What is Sous Vide?

Sous vide French for "under vacuum," also known as low pressure long time cooking.  (LTLT).  It is a method of cooking in which food is place in a plastic pouch or a glass jar, tightly sealed, and cooked in a water bath for longer than usual cooking times.  (usually 1-7 hours).  Typically, the cooking temperature is around 55-60 degrees Celsius for meat, higher for vegetables.  The intent is to cook the product evenly and retain moisture.

In the 1970"s the method of food cooked low and slow was adopted by Georges Pralus, a French chef for Restaurant Troisgros and Bruno Goussault, chief scientist of Sterling, Virginia based food manufacturerer Cuisine Solutions.  Goussault and Pralus independently worked on development of sous vide in the 19970"s and eventually became collaborators.

Any type of meat, fish, chicken or vegetable can be cooked in this style.  I first experienced a steak cooked in a sous vide at my son Philip's house in Boulder.  I was sure the meat would be dry and overcooked, but it was probably the most perfectly prepared steak I have ever had.  Pork and pork chops cooked to you exact desired doneness, and the meat is moist and juicy.  Whatever you cook seems to come out better in a sous vide machine.

It goes against everything I thought I knew about cooking meat, but somehow meat, fish and chicken come out perfectly done and tender.  After spending an an hour discussing the sous vide with my friends at the dog park, I may just have to go out and get one.