The Sous Vide technique used to be a trade secret only for professional chefs, but owing to an expansion in consumer items, the cooking method has gained popularity.
While Sous Vide may produce very juicy meat on its own, adding a grill or smoker to the process can provide exceptional results.
In this post, we’ll go over the fundamentals of sous vide cooking, the advantages of sous vide, and how to mix sous vide with barbeque for spectacular results.
Contents
- What exactly is sous vide cooking?
- What are the benefits of sous vide?
- Tips for sous vide cooking
- Sous vide gear essentials
- Combining sous vide with barbecue and grilling
- FAQs
- What is the importance of sous vide?
- What are three benefits of sous vide cooking?
- What are disadvantages of sous vide cooking?
- Can you sous vide BBQ?
- Is a sous vide worth getting?
- What do professional chefs think of sous vide?
- Do most steakhouses use sous vide?
- Can you use Ziploc bags for sous vide?
- Why do chefs like sous vide?
- What is the warning about sous vide?
What exactly is sous vide cooking?
Sous vide is French for “under vacuum,” and it is the foundation of this technology.
It is the cooking of food that has been packed in an airtight, generally vacuum sealed bag or container and immersed in temperature regulated water for hours or even days.
This is quite similar to the low and sluggish procedure we are all familiar with.
Advantages of Sous Vide:
- Set an exact temperature to avoid overshooting.
- It is physically impossible to overcook food (if the water temperature is adjusted to 130°F, meat cannot reach that temperature).
- Can be used to cook almost any meat, although it’s particularly useful for meat with a lot of connective tissue or meat that dries out rapidly (like a lean steak).
- It alleviates concerns about food safety and cooking time.
- It’s ideal for entertaining since you don’t have to schedule everything precisely.
To get started, you’ll need a sous vide equipment, such as an immersion circulator, to maintain the water at the proper temperature while the food cooks slowly and steadily.
Tenderness and texture are important considerations.Smoke for flavor, and sous vide for exact doneness.
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Food is cooked evenly by precisely controlling the temperature of the water bath, ensuring that the interior is properly cooked while the exterior is not overcooked.
This type of cooking yields results that no other approach can match, and it is entirely dependent on temperature precision.
What are the benefits of sous vide?
Is it really worth it to purchase another kitchen appliance? Let’s look at some of the primary benefits of sous vide cooking.
Precise temperature control
Sous vide cooking combines precise temperature control and flowing water to deliver flawlessly cooked outcomes that conventional cooking techniques cannot attain.
There are no variations in heat and temperature using this procedure.
Evenly cooked food
When cooking conventionally, you basically get the centre of your protein to the ideal temperature, allowing the exterior to overcook and dry up.
With sous vide, the whole piece of meat will be the same temperature, therefore eliminating this issue.
Consistently accurate results
The goal of sous vide is to eliminate the uneven temperature variable and dial in the exact temperature you want to create food that is precisely cooked all the way through, not just on the inside.
Assume you need to prepare four medium-rare steaks at the same time. It is very hard to cook each steak to the same temperature using a typical grill approach since grills contain hot and cold zones.
The temperature is also changing so quickly that it is impossible to timing it correctly, even with a high-quality meat thermometer.
Once you’ve mastered sous vide cooking, it’s practically hard to go wrong.
Tips for sous vide cooking
Though sous vide is a rather hands-off cooking method once you get started, there are a few recommendations to guarantee you achieve the best results with this technique.
1. Cover the water bath
The heated water in your water bath will ultimately evaporate, but covering your container will return the condensation to the bath and reduce water loss via evaporation.
This also helps to maintain the water level above the heating coils of the device, which is required to avoid engine burnout.
Covering your container will also help to preserve heat over lengthy sous vide cooking durations, resulting in a more efficient and precise cook.
Most sous vide machines come with a particular lid meant to cover the container, but if you merely have an immersion circulator, you may get comparable effects by covering the pot or container with plastic stretch wrap.
2. Season your protein
Season your meat like you would any other dish. Before you begin cooking, season anything you put into your container or bag.
Some herbs and spices might dominate the protein when cooked sous vide. Some herbs may also get rancid when cooked for an extended length of time; you should experiment with your sous vide meals to discover and appreciate which flavors work best with various proteins.
Strong herbs, like as garlic and onion, may strengthen and alter taste during sous vide, so adjust the seasoning accordingly. Also, bear in mind that dried herbs will have less intensity than fresh herbs since their oils and moisture have evaporated during the drying process.
3. Remove all air
The meal being made, as well as the plastic bag. Check that the seal surrounding your meal is tight and that no air spaces exist between the meat.
Uneven cooking might occur if there are any air holes between the bag and the meal. To avoid destroying any cooks, you should purchase in a vacuum sealer. For additional information, please see our guide to the best vacuum sealers.
