Why I No Longer Cook Sous-Vide

Why I No Longer Cook Sous-Vide
00:00 Intro
01:06 Even Cooking: a Feature or a Bug?
02:31 Food Gets Cold Too Fast
03:19 It’s Just Not Fun
04:14 Men vs Women
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[@rodrigolima1996]

As a home cooker who works from home and has only one hour to cook AND eat lunch, I find sous vide very convenient and tasty. It takes less than 5 minutes to prepare my meat and I usually do it while I'm preparing my breakfast. When the time comes I put it on the water bath knowing I will have perfectly cooked meat with almost no effort. It is so easy that even when I have the time I prefer it to regular methods because it is almost impossible to mess it up and the flavour of the meat is more pronounced.

[@thomsukalac2781]

This is funny. The whole reason I found your channel several years ago was because I was trying to learn more about Sous-Vide cooking. I ultimately stopped using the method but have stayed a loyal follower of the channel. I have learned so much. Thank you.

[@rafaelluciano]

Me too. I am in shock, when I discovered the channel I swear it was all about sous-vide supremacy.

[@dASTROnaut]

@@rafaelluciano Yep, same for me. I jumped on the sous-vide train with this channel back then and had to realise that for me the texture of sous-vide meat is hardly enjoyable. But here i am, still following the channel and appreciating the quality cooking videos :)

[@juanca1991]

I'm the same here hahahahaha

[@lvlogger1100]

🎉😂same here chefs!!!😂👨🏻‍🍳🧑🏻‍🍳👩🏽‍🍳

[@theow3233]

Same for me! Sous vide is the reason how I discovered Helen and Kenji in the first place back in circa 2018. Though I don’t use it any more neither.

[@jeffdrew625]

My perception of sous vide is slow cooking in a water bath. My preferences tend toward older methods with today’s expensive ingredients, like fresh anything. I like the sounds, smells, feelings of working with food in the moment. Btw; I’m an old man that’s cooked in food service and family settings for decades. I’d like to thank All those wonderful cooks who labored for hours perfecting techniques and recipes over the past hundreds of years! 🥰

[@YouTube_can_ESAD]

You can Sous vide a steak then pan sear it and finish it off with butter and herbs- used both methods together when needed.

[@asdisskagen6487]

Sir, thank you for this post! I am currently compiling a cookbook for my daughter containing my personal/family recipes and in the process have discovered something interesting - my recipes are a reflection of my upbringing as well as the places I have traveled and the friends I have made (I'm retired military). I have an entire chapter devoted to slow-cooker and make-ahead meals that utilize preservation methods like canning and freezing, but next to none utilizing newer "inventions" like the air-fryer, microwave, or contemporary pressure cookers. While I have used a pressure canner, I didn't grow up using any of these newer appliances and I honestly haven't come across any recipes that make me a convert.

[@kleinebre]

I use sous-vide under two circumstances. The first is when I want to cook a pricey protein that's not on the menu very often (say, lobster or halibut) - and I want to make absolutely, positively sure that I get it right. Would be terrible to serve Xmas guests a rubbery lobster, but sous-vide it at 50-52 degrees C for 45 minutes and I can be certain it's gonna be fine. No immersion circulator needed for that, of course - a thermometer and a pot of water will do just as well. But where sous-vide really shines is keeping a piece of protein at a given temperature for a LONG time. Working muscle is flavourful, but due to the high amount of collagen it will be too tough for a quick medium-rare pan sear. 24 hours in sous-vide, however, will convert the tough collagen to gelatin - but that would take a marathon cooking session. Instead of trying to stay awake for that long, you simply delegate the work to a robot to produce results that are impractical to achieve by human prowess alone.

[@robertwilliams-wd6cp]

I just want to save money on cheaper cuts of meat, I just can't handle tough meat. Something like beef heart would be easier tenderized by sous-vide method I believe..

[@annaquan]

Cooking has become increasingly hard for me over the last few years due to disability, and my sous vide has been a lifesaver. I wouldn't say there's joy in the process, but it simplifies cooking the lean meats we favor. Many of the recipes I use don't even include a searing step (chunks of chicken breast in BBQ sauce, for instance), or I figured out that I can skip it if I need to (yes, pork loin is better seared, but it still makes very good sandwiches if you don't have the energy to bother). I also found my sous vide absolutely invaluable this summer, living as I do in a no AC/no outdoor grill household--some weeks we pretty much lived on sous vide "poached" chicken breasts (added to salads, quick soups, etc). I doubt I'd use it much if I was healthier and had a more reasonable amount of energy. I certainly wouldn't call cooking with it fun. I am however intensely glad I got it for Christmas last year.

[@davidlaue8225]

Do you have an Air fryer? Less work and great results.....but I still love my Anova :)

[@raraavis7782]

I second the airfryer. Potatoes, veggies of all kinds... chop them up, airfry them for 15 minutes and boom, you got a delicious, roasted side dish. Chicken... amazing results and so quick and easy. No heavy pans, no splattering oil or greasy residue on shelves. Pork is also no problem. Beef...I'm not sure. I've seen people claim they can do a good steak in there, but haven't tried it yet. I know, people like to make fun of airfryers, but I live in a tiny studio apartment without Aircon as well and you would have to pry mine out of my dead fingers, to get it!

[@mightisright]

Great insight. Sous vide is a great equalizer for lean meats that are so easily overcooked. Chicken breast and pork loin are good examples.

[@onemillionthtry]

Do you reuse the plastic after the sous vide? (curious)

[@annaquan]

@@davidlaue8225 No, I haven't tried one yet, largely due to lack of counter space and a general feeling that they might be hard to clean. I roast veggies in my big toaster oven all the time, though--I haven't had much luck with sous vide and veggies.

[@Pistolmike59]

So for me, Sous Vide is another tool I use depending on circumstances. I think it is especially useful when cooking for more people as I can prepare a lot of other things while doing Sous vide. It is excellent for taking a cheap cut of meat such as a round roast, rump roast, or brisket and creating a tender moist result. I use it for lobster tails as I never seemed to get them tender through traditional cooking. I can take tougher cuts of meat and make them tender using the Instant pot but the meat is well done, even tho I like the IP as another useful tool. Sous Vide gives excellent results for Prime Rib and has become my go to method for family dinners even tho I think my Big Easy smoker roaster grill produces better tasting prime rib but is easier to overcook if you’re busy doing other things.

[@spoogly]

Man... I tried cooking lobster using a method I found online that was partially sous vide. It turned out like eating an old shoe. Just going with my gut instinct and sous videing it for about as long as I would any other shellfish would have been better (as I've since proven). Thanks for reminding me of that trauma. All I wanted to do was make a nice meal for Valentine's Day...

[@kaneharris5899]

I feel the same about circumstance. Recently started using it for chicken salads. I can do a few breasts at once and saves a lot of time. Also can prep lots of wings for a bbq for quick finish on grill. Ditto about cheap cuts.

[@PaalSalvesen]

Agree 100% with your comment! Sous vide absolutely us it’s benefits!! Also agree with some of the points in the video; I’d doesn’t give the Sam experience of cooking. But I’m always in a time crunch, so mostly I’m ok with the countable end result :)

[@308rep]

Sous Vide is a life saver for cooking the Christmas Prime Rib. I chunk it onto two sections, cook one rare and the other medium and finish up in the oven to bark it a bit. I get consistent results, keep both the rare and medium people happy and have time to enjoy the company without worrying about ruining dinner, which I have done before. I do all my steak sous vide as well as pork that I can cook rare and not have to worry if it is cooked through.

[@Pistolmike59]

I also cook prime rib via Sous vide for family dinners as it comes out consistent every time and my family is like yours some like the meat cooked a bit more than others which I can achieve in the searing process.

[@lise9750]

Haven't tried a Prime Rib sous-vide yet. What recipe do you use? I swear by it for steaks though. I get 2" NY strips from local meat packer, salt them overnight, sous-vide then sear. Always perfect. Always begged for by guests. Best steak ever. Seriously. EVER!

[@antonioj123]

Only way to tame a chuck roast is with the sous vide.

