Do you know what sous-vide is? Although until a few years ago this cutting-edge cooking technique was reserved only for great chefs, the truth is that nowadays the sous-vide or vacuum cooking method is becoming more and more widespread in domestic kitchens. This useful technique will allow you to cook at low temperatures for long periods of time, enhancing the flavour of the food.
To use the sous-vide cooking method at home, you don’t need a professional kitchen Roner (a thermostat used in the most avant-garde kitchens). It will be enough to have a small sous-vide machine on hand or a domestic sous-vide that gives you good results.
What is sous-vide?
Sous-vide is a cooking technique that involves vacuum-sealing food in bags and cooking it in a hot water bath at a precise temperature. Originally from France, this technique was introduced by French chef Georges Pralus, who popularised it during his time at the Troisgros restaurant in Roanne.
How sous-vide works
Sous-vide involves cooking vacuum-sealed food at a controlled and constant temperature for an extended period of time. These factors are key, as they determine the texture and flavour of the dish.
That is why sous-vide requires different instruments such as a vacuum sealer to seal the food in individual bags by removing the air inside, an immersion thermostat that heats the water and keeps it at a certain temperature, and a container in which the water is kept constantly hot to cook the food.
What is sous-vide used for?
This low-temperature cooking method is used to control the temperature applied to the food, as well as the cooking time. This way, a uniform, juicy, and much tastier cooking than usual is achieved in all types of food.
This is a particularly useful technique for cooking foods that we want to keep very tender or that retain all their juices thanks to vacuum packaging. It provides very precise and uniform results, very easily and in all types of foods.
Benefits of sous-vide cooking
This method of cooking at low temperatures for long periods of time produces unrivalled results. These are some of the advantages of sous-vide cooking.
Uniform cooking
Because food is cooked at a specific temperature and for a specific amount of time, the result is even cooking of the food, minimizing the risk of overcooking.
Juiciness
Sous-vide cooking cooks food in its own juices, ensuring that food remains tender and juicy even when cooked for long periods.
Little food loss
While food cooked using the traditional method loses water through evaporation, sous-vide cooking ensures that foods such as meat or fish do not lose any volume during cooking.
Time optimization
Unlike other cooking methods, the sous-vide method does not require constant attention on our part for the food to cook, as it follows a specific process in terms of time and temperature that will ensure the food cooks evenly without the need for supervision.
How to cook with sous-vide
To cook with sous-vide, simply follow our step-by-step guide to get the best results:
Prepare the food
Season the food to taste, following the recipe’s instructions or according to your personal tastes. In addition to salt and spices, you can add aromatic herbs and fats such as butter or olive oil to further enrich the food.
Vacuum seal food
Place the food in a sous-vide-safe plastic bag and use a vacuum sealer to ensure that all air is removed from the bag and that it is sealed airtight. This will ensure efficient heat transfer to the entire food and prevent water from entering the bag.
Heat the water
Fill a large container with water and set the immersion heater to the desired temperature for the food you are cooking. Once the water has reached the desired temperature, immerse the sealed bag in the water.
Cook the food
Allow the food to cook depending on the type, size, and desired cooking point. The thermostat will maintain a constant water temperature throughout the process. Generally, meats will need temperatures between 54ºC and 65ºC and cooking times ranging from 1 to 2 hours. As for fish, cooking it for about 30 to 45 minutes at a temperature of 50ºC will be sufficient.
Precautions for sous-vide cooking
Although low-temperature cooking times are less strict using the sous-vide technique, many animal proteins also have a limit when it comes to how long they can be cooked. If you cook a food for more than 4 hours, its structure could start to break down, making the food too soft. That’s why you need to take into account a number of precautions with sous-vide cooking, which involve paying a little attention to the cooking times of each food.
Utensils needed for cooking with the sous-vide method
Take note of the utensils you need to start cooking at home using the sous-vide method.
- A large container to hold water
- High-strength plastic bags suitable for vacuum cooking
- Vacuum sealing machine
- Immersion thermostat
What foods can be vacuum-cooked?
Thanks to its low-temperature cooking system, you can cook a wide range of foods under vacuum. This type of cooking is ideal for beef, poultry such as chicken or duck, pork, lamb or all types of game. As for fish and seafood, you can cook everything from fish such as salmon, cod or hake to shellfish such as lobster or scallops. In addition to meat, fish, and seafood, you can also cook sauces, compotes, eggs, vegetables, and even fruit.
Sous Vide Recipes
Some examples of dishes that you can cook in a vacuum include any type of meat for tacos, fajitas, and burritos; pieces such as beef picanha or a leg of lamb that will be tender and juicy. Likewise, pork chops with honey will be excellent. As for fish, salmon will be excellent to accompany with various sauces and make salmon in onion sauce, salmon in mustard sauce or salmon with orange, as well as hake recipes such as hake Basque style or hake Riojan style. You can even prepare poor man’s potatoes, or sweet recipes such as pears in red wine or apple compote, all of them preparations that adapt perfectly to this technique.