We’ve had years of vilification of fat all because of some reports of research that was not well done or accurately reported. Low-fat and fat-free have been advertising buzz words leading to processed foods that are supposedly healthy but really are not. If you want more on this saga check out books and blogs by Gary Taubes or Nina Teicholtz (here, here, and here under Nutrition).
I’m a fan of fat (possibly even a fat fan) used judiciously in cooking. I found this article in Bon Appetite by Carla Lalli Music refreshing and full of good information about using fat that you can get for free. (Note that is free fat, not fat free!) Fat and flavor go together.
As a butter-lover, one of the things I miss (from growing up on a farm)) is “real” butter and butter milk. Since I’m now an urban dweller, I purchase my butter in the market so it’s “sweet cream” butter.
Although this requires some planning and effort, it’s worth it if you want a real taste treat–and you also like real butter milk. So I wanted to share this recipe from A Beautiful Plate.
This is a first for me–I’ve eaten reheated fish. I have been known to re-purpose leftover fish–e.g. salmon into a Scandinavian potato salad, or grilled tuna steak into tuna salad; reheated leftover fish invariably (after one bite or even just a sniff) goes into the garbage.
One of the attractions of sous vide cooking for me as a single-serving cook has been the references to how well foods cooked this way can be stored (right in the cooking bag) for longer times.
reheated sous vide monkfish
My test of this was the monkfish that I cooked sous vide a few days ago: the fillet cut in half, cooked separately in two quart-sized Ziploc bags with only a little salt and some olive oil. One serving was eaten immediately. The second serving was cooled quickly and refrigerated (unopened) in the cooking bag for eating later. (Circumstances prevented me from reheating this for several days, but the monkfish remained sealed in the cooking bag until i reheated it in the water bath, to the cooking temperature.)
Results? OK, so this wasn’t a blind taste test, but I just ate every bit of that second fillet and I doubt that I could tell it from the fresh-cooked portion–it may well be the first time I’ve eaten reheated, cook fish. (That would be an interesting test.)
Although a cliche, this may be a life-changing event for me–at least in terms of cooking for one. I might not be limited to cooking things that are more usual leftovers,or limiting myself to small portions of fish that I’m going to eat at one time. Most of the references that I’ve found to keeping sous-vide cooked dishes indicate that the storage time if unopened–just cooled and store in the cooking bag–is much longer than the usual use-by times for cooked stuff. The lentils that I cooked in the mason jars kept very well–as indicated for up to ten (yes, 10) days sealed in the cooking jar (after being cooled and refrigerated). A real boon for when I’ve a busy schedule–hands–off cooking, the ability to have extra meals in the fridge, minimizing waste, and (especially) getting things cooked just the way I like them because of the temperature control. A son gôut!
Sous vide cooking has intrigued me for quite some time–so much that I had to do some trials to see if I really wanted to purchase a special appliance for it. One of my early experiments was with monkfish and then Chilean sea bass. Well I’ve finally purchased a thermal circulator–made the leap to real sous vide equipment. I’ve already cooked several things with the real equipment: short ribs, lentils, and some vegetables.
While I was skulking through my local Harris Teeter supermarket yesterday, I made my usual swing past the meat and seafood cases, and there was monkfish. It somehow seemed appropriate that I try it again with the “real” equipment. So I blew my budget on a lovely filet of monkfish. The butcher (or perhaps in this instance he should be fishmonger) removed the membranes so that I don’t even have to do that!
monkfish fillets
While searching for recipes, I found a wide range of temperatures recommended: from 113°F to 144°F (140°F was what I had used in my first trial). After reviewing the post from Stefan’s Gourmet Blog again since there were descriptions of texture for different temperatures. I love sashimi, but I wanted cooked fish here so after perusing other recipes, I decided to go with 132°F–tender and flaky. This is a lower temperature than what I used with my earlier monkfish (which was wonderful). The filet that I had was really more like two servings, so I cut it in half and I’ll see how it reheats for the second serving. (For single-serving cooking it would be wonderful to be able to reheat something like this.)
I read in several places that the tail fillets are the only edible part of this fish; however, online see that it is possible to purchase monkfish cheeks, apparently from larger fish. I’ve eaten cod tongues, and cheeks.
I dry-brined for 30 minutes, and then cooked for 37 minutes with just the salt and some extra virgin olive oil. The result was even better than my first try at the higher temperature. I didn’t try to finish by searing, just added a brown butter sauce with some lemon zest and juice. The taste and texture were wonderful! Next time, although the fish was opaque and just starting to flake, I think I’ll try just a degree or two higher for the next cook–e.g. 133 or 134°F as I’d like the fish to be just a little flakier than this was.
it is not a pretty fish, but so tasty–the poor man’s lobster
Not pretty, but certainly tasty and one of my favorite fish. This precision control of the temperature has lots of possibilities–a son gôut!
