Order a medium-rare steak at a high-end restaurant these days, and you may slice through the meat to find that it is a perfect rosy pink not just in the center but from edge to edge and is encased in only the slimmest crust of browned meat. The secret to getting such stunning results consistently is the surprisingly simple yet powerful technique called cooking sous vide. Chefs first seal the food in special plastic bags, often in a vacuum chamber (sous vide is French for “under vacuum”) but sometimes with air or other gases. They then slow-cook the bagged food at relatively low temperature, typically 122 to 149 degrees Fahrenheit, for hours or even days in a water bath or steam oven.

To steakhouse chefs used to placing dishes under 1,800-degree broilers, this approach may seem unorthodox. But thanks in part to some famous chefs who have championed the technique, including Joël Robuchon, Joan Roca and Thomas Keller, cooking sous vide has started catching on quickly—­even among home cooks.

The simple act of vacuum-packing food and immersing it in hot water changes the physics of cooking more than you might think. The usual goal in cooking is to bring the food to the specific temperature at which it is perfectly “done.” For many foods, such as fish and certain vegetables, the margin of error is quite narrow. But in traditional cooking, the high temperature of the pan, oven or grill pushes heat into the exterior of the food so quickly that a large temperature gradient forms between the surface and the core. A charbroiled steak, for example, soon becomes boiling hot just under the surface where the water in the meat is flashing to steam; that boiling zone can be a good 86 degrees F hotter than the medium-rare center, and conduction keeps transmitting the heat there even after the steak is pulled from the broiler.

When cooking sous vide, in contrast, chefs typically set the water bath temperature just one or two degrees higher than the core temperature they want to reach. A computer-controlled heater can hold the bath within half a degree of that temperature while the food slowly equilibrates. Because the temperature can’t go very high, overcooking is not really possible, so timing is much less critical. The vacuum packing prevents air from insulating the food, improves food safety and greatly slows oxidation reactions that can lead to unwanted color changes or off-flavors. Low temperatures won’t brown food, but a quick sweep with a blowtorch or a fast sear on a griddle can apply the final color and crust. The food can be done to a chef’s specifications, every time.

12 Comments

1. 1. dbtinc 09:12 AM 1/17/11

   Yuck. What would Julia Child say. Another fad. Next up hummingbird tongues in fish sauce. And you though Rome was dead.

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2. 2. cblsttrotwd 10:16 AM 1/17/11

   @dbtinc Yeah! Disgusting! Who in their right mind would want perfectly cooked food?

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3. 3. tharriss 10:56 AM 1/17/11

   If I read it right, since timing isn't as important, a lot of food could be prepared in advance to desired levels, then when ordered, the food could be quickly "browned" and served... that sounds like it might be useful in a restarant setting...

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4. 4. Cardigan 10:56 AM 1/17/11

   I agree, who in their right mind would use Fahrenheit ;-)

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5. 5. cheapskate 01:48 PM 1/17/11

   Anybody ever had food poisoning eating these? 122F(50C) cooking for over a day in a vacuum sounds like ideal breeding ground for anaerobic bacteria like C. botulinum. They should at least kill off most of the surface bacteria by dunking the meat in boiling water or use high pressure steam before putting it in a vacuum pack.

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6. 6. pafowler 05:19 PM 1/17/11

   I like mine medium rare with a little crust on the outside gradually changing to pinkish in the center.
   The outside cooked thus adds a flavor I like. Hot water
   is for a nice long bath, preferably with a friend.

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7. 7. pafowler in reply to Cardigan 05:22 PM 1/17/11

   I agree. The Nepoleonic system is far superior.

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8. 8. Jumper 05:37 PM 1/17/11

   I'm a cook who has experimented with this method. It's very good. Temperatures should be not under 140 F. - 60 C.
   
   Pork loin is amenable to this method. 12 hours is good. Then slice, sear, apply whatever sauce one devises.

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9. 9. server support company nyc 09:08 AM 1/18/11

   Wow great. I love eating more thank cooking honestly. But of course I should also know the basic. Thanks for this information.
   
   
   <a href="http://www.server-support-company.com/">server support company nyc</a>

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10. 10. bucketofsquid 05:06 PM 1/18/11

    First off, I have a little concern about food poisoning but if the core temperature hits where it is supposed to for killing pathogens then that is fine. The problem I have is that I like meat very well done as in no hint of pink anywhere. I doubt that this method would accomplish that. I also object to using a blowtorch on food. My experience is that it gives food a slightly odd flavor (particularly beef and cheese).

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11. 11. mahboud 05:23 PM 1/18/11

    Do we have to worry about the plastic bags leeching chemicals into the food as they are being heated, especially with the longer cooking times?

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12. 12. Wayne Williamson 05:18 PM 1/21/11

    I've been seeing them use this on Iron Chef(USA food network)...but only for less than an hour(all the time they have)....
    
    This sounds like a perfect way to cook meat and have it at your way too....
    
    Sear afterwards(backwards to the way I learned) to give the exterior the texture/taste you want...
    
    Thanks for sharing...
    
    

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