[@madcane19]

never thought of doing this to get the 2 temperatures, good idea

[@johnd7564]

@@Pistolmike59 if you have folks who want it 'well' you can cook theirs at the 'well' temp, then drop the bath to the 'less well' temp, and add the 'less well' food. You'll serve both at the 'less well' temp but the first-cooked will be more done. Works for steaks too. A sous vide weight or even just a spoon in the bag can mark which is which.

[@michaelcharge4783]

As a husband that does most of the cooking, I appreciate the fact I can buy the meat in bulk, vacuum seal, and then pop in the sous vide for a couple hours and then throw on the the grill with amazingly consistent results. The ability to never mess up any piece of meat for me or my family is amazing. I can't afford to experiment and lose expensive proteins. While I can't compete with the big boys, I can at least provide consistent VERY good results for my family.

[@qiaoyang9992]

I’ve been using sous vide for a long time, the best it brought me is the fact that I can prepare a big patch right after getting my groceries in minutes and store it much longer in refrigerator since it’s pasteurized. Time saving preparation and longer storage.

[@popefacto5945]

Your scenario sounds like the only good reason to use it. Out of curiosity, have you tried freezing the sous-vide meat then thawing it to sear?

[@vanb5264]

How long have you stored food for this way? What type of food?

[@billzigrang7005]

@@vanb5264 I inadvertently kept a cooked a tri-tip (vacuum-packed) in my freezer for over 3 years. We reheated it, seared it----- and it was like buttah!!

[@qiaoyang9992]

Without freezing you can easily store it for a month. Pasteurization and Freezing will allow you to store much longer. In theory 3months at least, and I’m not surprised that someone froze it for a year :). Never did it myself I prefer fresh food without freezing. It’s really convenient to get fresh and decent food in minutes after work and you can totally feed whole family in minutes.

[@qiaoyang9992]

So sometimes even if I don’t need to sous vide chicken wings because they are easy to have it cook through, I still like to dry the wings after doing overnight brine and put them into seal bags with one serving each bag, then put them into 55 C water bath to pasteurize them. When I need some wings, just take them out and put into air fryer. The tools may not be the best choice of gastronomy, but still it’s a life saver for having descent food , long storage, and minimum time effort. I’ll be happy to share my experiences if anyone is interested! Still I totally agree that sous vide is not the same as roasting , there are noticeable differences. The video is great, everyone gets to choose their own way :)

[@jitsorooney]

I use sous vide once a year and that’s on Christmas for the turkey lol. 1. Because I do think it produces a better turkey it’s a lot more moist and easier to control. 2. It frees up the oven for the beef, which I do think taste better when roasted. Other then that I agree, it’s not something I particularly go for and it’s actually quite a bit more hassle to set up.

[@kylemeyer4266]

I was going to post it is great for turkey! I use it for turkey and yogurt.

[@TLMuse]

Similar experience here. After experimenting with sous vide for several things, there are only two where I'm very enthusiastic about it. The big one is turkey. I used it last year for Thanksgiving with my mom & sister, and it was so much better than any other turkey dinner we've had that they insisted that I repeat it for Christmas just a month later. I'll likely do it again this year. My other sous vide favorite is BBQ chicken (usually pinwheels or thighs). It's the only way I've found to reliably get moist and tender meat inside yet with a good grilled sear outside. -Tom

[@damanfromtn]

Sous-vide turkey breast has been my Thanksgiving go to for several years now. Always tender and juicy and so much less fuss and uncertainty than with a whole traditional turkey. Thick steaks, hamburgers, pork loin chops are my other favorites, especially cooking extra portions and throwing them in the freezer for a super simple future meal.

[@Thommadura]

I have changed to cooking my Turkey in Pieces. I get a Full size aluminum steam pan and place my "dressing/stuffing" in the bottom of the pan. Then I butcher the Turkey and place the parts I will serve on TOP of the Dressing and roast. The Back, neck, and in my case the wngs are browned in the bottom of a stock pot and used to make Turkey stock for gravy. The other parts are facing UP and are easy to TEMP with an instant read Thermometer so they all come out at the right time individually and taste great after a reasonable rest. The juice from the Parts goes into the Stuffing and I can recycle the aluminum pan. I use sous vide mainly for Beef Roasts - which come out tender better than any other way.

[@Hierax415]

Most of the reasons you name can be resolved with a nice torch. The sous-vide gives you an outstanding base to start with. You can then spend 5 minutes playing with your torch, it will give it the inconsistency your after and keep the food hot for longer. I also enjoy watching the color change/smoke and smell. Watching grey sous vide steak turning into a caramelized red char under a glowing torch is just as fun as bbq but it takes 5 minutes and there is 0 fear of over/undercooking it.

[@skikid00]

Bingo!!! Most guys love to play with fire.

[@johnd7564]

I call the torch sear process "painting with flavor." I've simplified my cleanup by torching over a 6" circular grate sitting on a pie pan. Easy!

[@LKMNOP]

But the torch does not give it the flavor that a roasting will give. It has to do with the chemical reactions of the proteins etc in the meat.

[@johnd7564]

@@LKMNOP You're referring to the Maillard reaction. Yes, you can cause it with a torch. Now, whether YOU can impart more flavor by roasting than I can with a torch is an open question... if you're a better cook than I am, you probably can. :)

[@andreakimmel6651]

Exactly! I don't know any one who doesn't finish their sou vide steak with some other kind of flourish. It's also super useful for poultry. You dont actually need to get it up to 160° if your cooking it for longer, so you can do the math and let it _all_ get up to 145° and keep it their for ten min. It takes alittle practice, but it tastes So Much Better!

[@elazarwitchel3008]

As I work in a food establishment I appreciate sous vide for it's consistency and repeatability. Also with regards to braising/confit in sous vide you use far less liquid than you would use in traditional cooking which cuts down on cost especially when using more expensive ingredients.

[@bcbock]

You should pick the method you like the most. I do like sous-vide for steaks and eggs because I’ve never ruined a steak or eggs with it. They always turn out to my taste. It’s easy to mess up a steak. Very easy to over or undercook it with any other method. And as long as you dry the steak and sear it with flame, or a broiler, or a very hot pan with enough fat (I like to use ghee), you can’t really go wrong. I don’t mind the process. I can focus on all the other elements of the meal. The other reason I like sous-vide is that it’s not time sensitive, to a point. I can hold it in the water before searing for an hour or so with no change in quality. As for the steak getting cold while you make the sauce, I don’t understand that. Use a warmed plate and foil tent and it stays warm for the few minutes a sauce takes. You’re supposed to rest a steak using the conventional methods anyway. So what’s the difference unless it takes you more than 15 minutes to make a sauce. I think sous vide also has an advantage if you are doing a LOT of steaks for a party. You can only do a few in a pan. But you can do a lot under a broiler or on the grill with sousvide. Cooking a steak conventially in a pan is pretty easy, but I think the grill is too fraught with variables to ensure a great steak. But if you’re just searing on the grill, it’s pretty fool-proof and fast.

[@Caderic]

"...pick the method you like the most." That is exactly what she said!!! At no point did she belittle or degrade it. She just stated why she doesn't do it anymore. Don't be so butt hurt because someone doesn't like your preferred method.

[@JipseeGirl]

@@Caderic kind of harsh, don't you think? He said exactly that... that HE likes this particular method and explained why. Please point out exactly why that made him "butt hurt." Sheesh!

[@TheBigslug333]

wow, mirrors my thoughts so accurately. For me the main thing is just how annoying the plastic bag stuff is. Cooking steak is meant to be joyous, It's a treat!

[@scpatl4now]

I really agree with the smells of cooking...it makes the kitchen smell so good.

[@Dominikmj]

It is just projection. I have a lot of joy cooking with sous vide. And my anticipation is just unbeatable when I fish out my short rib which has been for about 3’days in the water bath. I am also a very seasoned cook- but one distraction can just ruin a very expensive steak. Call me greedy - but a really good on point steak is better than one time a pretty good steak (with more romance) and another time a steak which is medium well and dry…

[@HerndonDave]

Tenderizing! You didn't even mention that... One of my favorite things about souse vide is tenderizing tough cuts of beef while keeping it rare. Makes incredible roast beef sandwiches after souse vide for about 30 hours. I also love it for souse vide egg bites. They have the most heavenly texture, I don't think you could replicate it any other way

[@EarlHayward]

You nailed it… I use Sous Vide because I can make a chuck eye taste better than a rib eye, even better than a tenderloin, but it takes patience and time… However, given that my wife and I eat steak several times a week, that equates to saving thousands of dollars per year!

