Sous Vide Basics

These professional chefs take the guesswork out of preparing meals with this ingenious appliance.

The hottest trend in home cooking is sous-vide cooking, where food is sealed in plastic pouches and cooked in a temperature-controlled water bath. The result is perfectly cooked meat, fish, vegetables and eggs. Sous vide machines are one of the hottest selling and popular appliances today but despite their popularity, most home cooks are somewhat intimidated by them once they bring them home.

Jay Nutt, a professional chef and bestselling author, and Jennifer MacKenzie, also a bestseller author, use a friendly and very easy-to-follow approach as they walk through all the basics of this ingenious appliance, ensuring predictable and perfect results every time. All the information a home cook needs is here, from properly prepping the food, proper bag and glass use (typically for eggs), desired cooking times and temperatures, to tips and techniques for finishing your food to caramelized perfection.

Sous vide machines are all about efficiency and effectiveness, and, with this in mind, there are clear directions including charts that make the transition to sous vide a fun and stress-free process. The 100+ recipes were especially developed for sous vide and they are simply delicious. There are recipes for every occasion and for every component of a meal - from incredible Broccoli and Cheddar Breakfast Strata, to Thai Green Curry Mussels in Coconut Milk appetizers, Porchetta Sandwich with Spicy Aioli and Shredded Lettuce on Ciabatta Roll for the perfect lunch or get together for a big event.

The main courses and sides are perfect family fare and also do double duty for effortless entertaining - from Super-Slow Whisky, Garlic and Brown Sugar Brisket, to Garlic and Lemon Chicken Breasts to a sublime Dijon and Rosemary Leg of Lamb with Red Wine Sauce. Vegetarian dishes and side dish ideas along with desserts are tailor made for the sous vide like Chocolate Almond Bread Pudding and Creme Caramel.

About the Author

Jay Nutt is a chef and along with Jennifer MacKenzie is the co-author of the bestselling The Dehydrator Bible and The Complete Trail Food Cookbook.

Jennifer MacKenzie is a professional home economist, cookbook author and specializes in recipe development and testing.