sous vide....lots of buzz...pros and cons

Vacuum packing has been around for some time, i.e. frozen foods, freeze-dried foods, everything from soup to nuts. Many restaurants have been using this method in order to provide consistent recipes and availability of featured entrees at a moments notice.

But..... How many chefs are using the Sous Vie cooking method on a consistent basis??? Is it just catching on with many or is the "real thing," if you want to control your cost while maintaining consistency?

Also what about using the one portion of the process of "Cryovacking" guest’s left-overs? Might it be a way to maintain the quality of what they take home, while eliminating those ugly plastic boxes [which are not cheap, nor green]?

Who's doing both with much success/volume and what equipment appears to achieve the best results?

I love the home vacuum packer my friend uses. However, I am too cheap to drop $100+ on a machine that you mainly use for your leftovers.

davecamaro1994 wrote:I love the home vacuum packer my friend uses. However, I am too cheap to drop $100+ on a machine that you mainly use for your leftovers.

It isn't "mainly" for leftovers:
See http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/14/magaz ... YOVAC.html

Higgins721 wrote:Also what about using the one portion of the process of "Cryovacking" guest’s left-overs? Might it be a way to maintain the quality of what they take home, while eliminating those ugly plastic boxes [which are not cheap, nor green]?

I could definitely deal with boil-in-the-bag leftovers, as long as it was nuke-able. Poke a hole, nuke, dump into my container.

True it is not mainly for leftovers. I am sure you can prepackage some dinners for your family. However, when does it become cost effective? I have seen those food sealers priced as high as $180 not including the plastic. If a good one was around $80 I might consider buying it. But even that seems high

Two things: first, the OP is talking about using on in a restaurant. Second, the point of "Sous Vide" is not to save money, but to bring out a different flavor and texture in the food.

Thanks Darren. when I did my first search on Sous vie all I got were French websites so I had no idea what it was. Sous Vide is in the wikipedia so now I know, and knowing is half the battle. I do totally agree in a restaurant situation it would be useful. I just digressed to home use

Darren is right on! It is for restaurants and flavor is primary factor, followed by having special entrees always available and the same consistently.

The second part is "cryovacing" guest's left overs to take home and re-heat whenever.

Are many chefs using this cooking method? Is it working? Is it cost effective?
Are any restaurants vacuum packing leftovers? How is it working....guest reactions?

I own a restaurant and it has been proposed for consideration.

I do think it would be great to get your leftovers vacuum packed. Some food is just messy and leaks. Sometimes I avoid getting them packed to go because of that as well as ordering pick up. Nothing worse than having the sauce leak all over the bag, then your car, hands etc. Which restaurant is yours? Where are you located? Just curious

I own the Wood Fire Italian Trattoria in Dowagiac, MI.
...about 30 miles due north of South Bend and the same east of St. Joseph, MI
www.woodfiredining.com

Cool. I will have to check ya out. My wife is from Michigan and we travel by there often to visit her family

Check with your local health department, there are usually special requirements for vacuum packing food of which sous vide is one of the special uses.
Paulette

Higgins721 wrote:Are any restaurants vacuum packing leftovers? How is it working....guest reactions?

Speaking as a guest....I'd be very interested in having leftovers vacuum packed. Kind of surprised that few, if anyone, has tried this yet.

I'd think that sous vide packaging would only be appropriate for certain types of leftovers - steamed and maybe stir-fired dishes, but certainly not for anything which needs to maintain any semblance of a crisp crust. Separating out the types of leftovers that would or wouldn't be appropriate for sous vide would seem like a big expense for a part of service with no economic reward.

paulette wrote:Check with your local health department, there are usually special requirements for vacuum packing food of which sous vide is one of the special uses.
Paulette

I was in a kitchen of a restaurant that has the vaccum packing system. They said the health department wanted it removed and stored away, because its presence suggested sous vide may be in practice. Sous vide is outlawed in their locality, thus they had to prove how they otherwise used it. They did use it multiple times for sealing components for a dish that was refrigerated until required.

Regards,

paulette wrote:Check with your local health department, there are usually special requirements for vacuum packing food of which sous vide is one of the special uses.
Paulette

The 2005 FDA Food Code chapter 3, section 502.12 (found here) has the requirements that the restaurant needs to fulfill, including having an HACCP plan and training, in order to sous vide food.

The inexpensive vacuum sealers like Foodsavers can't be used on anything that has a liquid component like sauces unless the sauce is prefrozen. The process of sucking the air out of the bag will also suck the liquid into the seal and prevent it from sealing properly. So the application to leftovers is limited.

There are more expensive machines that use a vacuum chamber that avoid this.

Egullet has a very extensive thread on sous vide applications.

rickster wrote:The inexpensive vacuum sealers like Foodsavers can't be used on anything that has a liquid component like sauces unless the sauce is prefrozen.

My FoodSaver has a "Moist" setting and does okay with sealing juicy/saucy foods.

RE: Vacuum-sealing "doggie bags"--my guess is, it wouldn't be worth the restaurant's time or expense. Vacuum-sealing would squish most food to bits (destroying any type of "presentation" and goo-i-fying anything crispy), and those special bags/containers aren't cheap.

Higgins721 wrote:But..... How many chefs are using the Sous Vie cooking method on a consistent basis???

This is just a guess, but I think restaurants that serve items poached in a relatively expensive liquid (e.g., olive oil poached, butter poached) probably use sous vide.

In general, I equate "poached" menu items with sous vide, depending on where I'm dining.

kanin wrote:
This is just a guess, but I think restaurants that serve items poached in a relatively expensive liquid (e.g., olive oil poached, butter poached) probably use sous vide.

In general, I equate "poached" menu items with sous vide, depending on where I'm dining.

Wouldn't this be more of a confit that sous vide?

Jamie

Jamieson22 wrote:Wouldn't this be more of a confit that sous vide?

I was just thinking that any poached items and confits (or oil-poached... so they make you think it's healthier:) ) can be easily replicated in a water bath with a lot less poaching liquid involved. Instead of a hot vat of oil sitting on a stovetop somewhere, they can use a few tablespoons and seal it in a bag with whatever they're poaching. It should be much more cost-effective and a lot easier to manage, I would imagine.

Like I mentioned I'm just guessing, but it makes sense to me.

I was just thinking that any poached items and confits (or oil-poached... so they make you think it's healthier:) ) can be easily replicated in a water bath with a lot less poaching liquid involved. Instead of a hot vat of oil sitting on a stovetop somewhere, they can use a few tablespoons and seal it in a bag with whatever they're poaching. It should be much more cost-effective and a lot easier to manage, I would imagine.

This is exactly how I now confit duck legs. I seal in two legs with a small scoop of hardened duck fat. I slowly (8 hours) poach them in a water bath contained in an electric skillet. These legs will keep for quite a while. I forgot one in the back of the refrigerator. It must have been a year old and was still good. Not sure if I can recommend leaving them for that long, though....