Pam McKinstry and Sally MacColl are both recent converts to sous vide cooking. When the SousVide Supreme became available, they decided to explore this low & slow cooking technique.
Sous vide, a French term meaning “under vacuum,” is a method of cooking in a water bath at low temperatures. Typically, food is placed in a plastic bag, air is evacuated from the bag, the bag is sealed, and placed in a temperature-controlled water bath. If, for instance, you want to cook a chicken breast to 140°F (60°C), you set the bath temperature to the desired temperature and wait until the breast reaches the target. (Despite the French term, the food is not generally under a vacuum. See a lively discussion of all things sous vide on eGullet.)
Traditional cooking methods overheat the outside of the food to achieve the target internal temperature, which often produces tough, dry results. Food cooked using the sous vide method is typically more moist and tender.
Longtime friends, Pam and Sally represent different points of view: Pam is a professional chef who has run her own restaurants and written a number of cookbooks. Sally is an experienced home cook who, for a while, worked in Pam’s restaurant. After months of hard work, she decided she’d rather cook in her own kitchen.
Whirlwinds in the kitchen, they appreciate the calm that descends when the food bags enter the water. Not to mention enjoying a glass of wine and a conversation while they wait for the sous vide bath to work its magic.
We hope you enjoy the recipes they share here. Please feel free to comment and suggest ways this website might help other home cooks.