[@stephenkelly1650]

Well put. Chuck steak sous vide for 24 hrs, then grilled is as good as an expensive rib eye. She doesn't take this into consideration.

[@Heffalumpswoozles85]

Yes! With all due respect to this lady, I think she’s full of shit. And her reasons for not liking it are dumb. She hates uniformly cooked meat? Um…okay. And she’s wrong that you have to serve sous vide food immediately…you just um, you know, leave it in the circulator until you need to sear it and you can do all the other shit you need to do in the mean time. But you’re right, the biggest advantage of sous vide is the tenderizing. It can turn a tough chuck roast into something that rivals a prime rib like magic. That to me makes it invaluable.

[@FirstLast-rh9jw]

Mushy beef sandwiches!

[@marko63362]

Totally agree! I regularly make chuck steak (no not mush like some think) for myself and it is delicious. Now if I had as money as these KZbin chefs have to make a rib eye steak every night, then I can see their preferred method. We need to see more budget friendly methods and techniques for wholesome and nutritious family dinners. The price of food has skyrocketed! Us common folk would greatly appreciate more advice to take cheaper cuts of meat to the next level with out babysitting an oven for hours.

[@thecrazypoet]

I've always been intrigued by sous vide but I have never tried it. I enjoy the cooking process. The clank of a spoon on a pot, the sizzling sound of ghee and the aroma. Or when I bake or smoke. I do pressure cook from time to time and maybe even slow cook as a means of automating but everything you said makes perfect sense. Thank you for being so forthcoming and candid. I love your channel and your videos.

[@koorka]

What i find puts me off about sous vide is that a plastic bag is used. Heated plastic releases carcinogens, don't they? How does anyone feel this is a good method of cooking?

[@nickspeelman9174]

When I first go into sous-vide I tried it for everything. Now there are still a couple things I use it for. I've always struggled getting steaks right, and I find I'm consistently happy with sous-vide steaks following Kenji's technique. Cooking your chicken in a sous-vide for chicken salad is a homerun every time -- assuming you sous-vide the meat in your seasonings, the end results is remarkably flavorful. If I need to make a bunch of hard boiled eggs for whatever reason, I'll still reach for the sous-vide. And if you want to infuse certain.... compounds... from certain... herbs... into butter or oil, it's tough to beat a sous-vide for that too. But beyond that, I don't find it super useful.

[@ehrichweiss]

Sous vide weed? You have got to tell me more.

[@etta5487]

sous weed :o

[@billzigrang7005]

@@etta5487 Once you've infused the butter, chilled it and rolled it up--?how do you smoke it??

[@p0lyglot]

The fancy electronic rice cookers also are good for extracting aromatic compounds from vegetation - they are, after all, a temp-controlled, uh, pot.

[@CarbageMan]

Shrimp works very well for me sous vide, too. I just grind onion, garlic, ginger and white pepper on it and cook it at 145ºF for 30 minutes, and it's perfect pure protein after my workout. I'd probably add butter if I wanted fat, but I eat lean immediately after working out. I might have to try the budder sometime. When I was a patient, it was before I discovered sous vide, and I actually used a machine to make the process repeatable. I also used it to make cococaps, which I filled and kept in the fridge. Now, I just vape.

[@amanatee]

i honestly never jumped on that train because i don't like the idea of hot plastic touching my food for an extended timeframe

[@firstlast446]

My favorite use for sous vide actually isn't for meat, sous vide creme brulle and flan in little mason jars are the absolute way to go for them. My other big thing with it is I'm not a fan of using it for cuts that can just be cooked conventionally (your ribeyes etc) but I do like using it on meat that otherwise wouldn't make a pleasant rareish steak cooked conventionally like chuck. It lets you put it at a temp over a very long period to break down the connective tissue while not overcooking it which you just can't realistically do in another way at home.

[@juliecasson8341]

In probably only use it for creme brûlée as well. Occasionally a steak to sear, but I love having little desserts at the ready!

[@oldbird4210]

I like sous vide for cooking chicken breasts because sadly, I can't seem to cook a tender and moist chicken breast otherwise. Same with steaks. My best use for using sous vide is low-temp pasteurizing my fresh goat milk. I also want to try making cheese with it. I have found cooking some veggies like carrots, green beans, brussels sprouts using sous vide gives it a flavor AND texture like no other! Love your videos Helen!!

[@TheSimArchitect]

Very well put! Sous vide is excellent for vegetables!

[@CarbageMan]

I've never had better chicken breast than sous vide in extra virgin olive oil.

[@TheSimArchitect]

@@CarbageMan Sounds appetizing.

[@lzl4226]

I really like sous vide but honestly, I wouldn't cook a steak or chicken breast with it and I'll explain why. I think the key to cooking something like chicken breast or steak is 1.) it needs to be seared for the flavour, and this is my main objection to sous vide because once I get a proper sear, it undoes the benefits of sous vide. The meat becomes either partially or entirely tough, depending on the thickness I guess. 2.) You have to think about the residual heat, which is why you rest the meat because it will cook even after you've taken it off the heat. Again, this is why searing sous vide steak screws it up. 3.) You don't have to cook meat just once, you can cook it multiple times to get a consistent result. For example, If I have a thin steak, which seems to be a common problem nowadays. I can cook each side for 30sec to 1 min on high heat to get a proper sear. But the middle of the meat might be a bit undercooked for your liking? No problem, rest the meat for a few minutes, then cook it in butter/sauce again for another 30 sec - 1 min to finish off... (and rest again). If your meat is thick, maybe do this 3 times, or you can finish it in the over. This really depends on your equipment and the stove, but time it, try only changing one variable each time for observation. once you've worked it out, you can get very consistent results. Finally, on the chicken breast, I guess it's "healthy" but I would rather debone a leg for a leg steak. I mean sure, it's fattier, but it's also so much tastier. If I'm depending on eating chicken breast for weight loss, it's not much fun and I'm probably doing it wrong. Cut the sugar in your morning coffee instead and drop the breast.

[@oldbird4210]

@@lzl4226 i have zero problems with steaks or chicken breasts, they turn out wonderfully. A good fatty steak is healthier than thought before so the sous vide chicken breast isn't for health and i don't use sugar in my coffee.

[@RobertSearles-qj5jd]

I've used sous vide for years. Very enthusiastic at first, I now use it once in awhile for fish, gentle reheating, quick thawing and, most importantly, I combine it with smoking for delicious ribs and turkey breast. Yesterday I smoked a rack of babybacks for 2.5 hrs at 180, then put it in a sous vide for 15 hrs at 165. It's in the frig now, waiting to be finished on the smoker grill at 375 for :30. The meat comes off the bone cleanly without falling apart and retains more of its moisture. I do tritip using this technique, too.

[@Twisted_Logic]

I haven't gotten a chance to try it, but you did point out one thing that I was always concerned about with Sous Vide: a steak cooked to exactly 130°F throughout is not the same thing as a perfect medium rare steak. The great thing about medium rare is the gradient that holds the best aspects of every level of doneness going through it. A uniform center just sounds boring. That said, I'm still interested in the method for weeknight meals out of convenience.

[@Cyge240sx]

She is trying to explain the differences between art and Chemistry. Very nice explaination.

[@LarryStrawson]

I love that Helen is willing to express her opinion which is not mainstream and give some very valid reasons that I agree with. If you are environmentally conscious the use of all that un-recyclable plastic is a con as well. I know there is re-usable silicon bags, but most people don't buy quality ones and they end up in a landfill soon as well. Great content Helen, keep up the great work!

[@Dominikmj]

To be honest, I don’t think that it needs applause. A lot of people were and still are against sous vide. And certainly I would have expected a bit more balanced “review”. I guess for traditional cooking sous vide can only help so much and sometimes it is clunky and unnecessary. However you can do things with sous vide you simply cannot do with other techniques. A chuck roast can be as tender and as premium as a prime rib- but you have got to cook it for 24h+ at a low temperature!

