2383 Sue Veed

The other day I decided to see if the old adage, you can't teach an old dog new tricks, was true. I was the old dog.

The thing I wanted to try to teach myself was sous vide cooking. The word sous vide is French so even though it's spelled s-o-u-s-      v-i-d-e-, like souse videe, it's actually sue veed. 

Sous vide has been around for awhile, and you've probably eaten it in an expensive restaurant without knowing. In the past it's required some rather high-priced technical equipment, so you haven't seen sous vide recipes cropping up in recombinant food items a la Betty Crocker. 

(A recombinant food is a food that's made out of two or more other fully prepared foods. Like Rice Krispies and marshmallows render Rice Krispie Treats.)

Sous vide is also part of the molecular gastronomy movement, which seeks to create delicious food by paying attention to the molecular changes in food items using various degrees of heat and or reactive ingredients. Greater flavor by "cooking through chemistry” rather than just adding more sugar butter and bacon.

Sous vide once borrowed equipment from the scientific lab because it required something that would keep an unvarying low water temperature. I used a crockpot and a thermometer. The key is bringing a vacuum-packed piece of meat up to a constant low temperature. 140 degrees if you want a medium rare steak. You soak it in a bath for about three hours or longer. No worries, it can never overcook, as you bring it only to the optimum temperature.Then you sear the outside in a super hot oiled pan. Perfect medium rare steak all the way through.

And all you did was give your piece of meat a fever.

Made this dog sit up with pleasure. 

America, ya gotta love it.