Simple Sous Vide Recipes
Are you one of those people who loves to watch cooking shows? Most people love cooking shows, especially when they involve competitions or celebrity chefs. We sit, glued to the screen, salivating over the culinary masterpieces before us. We promise ourselves we’ll learn to cook like that one day.
If you are a fan of cooking shows, you’ve probably seen the chefs cooking with a thing called a sous vide. This appliance allows you to cook food in a water bath, on a low heat while the food is sealed in a bag. The result is food that is tender, with all the flavors infusing into every delicious mouthful.
Cooking with a sous vide is a lot simpler than you think so why not start with these 10 super easy sous vide recipes that will help you master sous vide cooking.
1. Super Simple Poached Eggs
There are many ways to cook the perfect egg, but poached eggs can be challenging. You can cook the perfect poached eggs in your sous vide by placing them whole, shells and all, in the bottom of your sous vide. Cook at 64°C and leave them there for 45 to 60 minutes. Once done, simply crack the egg over a toasted muffin and hand. If you have some hollandaise sauce, you’re in eggs benedict heaven.
2. Classic Steak And Vegetables
Place a couple of nicely seasoned steaks in a sous vide bag. Push out as much air as you can and seal. Do the same with some baby potatoes and any vegetables you like. Place the bag of vegetables in a preheated sous vide at 52°C and cook for 45 minutes. Add the bag with the steaks and cook for another hour. Dinner’s ready.
3. Sirloin Steak And Potatoes
Meat and potatoes are pretty much a staple dinner and super easy in a sous vide. Place your seasoned steaks in a bag and seal. Place in a sous vide that has been preheated to 54°C and cook for an hour. In the meantime, get your potatoes cooking for mashed potatoes. Once the steaks are done, remove them from the bag and sear them in a hot frying pan. If you’ve got a cast iron skillet, even better. Serve with your favorite sauces and a fresh salad.
4. Poached Lobster With Pasta
Grab some lobster tails and remove the shells. Place in a bag with aromatic herbs, butter and seasoning. Cook at 55°C for an hour. In the meantime, prepare a simple Dijon sauce and cook your pasta. When the lobster is done you are ready to serve your spectacular dinner.
5. Pulled Pork With Soft Tacos
Season a 2 to 3-pound piece of boneless pork shoulder in a bag. Seal and place in a sous vide that has been preheated to 74°C and cook for 18 hours. When done, remove the pork from the bag and pat dry. Place in a regular oven at 175°C and bake until the skin is crispy. Take it out of the oven and pull apart. Serve in soft tacos with fresh cilantro and chopped onions. Yummy.
6. Good Morning Oats
Preheat your sous vide to 60°C. Place oats, milk and your favorite dried fruits in two jars. Put the lids on very firmly before placing them in the sous vide. Leave them there overnight, for approximately 10 hours and wake up to a delicious, comforting breakfast.
7. Mama’s Minestrone
Who doesn’t love a good, hearty soup? To make this marvelous minestrone, place onions, carrots, celery, parmesan rind, tomato paste, garlic and water in a zip lock bag. For this minestrone, your sous vide should be set at 85°C. Place the bag in the sous vide and cook for about an hour. Remove the bag and empty into a large bowl, removing the parmesan rind. Add beans, orzo and fresh parsley. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and some freshly grated parmesan.
8. The Big Chicken
You can easily cook a whole chicken in a sous vide for a full family meal. Give your chicken a good rub with herbs and spices and seal in a bag. Place in your sous vide, which you should preheat to 65°C. Cook for about 6 hours. Remove the bird from the bag and place in a hot oven to achieve a crispy skin. Serve with steamed vegetables and a salad.
9. Tender Root Vegetables
A sous vide can cook so much more than just meat and seafood. You can also do some great vegetable side dishes, or even complete vegetarian meals in a sous vide. Root vegetables, in particular, can be too hard so we tend to overcook them. Place different colored carrots, turnips or beets in a bag with some salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Seal the bag and place in a preheated sous vide at 84°C and cook for 40 to 60 minutes. You can get really creative and give your root vegetables a honey glaze for something extra special.
10. Sous Vide Cheesecake
No meal is complete without dessert and who doesn’t love a good cheesecake? Grab some mason jars, about 6, and fill the bottoms with crushed graham crackers or any other cookie you like. Oatmeal cookies make a great cheesecake base. The mix 16 ounces of cream cheese, ⅔ cup of sugar, 3 eggs, ⅔ cup of buttermilk, some vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Pour this mixture equally in the 6 mason jars and seal them tightly. Preheat the sous vide to 176°C and place the jars in the water bath. Cook for 90 minutes. Remove from sous vide and allow to cool completely. When you’re ready to serve, top with fresh fruit like cherries, strawberries or even chocolate and caramel sauces. Enjoy.
You don’t need to go to a fancy restaurant to enjoy a five-star meal and you can stop drooling in front of your television. As with all professional appliances, they eventually make models for domestic use, and the sous vide is one of them. It’s time to bring out the chef in you and start eating spectacular home-cooked meals. Bon Appetit.
