Sous Vide

Based on my last post I thought people might like to know a little bit more about the benefits of a Sous Vide. For those looking to buy a Sous Vide after reading this, just click on this link.

Here is a summary taken from ChefSteps.com

"With traditional cooking methods, heat flows from a burner to a pan then into our food, or the glowing elements of an oven heat the air around the food, cooking it. Because the air in the oven and the metal in the pan are much hotter than you want your food to be, you’ve got to take it away from the heat at just the right time. Take it off too early or too late and your food is either over- or undercooked. But when cooking with water, instead of an oven or a pan, we can raise the temperature just enough to get the food to the exact temperatures we prefer. We can take it out as soon as it's done cooking, or let it rest in the water until we’re ready to eat—no more obsessively checking inside the oven, no more chaining yourself to the stove."

From BonAppetit.com

"Since the water never goes past the desired temperature of doneness, the meat takes significantly longer to cook (A 12 oz. NY strip takes a little over two hours), but it also means that you’ll never have an overcooked piece of protein."

Below is a visual of how a  Sous Vide works. On a grill, in a pan, or in the oven, the heat source is unevenly distributed (e.g., in a pan the heat is coming from only the bottom) and has to penetrate the many layers of the meat in order to safely kill the bacteria throughout/make your meat safe for eating. As a result, the outer layers become over cooked while the middle might come out at the desired level (e.g., medium rare). In a sous vide, the piece of meat slowly rises to the appropriate temperature to kill all the bacteria and because the heat source (the water) is consistent and completely surrounds the meat it is cooked evenly and never goes above the temperature you set it at. Thus, if you want a medium rare steak, the steak will be medium rare from top to bottom, not just a small section in the middle, and can never be overcooked.

Update: Below is a picture of my husband's steak that he cooked in the sous vide Sunday evening. Rare from top to bottom!