Sous vide used to be a method employed solely by restaurants, using extremely expensive, large machines to cook in large quantities. But that was then, and this is now. We're living in the golden age of at-home sous vide cooking, with small, affordable, powerful sous vide machines like the Joule warming the waters for home cooks for around $200 dollars a pop. In fact, some would say sous vide is more efficient at home than in a professional kitchen, feeding hundreds of people. But before you run out to buy one (or, let’s be honest, click three times on your laptop), let's talk about why you should.
Having pre-cooked, vacuum-sealed proteins at your disposal makes dinner a hell of a lot easier. Maybe you're hosting a dinner party and don't have the time to dedicate to 12 pork chops. Sous vide them before hand, and sear them up right before dinner is served (this cuts down on smoke too.). But what if it's just you? Still worth it?
You can have sous vide cooked chicken stashed in your freezer, ready for dinner any night of the week—we dressed ours up with pesto. Get the recipe here.
Sous vide is supremely useful in meal prep situations for lazy weeknight dinners. Since your protein is sealed (assuming you used a vacuum sealer, like our personal favorite) and cooked through, it will last in the fridge for at least a week. Once your meat comes to room temperature, you’re a quick-sear away from an impressive Wednesday night dinner. Less of a mess. Less time spent standing over a stove. Less stress, in general. If you have a problem with that, well, we can’t really help you.
FoodSaver FM2435 Vacuum Sealer
Sous vide also protects and improves your purchases. The sous vide process guarantees that you won’t overcook a piece of meat. That’s huge, especially when you’ve spent a solid chunk of change on an impressive cut. But it also allows the cheaper cuts to become tender. Steaks with a traditionally tough reputation, like a tri-tip or chuck, do wonderfully in the sous vide. When you cook them using a traditional method, the muscle fibers contract rapidly, forcing out the moisture inside of the meat. With sous vide, those same fibers contract slowly, allowing the juice to stay inside of the meat. This gives you a tri-tip that eats more like a steak three times its price.
