How to Use Your Commercial Food Vacuum Sealer for Sous Vide Cooking

Sous Vide cooking may be something you have never tried, but I highly recommend it. Sous vide is a unique, slow-cooking method that seals in every molecule of flavor to your food and makes it truly memorable. While it can take a little more time and planning, it results in truly beautiful dishes. All you need to try Sous Vide is a commercial food vacuum sealer and a pot or steamer to cook the ingredients inside the plastic. The process can take anywhere between seven to ten hours as the food cooks and the flavor slowly develops. The process lets you cook without any oils or fats and is great for anyone who is wanting to eat more healthy foods or any restaurant looking to offer something more unique. Here’s how to get started.

Meats

Sous Vide cooking, or cooking with the help of a hot bath of water, takes all the guess work out of making beef, chicken or seafood. A chef using this unique method doesn’t have to poke or cut into any cut of meat to see if it’s done or make the heart-breaking mistake of letting it overcook in the name of maintaining safety. You need to start with an immersion circulator. This circulator will sit in your pot or tub and heat up the water gradually by pulling it into the tube, raising the temperature and then pushing the water back out into the main container. Seal your steak in your vacuum sealer and then put it in a large container with your circulator. Now, the amount of time you will want to keep your steak in its nice bath will depend on the cut you have, its thickness and just how tender you want it. Here is a great sous vide guide  I used for my first venture into steak made this way. You will also want a cast iron skillet to help you sear the finished steak for a nice black crust at the end. Your new cooking style can tackle any meat. Use it for lobster, chicken breast, salmon or whatever else you’d like. With a Sous Vide approach, you can keep your dish cooking slowly the whole day, meaning you will have tender, perfectly flavored protein to serve at dinner. Imagine the rave reviews of your better-than-a-steakhouse porter or succulent lamb shanks. There simply is no equal.

Vegetables

Do you love perfectly cooked carrots or heavenly potatoes? Then Sous Vide style is for you. Start with your container, your circulator and get the vegetables ready to go. First, preheat your water so it is ready when you are. Then trim and peel your vegetables as needed. Toss your veggies with a little extra virgin olive oil for flavor and seal them up in your packets. Don’t mix! If you have three different veggies, you want three different packets. These veggies will be ready to eat in only 10 minutes. And, they will be tender, flavorful and easily one of the best side dishes you have ever made. Want to try out a quick recipe? Try this easy take on sous vide asparagus and carrots.

Fruit

Yes, you can cook your fruit with this method. Just remember, any sweetener or spice you add will be much stronger in your sous vide cooker, so use less. You can make a cranberry sauce, stewed apples, pears or even gooseberries with the help of your cooker. Each fruit will need a different cooking time, depending on the size and hardness of each. Molecular Recipes has a very helpful sous video time and temperature guide to help you determine the cooking time. If you want to try out some great summer flavors with your sous vide approach, you can start with these gorgeous macerated strawberries. No sugar is needed, and the results are truly memorable. They are perfect over a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

Eggs

Finally, here’s the perfect way to poach an egg. I cannot count how many chefs have told me they avoid poaching eggs at their restaurant because they are simply too demanding. But, if you cook them sous vide, you can pre-poach your eggs for the whole week and store them in the fridge. Really! Get your water to 75 degrees and put the eggs in with the shell. No sealing or cracking here. It will take 10 to 13 minutes to poach your egg, the lesser time leading to a runnier egg and the longer making it a bit harder. Put them in a cold bath after they are poached and then store them in the fridge. All they need is a little heat before you serve them. Of course, you can do a lot more than poach eggs. This idea is just the method I was the most excited to explore. A Sous Vide approach will let you make all kinds of egg dishes, so just play around with your container and circulator to find your next amazing creation.