I keep going here Serious Eats: The Destination for Delicious for temps and times. I've used the app and other sites but just keep finding myself ending up here.
First impressions of cooking sous vide and a healthy discount on most popular device.
- Thread starter danek
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Just saw a recipe for carnitas there ... holy crow that looks amazing. I cannot wait!
Every statement of affirmation I've seen in this thread is factual and only hints at the benefits of using these techniques. There are guidelines, based on experimentation, for timing at temperature. This is especially important to reach the point where all the bugs but one in a colony are dead after a given period of time. Then timing makes the difference in protein texture, succulence, retained moisture, and mouth feel. Shrimps can be a very short time to pasteurization, and very little time afterward for a range of experience from crisp with snap to mush. Sear is a quick caramelization of sugars present and breakdown of proteins & sugars (Maillard reaction) to create a large number of compounds which our bodies find 'tasty' (if not necessarily good for us - the discussion has many premises for and against). Because this occurs quickly the depth of effect is much, much smaller that it would be if one were cooking/searing on a grill from raw. There are additional techniques which allow even less impact upon the interior while gaining the desirable appearance, flavors, and aromas; chilling the meat before sear - on skillet, grill, or with a torch!
If you have even a passing pleasure cooking for yourself, family, and friends, sous vide is something you'll find very helpful in your tool kit. It can be performed to a rough extent with just a good controlling heat source, metal pots or pans which hold temperature stable due to their design. But it really comes into it's own with a water bath and a thermocouple feed back loop and temperature controller. Add timer(s) and mayhap multiple baths for different foods which cook at very different temperatures and you'll have a science laboratory with many 'experiments' in progress some days... On others, maybe it's as simple as dumping a vacuum sealed bag with food already cooked to correct doneness, reheating, minor prep for visuals and flavor, and serve!
If you haven't noticed I'm all in on this technique. I know you'll enjoy using it once you get the basics in hand.
If you have even a passing pleasure cooking for yourself, family, and friends, sous vide is something you'll find very helpful in your tool kit. It can be performed to a rough extent with just a good controlling heat source, metal pots or pans which hold temperature stable due to their design. But it really comes into it's own with a water bath and a thermocouple feed back loop and temperature controller. Add timer(s) and mayhap multiple baths for different foods which cook at very different temperatures and you'll have a science laboratory with many 'experiments' in progress some days... On others, maybe it's as simple as dumping a vacuum sealed bag with food already cooked to correct doneness, reheating, minor prep for visuals and flavor, and serve!
If you haven't noticed I'm all in on this technique. I know you'll enjoy using it once you get the basics in hand.
