Sous-Vide, Bitches!

I’ve wanted to use sous-vide cooking ever since I learned about it, but it was always cost prohibitive at two to three grand for everything needed (vacuum sealing unit, poaching bags, circulating water bath, thermostatic immersion heating unit with single degree control). At those prices, it’s strictly restaurant fare.

But leave it to me to come up with a way to do it the right way for under $150.

I found a perfectly good, brand new FoodSaver model reduced from seventy down to forty dollars, complete with all the accoutrements and sealing bags. Total to me about fifty-one bucks.

The tough one was going to be the thermostatically-controlled water bath. I looked on eBay and found a great water bath that usually goes for six hundred used – for only fifty bucks! Another thirty-five for shipping, and I’m good to go.

Total charges, $136.

Why sous-vide? Because it not only turns out the most incredibly textured food imaginable, it enables me to do so with little or no fat!

I make a thin dressing with a tiny dab of tomato paste, garlic-infused olive oil, tarragon-infused apple cider vinegar, and Kosher salt. I coat trimmed chicken breasts with a little of the dressing, season with salt and white pepper, and sprinkle with some minced fresh thyme. Each one goes into its own bag and is vacuumed of all air and sealed tightly by the FoodSaver machine. Then it’s into the fridge to marinate sans oxygen for a couple of days.

On the day of cooking I bring them to near room temperature, and then it’s into the water bath at 144F until everything’s poached through and through. And out comes the most perfectly cooked chicken, with all of its juices used as the poaching liquid, and the herbs’ flavorings cooked right into the meat.

It’s also great for multi-course meals because it can just sit in the water bath until I need it, then a few quick slices and fanning across whatever else is on the plate, and serve.

So once again I am as happy as a little girl! I’ll let you know how it goes.

KBO!