I see this question is 4 years old so I'm curious for an update. We were given the attachment for Xmas. We are good cooks and really enjoy cooking. I think this was a well intentioned attempt to give us a gadget which I'm really not interested in using. Does anyone really find these useful in a real cook'S kitchen and why would I even want one?
I just received one for the holidays, and have been having fun making two things so far. Shrimp is just so tender, and easy to make. I'll upload a recipe shortly for this shrimp poached in beer. Also chicken thighs. Which model did you get? For the chicken thighs I just followed the Joule app "Ultimate Chicken Thighs"
I'll be the odd one out and say that I LOVE my sous vide. I've got a full system though, not an immersion circulator. I got it for Christmas, so I've only made a few things so far, but we did a ham that was probably the best ham I've ever had (no risk of drying out as it heats through), and steaks that were amazing.
For me, the most convenient part is the timing. I am terrible at timing all my dishes to be ready at the same time, so the fact that you can leave your meat in the sous vide for an extra 10-15 minutes if the sides aren't ready really works for me. I also like that you essentially can't overcook your meat - I like a heavy sear on my steak, which would sometimes lead to them being overcooked. With the sous vide, you don't have to worry about the center heating through, you can just crank the heat way up and sear quickly, so you get a perfect medium rare in the center.
I'm searching for sous vide threads and came across this. I got the Anova for mother's day. So far, I've only made hamburgers - best hamburgers we've ever had in our entire lives. I followed the Kenji Lopez Alt recipe on the Anova app, but the ChefSteps recipe is pretty similar.
It's a fun toy. Uses up a lot less shelf space than InstantPot or slow cooker. I'm looking forward to trying other sous vide recipes.
I've cooked sous vide at home regularly for over 5 years now without incident. I've used the ziploc vacuum pouches and food saver bags. I've used temp to 165 degrees, and never had the bags fail.
We have had wonderful sous vide halibut ... delicious. Easy to check the water temperature with your thermometer and just keep swishing the bags by hand.
You could do a sous vide dessert. (no food safety issues) I've done a banana vanilla caramel sauce....it was heavenly. Oh! And I hate bananas. So this says something. It was rich and infused.....
As an aside, is anyone else unimpressed with the texture of sous vide meats? I just find the texture to be a bit boring, at least with the sous vide things I have eaten. This is apart from the fact that I can't stand being told that there's yet another appliance I MUST have in my kitchen because it's what EVERYONE will be using in the FUTURE.
I didn't like the beef myself. Pork was the same. Couldn't really say that the beets prepared sous vide- were special. But, the banana dessert...that was divine.
My experience so far is - disgusting. We did chicken thighs which were just yucky. We did salmon which really turned me off. The texture is horrible. And I could have done much better in less time. I can grill a steak and cook the sides while it rests. I just don't get it. I can steam shrimp in less time than it takes to set up the sous vide. I think it's an expensive fad.
Having produced sous vide on a commercial basis, we always had a sacrificial bag of food being sous vide with a thermometer inserted to check temperature, because of the greater danger of not processing the sous vide food properly, compared to other cooking methods. There is a reason it is illegal in some cities/regions to cook foo sous vide and serve to the public, because it is tricky to get it right. Time and temperature is very important in the process. . . if not followed correctly, you have the danger of sickening people.
Sous vide is not any more dangerous than any other cooking method. Of course it depends on the kind of meat used. For pork/beef/fish you should be fine, even without proper equipment.
Don't worry about cooling if you eat the food immediatly. Furthermore, I don't even think cooling would be a big issue in ziploc-bag, there's hardly no vacuum there.
As for the original question, I'ev used ziplocs in water baths up to 150 F without problems.
Following on from Pierino, sous vide is actually a very dangerous cooking method without the proper equipment - not only throughout the cooking process (getting it to the right temp and maintaining that temp) but in cooling it within the appropriate timeframe. I'm not an alarmist but proceed with extreme caution.
(And, as a digression, I'll be quite happy when the world is over 63 degree eggs.)
I'm skeptical about sous vide without the immersion circulator. Of course I'm a skeptic of sous vide period. Personally I wouldn't trust my internal organs to a Ziploc bag. There are risks involved with meat that is insufficiently cooked. At best you could end up with something that tastes terrible. At worst, well...
You can use ziploc if you get the little ziploc pump to take all the air out. http://seattlefoodgeek.com/2011/06/ziploc-vacuum-bags-vs-foodsaver-for-sous-vide-at-home/
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For me, the most convenient part is the timing. I am terrible at timing all my dishes to be ready at the same time, so the fact that you can leave your meat in the sous vide for an extra 10-15 minutes if the sides aren't ready really works for me. I also like that you essentially can't overcook your meat - I like a heavy sear on my steak, which would sometimes lead to them being overcooked. With the sous vide, you don't have to worry about the center heating through, you can just crank the heat way up and sear quickly, so you get a perfect medium rare in the center.
It's a fun toy. Uses up a lot less shelf space than InstantPot or slow cooker. I'm looking forward to trying other sous vide recipes.
I know people do use ziplocks. Personally, I do worry about water getting in the bag.
Don't worry about cooling if you eat the food immediatly. Furthermore, I don't even think cooling would be a big issue in ziploc-bag, there's hardly no vacuum there.
As for the original question, I'ev used ziplocs in water baths up to 150 F without problems.
(And, as a digression, I'll be quite happy when the world is over 63 degree eggs.)
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