Sous Vide--Yes, or No?

[bbqLuv]

This is the question: the Joy of Cooking and/or the Joy of Sous Vide.

Why I No Longer Cook Sous-Vide

[mrteddyprincess]

SV is a tool. One can use tools effectively, ineffectively, or for all the wrong reasons.

If the tool is helpful, one should keep it in the tool box. If one never has the occasion to use the tool effectively? Throw it out.

For me, SV is never about flavor, it's about the flexibility of being able to deliver 133 F steaks when my guests arrive, and for heating up BBQ chicken, ribs, pork, and brisket for occasions where I need to do the cooking in advance.

I would be incapable of delivering my Super Bowl Party menu without the help of a SV water bath.

Brian

[bbqLuv]

nicely put.
Thanks for your thoughtful response.

[surfdog]

Ab-so-lutely!

[Skip]

Interesting video and opinion. SV is still my preferred method for Boneless Pork Loin Chops, Chicken Breasts, and Probably for Steak and Tri Tip. As already stated...just another tool for cooking.

[jlazar]

Do you any type of post sous vide sear on the chicken?

[BillyBriskets]

I sous vide a lot less than when it first came out but will say it was my gateway to cooking as a science and I learned a bunch through it. Still a few things like some eggs, scallops, cooking for crowds that the sous vide really comes in handy.

[smokenoob]

Yes! I will gladly get a replicator when they are available but still throw some meat or fish on a wood, charcoal, fire and a CI pan!

[dubob]

I cook to eat. I don't cook to enjoy the process. I like sous vide cooking because of the results I get. I primarily use it on pork, beef, chicken, waterfowl, and game meat. The meat is always more tender and more juicy, for me, than pan or oven cooking. I don't plan on ever using sous vide for any smoked meats such as ribs, brisket, or fish. But I use sous vide at least 3 or 4 times a month. And the very best pork steak I have ever eaten was sous vide cooked for 24 hours and then seared for 1 minute on a side in butter. Melts in my mouth with excellent texture and flavor. Just one man's opinion.

[Mosca]

You’re not wrong. I firmly and unequivocally state: the food either tastes good, or it doesn’t. Everything else is just an argument.

But you can’t deny that there’s something about filling the kitchen, and the house, with the smell of chicken sizzling in garlic and onions. Or a pot roast in the oven for 4 hours. Or turkey in the oven on Thanksgiving.

See my post below. I think we would gladly host each other, and be each others’ guest, and each leave raving about the food and hospitality!

[dubob]

I'm 82 years young, widowed, and lost 95% of my smelling about 5 years ago. I haven't smelled cooking odors in a very long time. I'm sure I would rave about your culinary products and just as certain that you would graciously compliment mine even though it just barely passes muster. 😉😁

[Mosca]

This woman states exactly my feeling about sous vide: apathetic. And her reasons are exactly the same as mine, except I’ve never noticed food getting cold too quickly… but I have noticed that pan sauces are much better from food that has been cooked in a skillet.

Sous vide just hasn’t ever fit my way of doing things. For me, it doesn’t compress time or telescope processes, it doesn’t make better food, it doesn’t add convenience, nothing. Part of the reason, I’m sure, is that by the time sous vide came along it was a new trick and I was an old dog. But at the same time, you can’t discount 50 years of trial and error, muscle memory, and proven process.

[Davek8282]

Nothing like a Whole or spatchcocked chicken, properly seasoned and done in oven or on a pit. On the other hand chicken breasts will come out much more consistently and juicy when you prepare sous vide. I have never noticed my protein getting cold when using sous vide. Sous Vide can turn tough chewy cuts of beef into tender juicy cuts with the application of consistent temperature and time. On the other hand it is hard to beat properly prepared pulled pork or beef. Needless to say I use both methods and enjoy the results of both. Sous vide is easier to get consistent results and more convenient, sometimes that's exactly what I want, other times spending the day preparing a delicious meal for my family is what I want. Embrace both for the selected purpose.

[dubob]

Amen, Brother Dave!

[Elton's BBQ]

I'm a yes man to Sous Vide Que

[GolfGeezer]

Yes.

[bordercollie]

I rely on my sous vide water "cooker" . Here on the farm it's hard to have supper ready on demand . By that I mean, when the nephew /niece come over with their families and want to eat at 6 pm so the kids can get to sleep at a certain hour.
I sear first on the charcoal HB and then smoke to about 115 when I get a chance late afternoon. Then drop in a chamber bag with some beef broth or comsumme "sp". Then I keep at 134 in the bath for a length of time usually 2 hrs. . Tenderloins are 99 % complementary by the receivers. It's easier on me because there's no "wait and hurry up" like with just the grill, waiting for it to get hot and me to get home from the barn/field to light the charcoal, and steaks are never overdone.

[bbqLuv]

That makes sense.

[Oak Smoke]

We process our own beef so we have some cuts that are not as tender as I would like. Things like the sirloin steaks get a 4 hour sous vide then a hot sear. They turn out great. That’s all I use it for.

[bbqLuv]

Good to hear about tenderizing sirloin steaks, 4 hrs. in sous vide.

[Duanessmokedmeats]

I use mine to reheat brisket, chicken, ribs...
I can leave it @160 then go to Church, or shopping for a few hours. Return to hot food.

[surfdog]

When they first hit the consumer market I thought they were kinda stupid. I didn’t see why a home user would want one. In a commercial kitchen they can be a lifesaver…but at home? I didn’t see the point…

Fast forward and I got one…and it is indeed just another tool. But one night it REALLY showed its worth. I had decided to cook up steaks for some friends…and decided to also play with the newish toy. So into the hot tub they went. The guests arrived and drinks were served…and the drinks & stories kept flowing. Before we knew it…it was getting late. Sous vide to the rescue…I grabbed a CI skillet and my torch and the steaks were perfect in minutes. When WE were ready, not when the charcoal was ready…and it didn’t take me away from our guests. On the contrary, they were in awe of the whole torch thing. LOL

As has been stated, it’s just another tool and another option to reach the goal. I now have two. Certainly some foods are better not cooked that way…but that’s true of ALL foods and ALL cooking methods. I for one hate boiled vegetables…so I would NEVER use that method for veg. And other things, IMO, also don’t benefit…hot dogs for instance. They cook so quickly that I can’t see the point of heating up a water bath for that purpose. YMMV But as with the commercial kitchen, they can also be a lifesaver at home…or just another way to explore cooking.

[jfmorris]

I kinda feel like the lady in the video about SV.

I've had an Anova circulator since 2017. I use it very little. Maybe a couple of times a year, to do a pork loin or some steaks, in the winter during inclement weather, where it just is not practical to fight the dark, cold and rain to use the grill outside. Having tried foods done both ways, I would MUCH rather do my steaks using front/reverse sear, or even the just-keep-flipping method. I much prefer a pork loin seared and then finished indirect with a charcoal fire, or even in the oven. I like the process, and both the wife and I agree we like the RESULTS and feel the steaks cooked all the way on the grill (or in the skillet) are better.