25 Sous Vide Recipes to Try ASAP (2024)

FAQs

What is the first thing I should make in my sous vide? ›

Steak is held up as the best example of just what sous vide can do, so it's probably one of the things that you'll want to try first. It's heartbreaking when you leave an expensive piece of steak just a little bit too long and wind up making it tough and dry, but thankfully, sous vide takes away all the guesswork.

For steaks 1-inch or less, initial cooking time can be shortened to 30 minutes. Steaks cooked under 130°F (57°C) should not be cooked longer than 2 1/2 hours at a time for food safety reasons.

Season the Chuck Roast with Salt, Pepper, Garlic and Onion Powder. Seal in a vacuum bag and cook in your sous vide bath at 131 degrees Fahrenheit for 24-36 hours. Remove when done and dry off with paper towels. Re-Season if it appears the initial seasoning has been lost with the liquid.

If you're not careful about cooking times (as specified by the product manufacturer), your food can become contaminated. In addition, if your food is not properly vacuum sealed, or your food becomes contaminated during prep, cooking sous-vide poses an additional threat.

To cook any kind of food sous vide, you'll need a sous vide machine and a Ziploc bag (or another type of boilable bag). You'll also need a large pot or container to hold the water for the bath and something to weigh the bag down so it doesn't float.

These risks include the potential for survival and growth of bacteria that can grow under the anaerobic (absence of oxygen) conditions created by the vacuum packaging, e.g. Clostridium botulinum. Remember, some foods may not be suitable for sous vide cooking.

Most beef cuts can be cooked sous vide, including larger, tougher cuts such as Short Ribs or Chuck Roast, but rich, well-marbled cuts such as Strip Steak also really benefit from this preparation.

While many will tell you that it's impossible to overcook with sous vide (and this isn't far from the truth), do bear in mind though that if you leave the food in the water bath for an extended period of time it won't 'overcook', but it could start to take on a mushy texture, so don't forget about it!

You can technically cook as many steaks at once as you'd like. Sous vide steak temps: Rare- 130ºF, Medium Rare- 140ºF, Medium- 155ºF, and Well Done- 165ºF. Option to leave the steak in the sous vide for up to 4 hours for ultra-tender steak, but 2 hours is just perfect, as well! Both will come out medium-rare.

How long is the danger zone for sous vide? ›

Stay Out of the Danger Zone

The biggest concern, especially with sous vide, is food shouldn't be out of the refrigerator at temperatures below 127°F (52.8°C) for more than 3 or 4 hours. Below that temperature the pathogens and other bad things grow a ton and can eventually make the food unsafe to eat.

If you're cooking at 130°F (54.4°C), you don't need to pull it out and let it rest to evenly distribute the temperature because the entire cut of meat is already at 130°F. So, from the carryover temperature aspect, you really don't need to let a lot of sous vide meat rest.

For example; in a 10 to 15-liter bath, you should be able to accommodate 15-20, 6-ounce portions. For at 20 to 30-liter bath, you can accommodate 30 to 40 6-ounce portions.

Another thing to note is that cooked meat doesn't absorb marinades, and the outside of meats cook in roughly 5 to 10 minutes sous vide, so you always want to marinate first before sous vide cooking — even if you leave the marinade in the bag.

The short answer is that it's very tough to predict exactly how spices are going to react in a sous vide bag. I've found that if I want spice flavor, it's better to rub the spices into the meat after the sous vide cooking phase and before the final searing phase.

In the kitchen, you have to produce flavor, and then lock in that flavor. This is why we sear the meat before cooking sous vide. During the cooking process, the flavors are enhanced and reach the core of the steak.