[@ehrichweiss]

Actually, the environment suffers a significant amount from wasted food, and likely more so than from the bags, which despite your assertion, can be reused/recycled; people do it all the time. Lookup the impact of wasted food on the environment and you might change your mind on the topic. (hint, it's to the tune of almost 1/2 TRILLION dollars, and causes a lot of methane, etc. to be released into the atmosphere)

[@RiamsWorld]

It'd be interesting to talk about cooking in the Anova Precision Oven, which can use steam/humidity/wet bulb temperatures to cook with sous vide precision without any bags like a combi-oven (but at a fraction of the price). The food comes out different from traditional sous vide but not necessarily better or worse but has most of the same benefits of precision control.

[@georgeprout42]

@@RiamsWorld You missed out mentioning the model number in your advert.

[@convincedquaker]

@@RiamsWorld The Anova Precision Oven just got a scathing "Not Recommended" review from America's Test Kitchen. It's overpriced and plagued with problems.

[@nancyeaton731]

Cooking sous vide for 6 years now. It's just one tool in my arsenal, it's great for some things, not as good for others. I don't have the same general negative feelings about it as Helen does. I enjoy the process just as much as I do anything else. I still roast and rotisserie chickens. I still grill steaks (mostly) and burgers (sometimes, sous vide is great for burgers).I still steam and roast vegetables, although some veggies like corn on the cob, carrots, mushrooms taste great sous vide and I will occasionally do them that way. I still pressure cook a lot of different things. I like a good hard sear, so I buy the steaks thicker that I plan to cook sous vide. I love that it takes the guesswork out of the doneness of a thick piece of quality meat. It's a great way to prepare cheaper tougher cuts and make them more tender, chuck roast is a good example. Also flavorful flap meat steak, flat iron steak and some others get nice and tender. It's excellent for pork chops, ribs, some seafood (scallops are great). I don't find that the food cools off too fast. I don't do long cooks, like brisket. I use a chamber sealer and that also makes marinades more effective. Many things taste better cooked in their own juices. Sous vide allows that more than any other method. So I wouldn't diss it, it is definitely not the ideal method for everything, but when you find the things you like that it is good for, it's pretty great to have. The glass is half full, in my opinion. Oh! And let's not forget one of the best benefits: pasteurization. You can sous vide food in a bag using the Baldwin info on time and temps and it will stay fresh and safe in your fridge for weeks and sometimes months until you open it. And, after getting my Anova chamber sealer, I buy all my bags from them because they partner with Plastic Bank and are 100% plastic neutral. For each box of bags they sell, they collect and process the equivalent amount of ocean-bound plastic into the global supply chain.

[@garykitzis1335]

Your point is well taken. I like sous vide because timing is flexible and the results are consistent. The "fun part" of sous vide cooking is when I take out my industrial 300,000 BTU blow torch to sear the beef, lamb pork or other red meat. Poultry and fish are always pan seared. I wish I had a high powered salamander for restaurant quality broiling. I have found the important thing with sous vide is to have all your seasonings prepped and worked out before you bag the food--and then let it marinate in the bag for 24 hours in the refrigerator before cooking sous vide.

[@janb7534]

I always love your honesty and how candid you are in your videos, but i still learn heaps of things from them 🥰 thank u sooo much!

[@paulstevens1493]

We can agree to disagree! Sous vide saves me from myself: I will ALWAYS overcook steak and salmon using traditional methods. Yes, I have instant-read and leave-in thermometers, but even following the temperature guidelines, I still always overcook it, probably partly due to unpredictability in the carryover cooking. I've tried reverse sear, and I just can't deal with how unpredictable the timing is. Normally, I need to put dinner on the table at 5:00. I can't say "well, dinner will be ready at 5:00 plus or minus an hour, depending on the exact thickness of the steak, was it thawed or frozen, what cut of steak, the nuances of the oven, where exactly I put the thermometer, where the steak gets placed in the oven, etc." I need to know exactly when it's going to be ready. By simply eyeballing the thickness of the steak and using an app with a chart, I know when the sous vide steak will be done, but I STILL have a lot of flexibility in the timing. If something unexpected comes up and the family isn't ready to eat at the normal time, that's okay, the steak will be perfectly fine 30 minutes later, and I don't need to do anything different. And if I just start a little earlier, we can have the flexibility to eat earlier too. It'll be excellent in a very large window of time, with no additional effort. I don't sear the steak/salmon until people are pretty much ready to eat, and all other dishes are ready. If I need to warm it up a little more, I just have a hot butter sauce ready to go (this is a good idea anyway!). This solves the issue of sous vide steaks not being hot. Maybe a reverse-sear steak, executed with perfect timing and an excellent sear, is in some ways better than a sous vide steak. But that's never happened for me. I get much better results with sous vide, the timing is much more flexible, and as you said, the results are consistent, reproducible, and predictable.

[@helenrennie]

you are absolutely right. sous-vide is way more flexible and predictable. if I was serving steak for a party, I would use sous-vide. The reason it's not an issue for me, is that for occasions with practical considerations, I'd serve braised short ribs ;) I eat steak (and other tender cuts of meat that need to be medium-rare) fairly rarely, so I don't mind giving them lots of attention.

[@salamshalom]

My salmon comes out soooooo good in sous vide... but it breaks apart so easily...

[@paulstevens1493]

@@salamshalom Yeah it does get super fragile until the sear, I wish it had a LITTLE more structure to it... but that's what makes it so succulent and tender when eating it!

[@Nanoqtran]

One of my main reasons for utilizing Sous-Vide is to ease my cooking process. My wife has a very different pallet then me so it becomes very difficult to cook multiple dishes to fit our cravings at the same time (I'm not very good with multi-tasking multiple dishes). It prevents alot of mistakes by placing my dishes into the sous-vide so I can have a more hands on cooking time for my wife's dishes. So in a sense it actually enhances my cooking enjoyment by not having to worry about multiple items. Example: I enjoy fish but my wife does not. I will go ahead and sous-vide the fish (its a plus that she doesnt have to smell it as much either) while i prepare some chicken for her. I am able to freely cook her dinner without having to worry about my fish. Since sous-vide can actually stay in the water longer I can spend as much time as i need to cook her entree and our sides before finishing my protein and serving

[@salamshalom]

I dunno what wifey does not like about fish. But if it is the fishy taste/smell... I am the same way... Soak it in milk for 30 min. Something in milk bonds with the enzymes that cause the smell/taste. Once you pat the fish dry, it will smell and taste a lot less fishy.

[@Nanoqtran]

@@salamshalom she is a picky eater and it's a taste/smell/texture thing. Thankfully she will put up with the smell (crack a window) if I want to eat some. I'll keep it in mind to experiment with it though.

[@bojens865]

😂Long ago my mother worked in the Howard Johnson commissary in N.Y. Food was cooked, cooled, put in plastic bags, and trucked to the restaurants along the highways. She would bring some home and proudly showed me the congealed mess as she plopped into a pot of hot water, then opened the bag onto our plates. The memory revolts me to this day. I forget how it tasted.

[@brooksington4696]

I use sous vide occasionally, once or twice a month, largely for convenience. I mostly use it with thick pork chops, and pork tenderloin. With beef, I generally prefer to cook it on a grill or in a skillet. Regarding temperature, I've noticed this as well, I keep the meat in the proofing drawer of my oven while finishing my pan sauce. One thing I LOVE about cooking sous vide is the collection of juices from the pork, which makes for a pretty fabulous porky pan sauce.

[@TheHeraldOfChange]

I use Sous Vide as a prep method.I pre-cook my portions then freeze them. After, I pull them out of the freezer the night before, allow them to defrost in the fridge, and then bring them to room temperature before finishing.Its a procedural issue, and whilst not a time saver, it does produce consistent end results.

[@davidlaue8225]

I do this also. I find that freezing the meat in the marinade, spices and juices makes it taste even better when I finish it.

[@spinningbackspin]

I cook many of our steaks, pork loin roasts, burgers, sous vide, then just chill in fridge or even freeze for later. Thaw out, cook roast 15/20 minutes in oven. Hit it with broiler for 5 min. if browning the fat cap. Never a dry roast. And, with the steaks, only 2 min or so to sear, same with burgers, not all that fat flying all over the place.

