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Questions tagged [sous-vide]

Questions about food safety and technique for cooking sous vide.

Sous Vide is a method of cooking food in an airtight sealed bag for a very long time. The bag sits in a water bath with accurately determined temperature which is much lower than normally used for cooking. The temperature of the water bath is generally the same as the target temperature of the food. The aim is to maintain the integrity and flavor of the food, as well as provide novel results by using fine temperature control.

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What is the purpose of using ping pong balls on top of a Sous Vide Bath?

I recently saw a picture of expert Douglas Baldwin with his sous vide equipment in this article. One of his immersion circulator baths was covered with ping pong balls. What is the purpose of covering the immersion circulator bath with ping pong…
Adisak
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Is a vacuum strictly necessary for sous-vide cooking?

I'd always assumed that things cooked sous-vide (which translates as 'under vacuum'!) needed to be under a good vacuum for the most efficient heat transfer into the meat, since air is less convective than water. I also thought there might be a…
Benjamin Hodgson
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Should I sear meat which is cooked sous vide before it goes in the bag, or after?

After reading the beer cooler sous vide hack, I'm tempted to try it probably with duck, but maybe with steak. Should I sear my duck/steak first before I put it in the bag, or afterwards, and why? Or does it not make a difference?
Sam Holder
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Best way to Sous vide two steaks to different temperatures

What's the best way to prepare two steaks via sous vide if you want to cook a medium rare and a medium steak? Is it best to cook the medium steak first at its temperature, then lower the temperature, leave the medium steak in and cook the medium…
sous vide newbie
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Sous vide effectiveness without using a vacuum sealer?

I frequently use the water displacement method to seal ziploc freezer bags when I sous vide. I can get maybe 99% of the air out, but technically the bag is not under vacuum. If I clip the top of the bag to the side of my container, any air pockets…
michael
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Sous vide meat without seasoning - strong flavor

I tried the beer cooler sous vide hack just now. On both a veal entrecote and a piece of lean beef braising meat. Both turned out OK, but as the sous vide technique does not impart flavor, most people found the veal a bit underwhelming. So - if I…
Tobias Op Den Brouw
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How to keep bags from floating in a sous vide supreme

I have had a few items float a little in my sous vide supreme machine. Mostly veggies. How do I keep them from floating up and stay submerged?
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Sous vide over cooking toughens meat?

I'm new to sous vide cooking. The equipment I'm using is a Ronson slow cooker connected to Sous Vide Magic PID controller, no bubbler. No vacuum sealer. I calibrated the SVM temperature reading to boiling water, and it was very close (99.9 oC). I…
event_jr
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Do you have to use water to sous vide?

I've been using the beer cooler hack instead of a sous vide machine and I was wondering if water is the only medium I can use to cook in it. I was thinking that I could fill it with oil for a high thermal mass that would use less energy since I'm…
sarge_smith
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Sous vide cooker and beer cooler

I just ordered an Anova Precision Cooker. Most of the pictures I have seen show the cookers being used in large cooking pots of water, like Dutch ovens. Does it make more sense to cook in a small beer cooler, like an Igloo? Doesn't cooking in…
Ralph
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Sous-vide - What does circulation accomplish?

Sous-vide has been on my radar for a while, but there is no way I am going to spend $500 for a new kitchen toy, nor have I been terribly excited about the do-it-yourself projects that I've seen over the last few years. Now I see a plug-n-play unit…
Jolenealaska
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Can soap be put it in the water used for Sous Vide?

This is a bit of a strange question, but may a small amount of soap or detergent be placed in the water when cooking with sous vide? Is the vacuum effective enough to prevent any taste of soap from entering the food contents? Thank you
Ofer Livnat
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Stopping sous vide to drive to relatives, then restarting

I want to sous vide some ribs at ~152 degrees for about 18 hours for Father's Day. Unfortunately we're supposed to drive to my dad's tomorrow before dinner to serve them. I can't go over there tonight so I want to start it tonight at my apartment,…
Kevin Burke
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Sous vide air bubble, still safe to eat?

I am making this recipe for pulled pork, planning to do 24 hours at 75 deg C. After coming home from work, I discovered I did not suck the air out properly and there is a big bubble in the bag, causing it to float to the top and for the top of the…
Alex
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Inexpensive vacuum sealer not pulling out air

I bought a Seal-a-Meal for sous-vide cooking. It felt like a bargain at the time, it was very inexpensive because it was a close-out model. It seals great, I'm not having any problem with leaking, but it only pulls out the air maybe one out of five…
Jolenealaska
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