There are a lot of cooking options whether you are cooking a meal for your family or preparing for a dinner party. Sous vide cooking is becoming an increasingly popular cooking method.
It’s preferred over other traditional cooking techniques. No matter what type of cooking you are used to doing from cooking outside on a grill to using a slow cooker, there are a lot of reasons to give sous vide a shot.
It offers you a consistency you just can’t get from other cooking methods, not even your favorite cast iron Dutch oven can yield the exact same results every time.
And if that’s not enough reason, you can prepare those difficult cuts of meat to a tasty tender perfection every time.
What is sous vide cooking?
- Never over or undercook your food again. The Anova Precision Cooker Nano sous vide (pronounced “sue-veed”) circulates water at the exact temperature required for perfectly cooked meals, no matter whats on your menu.
- Sous vide cooking s the perfect level of doneness for nearly any food of your choosing. Chicken, fish, vegetables, eggs, beef, lamb, pork and more are all ideal candidates for sous vide circulation.
- At almost 2 inches smaller than the original Anova Precision Cooker, Nano is small enough to fit into your kitchen drawer for quick and easy storage, but powerful enough to prepare food for a table of four.
There was a day that only professional chefs used the sous vide cooking technique. Sous vide involves the use of the water bath method along with precise temperatures.
Foods are in vacuum sealed bags and then placed in the temperature controlled water bath. How well done you want the contents dictates how long you leave the bag in the water bath.
In short, it involves three simple steps.
- Attach the sous vide precision cooker to a pot of water and set the timer and temperature based on the desired doneness level.
- Place food in a sealable bag and place it in the pot.
- When the food has reached the right doneness level, finish it off with a quick sear, browning, or broiling, so the exterior layer is golden and crispy.
Top 10 Reasons for Sous Vide Cooking
No More Overcooking.
Too many times we have all cooked things until they were dried out, just trying to make sure they were done. There are a few foods you may be able to cover with gravy to make them more edible.
With sous vide cooking you can achieve the desired doneness every single time. Once you know the temperature and the time, nothing will be overdone and dry.
Even leaving foods in for longer than the suggested time, it won’t cook any more fully since it remains at the same temperature.
Less Wasted Food
When food is overcooked or undercooked for your preference, you are likely to not eat it. You are also more likely to eat at home since you can create fearlessly create sous vide steak and other foods just like you want them.
Perfect cooked foods save you time and money. You’ll enjoy home cooking all over again!
Sous Vide Cooking is Healthier
Cooking sous vide means you will need less salt, fat, and oil than what is used in traditional cooking methods. Slow cooking also helps to preserve more of the nutrients.
It’s also easy to adapt to any special dietary needs like keto, gluten-free, and others.
Low Maintenance
Cooking sous vide is super easy and doesn’t require you to pay a lot of attention once it’s set up. You don’t have to stand over a hot stove to make sure food doesn’t burn.
You literally heat the water bath, drop your bag of food in, and set your timer. Once the timer goes off, your food is done.
Uniformly Cooked Foods
Not only will foods not overcook, but they won’t undercook either. Food cooks evenly all the way around. You can use any cuts of meat you have on hand, and they will cook evenly and thoroughly.
You don’t have to go to school to cook a perfect steak at home! One of the best things about cooking using immersion circulators is precise cooking.
You can Use Sous Vide with Almost any Food
Sous vide cooking is suitable for nearly any type of food. It can cook fresh veggies, seafood, meat, and even desserts perfectly.
Chose salmon steaks, expensive cuts, or your favorite hard-to-cook cuts of meat if you want and sous vide is a perfect choice.
Great Option for Large Groups
If you are preparing food for a large group of people, sous vide is the perfect option. It makes it easy to cook for large parties, events, or just cooking in bulk.
All you have to do is place all the food in the bag and put the bag in the water bath. Since everything will be perfectly cooked, you don’t have to worry about overcooking.
Sous Vide Is Perfect for Meal Prep
Sous vide is great for helping you save time, especially if you like to prep for weeks or months in advance. You can save time by not having to defrost frozen foods and meats too.
If you want to sous vide and meal prep in advance follow these three steps:
- Portion the servings you desire including meats, chicken breasts, and vegetables. If you want individual servings, just place the portions into freezer-safe sous vide bags. Add any seasonings you like before vacuum sealing.
- Vacuum seal the bags of food and place them in the freezer.
- When you are ready to cook, take the frozen sous vide bags out of the freezer. To ensure the proper cooking time, add half of the time you’d normally cook the food. For example, if it is normally cooked for an hour, you’ll want to add half of that or 30 minutes. So, you’ll cook it for an hour and a half.
Easy Cleanup
Since all the food is cooked inside a bag there is almost no cleanup. Any seasonings, fats, and oils used to flavor the food are secured in the bag.
The cooker doesn’t come into contact with food, so it is easy to rinse and dry.
Great with Kids
It’s important to help kids learn how to make healthy food choices. Teaching them how to cook sous vide hands-on can be a family affair.
Parents can cook side-by-side with their kids and safely prepare foods to eat. There are no hot oils to splatter and cause burns.
Final Thoughts on Sous Vide Cooking
These top 10 benefits are all great reasons to choose the sous vide method. But there are tons of other great reasons to cook using sous vide.
It’s not complicated or expensive, so it’s definitely worth exploring as an option to traditional methods. Your biggest decision now is how to choose one of the top sous vide machines for your kitchen.