[@stevebean1234]

I think this is what I am going to do. I just got a sous vide and made chicken breasts at 135 F. Gross. But if I go closer to 150 F I know it will be good. I can cook about 4 pounds in one hour. In 2 hours, I can make enough protein for a week. That’s about how long my rice cooker takes to cook carbs for the week. Add some frozen veggies at the right weights, and I’ve got perfectly healthy macro balanced meals for the week. This is all new to me. I started cooking at a summer camp and love cooking complicated and delicious things like Osso Bucco, layered zitis with homemade san Marzano tomato sauce. But there aren’t enough hours in the day for that, eating healthy, my job, and all the other hobbies I want to maintain. Now that I’m older my energy levels are dropping, I never ate balanced meals. Sous vide will give the the opportunity to cook boring things in bulk with minimal efforts. In my 20s, I simply couldn’t tolerate anything boring. It was either fancy ornate meals, spaghetti os, or fast food. Sheesh. I think I’ll sous vide cook chicken and bacon as I buy it, then all I have to do is thaw and sear :)

[@nancyeaton731]

​@@spinningbackspin Sous vide burgers are a game changer. You can pasteurize them, keep them in the fridge, take out one and nuke it for one minute in the microwave right out of the bag, do a quick sear, and it is ready for the bun. It makes lunch burger prep a dream.

[@gibbsphenomenon]

Oh I'm so glad you did this video. I've had this dread hanging over me telling me that I need to invest in a sous-vide even though it looks like an utterly unappealing process and something that would suck out every bit of joy from cooking meats... Guess I won't be torturing myself after all!

[@scrimpmster]

Tbh, that's what I was thinking.

[@gilbertf]

From my experience, sous-vide is only useful for beef. Chicken has a kind of weird texture and it's not easier nor faster than other methods of cooking. And sous-vide fish has been pointless in my experience. So, you definitely do not NEED a sous-vide kit. Last, but not least, I have an ethical problem with the plastic waste I generate every time I break the sous-vide circulator out. I have not found any reusable bags except those ridiculous 20$ silicone sandwich-bag-shaped containers.

[@Owner101Acc]

@@gilbertf I totally agree with the sentiment about sous vide. Though salmon, asparagus, pork loin and duck breast have way more taste if you cook it sous vide. Beef, maybe except for very lean beef, can be easily made more delicious in a skillet.

[@ehrichweiss]

@@gilbertf do you have an ethical problem with all the food that you waste over a year? I can easily be argued that food waste has a worse environmental impact than the plastic bags(which *can* be recycled/reused if you so desire) ever will. The economic impact is over $400 billion dollars every year and the environmental impact includes methane, CO2, etc. and also all the energy required to get the food from seed to your table.

[@BigBADSTUFF69]

It's unnecessary for high quality steaks but taking a tough chuck roast and cooking for 24 hours sous vide makes it softer than a filet with much more flavor. I like if for cheap cuts and thick (1.5-2") pork chops

[@martinmaier5641]

Thanks much for your perspective Helen! I'm still new to sous vide (got one at a price I couldn't resist) and am still experimenting to see what it works well for. So far, I've found it's great for BBQ pulled pork (possibly even by this video's standards). I love the activity of Qing, but it gets old tending to it after 8+ hours. Using a Serious Eats recipe, I can do the sous vide part of the cook at my convenince during the week, then transfer the sealed bag to the fridge until the weekend's festivities. I then spend under 3 hours fully enjoying the activity and aroma of BBQing adding smoke and bark to the pork butt. (The resulting pulled pork is fantastic!) I seal the leftovers into meal sized portions, freeze, and reheat using sous vide as well for easy weeknight meals.(Reheating from frozen this way is the closest to freshly made that I've ever had.)

[@salamshalom]

YES! I LOVE sous vide reheating! It is such an underrated use of Sous Vide!

[@danieljellers]

I have never used sous vie but my chef instructors and most of the guys in my culinary classes raved about it. (Guys like gadgets -- new gadgets.) For me, cooking is about skill, about mastering the techniques while making mistakes along the way, but mostly it is about the sensuous pleasure of cooking!

[@genanadeau5476]

I often use sous vide for steaks, and I feel like it takes some pressure off me to really focus on the rest of the meal: more complicated sides and dessert. However, my favorite thing to make sous vide is creme brûlée. I use small mason jars. It’s perfect every time.

[@malcolmxxx86]

crème Brule is supposed to be served in a shallow wide ramekin to maximize the sugar to custard ratio for pots de creme i could see it being being useful

[@genanadeau5476]

@@malcolmxxx86 i still caramelized sugar on the top, after it’s been cooked and chilled. I use small, wide mouth jars. It works beautifully

[@malcolmxxx86]

@@genanadeau5476 5" wide Is standard or classic and about 1/2 " deep..so u have jars that size?

[@genanadeau5476]

@@malcolmxxx86 they are about 4” in diameter and just over an inch deep. They are quite short and squat! I realize it isn’t the classic presentation, but I love how sous vide is truly fool-proof. And truth be told, my family prefers a higher custard-to-sugar ratio.

[@malcolmxxx86]

@@genanadeau5476 they make glass containers that size..didn't know..I want to try SV creme brulee simply to save space in my fridge.6 or 8 take up a whole shelf and the thought of just piping some custard into a ramekin and adding sugar and hitting it with a torch at 4 am sounds fun

[@tattersmatters]

I have some difficulties with cooking regularly (physical and mental) so sous vide has given me an anxiety-free way to produce larger quantities of some foods in a consistent way, helping me cook throughout the week. I totally understand the criticisms though and don't try to force it to work in situations it's not suited to.

[@antoniomromo]

It is definitely the accuracy and consistent temperature. I use it to make custards for things like creme brulee and pastry cream. This guarantees that I won't get any unwanted textures or flavors with far fewer steps than traditional methods.

[@maryp3212]

I’m so glad I saw this video. I have been on the fence on getting into sous vide but just never took the leap. This spoke to what I have been feeling and holding me back. I enjoy the process of cooking, even the flops were enjoyable and a learning experience. Thank you (saved me a lot of money to boot)

[@nancyeaton731]

This is what I was afraid of when I watched Helen's video. Not everyone here (or elsewhere) agrees with Helen on this subject. Personally, I find that sous vide method excels at a lot of things, you just need trial and error to figure out that for yourself. It's just one more tool in a kitchen arsenal. Not expensive, doesn't take up much room. Without trying it yourself it's foolish, imo, to reject it.

[@debkincaid2891]

You are such a joy to watch & learn from! I love your personality --and your confidence, and of course, your tremendous knowledge & way of teaching so that you empower us to not only prepare delicious food, but have a blast doing so. 😍

[@didisinclair3605]

Another woman who thinks "meh" about sous-vide! Like you, I LOVE the process of cooking. Thank you SO much for your wonderful videos.

[@fleshtaffy]

Why did you have to add "woman" in there? That's so 2022 of you hun.

[@didisinclair3605]

@@fleshtaffy Helen’s a woman. I’m a woman… ok, ‘hun’

[@fleshtaffy]

@@didisinclair3605lmao hun always triggers your type, love it.

[@ChrisMills1946]

Helen, Thank you for assuaging my guilt about not liking sous vide cooking. After having the same thoughts about producing grey meat, I donated my sous vide to my daughter. Thanks for all the great tips. Always a joy to watch. Chris Mills

[@Indydi]

My chuck roasts are anything but gray! I don't even sear them afterward. Dark on the outside, pink inside, and taste fantastic. Hope your daughter enjoys it like I do.

[@GaviLazan]

I (a guy, but also the one who cooks in my household fwiw), use a combination of sous vide and "traditional" cooking. It really depends on what I'm making and when I'm making it for. I am Jewish and keep shabbat which means I have to pre-prepare all food before sundown Friday, so for example if I am making chicken breasts or chicken schnitzels I want to make sure I don't serve them overdone on Saturday lunch after they reheated on a hotplate. Sous vide makes that much more likely since I can cook it to a "lower doneness" level that will then be less dry than a traditionally cooked breast simply because I can get a consistent result. Sous vide is also great for tough cuts (turning a chuck roast into something much more "steak-like") and for long cooks (like when making corned beef or "cold cut" turkey). It's also pretty good if you want to meal prep, I can cook sous vide in a vacuum sealed bag and throw the prepared food in the freezer, no need to defrost - just reheat in the sous vide, or I can pre-seal the proteins ready-to-cook and put those in the freezer to take out and cook on demand. Again, no defrosting required. In the end, for me, it's another tool in my arsenal. I'll often cook sous vide alongside roasting/searing/frying/slow cooking to get the desired result I'm looking for.

