John & Christine
Milford
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I am a fan of the Bravo TV reality TV show Top Chef. On that show I saw one of the contestants cooking Sous Vide. Every time the judges raved about how good the food was.
Well, I have yet to try this campside but I think this method of cooking is too good and too easy not to share.
I will do my best describing this. I am not a very good writer. If you have any questions just send me a PM.
Basically all you need is a Vacuum food sealer like Food Saver and a Crock Pot. Its so simple yet so yummy its like cheating and DH thinks I am suddenly a gourmet.
*Place meat with sauce in Food Saver Bag
*Evacuate all the air from bag
*Place bag in Crock Pot with enough water to cover
*Set Crock Pot on Low
*Cook for 8-10 hrs for chicken…less for pork or fish. I had to experiment a bit with this. Your cooking times may vary with a different Crock. Good chefs sometimes actually cook proteins for a day with this method.
These are some of my favorite sauces...you can pretty much use anything. Wines,balsamic vinegars,juices and even some liquors make good bases for each sauce. Be creative...
Chicken
-Balsamic redux with Marmelade Jam(you can use your favorite jellies
-Orange juice
-Butter with lemon wedges
-Simple Italian Dressing
-jerk seasoning
Pork
-Pineapple juice
-Pineapple slice with honey
-Mustard & Honey
-BBQ sauce
-apple juice
-brown sugar with honey
-jerk seasoning
-and my DH's favorite...redux of Jack Daniels and Brown Sugar
Fish
-butter & Lemon
What happens is the protein cooks in its own juices and its infused with the sauce that goes with it. The beauty of all this is the meat tenderizes and tastes great. Another thing if you dont like what the rest of the family wants you can have different sauces because they are cook in a sealed bag, seperated from the others. My DH can have his Jack D' redux and the rest of us can have ours with pineapple.
One very imporatnt note. Check the final temperature of the food your cooking. Make sure the temp of the food has reached the safe cooking point. Chicken should be 165-170 degrees.
Try it...you'll look like a hero and DH may even give you the rest of the night to have to yourself.
-Christine
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ljguidry
Butte, MT
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John & Christine - Questions: Is the marinade in the vacuum-packed package of raw (?) meat? How do you keep from sucking out the marinade from the package of meat during the vacuuming process? The site you cited mentions that one has to be very careful with temperature to avoid botulism. Is the slow cooker on low good enough to maintain this critical temperature -- or are the folks hawking their equipment just providing some hype so folks will buy their equipment? How long can the vacuumed packages be kept (frozen?) and still be OK?
Sounds like a great way to cook super foods for folks who don't have excess time on their hands. Anxious to hear more about this. Thanks for sharing the information!
Ellen & Loyd Guidry
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John & Christine
Milford
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Yes the marinade is in the raw protein. My Vacuum sealer has a "moist" setting so it does not evacuate the sauce.
I had to experiment with cooking temps and times. In my OP I said I cooked chicken at low...its actually cooked on medium. I found that the water in my Crock at serve reached 148 degrees, low reached 164 degrees, at medium 186 degrees and High it was 206 degrees. This was easy to figure out with a temp probe. By cooking at this temp(warm) for 10 hrs I found that the chicken came out at over 180 degrees. I still always check the meat temps with a probe. Just like cooking chicken in an oven safe temps are paramount.
As far as manufacturers hawking there equiptment....this was my idea. I have yet to see a manufacturer advertise this. I actually tried boiling the water at 1st in a pot but found it so difficult to maintain temp. I was continuously adding water, then it would cool down to temps in the low 130's...then water would evaporate making the water start to boil. It was a catch 22. Thats when I thought of the Crock pot. You can set it and forget it for hours.
I dont know how long it would last in the bag. I bet a long time which for camping would be great. You can prep meals way in advance.
Does that help?
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SWMO
Southwest Missouri
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I wonder how that would work with the new Microwave bags.
I've been kicking around an idea to use them in the Crockpot for small dishes, but I haven't tried them, afraid they might burn and stick. I never thought about cooking in water, but if you can have hot liquids in the bag, I would assume they could be outside.
I suppose there's only one way to find out.
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John & Christine
Milford
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Another thought....
Chicken with salsa for the sauce.
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Scrapz
Texas
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I love that show too and was interested in this cooking method. I too was wondering how to keep the liquid from getting sucked into the motor. I don't have a "moist" setting so I wouldn't be able to vacuum seal a bag with liquid. I can seal the bag without a vacuum though. I wonder if that would work.
Kathy 
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ljguidry
Butte, MT
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John & Christine, Many thanks for the answers to my questions. I wasn't meaning to imply that the manufacturers were trying to push their products (more than they normally do). I surely didn't know about the "moist" setting on the vacuum machine. DW and I really like your idea of trying salsa with chicken. We often crockpot slow cook chicken with BBQ sauce. It turns out super well.
Thanks for taking the time to respond. We're anxious to give this a try.
Ellen and Loyd Guidry
Butte, MT
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eribac
Minnesota
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If you don't have a moist setting on your vacuum sealer, there are a couple ways you can still do this.
First, if you plan on freezing you can freeze your items first. Then the marinade become a solid and will not be sucked up into your sealer.
Second, you can place a folded paper towel inside the bag which will absorb the liquid before getting sucked into the sealer. You will probably need to add more liquid than normal, to make up for the liquid that is in the paper towel.
I'm not sure that just sealing the bag would achieve the same results. I believe that this style of cooking is dependent upon the vacuum pressure.
I would also recommend pre-heating the water before putting it into your crock-pot, otherwise I would imagine that it would take a long time for it to come up to temperature.
--eric
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John & Christine
Milford
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Scrapz wrote:I love that show too and was interested in this cooking method. I too was wondering how to keep the liquid from getting sucked into the motor. I don't have a "moist" setting so I wouldn't be able to vacuum seal a bag with liquid. I can seal the bag without a vacuum though. I wonder if that would work. I think having the vacuum is important. The meats come out incredibly moist and juicy. I think its due to the lack of air there is no way for the juices to evaporate. Theres no reason a dry rub wouldnt work. A little olive oil and maybe some rosemary, salt and pepper should be ok with a saver with no moist setting...Maybe?
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John & Christine
Milford
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ljguidry wrote:John & Christine, Many thanks for the answers to my questions. I wasn't meaning to imply that the manufacturers were trying to push their products (more than they normally do). Ellen and Loyd Guidry
Butte, MT Oh I didnt think you were...
The BBQ in the crock pot is actually what gave me the idea. Give it a shot this way...its an intense flavor.
Christine
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