Sous Vied (cryovac cooking)?

[chefpeter]

Sous vide was invented by Chef Georges Pralus in the 1970s and was originally called, La Cuisson sous- vide; it was adpoted by many of the Michelin star chefs of Europe and is still in much use

The system combines these essential processes

Preparation, this may include sealing the meat
vacum packing
cooking
rapid chilling
storage
rethermalisation

Its main objective was to rationalise cooking procedures without a detrimental effect on the quality of individual dishes

As many have said one of its first uses was for foie gras terrine where the % loss of 40% was reduced to 5% (Not sure of the recipe used as 40% loss seams to me rather excessive but this is what the culinary history books tells us!)

I have used sous vide for cooking most things; it is ideal for low temperature cooking ie stews or lamb shanks cooked for around 12 hours @ 63 - 65C. Shrinkage is minimalised and often the product has quite a different texture and colour.

Obviously any fish will be cooked superbly with this method as you can really lower the cooking temp; I do sea bass with sauer kraut and a juniper cream sauce which works particularly well

Flavour can be improved as many of the highly volatile flavour molecules are retained in the vacum. Sous vide is ideal for vegetables which tend to discolour durung prep and cooking ie artichokes and salsify. With artichokes I prep them, put them in the bag with some olive oil, aromats, seasoning and lemon juice and then cook for 40 mins @80c; obviously they can be refreshed in the bag and perfect colour is retained.

It works great for braised veg such as baby gems or endives , simply add chicken stock, some orange juice, seasoning and butter and cook for approx 20mins@80c or until tender. Again with good kitchen management much mis en place can be accomplished in the less busy times and simply rethermalised when needed.

Sous vide can also be a great help for kitchen risk management in mis en place, service and consistency of product.
I have also seen sous vide used for large banquettes, upto 1000 covers with great success

DO NOT CONFUSE SOUS VIDE WITH BOIL IN THE BAG AS SOME OF THE RESPONDENTS HAVE AS THESE ARE TWO QUITE DIFFERENT PROCESSES.

As to any dangers with usung plastic to cook in the only problems I am aware are due to polymer migration which happens with cling film and this is known to be potentially carcenogenic. There are varieties of cook film which have been developed to over come this but the problem is that they do not stick!!!!

Hope this is of some help

regards

[shroomgirl]

I've coveted one for a long time....they not only portion pack but they can also keep the refrigerator cleaner with a longer shelf life for fresh product and there is less cross contamination/smells....it's all sealed!!!
A couple of good buddies got them this year and it's fun to see what it can do.....one of them uses it to repackage dry bulk products to keep it fresher.
He says it saves him at least one man and if someone is out it really comes in handy. He freezes cooked shanks and sauces, seals fish when it comes in and uses it for many applications....
I pet it as I walk by.....it's at the top of my list for new toys.

[Txacoli]

There is an ongoing hoax about dioxin and such contaminating food cooked in plastic. Just go to www.urbanlegends.com and search for microwave hoaxes and plastic hoaxes.

This is on the level of people that think that because there are carcinogens in the water near the Teflon plant you will get cancer from cooking with Teflon.

I just did my foie gras sous vide, very carefully...and it came out perfect.

There are carcinogens in the smoke I use to smoke my salmon. Basil was once listed as a carcinogen in the great socialist state of California. They actually wanted us to post a warning on our menus.....until someone noticed that at a concentration equal to a bale of basil per square inch daily for six months, 1 per cent of rats got skin cancer.

Get over it.

[Botanique]

emballe (accent aigu on the e) sous vide = vacuum packed

[Botanique]

Iron Chef just had sous vide on! As well as pineapple as an ingredient... I'm thinking somebody is talking LOL ;-)

[CulinaryGeek]

I currently use Sous Vide cooking for my lamb shanks. I seared, then braised my lamb shanks like normal. Took them out of the braising liquid, and made a sauce with the liquid. I then portioned the sauce and a lamb shank into the cryovac bags, sealed them, and froze them. This way it takes about 12-15 minutes to bring up to 165*F and the sauce is already done as well. I pour them into a saute pan, monte a buerre and plate as desired.