[@dbojennie]

When we cook, my husband does most of the meat cooking while I do most of the side dishes. We both like our meat rare to med-rare. I love my husband, but he has a short attention span. I cannot tell you how much expensive meat we have ruined & wasted b/c he burned it b/c he got sidetracked. All I can say is that sous-vide has saved my marriage! Also, if we are having quests over for dinner, it relieves so much stress in timing, over-cooking & serving a dry leathery piece of meat or fish. Lastly, it's the only way to cook a cheap cut of roast besides making it a pot roast (which I'm not a fan of). We have had our sous-vide for about 4 years now & I still love it. However, if we were an expert cook like you, I can see how it might become boring & it really limits the different ways to cook meats.

[@schnder1]

Too, funny. I have the same kinda husband!

[@Orpilorp]

Hello Helen. I'm a frugal senior home cook. I have always purchased my lovely vintage pots and pans from auctions, garage sales and thrift stores. I have never had an interest in the sous vide method as I wouldn't be comfortable buying or housing that large piece of equipment. I love the beautiful brown bits on the bottom of my skillets for a good butter sauce, or to add to the flavor jar I keep in the freezer. Thanks for your excellent videos.

[@scallen84]

Sous Vide circulators are tiny. I use a stock pot and put an anova in with it. I rarely exceed that volume.

[@jordanabendroth6458]

​@@scallen84yeah, the one I use mainly, the anova nano is like the size of a rolling pin.

[@candidmoe8741]

A long time sous vide user, I recently purchased a crockpot/slow cooker. With tough meats, a 4 hour slow cooker always works, while with a sous vide there are more misses than hits. I still use sous vide for pasteurization of egg, chicken breast (love the texture), and vegetables. I also use it for recipes that call for "long, slow simmering" - I cook it on the stove, then transfer it to the non-inmersion type sous vide for the simmering part.

[@tachyongti]

i have been using sousvide for years. i switch up my cooking methods depending on how i'm feeling. but, there is definitely still a "joy" in finishing a steak in a hot cast iron pan with shallots, butter, thyme, etc and basting the steak until it's crust is perfect. it lets you concentrate only on the crust and not have to worry about the internal temp, which is perfect already. also, a 24 hour cook on a turkey breast will result the absolute best turkey breast that you have ever had for the holidays. i enjoy all types of cooking methods.

[@Kimberly-ul1ph]

Hi! What temperature would you cook the turkey brest? Thanks!!

[@tachyongti]

@@Kimberly-ul1ph I cook the turkey breast at 131 for 18-24 hours.

[@Kimberly-ul1ph]

@@tachyongti thank you!

[@kathyanderson6898]

I TOTALLY understand!! I've stopped using my Instant Pot for the same reason. I'll use it to steam potatoes or cook rice, but that's about it. I want to stir my beans on the stove to get that luscious texture. I want to braise my roast in the oven so I can check for tenderness. I feel the more I touch my food the better it tastes. Must be the love. 😉

[@nancyeaton731]

You don't have to give that up. There is still a viable place for sous vide in a kitchen like that. I know because I have one.

[@chris.eskimo]

Your honesty, and openness are a breath of fresh air!

[@ignominia]

Anything that asks me to add another plastic bag to the garbage bins of the planet is taboo for me - be that the sous vide method (requiring expensive additional tools that eventually will be tossed as well) or the use of plastic bags for marinades - is horrifying... 😔

[@peoplearepeople9256]

I understand some people might think I am ignorant but to me, I just don't like heating up food with plastic attached to it, would it release some sort of plastic and I will be putting plastic into my stomach as well? I mean we already are eating a lot of plastics without us knowing. I tried it but just not a fan of it for health reason.

[@NatureWins22]

Oh I love your perspective! The cooking process is alot of the enjoyment. Thank you for your honesty. 🥰👏🏽

[@along5925]

Totally agree with those here who said it's another tool to use. I love having options in the kitchen and quite often sous vide does the trick...I also have fun experimenting and playing around with what it can help me prepare. I don't think any one cooking method is the answer, but sv definitely has a place in my kitchen. (Anybody here ever make eggs Benedict for a group? Hello SOUS VIDE!)

[@thomasglenz9137]

I use Sous-Vide to warm up my steaks that I cooked on the grill and then froze. Using Sous-Vide lets the steak remain med-rare, which I have not found using any other method.

[@StephenStrangeX]

Almost every reason you gave is the reason I sous vide food lol. It makes my meal prep super simple. When you have kids and a full time job cooking every night is not always possible and being able to come home toss a bag in the sous vide and go about cleaning, helping with homework, yard work, etc, etc.

[@AMTunLimited]

I think for me, personally, I haven't gotten one because it seems like more effort than its worth. I don't use a vaccum sealer for anything else, and the overhead of set up time just seems like a lot more than using an oven. I also just don't cook meats like that very often

[@albertqss]

Елена, добрый день. Я вас понимаю и во многом согласен. Хочу сказать, что возможно я никогда не научился готовить стейки на гриле, но с момента начала использования сувида, я не хочу возвращаться назад. Также куринная грудинка, получающаяся этим методом получается такой сочной и нежной, что просто можно сойти с ума. Означает ли это, что я никогда и не научился ее готовить классическими методами? Может быть. И еще хочу добавить, что фаршерованные перцы, приготовленные в сувиде - просто что-то необыкновенное. Я думаю они получаются такими вкусными из-за того что мясные соки остаются в пакете и сам перец пропитыается ими. Попробуйте. Я рекомендую. Обычные "советские" фаршерованные перцы. Температура - 185F, время 1ч. 30мин. Только если используете рис в составе фарша, то подварите его на 3/4 готовности. Спасибо за ваши рецепты и советы. Кстати. Я вышел случайно на ваш канал нескольлет назад именно когда искал информацию о сувиде. Ха-ха-ха🤣

[@bryanp6354]

Being colourblind, I get value in knowing that I'm getting predictable results and ensure that my guest wont get food poisoning from pink chicken.

[@Risetosovengarde]

I have found my favorite method for cooking pork loin is sous vide. I'll buy whole loins and slice them 3-4" thick and marinade them, vacuum seal, and freeze them. Then I just put one in the sous vide a few hours before dinner and I have the most tender, juicy, and flavorful pork loin. Make a quick sauce out of the marinade and it's phenomenal.

[@Giru]

For me, Sous-Vide has mostly been about convenience. The fact that I can quickly produce consistent results without having to babysit the cooking while I work has been a godsend. That said, I ENJOY cooking more when I have the time, like on the weekends, to properly create something and partake in the processes, but unfortunately that is simply not the case for me. Then there's the subject of preparation, which Sous-Vide lets me do, by cooking something and then freezing it until it's time to eat it, after a quick water bath. Overall, I feel all things have their place and I wouldn't advocate for any method being superior, certain cuts of beef will be more suited to the texture that Sous-Vide leaves them with while others thrive on a grill, in the oven or in the pan.

[@fleshtaffy]

Someone made the mistake of breeding crotch fruit.....

[@MHarenArt]

I have never used the sous vide method, but I'm 100% with you about enjoying the process of cooking. I love to cook. When I feel like making something I plan on spending a couple of hours in the kitchen, chopping, dicing, sauteeing, baking, etc.

[@paulwilliams200]

I mostly use my sous vide cooker to pasteurize eggs for mayo etc. which I then ferment to last for a few weeks in the fridge. I also use it when preparing steaks for several/many diners, and then find it easy to tailor "doneness" to individual requests. For 2 or 4 steaks I prefer to use cast iron or carbon steel pans.

