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Sous vide at home

931 views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  happyhound 
#1 ·
I finally got my first sous vide immersion calculator. Its a Polyscience Professional creative series. A buddy's restaurant was throwing it out as the plastic clamp had broken. I sent it to Polyscience and they sent me a remanufactured one for about  $150. Cool!  Now I'm tasked with finding the right ingredients to start with. I have little to no experience (did a filet mignon roast once, about two years ago...), with this style of cooking so I am turning to you good folk here for ideas to start me off in the right direction. As always, your input is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
 
#5 ·
I'm not so sure that Under Pressure is a great guide for Sous Vide. I mean, it is OK, but I think many of the temps are off and I'm not a huge fan of a lot of the recipes in that book. 

The easiest way to get started is to do tender proteins. I mean, like steaks, chicken breast, etc. This will allow you to see the difference in familiar things, and allow you to get your feet wet with minimal risk and time. You could start with, say, a chicken breast at 140oF for an hour. Put the breast in your foodsaver bag (I assume you have one of those?), whatever fat you wish (EVOO, butter) and any flavorings (garlic, thyme, other herbs, etc). Cook for an hour, then either chill rapidly and store in fridge for later, or take out of bag, season with salt and pepper, and sear in a pan to brown. Remove and enjoy. 

Do something similar for a steak--say a ribeye, for a strip loin. Cook to desired temp (I like 132F, but you do whatever you want) and then sear in a pan to brown the outside once done. 

Chefsteps (mentioned above) has all sorts of sous vide info and classes you can take, as well as charts and whatnot. 

My guess is you'll love it and cook the majority of your meals this way. 

Don't neglect your veggies, as a TON of veggies benefit from sous vide immensely. I LOVE vegetables sous vide. 
 
#6 ·
Thanks all. If I can just some time off... LOL! Yes Someday, veggies are at the top of the list. Carrots this weekend after the farmers market. Some recently caught rockfish and some local chicken are on for this weekend. I'll post pics if I can remember too. Thanks for the Chefsteps link. I'll be checking that out tomorrow. Thanks again!
 
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