[poacher2]

Hi Chris,
I teach in Hibbing MN. I used to work at the Laffayettte CC in Laffayette IN. Anyway, I helped a local broker with a presentation of Sous Vie products that Stouffers were considering releasing. The quality was great, we simply jazzed them up, with sauces etc.
Thirty years ago Sous Vie was popular in small restaurants in the UK. The biggest advantage was size of menu one cook could handle.
If I recall correctly all the products in the UK were either chicken or duck. Stouffers had everything from rack of lamb to salmon.
Victor

[AngeliaB]

we used this technique at JeanGeorge. They packed chicken breast with herbs and also pork with herbs and cooked it at 125(i think) for service. It helped to keep the meet moist and marinated it at the same time. And as someone else said it was all portion controlled.

[chef khoo]

If intersted to know more get the book- Sous-Vide Cuisine by Joan Roca and Salvador Brugues. Chef Dufresne of wd50, New York does a lot of his food sous-vide.

[Sjaakie]

Originally Posted by Txacoli

How to to tell if they are done? Practice, practice, practice

I was told today there are handy stickers you can use to put an thermometer in without losing the vacuum

[Sjaakie]

i use the technic a lot i really like it

my favourit is fennel: cut it through the middle put it in a vacuum bag add ricard, star anis fruit, coreander,olive oil,sea salt and pepper
vacuum it and cook it in a pan or steamer for 45 minuts check if theyre finished (the heart will be soft if you press on it through the back)
great with fish or in salads

I also use it a lot when i'm understafed i vacuum the meat like stews or osso bucco single portioned. then when i sell one dish i only have to put it in boilling water or in the steamer for a few minuts to serve it.
same works for chicken or fruit, vegtebales and fish.

great stuff to help with this is the ronner * it helps you to controll the temprature exactly so you can give it cuisson at a long stable temprature wath really preserve's some flavours
*
This thermostat, developed by Joan Roca (El Celler de Can Roca, Girona) and Narcís Caner (La Fonda Caner, Girona), can create a bain marie with a constant, identical temperature in the whole container. It can also control low temperature cooking, between 5° and 100° C. It can be adapted to any kind of container with a maximum capacity of twenty litres.
Because of its characteristics, the Roner is particularly useful for cooking products which have previously been vacuum packed —meat, fish, poultry, vegetables, terrines, patés, jams, preserves—, for pasteurising food prepared with traditional techniques and for thermal regeneration of vacuum packed finished preparations.

Another great thing but not 100% sousvide but close to the gastrovac

The Gastrovac is a compact appliance for cooking and impregnating in a vacuum. It is patented in over 160 countries and developed with the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia and the cooks Javier Andrés (La Sucursal Restaurant, Valencia) and Sergio Torres (El Rodat Restaurant, Jávea). It functions as follows: by creating an artificial low pressure, oxygen-free atmosphere, the Gastrovac considerably reduces cooking and frying temperatures, maintaining the texture, colour and nutrients of the food.
Moreover, the Gastrovac creates the “sponge effect”: when the atmospheric pressure is restored, the food absorbs the liquid around it, allowing infinite combinations of foods and flavours.

i had some great pictures with this but i have to post another 15 things before you can see them.

[RAS1187]

Even at TGIF the Sous Vide thing is catching on. Mashed potatoes come in vacuum sealed pouches, we used to throw them in the steamer, but now use a "thermalizer" which is pretty much a deep fryer with water instead of oil.

[Steve.Jamieson]

Hello chris, i'm very interested about the article your writing about sous vide cooking. i've got to write an essay on this for college and waswondering if i could quote u're work for reseach purposes? My email is stevie.wonder82@hotmail.co.uk...... If you could send me something to help me with my work then that would be great.

Thankyou and good luck with the article

Steve

[Someday]

Originally Posted by Steve.Jamieson

Hello chris, i'm very interested about the article your writing about sous vide cooking. i've got to write an essay on this for college and waswondering if i could quote u're work for reseach purposes? My email is stevie.wonder82@hotmail.co.uk...... If you could send me something to help me with my work then that would be great.

Thankyou and good luck with the article

Steve

Someone should point out to you that he made that post over 5 years ago...doubtful he will ever see your reply.

[laura_holmes]

If you're still looking for information on Sous-vide, try wikipedia, there may be a few articles there on the subject.