Page 19 - Sous Vide Que

Recently manufacturers have introduced resealable silicone bags for sous vide that are machine washable, like the one above. Some have hand vacuum pumps, like mini bicycle pumps, and some you just roll to squeeze out the air.
We have found that it is hard to get the air out. One brand even cautions you not to submerge the valve. How safe is silicone? Probably safe. How easy is it to clean? Not easy. And they can stain. We’re not fans.
It Is Not Boiling Food!
We have a saying at AmazingRibs.com: If you boil ribs, the terrorists win! We say this because water is a solvent and sucks flavor from meat. That’s how you make soup. Hardcore barbecue folks throw this line back at us when we talk about sous vide que. But sous vide is absolutely not boiling! The temperature is much lower, typically 131°F to 165°F and the food never touches the water. Think of it as a water oven with precision temperature control.
Immersion Circulators
To cook sous vide a special heater called an immersion
circulator is stuck into a pot of water where it warms the water with a heating element and circulates it with a pump. Why not just heat the pot of water to a set temperature on your stovetop burner? Because it is not precise. The water will be hotter on the bottom of the pot, near the heating element, rather than on the top. An immersion circulator heats the water precisely to a temperature you pick, say 131°F for that perfect medium rare steak, and circulates the water constantly so the water temperature stays consistent throughout the pot. You then submerge the sealed bag of food in the water. With this sous vide setup, you get predictable results and precise temperature control. The water cannot go above your set temperature, so the food cannot either.
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