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Sous Vide Question

2K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  phaedrus 
#1 ·
I own a catering business, so I know my way around a kitchen, but I am not a chef so I figured I would [pose this question here. Sous vide seems so much the rage these days and I even see the average homeowner trying it. I certainly understand the concept of slow cooking at a consistent temperature and I see the benefits for steaks/chops etc. However, I have been slow cooking my roasts (everything from eye of round to prime rib) in my Blodgett slow cooker with GREAT results. I put my roasts in at night at 125 to 130 and by thew time next morning arrives they are perfectly cooked to that temperature with consistent pink from edge to center. Am I missing something that sous vide does better than this method? The results seem to be the same with a lot easier just putting them in an oven!? Thanks in advance.
 
#2 ·
I don't feel like you'd gain anything over your present method. I'm a big fan of sous vide but it's just one tool in the toolbox, not the best tool for everything.
 
#4 ·
From what little I know of sous vide I think the appeal is that it could be basically left out on the counter, thus freeing up a oven and also that you can add flavorings or aromatics to the bag when you sous vide. But like another said, I don't think it would be practical for a large cut of meat.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for your input. I kinda thought that but I figured I ask someone who actually used it. Another quick question. Everywhere I have read has the meat being put in a bag. What if you did a few steaks in au jus, or a flavored broth, would that work?
 
#7 ·
It would work but I don't see a lot of point to it. Meat will release some "broth" as it cooks. You could add a bit of butter if you like. For steaks I keep the time brief for the most part, like an hour or so. I don't salt them til I take them out to sear. You can do 60 minutes at 125 degrees, I wouldn't go much higher than 130. But steaks aren't really the "killer app" for sous vide in my opinion. It works well but you don't really need any special technique, just a very hot broiler, to get a great steak. I reserve sous vide for steaks that are in need of long cooking time to tenderize them. Alternatively it works pretty well if you need to hold the meat to flash cook quickly. An example I can cite is batches of steaks for a special event. I did a bunch of NY strips for Mother's Day; cooked them in 130 degree bath, put the time on the baggie with a sharpie, then cycled them through the circulator. A quick sear and you get a plausible med rare but of course most of them were ordered med through med well. That allowed us to hit 10 minute or less ticket times even with MW.

Sous vide is also great for fish and chicken.
 
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