On 02/24/2019 01:31 PM, Jitendra Vaidya wrote:
Speaking of cooking techniques, has anybody tried Sous Vide? I would love to try it but the thought of cooking food in a polyethylene bag for long periods of time puts me off.
I have been heavily into sous vide cooking for several years now. It's a wonderful technique that offers the cook new options.
The concern about plastic is not unfounded. However, there are safe plastics offered for use with heat-sealing appliances. These often cost more than the sous vide device and fail more often; I don't recommend them.
I use "zip-lock" freezer bags. Note the term "freezer", as they are made with different materials than the storage bags. Glad is one brand that actually recommends their freezer bags for sous vide, which means the lawyers have approved of the science. <G> Because sous vide (by definition) never exceeds 100C, breakdown of the plastic isn't an issue.
Obviously, it's hard to pull a vacuum on a zip-lock bag, but it's not necessary. Put a small amount of a braising liquid in the bag with the meat or vegetables, then dunk the bag in water to force out the air, and zip. Small amounts of air aren't a problem, especially on long cooks.
"Braising liquid" could just be water. I've also used ghee, tomato juice, various stocks, and more than a few weird combinations. It works somewhere between a braise and a marinade, as the temperature is also intermediate.
Do drain the braising liquid when done, especially if you won't be eating it all promptly. Any acid in the liquid will continue to "cook", leaving a gooey and unpleasant texture.
Today's example is a pork shoulder roast I put in on Saturday evening at 58C. I used spicy, low-sodium V-8 juice with a big dash of liquid smoke for the braise. It should come out medium rare and quite tender. I expect to slice off a few "steaks" and finish them on the grill for perhaps a minute per side. The rest I'll probably shred for Other Projects.
There are two types of sous vide equipment. The most common is the immersion heater: These include a small pump for circulation, but you must provide a container and deal with the inevitable evaporation, a non-trivial issue for multi-day cooks. Many buy plastic coolers and cut a hole in the top for the heater.
The other type goes by various names, I prefer "water oven". This is an insulated box with built-in heater, but no circulator pump. Convection appears to be fully sufficient. Best, with an aluminum cover, evaporated water condenses on the cover and drips back in, permitting up to 4-day cooks without adding water.
The water oven has a fixed capacity, obviously. The immersion heater can be put in anything from a liter jug to a bathtub. Note that uninsulated bathtubs will require more than one heater to keep temperature. Water ovens can cost more, but consider the money saved by not buying a fancy bag sealer!
One nice thing about the insulated water oven is that it puts off less heat while working than my coffee pot; something much appreciated here in Florida where the A/C runs year-round.
The technique also works well for vegetables as well as meats, but not at the same time as veggies need higher temperatures. Meats 55-65C, veggies 75-85C.
Lots of recipes and opinions available on request. Cheers, / Bruce /
