So you’ve decided to give sous vide cooking a try. That’s awesome! You’re about to enter a whole new world when it comes to cooking delicious food. The idea of being able to cook foods to exactly the temperature you want them can be enough to make you start salivating even before you’ve begun. Not sure where to start? There are some foods that are especially good to try cooking sous vide style.
Steak
Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to how their steak is cooked. Some prefer medium rare, while others prefer theirs more well done. Cooking steak to the exact temperature specified can be tricky when using most cooking methods, but sous vide takes all the guesswork out of it. Want a perfect medium rare steak? Set the circulator to 130-135 degrees Fahrenheit and let it go to work. Because the water will be held at your specified temperature, your steak will never get hotter than that, ensuring a perfectly even, medium rare steak.
Chicken
A properly cooked chicken is tender, juicy, and tastes divine. An overcooked chicken, on the other hand, can be barely palatable. Sous vide cooking prevents that from happening altogether. You can use this cooking technique to pasteurize the chicken, which means it will be safe to eat even when cooked at 165 degrees Fahrenheit instead of the 165 degrees recommended by the government to ensure that your chicken is safe to eat. Just make sure you hold it at 140 for roughly a half hour to ensure that it has cooked long enough to be properly pasteurized.
Eggs
Have you ever tried cooking an egg only to find that you’ve overcooked it by just a few seconds? It may not seem like much, but even a window that small can be enough to totally change the end result. That’s not an issue with sous vide cooking. If you know what temperature your eggs need to be to achieve a specific result, you can set the circulator to that temperature and end up with perfect eggs every time.
Not all foods are meant for sous vide cooking, but others seem like they were practically made for this technique. Steak, chicken, and eggs are just a few examples of foods that can be awesome when cooked using the sous vide cooking method. Have fun experimenting with different foods and flavors, and enjoy not having to worry about ending up with a well done steak when you were going for medium rare again.
Vacuum sealer bags are a great tool for sous vide cooking. Not sure what size to get? Check out our Vacuum Sealer Bag Sizes guide for some extra help.