Sous vide cooking allows you to achieve perfect results with eggs, poultry, meats and more. Learn everything you need to get started in our step-by-step guide, featuring sous vide recipes: https://www.cooksillustrated.com/sousvideguide

1. Configure your platform

Attach your immersion heater to a heat-resistant container up to at least 212 degrees (boiling). Fill with water to about an inch above the machine's minimum water level line.

2. Choose your cooking temperature

Some recommended temperatures for sous vide cooking:

Chicken, turkey and other poultry – white meat: 160 degrees
Chicken, turkey and other poultry – dark meat: 175 degrees
Pork: 140 degrees
Beef: 120-125 degrees (rare), 135-140 degrees (medium)

3. Preheat the bath

Turn on the machine. Set the machine temperature to the desired cooking temperature. Letting the bath preheat ensures even cooking. Depending on your machine and target temperature, preheating will take approximately 20-30 minutes.

4. Season and seal your food

Season your food with salt, pepper and any other seasonings. Put the food in a plastic zipper bag (we recommend adding a small amount of olive or vegetable oil for meats and fish), remove as much air as possible, seal the bag until so that only an inch of the lock is still open. . Once the bath is up to temperature, submerge the bag in the bath until all but the unsealed corner is submerged in water, then complete the sealing. If you have a vacuum sealer, you can also use it to remove all the air. This step is important because air is a poor conductor of heat and too much of it insulates the food from the hot water bath. Removing air gives food direct contact with heated water, allowing for faster and more even cooking.

5. Place food in the bath

Once the bath is up to temperature, place the sealed bags into the water bath until the food is completely submerged. Cover the bath with plastic wrap to slow evaporation and help retain heat.

6. Keep an eye on time

Although timing is not always as important for sous vide as it is with traditional cooking methods, it is still important to keep a passive eye on the time, as the texture of the meat can suffer from too much time. long in the bath. Most common cuts of pork, steak, and poultry will be fully cooked in about 1 hour and can sit in the bath for about 4 hours without changing texture much. And when cooking delicate foods like eggs or fish, which are often cooked at higher temperatures for less time, you'll need to be extra careful. Too much time for a poached egg can spell disaster.

7. Finishing Touches

Remove your food from the bath. Open the bags and dry the food with paper towels. Although some foods like fish fillets, eggs, vegetables and pulled pork are ready to enjoy right out of the bath, most cuts of meat benefit from a quick sear to give the food a crispy crust. How you sear depends on the size and cut of the meat, but whichever method you choose, the goal is to sear as quickly as possible to avoid raising the temperature of the meat further. Be sure to use high heat and dry the food as much as possible before searing it.

8. Enjoy your meal sous vide

Sous vide has the potential to make traditional cooking easier and more foolproof, taking all the guesswork out of it and giving you back some free time. Plus, with precise and consistent cooking, it can even improve the taste of food.

More sous vide inspiration and information at https://www.cooksillustrated.com/sousvideguide

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