Chef’s Corner-Bits
and Bites, by Chef Michael Hutchings
To Vacuum or not to
Vacuum?
Sous-vide (pronounced su-vid),
French for "under vacuum", is a method of cooking
that maintains the flavor integrity of ingredients by cooking
them for an extended period of time at low temperatures. Sous-vide
cooking uses special airtight plastic bags placed in hot water
well below boiling point, usually around 140 degrees F. The
method was developed by Georges Pralus in the mid-1970s for
the Restaurant Troisgros (of Pierre and Michel Troigros) in
Roanne, France.
In the early 80s, I did a short
apprenticeship at the Troisgros. The foie gras was denerved,
marinated in salt, pepper and cognac, packed in a plastic
lined terrine and chilled. Afterwards, it was removed, vacuum
packed, replaced in the terrine and cooked slowly in a water
bath. The method produced a pink, smooth pate with little
shrinkage and great flavor.
The Sous-vide method is used
in many high-end restaurants under chefs Thomas Keller, Jesse
Mallgren, Paul Bocuse, Joël Robuchon, Charlie Trotter,
Michael Richard, Albert Roux and others.
In the late 80s Albert Roux,
of famed Le Gavroche, London, opened a sous vide supplied
restaurant in London called Rouxl Britannia with the intent
of replacing skilled chefs at the restaurant level. Roux had
already been running a factory supplying the French rail and
British Airways with sous vide product. The restaurant concept
failed due to lack of public acceptance of a chefless restaurant.
I once had a dinner prepared by the Roux factory that consisted
of a cauliflower soup, veal roast au jus and poached pears.
It was as good as freshly made.
Chef Michael Richard uses the
method in this restaurants. It is an effective way for a chef
to consistently turn out the same quality dish, day after
day. "If I tell the line cook to cook the salmon sous
vide at 130 degrees for 45 minutes, it will come out moist
and perfectly cooked all the way through every time,"
says chef Michel Richard, who has five of the slow cooking
machines at his Citronelle restaurant in Georgetown. Initially,
he admitted, he wasn't much of a fan. "When I first heard
about it, I thought, 'Aw, just another stupid machine.' "
But now he's a convert. At Citronelle, Michele uses sous vide
machines to make virtually all the entrees on his menu, including
short ribs braised for 72 hours until they're buttery soft,
or pheasant that's slow-poached to keep it plump and moist.
The sous vide method does require
great care to keep the food safe and should be used only if
you are trained in the science of sous vide cooking. New York
City Department of Health has been suppressing the method
while they determine how to advise and inspect for food safety.
In this country, the Food and Drug Administration's 2005 Food
Code sets out strict procedures, including chilling the bagged
products to 34 degrees and storing them for no more than 30
days, to eliminate the possibility of listeria or botulism
poisoning.
I like to use a compromise
method for banquets by placing blanched vegetables in the
vacuum bag with butter and seasonings. It is an easy matter
to reheat the sealed bag in boiling water or a steamer.
The technique is here to stay and should be used as another
method in our arsenal of cooking. Never forget that food safety
and flavor are the abiding rules.
For more information, go to
the following link:
http://amath.colorado.edu/~baldwind/sous-vide.html
Tastefully yours, Chef Michael
Hutchings
Sources and excerpts from Wikipedia,
Washington Post, New York Times
Michael’s Catering
www.michaelscateringsb.com
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