You should check out some time and temperature charts for guidelines, then experiment to discover how you best like your proteins.
3. Desserts
You can't bake cakes in a sous vide, even though I have seen sous vide cookie recipes (not something I'd recommend). But there are a handful of other items you'll make in a sous vide that are both easy and scrumptious.
If you do not like your salmon custardy (even though I suggest you do not knock it till you've tried it), you'll cook it for a longer period to get a flakier texture (yup--just like beef). The beauty is that you'll get a flaky texture at any level of doneness. Or if you like your salmon well done, just crank up the sous vide to 130F and it'll be fully cooked and flaky, yet juicy. The only caveat is that you'll't forget about it like you'll beef or chicken because 1) the delicate proteins with toughen, and 2) if you're cooking it below 130F, bacteria growth becomes an issue after about 4 hours.
Creme Brulee for two
Here is the world's simplest recipe for creme brulee:
As with chicken breast, you'll sear it or grill it to finish, or eat it as-is right out of the bag. Don't forget to season before bagging!
Chicken Breast
Because it is so lean, chicken breast can get dry with conventional cooking methods--even poaching can somehow suck all the juice (and flavor) out of the meat. Sous vide is like poaching a chicken breast, except all the juices stay in the bag with the chicken.
Here's the recipe I use: http://blog.sousvidesupreme.com/2012/11/michael-ruhlmans-homemade-sous-vide-yogurt/
1. Proteins
Proteins--meat--is normally the first thing associated with sous vide cooking. And for good reason. Sous vide is excellent for all types of meat. Because the meat cooks in its own juices at low temperature, and because you'll control the texture of the results by how long you leave it in the water bath, sous vide is great for all cuts of meat, from the most inexpensive chuck to top-end steaks.
