I have always been so curious about sous vide, but was intimidated by its fancy French-ness. But after spending a small fortune on the bacon sous vide bites at Starbucks, I completely caved. Most chefs will opt for the Anova or the Joule, but I wasn’t sure I’d use mine for more than egg bites. So, I stuck with a brand I was familiar with, the Instant Pot sous vide. It was less than $100, and I felt that I had an established support group of home cooks in case I had questions.
One of the most common questions with sous vide cooking, is whether or not you need a vacuum sealer. I started out just fine without one. All you need to do is buy some freezer zip top bags. Put whatever you are cooking in the bag, leave the top open, and submerge the whole thing into your water bath, right up to the seal. The water pressure will naturally push the air out of the bag. When the air is removed, keep the bag submersed and seal it closed. Voila, vacuum sealed. Science is magic. Since then, I have bought a Foodsaver, because that enables me to buy food in bulk, and vacuum seal it before freezing. So now I just remove a filet from the freezer, pop it in the sous vide and away we go. (If you sous vide from frozen, just add 30 minutes to the cook time.)
I love this thing. Not only have I made the sous vide egg bites over and over again, so many times that broke even on my purchase within two months. Then I tried a utility ribeye steak…the kind of steak that is so tough and gristly, it’s sometimes used as a throwaway cut. I got it for $5.99 a pound, and after four hours in the sous vide bath, it was tender and flavorful. Absolutely steakhouse-worthy.
I’m not intimidated by it anymore, I love it! And the recip es are super simple. Here’s a link to the recipe I use for the sous vide egg bites. And here’s a picture of how they come out. Starbucks on the left, DIY on the right. Doesn’t look the same, but the texture is pretty close. I like them just as well, and they’re also a little less greasy.
And finally, here’s how I do my salmon. I keep forgetting to take a picture before I eat them. Will add one later. 🙂
Sous Vide Salmon
Ingredients
Vacuum-sealed salmon filet, skinned or not depending on personal preference. Sealed without oil or seasoning.
Lemon Pepper
Garlic Salt
Directions
Follow the directions on your sous vide to set a water bath at 110ºF. Once the temperature is achieved, insert as many vacuum-sealed salmon fillets as desired, and cook for 45 minutes. Remove salmon from bath. Some people like to sear their fish as this point, but I typically just season with lemon pepper and garlic salt to taste. You can either serve immediately, or pop it into the fridge to chill for a bit. Absolutely delicious both ways!
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