[@williamleoppky661]

Hi Helen, as requested, I am sharing my thoughts. I tend to agree with everything that you have said here, including the more masculine versus feminine tendencies, in general. And I stress, generally speaking. The one thing that prompted me to make this comment was your suggestion that the sous vide protein runs cold too quickly, and that is not necessarily ideal for timing. To me, I love to use the sous vide for my protein because it helps with one less worry in regards to timing. I am nowhere near a “seasoned“ expert! I just like to leave the protein at the perfect temperature, until it is time to serve. However, I have found that chilling the protein in the fridge, for however long, is ideal for me. The creative joy for me comes in searing the crust with a utility grade electric heat gun! The time it takes to do that can be synchronized with other dishes, and everything comes out absolutely perfect regarding temperature. I also totally agree that different ways of cooking the same thing will always provide individually different results. I truly enjoy the difference in tastes and textures, but if I had to pick a favorite it would be some of my Mom’s and my Granny’s. My Granny had the ability to cook an absolutely incredible meal with beautiful, complementary and diverse textures with nothing more than a pot, vegetables, protein, a few spices and an oven. A juicy chicken, with a perfect crust and vegetables, a perfect meatloaf with perfect vegetables that were not too mushy and a roast, or anything for that matter, was all so incredibly delicious! There is nothing that can replace experience and love!

[@maxcampbell7517]

I agree with almost everything you said. Sous- vide recipes never lived up to the hype. Until I cooked a prime rib using it. It was better than any I’ve had in a restaurant. Maybe I just suck at using the oven lol

[@pscheidt]

Sous vide is a tool for automating cooking certain foods. We also have pressure cookers, rice cookers, breadmakers, etc. Given the time, I enjoy cooking steaks Cowboy Style even with the variable results. My primary reason for cooking is to enjoy the food, so I automate what I can. As well, since I only cook for one, vacuum packing and sous vide is an excellent way to get very good results with small portions.

[@bcbock]

The other thing I like about is I usually freeze my steaks by preparing them for sous-vide with salt, pepper, garlic powder, some herb (bay leaf or thyme or rosemary), and some oil, or better, ghee. So I can cook them sous-vide from frozen.

[@zopizopi5054]

Could you pls give us recipe of Tvarojnik???? I cant find it in English.

[@Sliderx1]

I love the sousvide method for what it is. Just like all tools, there is a time and place, but the popular food trends push it too much. I basically only use mine for custards, where temperature control over homogenous egg mixtures becomes rather crucial. As for most meats, old-school methods are my preference due to the more varied taste and, yes, the process. I've had plenty of sousvide meat and always felt intuitively dissatisfied with the results. It was too perfect, too uniform, and that actually made it imperfect. Part of what makes a steak delicious is that there is a scale of doneness naturally creating itself from the outer sear into the pink center. You get a more varied experience, allbeit harder to consistently achieve.

[@williamcoolidge9884]

I've been using sous vide for my steak for 5 years. It's been a total game changer. Perfect steaks every time and I make steak at least once a week. I sear my steak in a cast iron skillet and baste with an herb butter (garlic, rosemary, thyme, and parsley).

[@cdh79]

same here, and I only use it for steaks..

[@malcolmxxx86]

you use sv for skirt or flank? and perfect is relative..unless u want zero "grey"...but for cooks who eat the same type of steak every week then sure it helps

[@AC-gw4qu]

Same. For over ten years. Perfect control of temp and timing. Food's never cold; it's always served at the right temp and time, with a chicago-style char.

[@malcolmxxx86]

@@AC-gw4qu how often do u go to places that serve cold food..steak I assume..not oysters? Hot plates ..quick service is how it's done.temp is relative..135 vs 138 or whatever..it's a great invention for catering..weddings and stuff where you need 300 medium steaks..even then there will be guests who want well done or rare or even a couple who order a steak split with one wanting rare..the other med well..iv e seen in ..SV which I just got a book and still have the ANOVA from 2018 new might change my mind for ribs or lean cuts or lobster which I eat daily..creme brulee I've made thousands and never overcooked ..another line cook turned the oven up to 500 and put the convection fan on..idiot but I will learn..just not s aged prime porter house over 15 min charcoal..even Tuscany doesn't do that ..or do they? And chuck roast which is all the rage I don't have enough mouths to feed so I'll just get the prime rib on my food stamps..not kidding

[@milesarcher5507]

Never had a guest eat one of my sous vide/black iron sear steaks say anything other than OMG. Maybe most of the world doesn’t know how to properly cook steaks otherwise, but you cannot complain about the results.

[@joetacchino4470]

Agreed, I feel like there was a lot of hype about sous-vide and we purchased one and have used it less than half a dozen times. I will say that for carnitas, since you're already planning on frying them at the end, sous-vide works fantastically. But we honestly haven't found many things we'd prefer it to over, say, a long braise in a dutch oven.

[@izzy9132]

Helen I'm relieved to hear you say this. As much as I love my kitchen gadgets this has never appealed to me. I do not want to eat any meat that has been surrounded by plastic bags during the cooking process.

[@rolandpinette9946]

Finally, a sous-vide video that aligns with my own feelings about the process. I agree with your assessment, Helen, for all the reasons you state, but also because I do not like to cook my food in plastic. Others may not share these concerns, and that is fine. It won't change my opinion, just as I don't expect to change theirs.

[@teafortwo9307]

Yeah.... the cooking in plastic is a no for me too

[@Voeris1]

Yep, I want my food messing with my or my guests/family/friends's hormones and bodies the least possible... I avoid it as much as I can. Microplastics are hard enough to avoid already as is..

[@thalesmello]

Amazing video Helen! I've been enjoying tough meats cooked for a long time, e.g. 24h chuck that feels like ribeye. That's not doable otherwise!

[@justinhalsall4077]

Yeah this is pretty great!

[@salamshalom]

It doesn't dry out?

[@thalesmello]

@@salamshalom not really. Sous vide keeps moisture, but the fibers still loosen up. Give it a try

[@pistol80]

For me, sous vide is great. I'm a single male who loves to cook but most recipes like soups or casseroles are more food that I need for even a few days. What I like doing is batch cooking and then portioning out the food into silicone food molds and freezing them. Once frozen, I vacuum seal the food portions and store them in my deep freezer. I don't waste any food this way but still get to cook regular recipes. To reheat food, I set my sous vide to 165 F and put the frozen vacuum sealed food into the water bath and reheat for 1.5-2 hours. One could rapid defrost the food in cycled cold water or in the fridge overnight and reheat using stove top or oven but I find the convenience of reheating from frozen to proper temp simpler. No mess. I do this same technique for marinated chicken. Marinate the chicken, vacuum seal and freeze it and then cook from frozen. Works great.

[@antsynan]

And what about the extremely high release of carcinogens from the plastic in a heating or freezing process?

[@THCV4]

The trick to cooking steak sous vide is to understand the technique’s strengths and utility, and then leverage it to your advantage. For example: Cook the steaks to whatever internal temperature you want them, rapid chill them in the freezer, and then store them in the refrigerator (still in the vacuum sealed sous vide bag). You can even store them long term in the freezer and thaw them in the refrigerator later. Then, whenever you want to eat a steak, you just pull a cold (fully-cooked) steak out of the refrigerator and give it a quick sear in a very hot pan (ideally carbon steel or cast iron). This gives you the unique ability to accomplish a couple of goals: First of all, you have food safety, because the meat is cooked evenly (and perfectly) all the way through, and is pasteurized. Secondly, you have the ability to put a REALLY GOOD sear on the outside of the steak (because it is cold when you are searing it). By the time you are done searing it, the center is hot enough to eat, but not hot enough to cook noticeably. And most importantly, you have the ability to rapidly serve and eat perfectly cooked steak any time during the week, in a very short period of time. There is no need to wait for the steak to rest. Just eat it immediately after searing. And you can do all of this while living in an apartment where you aren't allowed to own a grill. Sous vide is an excellent tool in any cook's arsenal, and unlocks all sorts of doors if you are wanting convenience and predictable results.

