Sous Vied (cryovac cooking)?

[spoonbread]

Wow....so when I used those Banquet 'boil in a bag" dinners when I was a kid, that was sous vide? I believe those dinners went out with the advent of the microwave.

This technique is great for portion control. I use it specifically for that. I honestly don't see this method "making" the food any better than regular cooking or marinating methods. It is invaluable for portion controlled dishes and zero waste.

[tcapper]

Now Im not a fan of sous vide but like anything you either love it or hate it.

However the reason Im posting this is there is an interesting article written in the uk times by a journalist (naturally) who is geting fed upwith sous vide being used by celeb chefs in their kitchens.

It a pretty scathing attack so sous vide fans take a look because the people (customers) dont like it when they know whats involved.

chefsworld.net / forums / new trends / sous vide article

[nscchef]

I'm looking at food vacuums, not for sous vide but for freezing. We are still new and small so money is tight (who am I kidding, it's always tight, right?). Any problems using a better model Foodsaver or is it worth the investment to get something professional--and how much could this run? I've seen $2000+ on ebay, but have seen on amazon that frequent home users find they quit after 2-3 years. Any advice? Thanks!

[GloriaJeans]

Can anyone tell me if it actually tastes good?

[Bob Carnahan]

Hello Chef Chris, Sous Vied, glad to have the French name for this phenomenal method. I first learned about it from an in flight article on Chef's utilizing less familiar methodologies. My first try more than a year ago resulted in the best boneless Pork Loin I've ever experienced. I'm doing one even now for Thanksgiving.
My recipe permits a wide variety of seasonings and flavorings to be used in the Vied step. I place a loin, 2 to 3 # in a vacuum pouch and then add the following: 1/2 cup of sliced mushrooms , hand picked wild if you have them
2 tbsp of chopped sundried tomatoes
2 tsp of dried chopped onions or 1/2 sliced fresh onion
6 to 8 segments of diced garlic clove
1/2 tsp Cajun spice
1/2 Red Bell Pepper juillian slices
1/2 tsp Sea Salt

Pull the vacuum on the pouch and place it in a controlled temperature water bath, 130 Deg. F =/- a degree, walk away and come back in about 32 hours for the tastiest and most tender pork you will ever have. The seasonings penetrate through every cell and none of the natural juices are lost in the process. You can immediately open the pouch or allow it to set before serving with a fork since it will pull apart or carefully slice. The juices are like nectar, le sauce tout d' monde.

My next preparation will utilize dried figs soaked in cognac as the principal condiment. The taste combinations I can imagine are unlimited.

I'd be interested in what others have experienced vis a vis, vegetables, fish, poultry, beef , in particular immersion times which will clearly be dictated by their textures.

[buonaboy]

Originally Posted by GloriaJeans

Can anyone tell me if it actually tastes good?

as long as you season properly it tastes fantastic, to me it's more of a texture thing. Gentle heat is perfect for proteins. I like to do wild boar tenderloins sous vide with olive oil, toasted fennel seed and juniper berries. serve that as an antipasti with a little lemon confit. mmm mmmm
-ciao
mike

[Bob Carnahan]

Thank you so much for your suggestions. Not sure that you saw my recipe for boneless pork loin, it requires a much longer cooking time and lower temp than some you mentioned. I also pointed out that the texture (grain) of the meat dictates the time and temperature of the bath. You are so right it is not boiling in a bag, far more subtle as are the results. Ciao, Dr.BobbyD

[Bob Carnahan]

For NSCF Chef, You can easily go with a low cost vacuum food system. The only problem is that if the food you are trying to seal in a pouch has too much liquid or juices, they tend to draw slowly preventing the development of a tight vacuum seal. If you start with a frozen or partially frozen product, place that in the pouch with the condiments/seasonings, you can then develop a proper Vied and proceed with the immersion in the hot bath. Bon appetit, you will never be sorry.

[Montelago]

Many of the mega resort casinos in Vegas use it for their banquet departments. Some of the purveyors have very good products. They are consistent and easy to use. The good thing about it is that when it comes to your meat products, you have 100% yield from it and you have no moisture loss or shrinkage.

As stated earlier, beware of cryovac-ing yourself. Remember that botulism grows in anaerobic environments. They had some problems with it several years ago in Michigan and for a while they were banned in commercial kitchens.

[Chad Aaland]

Where I work, we use it to cook vegetables that would otherwise discolor by traditional blanching. Also, works well for chicken and other meats and game.

[oldschool1982]

I tried to buy into this a few times in different kitchens. Given the level of staff and business fluctuations I thought it would provide some ease to my hours and not have to be producing things that could easily be frozen and reheated with no discernable affect to quality. The biggest hurdle was the cost of the cryo machine. Since the owners were concerned about costs(like labor) it was hard to convince them to outlay the cash. Ya gotta admit it does improve shelf-life without really affecting quality on some things. Note I said some... not all.

But for the home this has definitely been a blessing. Purchased a foodsaver pro model and the rest is history. Infact I was able to get this years Thanksgiving dinner done because of the method. No matter what I or anyone else thinks, there is a portion of food produced in any kitchen setting that can benefit from this technique. We all want to have a Brigade kitchen to produce every aspect of the meal in the intended manner but it's just not always possible. It's great to have the standard and strive to the standard but after all, necessity is the mother of invention.

[jamesaeaa]

Chris I do not know much about it but what I do know is that when we did it we used a foodsaver machine. We put a piece of chicken in a bag with a little garlic and some rosemary and thyme. But the key to it all was that the chicken had to be dropped in a emersion circulator "water bath with very good temp control" at exactly 60 degrees celcius. And since the interior temp of the meat never reached above 60 it cook not overcook also tried it with salmon turned out great but finally after the chicken or fish is done sear it hard to create the taste and look because coming out of the foodsaver bag it is a ugly colorless piece of meat
Thanks