Sous Vide cooking....

As many of you may or may not be aware, I am a big Sous Vide cooking method fan especially for any steak. I am so paranoid about over cooking a steak, that I will put the meat in frozen if I forget to thaw or not have the steak because I was not prepared timewise.

I figure I need a few hours of planning ahead before I will serve a steak cooked this way. At least 2 hours for a thawed or fresh cut. Several more for frozen. Our local grocer sells Flat Irons in vacuum packs and I simply remove them from the freezer to the water bath.

So you are asking...what is Sous Vide? It is a method of cooking food in a vacuum bag at a precise temperature for a period of time.  There are minimum amounts of time and there are point of no return amounts of time but its pretty easy really. No more sweating if the steak is over cooked and I can literally wait till the last minute to grill the now, already cooked steak. Just to add some color. I plan to purchase a nice Searz-all in the very near future to keep me in the house this winter.

If I have the cut of met in hand I can either run it though my Seal a Meal or I can just use water displacement and a freezer Ziplock bag. Either works as well. The meat will remain a perfect medium for as long as I like before removing it and searing a nice color to the outside.

I have used the method of course for more than just steaks. Chicken comes out milky and tender as does pork and lamb. I used it to cook my chicken masala in the masala spices and it was fantastic. I pre cooked all the kebobs for our tailgating party at the ballpark and gave the final skewered product a sear on the grill before serving. It was so tender and moist I have converted myself to using the method for any thing I want consistent results and super tender meats.  Every meat has a different temperature to achieve the effect. My steaks are always 132 to 134 degrees for at least an hour more like 2.  Chicken around 147 for not more than 2 hours.

I picked up a whole brisket the other day. It takes 24 to 36 hours to tenderize a brisket in the Sous Vide and I am all over this. It came in a vacuum bag too, how convenient is that?