4. Ensure your bag stays immersed
To maintain a consistent temperature, keep your bag or container submerged.
If your bag contains a light protein, such as fish, or air pockets, the circulation motor may cause the bag to float up and down like a fishing bobber. This, too, may result in inconsistent cooking.
To keep your bag underwater, use food-safe weights. Put the weight on top, or place it in the bag with your food.
Just be sure its graded for food safety.
Sous vide gear essentials
If you’re new to sous vide cooking, the procedure might be intimidating. It’s a pastime with a plethora of devices and accessories, much like grilling.
There are just a few fundamental things you’ll need to get started with sous vide.
1. An immersion circulator
A good immersion circulator is the starting point for every excellent sous vide trip. These devices are at the center of sous vide cooking.
They not only heat the water to precise temperatures, but they also circulate the water around your food for even cooking over time.
There are several alternatives available, but our favorites are the Breville Joule Sous Vide and the Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker.
While there are less expensive options, these two items have become the standard for anybody who takes sous vide seriously.
Both include WiFi for remote monitoring and control through your phone, as well as accurate temperature control and quick heating. Neither option is a bad one.
2. Sous vide container
You’ll need a container for your water bath. To hold water, you might use a big stock pot or dutch oven, but a specialized container is preferable.
Both Anova and Joule, as well as certain third-party vendors, provide customized containers that are compatible with specific immersion circulators, or you may obtain a simple container like this one.
Some sous vide machines have this container in addition to the immersion circulator, however it is not required if you do not want to pay the additional money.
If you want to utilize an existing pot, dutch ovens hold heat better than stockpots, but for sous vide either will work. Simply cover the top as much as possible with plastic wrap to avoid water evaporation.
3. Sous vide bags
For the greatest results, use vacuum sealable bags designed for sous vide, such as Avid Armor quart-sized sealer bags, which are available on Amazon in packs of 200 or 300.
These bags are designed particularly for the high heat, lengthy cook periods, and pressure of some sous vide recipes, such as those using root vegetables.
Vacuum sealer
If you elect to utilize the vacuum sealable bags mentioned above, you will need a vacuum sealer. Again, these bags are ideal for cooking veggies or other things that demand a higher temperature.
A decent vacuum sealer is useful not just for sous vide, but also for keeping meals in general.
Because vacuum sealed bags remove air from around your food, they help it keep longer in the freezer and avoid freezer burn.
Bag clips or food safe weights
As previously said, you must maintain your bags submerged in the water bath for sous vide to perform its magic. Strong bag clips help keep your bags anchored to the container’s edge, preventing them from floating up.
Food safe weights may also be used to keep the bags submerged. Simply insert the weights in the bag’s bottom to keep them in place.
Grill or cast iron pan for searing
Some individuals believe that cooking food sous vide implies foregoing the crust and texture of food cooked at high heat.
Simply because you use sous vide does not exclude you from finishing your meat on a grill or hot pan.
If you don’t have a grill, cast iron is your best choice. Cast iron distributes heat more evenly over its surface than thin-walled metal pans like copper.
Once your cast iron is hot, add your protein for a brief sear on both sides for a crispy texture.
Combining sous vide with barbecue and grilling
That concludes the overall guide to sous vide; you may be asking why we even put barbeque in the title of this essay at this point.
We already know that sous vide produces precise results and temperatures, but what if you miss the smokey taste that comes from slow-cooking over wood?
You may experience all of the benefits of sous vide without any of the drawbacks by utilizing a grill or smoker.
By combining the two procedures, you may get the sous vide outcome while also enjoying the smokey taste of BBQ. There will be smoke for flavor and sous vide for precise doneness.
When combining BBQ with sous vide cooking, there are two approaches you may take:
Sous vide barbecue
The most typical approach involves sous videing the meat first, then smoking it for flavor.
After removing the meat from the bag, place it straight on the smoker. It will take around 30 minutes to begin imparting smoky flavor into the meat, and the internal temperature of the protein will hardly raise during that time.
The moisture kept in the bag will have rinsed away any surface spices, allowing you to re-season the meat before putting it on the barbecue.
By re-seasoning before smoking, you will provide something for the smoke to attach to on the surface of your meat.
If you’re still not convinced, watch this video of the complete procedure for Sous Vide Brisket finished with smoke.
Wrapping it up
We hope you’ve learnt about the benefits of sous vide cooking and are eager to try it with BBQ.
You’ll be well on your way to sous vide mastery with only a few basic kitchen utensils and an immersion circulator.
Remember that there is no other cooking process that is as precise or consistent as sous vide. Your meal will always be at the proper temperature.
There are several sous vide recipes available. If you want to learn more, we recommend checking out the Sous Vide Everything YouTube channel. Let us know in the comments if you create any sous vide specialities along the road.
