Are there any good uses for Sous Vide that aren't meat?
I picked up a cheap Inkbird sous vide earlier in the year and it’s been great to use for steaks etc. But we haven’t been buying much meat lately due to prices and I’m wondering if I’m overlooking any less obvious uses for it?
It’s great for more than cooking even. Heating cooked foods from the freezer is great and heats evenly. It just is more involved than the microwave and takes longer but if you have like a soup or chili in bags in the freezer, just throw them in the sous vide at about 130 F or 54 C.
I deal with a bunch of physical issues recently and sometimes I’ll sous vide some thing but then not really feel up to preparing the rest of the meal so it goes into the freezer for use later. And since it’s already vacuum sealed, I can just throw it in the freezer and back into the sous vide at a later date
Have you heard of Onsen Tamago (also known as Hot Springs Eggs)? They’re kinda like poached eggs… but not exactly, and they’re much easier. It makes a custard-like yolk with a jello-like white, and they’re delicious dropped into soups, put onto rice or pasta, or just eaten straight, maybe with a sauce.
I’ve become quite attached to the things, and sous vide is actually the best way to make them. The link I used above says 65 degrees C, but I find 63 works a little better for my personal tastes (or maybe my sous vide thermometer is running a little hotter than it displays). Put the eggs, still in the shell, straight in the cold water (no bag needed), use the sous vide to bring the water (and egg) up to temperature, and you’re pretty much done. You can futz with the exact consistency of the end result by leaving it in at temperature a little longer, but you shouldn’t need much more.
You can kill off salmonella in an egg via sous vide (57.5-58C for ~90 min) and keep it “raw” enough to still work it into the cookie dough since eggs really start to change texture around 60C.
Can create the perfect puddings, cheesecake, mouse, etc.
Any type of “temper to perfect temp” recipe works.
Most of the time you can sous vide it fine in mason jars too, so you just pop the top amd it’s ready to eat.
Custard, cake, pudding, you mame it. Prep it in the mason jar, lock the lid on tight and then loosen off the lid about half a turn. You should see a tiny trail of smol bubbles slowly trickle out as it pressurizes in the bath.
I will sous vide just about anything. Sausages, fresh or frozen Salmon/chicken, frozen veg, prepackaged meals, bags of soup, anything I can get into a vacuum sealed bag. It gets you up to edible temp with almost no effort, and you can start it way ahead of time and pull the food out when you’re ready. Any meats, just throw into a hot skillet after for color, anything with a sauce add to a sauce pan with sous vide whatever and stir till sauce is hot. Aldo great for thawing frozen shit.
It's great for soft eggs like those used in onsen tamago (Japanese hot spring eggs). I consider fish to be meat, but I understand a lot of people don't, so also: fish.
Eggs of any doneness are reason enough for one. Sometimes I separate them and sous vide the yolks in a jar to get a jammy consistency and fry the whites hard.
Add comment