I’ll be reporting on how the other half of the filet tasted after cooling and reheating (although reheated fish usually just, despite my best intentions, is headed for the garbage despite the waste.
Obviously the decision (and selection process) of a sous vide circulation heater necessitated a good deal of research before, and perusal of cookbooks after it arrived in the kitchen.
The ChefSteps website for the selected device (the Joule) is bristling with information including recipes. I’m sure that had I chosen a different device (e.g. Anova) I would have found the same resources.
But if you have a new way of cooking you must also have a new cookbook. Thanks to my Kindle and a subscription to Kindle unlimited I was able to sample a lot of different cookbooks. I’ve found several for specialized uses of sous vide that have gone on my wish list, but the one that I bought was Sous Vide for Everybody. I like all the sciencey explanations of why recipes work. There was a delightful “freebie” with the book: recommendation to check out a particular website. Lifehacker site has a delightful collection of articles on what and how to use sous vide cooking.
As useful as the recipes from ChefSteps are, I’m in favor of having independently tested recipes. For my first “cook” I did short ribs and I did find it interesting that the temperature recommendations from that book were a bit different from the website, although overlapping. Given the results of my first batch, I do want to try the temperature recommended in that cookbook.
For right now that’s my source for recipes as I explore sous vide; however there are books from several authors that have gone onto my Kindle wish list: Jason Logsdon (several sous vide books), Dave Arnold (for Liquid Intelligence), Lisa Q Fetterman (Sous Vide at Home). Some of these for basics, others for special applications of this precision cooking technique. So much exploration to do!
I love fresh herbs. Ideally, I would have herbs growing on my deck so that it’s just a matter of walking out and snipping what I need for anything I cooking–well, excluding some that are best grown in some semblance of shade. In reality that’s not the case; work and hot weather have gotten in the way of my on-deck herb garden, sadly. So that leaves me foraging for herbs in the produce department of my local supermarket, usually pretty successfully for the basics.
There’s a problem with single-serving cooking and supermarket foraging for herbs: those expensive little plastic clam shells often end up languishing in the crisper until they turn to something disgusting.
I’ve seen the recommendations to keep them on your counter-top like a bouquet, and seen the ads for special containers for storing them in the refrigerator. Those packages, or even the bunches of parsley and cilantro, are still a lot of herbs if you’re cooking only for one. The on-the-counter method has some drawbacks–little short sprigs don’t fit well in to a container without some work–stripping leaves, changing the water, and being devoured or designated as toys by the cat. Even so the “leftovers” usually end up discarded from terminal wilt after I’ve let them run out of water, so I revert to the fridge.
Yes, I’m also cognizant of the ice-tray-water suggestion, or storing in oil, too. But if you’re still searching, here a list of some of the best sources I’ve found.
I’m glad I can get fresh herbs at the market, but you simply can’t beat having them growing close to the kitchen door–even if it’s just in pots on the deck to pick just what you need when cooking, or just to rustle around in them for the joy of smelling them and maybe changing your mind about how to season what’s cooking now. A son gôut!
Sous vide is a bit of a misnomer. It means “under vacuum”. That was how it originally started but now it would really be more appropriate to call it something like precision cooking now.
Vacuum was first used as a way to remove air from around the food so that there was good contact with the water in the bath since air is a poor conductor. Now while it’s possible to use vacuum a lot of sous vide cooking is done using Ziploc freezer bags and removing air by letting water in the bath press the plastic onto the food. You can also do this kind of cooking in–you guessed it–mason or Ball jars although you’ll need to increase times just a bit since glass is a poorer conductor of heat than with the think plastic.
Note that I specifically used the Ziploc brand name. Those are recommended as being safe and holding up to the cooking temperatures and times used. Most recipes suggest gallon bags, and not ones with the slider. You want the double seal. Since I’m mostly cooking single-serving size amounts I’ve been using quart size, and a smaller water bath than is usually recommended.
Some of you might be cringing at the temperatures and the times you see. They are safe. Even the lower temperatures essentially pasteurize the food according to USDA standards. More on that later, but pasteurization is really a pretty fascinating process.
I’ve already cooked one thing in a mason jar–lentils. Cooking right in the jar makes one of the good things about sous vide even better especially in cooking for one: that jar of lentils (about 3 really hefty servings) could go in the fridge so there was no extra washing up. Awesome. I’m envisioning some other advantages to sous vide for doing single-serving cooking!
