Sous-vide (/suːˈviːd/; French for "under vacuum") is a method of cooking in which food is sealed in airtight plastic bags then placed in a water bath or in a temperature-controlled steam environment for longer than normal cooking times (usually 1 to 6 hours, up to 48 or more in some select cases) at an accurately regulated temperature much lower than normally used for cooking, typically around 55 to 60 °C (131 to 140 °F) for meat and higher for vegetables. The intent is to cook the item evenly, ensuring that the inside is properly cooked without overcooking the outside, and retain moisture. --Wikipedia

True confession: I am a closet sous vider. I come from the last of the old guard that rejected sous vide in favor of more classical techniques. I was first exposed to sous viding when I did a stage for Joel Robuchon in Paris in 1996. He had a pork belly dish I vividly remember, the ultimate Petit salé aux lentilles, a melt in your mouth dish of cured pork belly served over creamy lentils. Petit salé is far too bourgeois for most diners of a three star Michelin restaurant and I am convinced the dish was not actually on the menu but there only for gastronomic regulars in the know. Each morning at Robuchon a plastic tub was filled with warm water and a strange device attached. The machine gently hummed while vacuum-packed bags of cured pork belly were lowered in. All throughout prep and service, the machine circulated water heated to a precise temperature around the packets.  It felt like Christmas whenever someone ordered it. Time stopped. Everyone's attention was fixated on the opening of that one single package and I always wondered who was on the other side of the swinging kitchen doors eating it. Since then, every "modern" kitchen I have worked in had at least one such circulator.

Finally, companies like Anova are making this extraordinary technology affordable and within reach for home cooks to use.

At the end of summer, my six year old son's day camp sells all their gear. We had purchased a six foot section of stainless steel shelving for our garage. While I was waiting for the counselors to bring it out I noticed a stack of Anova circulators for sale. At $99 dollars apiece the cost was reasonable enough for me to try one out.

I was quickly impressed with the ease of use. There is even a downloadable app for your smart phone that allows you to connect to  it. You can set temperatures, cooking times and monitor the status of what you are cooking all from your phone. It comes fully loaded with basic recipes to get your feet wet while you learn. I recently made two dishes I want to share: my version of Joel Robuchon's petit salé and a flavor bomb wagyu steak served over buckwheat noodles with a miso truffle butter that anyone can easily prepare. You can buy your own Anova circulator here or better yet give them to your friends who love to cook.

Petit salé aux lentilles is a rustic peasant dish born out of necessity and geography. Historically when pigs were slaughtered, farmers would put the meat into salt boxes to conserve them. Petit Salé originated in Auvergne where beautiful green lentils are grown. The pork was soaked in cold water to remove some of the salinity, then slow cooked with lentils. Today, while salting is no longer a necessity, it remains a rural tradition.

This dish is born out of that same ancestry.

 

Probably one of the best sous vide applications for the home kitchen is cooking your steak. It may sound extremely contrary to everything we learned growing up, but you can easily control the final outcome. Sous viding allows you to cook something to precisely a temperature and hold it there. The longer you hold it at temperature the more the muscle fibers break down and become soft. However, too long and your meat will become mush. Perfectly done and your steak will always be juicy and perfectly cooked. Although I made this dish with A5 Japanese wagyu, perhaps the world's most sought after beef,  it is easily made with any high grade beef found in your grocery store's meat section.

I served the rib eye over buckwheat noodles bought in a local Chinese grocery store with a pool of ginger sauce and a dab of black truffle - miso butter. The noodles were simply cooked and tossed in a tablespoon of the black truffle - miso butter. Here are the two accompaniments that will work with a variety of other proteins and vegetables.