Sous vide cooking is taking the world by storm. And not just in commercial restaurant and cafe kitchens. Sous vide is a slow cooking technique where ingredients (meat etc) are put into food pouches and submerged in warm water over a longer than usual cooking time.
Many call it “low and slow” cooking. And boy oh boy are the results spectacular! Sous vide cooking produces restaurant quality food every single time.
Image credit: Amazon | Anova Culinary Nano Precision Cooker
You can now buy sous vide immersion circulators (also known as precision cookers) as well as all in one sous vide water ovens, at very reasonable prices.
That means that sous vide cooking is accessible to home cooks. And whilst the name may well sound fancy, the cooking method itself is VERY easy.
Now surely a cooking method that produces succulent, delicious food must cost a fortune? Wrong.
Here are 5 ways that sous vide cooking also SAVES you money compared to “regular” cooking methods.
Saving 1. You can use cheaper cuts of meat for weekday meals
You can save a fortune on meat with sous vide cooking. This cooking technique turns low quality, inexpensive, tough meat cuts into succulent restaurant quality meals. The secret? Slow cooking at a low temperature over a long period of time.
Photo credit: Sous vide chuck roast from Pinterest
Regularly we see sous viders around the globe delight in buying super cheap cuts of meat and creating taste bud popping meals. Using the sous vide technique means you can eat delicious food without forking out for expensive cuts of meat.
Shop for discounts at your local supermarket and explore Costco or your local butcher for endless inexpensive sous vide ingredient cooking inspiration. You won’t be disappointed with the results.
Saving 2. Sous vide cooking means cooking for a crowd on the cheap – that means cheaper dinner parties (and more time with your guests)
There is nothing worse than wanting to wow your dinner party guests but realising that you don’t have the budget to go all out on purchasing expensive ingredients. With sous vide cooking this is not a problem. You can purchase meat in bulk (and it doesn’t have to be wagyu quality steak either) and cook up a delicious meal for your guests on the cheap.
Photo credit: Unsplash
Many of the best sous vide recipes for cheaper cuts of meat do require some time to cook though. So make sure you allow yourself the time to do your special meal justice.
It is not unheard of for some sous vide recipes to call for 20-30 hours of cooking time! Yes. You read correctly. BUT the results are out of this world. And your dinner guests will have no idea that you cooked the whole thing on a tiny budget either.
The other side benefit is that sous vide cooking requires very little of your time in the kitchen. Once your food pouches are in your sous vide water bath, the cooking process itself takes care of the cook for you. Once cooked, you can finish off your meat with a quick pan sear, torch or BBQ sear, prepare a side dish or two and voila, your meal is ready. That means more time with your guests and less time stressing over undercooked or overcooked meat.
Saving 3. Preparing sous vide meals ahead of time means you won’t order take away meals as often
Sous vide meal batching is an awesome way to stock up on meals for during your busy weeks and social weekends. Let’s say you are going to sous vide some chicken. You can cook up say 6 chicken breasts with your sous vide immersion circulator and then put them in the freezer, ready for when you need them. Simply grab them out of the freezer and hey presto – your chicken just needs to be heated up and you are ready to go.
Photo credit: Reddit
It is far too easy to reach for your phone to order take away or Uber Eats. Quash this knee jerk reaction, by cooking sous vide meals in batches ahead of time. You will save yourself a lot of money in the process.
Saving 4. You need less appliances in your kitchen
Sous vide cooking requires an immersion circulator and something to use as your water bath to cook your food pouches in. Most people use either their existing pots and saucepans or purchase one large polycarbonate container for larger cooks. That is it.
Whilst you can purchase appliances (such as a vacuum sealer), you can still cook like a chef without any other kitchen equipment at all. And given there are some very well priced sous vide immersion circulators on the market, this new way of cooking means you don’t need a whole lot of additional kitchen gadgets to create restaurant quality meals in your own kitchen at home.
Saving 5. One night’s sous vide brisket can be the next nights taco mix! Create two meals from one on a regular basis
How often do we cook meals which create some leftovers. We scratch our heads trying to work out what to do with them. More often that not we just throw the leftovers in the bin. What a waste.
Photo credit: The Beader Chef
Sous viders are super resourceful with their leftovers. Often the “leftover” meal actually looks nothing like an after-thought. But instead another beautiful, succulent meal just like the original one! For example, on night 1 you might enjoy a succulent sous vide beef brisket and the next, use the brisket leftovers in a sous vide taco dish.
Nothing like making two meals from one and saving some well earned money whilst you do it.
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