We are speaking only about cooking, not about conservation of food, here.
Of course, without a vacuum engine it is not inherent to get a exquisite vacuum in a plastic bag or plastic pouch; but it is inherent to have a partial "sous vide", adequate to realise this recipe of cooking.
This recipe can be adapted for home cooking or for small restaurants.
Cooker Electric
Why put in order food this way? What are the benefits of this method?
- You can put in order the food one to two days, or more, in advance. You can, keep the food in the fridge, or even ice the preparations, store for a few weeks or a month, then reheat and serve when needed.
Imagine having a party next week with 10 habitancy coming home. What a big quantity of food to store and deal with the last day! You may be overwhelmed by such a task. Using this method, a major part of the job can already be done before the day of the party.
You can put in order the food when you have abundance of time, and you don't need to rush to be ready when your guests arrive. You look quiet, and categorically you will deal with the situation much more easily).
- preparing this way, food is more tasty because the food cooks in it's own juice, the taste does not disappear in the air. Remember when you enter a kitchen and smell all the spectacular, perfumes coming to your nose. This is the taste of the food disappearing in the air. With this method, tastes stay inside.
- An other benefit of this recipe is that it gives you the occasion and the simplicity to cook at a low temperature, 70°C/158°F.
Let me explicate this point about temperature: When you cook the "normal" way, this is higher than 70°C/158°F. In fact, boiling water is 100°C/212°F; when you roast, an midpoint climatic characteristic of 200°C/392°F is used, this is with out doubt far higher than 70°C/158°F.
Here, speaking about temperatures we are reaching a crucial point. Meat, fish as well but less, when cooking at high temperatures are becoming tough. This is because the collagen (fibrous protein constituting a good part of meat) contracts and gets tougher over 70°C/158°F. Thus, the tip is to cook below this climatic characteristic to keep the meat tender. (Since the use of "sous vide" technology, the food manufactures prepares roasted meat with parts of the animal that would never have been roasted in the past because these parts are regularly too tough. This is only inherent because of low temperature.)
(Low climatic characteristic cooking can be done by different means but you will not have all the benefits of the "sous vide" technique, or all the benefits of my method.
You can cook at low temperatures with a general pot. On the store are electric slow cookers, available for any sort of recipes)
How to put in order "sous vide", or vacuum cooking, without a vacuum machine.
I give you first, here, generally for those who already know how to put in order food "sous vide", a short record of the process, then more details that you can read if you are interested to try this method:
Instead of placing the food to cook in a plastic pouch and vacuum it, plainly wrap or roll the food in at least 5 to 6 layers of plastic paper. Make sure to get the plastic, then, strike for home the same way you would with regular vacuum cooking. Of procedure the time you can keep the food with this process has nothing to do with real vacuum cooking, as there is no control on the vacuum division in the parcel you have prepared with this method. I propose that you result the same rules you result for non vacuumed food.
Detailed process
Start with this very basic recipe if you want to try "sous vide", as it is categorically easy to do. Then you can adapt my recipe to different meats, poultry or fish or find a recipe in the one's we propose on this web site.
Chicken breast prepared in plastic wrapping ("sous vide" style)
Use chicken breast with or without skin, stuffed or not, marinated or not according to the recipe or to your choice. Use it plain or brown it in a skillet before wrapping to have a more roasted flavour. The meat when serving after cooking will of procedure not be crispy anymore; but you can place it in a skillet for 2 or 3 minutes to recover it's crispness just before arranging on plates.
1- Put the seasoned pieces of chicken breast, already stuffed, on plastic paper.
2- Roll the chicken breast thoroughly in the plastic paper, production sure to press strongly against the meat while rolling to have the maximum of air flee from the parcel. (We are not trying here to compete with a vacuum engine but we are trying to have the minimum of air inside, generally because if too much air stays inside, the parcel will floats to the exterior of the water when poaching and the cooking will be bad).
Make at least 5 or 6 turns nearby the meat to get a parcel that is firm and strong enough.
3- Make a knot at each side of the parcel with a string or with the plastic itself if you have adequate of it. Now, the chicken breast is ready to cook.
4- Put the parcel in a pot of water at 70°C/158°F. Use a thermometer to make sure that you have the right temperature.
5- Keep cooking while about 20 minutes, production sure the climatic characteristic is still at 70°C/158°F, checking now and then. The time of cooking depends on the size of the chicken breast. This example is for a piece of 180g/6oz and should not be more than 20 minutes.
Make sure if you cook a stuffed breast of chicken to adjust the cooking time to the size and also to the stuffing. (If you stuff with cooked mushrooms the cooking size will be shorter than a stuffing made with raw meat for instance.)
6- When done, serve immediately with the sauce of your choice. (Slice the chicken breast to have a nicer presentation)
Notes
If you have chosen to put in order the chicken breast in advance, don't cook them but place in the fridge for one day maximum. If you want to serve the chicken breasts later, ice them. Keep up to a few weeks. (It is good not to keep food a long time in a freezer as it will start to dry and be "burnt" by the cold after a few month. Make sure to defrost the meat before starting to cook.
If you have at home an electric slow cooker pot, you can use it to put in order this recipe. Fill it up with water and set the thermometer (if available) at 70°C/158°F.
Jean-Louis Vosgien
How To put in order "Sous Vide" - Or Vacuum Cooking