Has anyone tried sous vide cooking method?

[NoTiGG]

It is basically where you cryovac seal a food like a new york strip steak.... and then you immerse it in a temperature controlled container of water like a pot.. and you carefully cook it at a very low degrees... like 150 for instance for a couple of hours. Just wondering if anyone has tried this.

[tinuviel_k]

It sounds like a really interesting cooking method, but I would not want to eat food that has been cooked in plastic at 150 degrees for hours and hours on end. There is probably some leeching of plastic chemicals into the food.

[_ktg_]

A very good friend of mine just got a sous vide machine for birthday/anniversary etc... He loves it - he's done filet, shortribs, and a couple of other things in it and they come out perfectly done, moist and extremely flavorful.

You do have to vacuum seal the food into bags and if you have a concern about chemicals leaching into food, it's probably not the way to cook then.

[CherryBomb]

Originally Posted by tinuviel_k

It sounds like a really interesting cooking method, but I would not want to eat food that has been cooked in plastic at 150 degrees for hours and hours on end. There is probably some leeching of plastic chemicals into the food.

I'm not hardcore about that stuff, but cooking it in plastic for hours would definitely concern me.

[EdnaMarie]

Isn't that how pot roast is done? You sear it in an iron dutch oven, then you cook it in a bit of water for like, three to five hours? But it's in the oven with some water, not in plastic. So you still don't lose the flavor, because you can keep pouring the broth over it. It's incredibly moist and flavorful. I fail to see how keeping it in shrink-wrap could improve massively on that method.

I would NOT want to cook my food in plastic. I really avoid that.

[spughy]

Sous vide has some health benefits, in that carcinogens form in meat cooked at high temps, and the low temps preserve a lot more goodness, but I can't get over the plastic aspect either.

A good alternative is poaching at low temp (below 200F) in olive oil, or lard. This is especially good for things like tenderloin or fish that dry out easily.