When I first read this title, after coming to Dubai[Not many chefs profess this method in India--so I was unaware of this term!!!] I was really intrigued. "Sous" which means "Under" & "Vide", vaccum. Cooking in vaccum..but how is that possible?In due course, I came across the book by the owner of "The French Laundry" in CA & "Per Se" in NYC, Chef Thomas Keller, "Cooking Under pressure", thus relating to the same concept, i.e. Sous Vide.
Practising at home...
Well, trying anything new is my innate nature. Cooking sous vide, which I have never practised as of now, I thought of trying it today for my dinner...for my belated thanksgiving dinner. For thanksgiving, I planned to cook duck for the main course, however, I changed my mind & moved to pork belly, a fatty cut, generally used for rendering fat or cut for bacon, lard etc. Pork is a meat, which becomes dry pretty easily, specially if roasted, however, authorities claim that if you soak it in brine for 2-3 hours, the resultant meat is tender. Hmm...how about cooking pork belly sous vide for my thanksgiving???
Yesterday evening, after coming back from work, I portioned out the pork belly [which was already thawed] and then proceeded towards making my jus. Few of the merits of cooking meat sous-vide is that you dont lose any of the flavours. Secondly, the natural flavour of the meat is more pronounced & finally due to slow cooking, chances of overcooking the food is less.Tough cuts, like brisket/cartella, topside, short-rib etc can be cooked taking the advantage of this cooking...rather anything can be cooked using the sous vide method.
Limitations can be equipment. Yes, if you dont have a temperature controlling device, it is difficult to keep a steady temperature of say 54 Deg C or 65 Deg C.Remember, the thumbrule, your ultimate goal is the internal temperature of doneness, which is your preference. Meats like pork, chicken are always well-done, on the other hand, lamb, beef, as per your preference.
Since I dont have a vaccum pack machine, ziplock bags are the only option for me. After my jus was prepared, I put the pork belly in individual ziplock bags, followed by a ladle of jus & generous sprinkle of fleur de sel[Seasalt from Brittany, France] & crushed pepper, with a sprig of thyme & little bits of cinnamon stick....and the bag is locked!!!
Now time for them to be cooked at 70 Deg C, for 7-8 hours. Keeping the temperature low is necessary, as at no cost, I would like to overcook my food!!!I had a thermometer, which helped me to monitor the temperature of the water. So I went to sleep, at 2 am, leaving them to be cooked sous vide overnight for 7-8 hours.
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I got up at 10 am & found them to be in pretty same temperature & took them off the hot water bath[i.e. the filled zip lock bags!!!] & put them in chilled water for easy cooling. The result was a well-done pork, with gelee like sauce.Next is finishing them for plating/presentation.
I took off the pork belly from the bag & put them in a hot pan, fat side down, to make the skin crisp & also heat it through. In the meanwhile, the gelee is heated in a saucepan for making the corresponding sauce. I heated the pork belly through & briefly cook in the oven for 10 minutes & then it goes to the plate. The result..well, can only be described by the one who has eaten it. It was remarkably tender, even though, it look like roasted/grilled. None of the pork flavour, i.e. umami was sacrificed due to the cooking. You may also want to try..it takes time, but it is worth the time.
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