[@earthlingjohn]

"...an excellent tool in any cook's arsenal..." well said

[@malcolmxxx86]

I've read that sv is great for short ribs or shanks but skirt steaks or flank or flap for non standard steak makes no sense,, and boneless chix thighs are simple to cook rack of lamb on a charcoal grill doesn't need sv..ditto on chops...maybe chuck can imitate ribeye..but a great aged steak doesn't need sv..do they use sv in Florence? for their rare Famous porterhouse? Schnitzel doesnt..Sauerbrtaten or most braised classics dont..how do u even build up all that sauce? Real BBQ...lol..maybe Lobster or creme brulee..its for precision cooking 141 vs 142 and stuff a whole leg of lamb has different temps cuz of the thickness...not everyone want mr or well done

[@Athiril]

I didn’t think of precooking steaks and finishing them later. Good tip, though I like my sous vide steaks it doesn’t compare to charcoal cooked steak, sous vide is my #2 though.

[@Danielle_1234]

@@malcolmxxx86 When it comes to steaks I find sous vide is great for lean cuts and for fatty cuts. What it's not good at is cuts in between, like tri-tip. The reason for this is because sous vide can be used to melt fat in fattier cuts, and in leaner cuts it can soften the meat making it seem like a more expensive cut. But to do so you need the cooking duration and temperature to be set differently for each type. Something with both you can only work on the fat but not tenderize the protein or you can tenderize the protein, but the fat will not work out well. You have to choose.

[@BigDaddyDracula]

so glad you talked about the "cooking process." Nothing beats having something searing, simmering, frying, boiling, etc. on the stovetop or oven and filling the kitchen with its aroma.

[@afphantom2733]

You can still sear, simmer, fry, boil, etc. after you SV, in fact I recommend it!

[@ChunkyDrunk652]

I only use it for 2 things. Thick cut filet mignon (which I cut myself from whole tenderloins), and boneless, skinless chicken breasts. That way, I can focus my culinary 'skills' on the rest of the meal. Especially after working all day. Nothing better than a 2" thick steak cooked perfectly all the way through and seared at the end. And it's almost impossible to get a great, juicy chicken breast without it. Actually, a pork tenderloin at 140 for an hour or two and seared on the grill is really hard to beat.

[@AJBTemplar]

The big advantage for me is thrift. We produce a LOT of home grown produce like French beans. A surfeit. We have a Miele vacuum drawer which is very effective and so I prep and blanche the beans (or whatever), add a small amount of sauce or butter and herbs, and vac pack them and put straight in the freezer. When needed they are just cooked SV in the bag and it is both quick and economical. I do similar things with fish eg buy large pieces of Salmon cheap, prep them and vac pac for the freezer. SV saves energy and time for us and gives great results.

[@bitbyterjr]

Totally agree. I see the immersion circulator as a tool for specific techniques but only for select things. I enjoy the process of cooking too much to sacrifice it for precision (as you stated). It just seems to suck the soul out of producing a great meal.

[@bostonbesteats364]

The future of home cooking is sous vide in a combi steam oven, WITHOUT A BAG, like I can do with the Anova Precision Oven. I have barely used my conventional oven, or my two sous vide circulators, since I got it 2 years ago.

[@helenrennie]

I think a combi oven would be fantastic. I think the results are also tastier than sous-vide. I don't have one, and don't want another counter appliance, but if at some point normal ovens would have the steam and low temp feature, that would be awesome :)

[@hellion1193]

I do cook sous vide relatively often, but I do agree that non-sous vide meats are quite tastier (when done right). However, there are some things that I only do sous vide now. For example, when I want to poach seafood or tuna/swordfish, the sous vide method allows me to use way less oil. Also to accelerate making vanilla extract or infused oils.

[@michaelknight5382]

As a professional chef, I couldn't agree more. I have had this discussion many times with colleagues and fellow chefs about my lack of interest in sous vide. It just has never appealed to me. I, too, prefer classical preparations and techniques. Thanks for sharing.

[@stephenboldway4353]

Helen I applaud your bravery in this post. As a novice cook I enjoy the convenience of sous vide cooking when I’m pressed for time. Coming home late and prepping sides it’s easy to take the proteins out and sear them knowing they are done to perfection. No complaints yet.

[@CreachterZ]

I love you, but you are wrong here.

[@bims4944]

Yeah she said "good cooking IS NOT perfectly Uniform" tell that to perfect Rendang Beef which needs cooking for HOURS.

[@TheAllMightyGodofCod]

I tried it but I have a huge problem with it: i can't reverse sear a stake. I just can't. I take the beef out og the sous vide bag, see all that grey meat and feel sick. Even after searing it, i xan obly think about that grey... What can I do? I know, of course I can sear it before but then, what's the point? So, I only use it for fish, salmon is nice. And for beef, I prefer to use a brine to make it more tender.

[@motherlesschild102]

Thank you Helen! Older gentleman here.I have spent many years as a Commercial Cook-and much longer as a home cook. I have never actually used Sous-Vide, although I can see why it would be beneficial in many ways. I can't help but agree with you about the aesthetics of it. In addition, it bothers me because of the necessary use of plastic- which then ends up discarded. In addition, it is just being discovered how much tiny amounts of plastic are being consumed by humans and the harmful effects of this. Does Sous-Vide contribute to this-with the close proximity of plastic and food in the process of relatively low but prolonged heating? Were most plastic bags used for Sous-Vide designed specifically to avoid (increased?) leaching of plastic molecules into food? Again, it seems like there is too much plastic getting into food anyway-without Sous-Vide. I don't think my views here will be popular-but guess what-those are my views!

[@luisotaviomc]

Love it! Someone who actually knows how to cook saying the truth about Sous Vide...

[@Owner101Acc]

Although I totally agree with Helen, there no such thing as "the truth" about this cooking method. It all depends on personal preference. And still, some ingredients do come out better when cooked sous vide.

[@DaveCooksBiz]

"My heart is just not in that vacuum-sealed bag." GREAT LINE!!!!

[@rickm5271]

Helen, I can't agree more. Speaking as a man and a home cook, I love the smells, sounds and ownership of traditional methods. I understand that there are applications where sous vide is beneficial (such as feeding a large crowd over a long span of time), but I can say that I have never tried it and really don't have a desire to do so. But the technique is interesting to me nonetheless. Thank you for your insights, as always!

[@johndoh5182]

I feel the same about cooking meats. My enjoyment partially comes in the cooking process and when I work with steak it's going on the grill or broiler. It's one or the other. I like those processes, and nothing is like grilling steak over charcoal and then pulling them off and plopping them on a plate and bringing them in the house. The smell coming up from that plate makes me smile every time and no matter how everything has gone, once that smell hits me, I feel calm and happy. I don't get steaks perfect every time, but since I usually grill ribeye which is a forgiving cut of meat, it's ranges from good enough to meat melting in the mouth kind of joy, and meat with a smoky taste and juicy all at one. No, I've see Sous-Vide on cooking shows and thought it's something I have to learn because it's used by professionals, but my heart has never been into it and I've never purchased the equipment. I'd rather use a slow cooker than stick something in a bag and submerge it in water. There's no wonderful smells coming up and hitting you in the face.

[@darojos]

Good observation. I pretty much only use it for round roast for lunch meat and for egg cups using small canning jars. Chicken breast can be good but we rarely cook just breasts. Even then, if I split them and cook em fast, they turn out nice. Thanks!

[@thefoothillranch]

I love using my sous vide for custards and ice cream bases the most. Making a creme brûlée in a tiny jar is so easy and works so well.

[@PredictableEnigma]

I haven't tried making desserts in mine yet! I'll give it a try

[@Owner101Acc]

Another good thing about sous vide is that you can easily cook a frozen steak sous vide without losing taste or texture. A lot is about convenience.

[@fluffycritter]

I'm still a fan of sous-vide cooking but I definitely don't do it nearly as much as I used to when I first got into it. But it's amazing for tempering chocolate and making custards.

[@theLutheran1]

how do sous vide users protect the food from the PFAS chemicals in the plastics?

[@michaelkatz4068]

Beautiful video, Helen! A wonderful break from technical help to enliven us once more with the richness and truth of cooking. Thank you :)

[@user-my8kp5qn7p]

What about plastic (zip lock) in cooking? Is it healthy secure?

[@vitavet3733]

I cook salmon with this method, not anything else. I agree with you on the dull looking grey piece of meat. But salmon is still pink. I prepare some fish in the bags with a slice of lemon the night before and when the fish is ready, its never dry. Its soft, juicy and so tasty. No need to cook it more in a pan, its ready to serve straight away. For me its so easy method to cook and the results never disappoints :)