CALF_News_December_2019_January_2020

26 CALF News • December 2019 | January 2020 • www.calfnews.net C hances are you’ve ordered a steak at a white tablecloth steakhouse and wondered how the chefs always get it cooked to the exact temperature you ordered. Medium rare, medium, medium well – those orders are just at my family table. There can be hundreds of other diners, night after night, and the vast majority of them will be enjoying their steak to their preferred level of doneness. Even those of us who have grilled steaks for years know how difficult it is to get just a couple steaks perfect on your grill at home, especially if you have to cook to varying temperatures and doneness – and aren’t paying constant attention. Do you ever wonder how those chefs do it? hot water keeps a uniform temperature throughout. I purchased my first immersion circu- lator a couple of years ago. Upon my first use, I was amazed how simple it is – the little machine does all the work! While I still enjoy my Rec Tec grill for many meal occasions, especially when I want to smoke meats, I have not cooked a steak on my grill since I discovered the immer- sion circulator. I have prepared steaks for friends and family, and I can count at least 10 folks who have purchased an immersion circulator after eating them – which really is a great compliment! Immersion circulators cook in juices for moist and tender steaks every time. In addition to serving the most delicious steaks you have ever prepared – the key advantages to Sous Vide are:  You can’t overcook your steak. There is no worse feeling than working hard on the grill with constant attention and serving well-done steak to your fellow medium-rare-loving carnivores. Keep it in the bath for 1-4 hours and it will be perfectly consistent every time.  You can reheat leftovers to desired temperature again without overcooking! We all know that once you microwave a steak to reheat it, you are settling! Don’t settle – store your leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours or in the freezer for up to 6 weeks and reheat when ready to eat steak again. You don’t even have to thaw – you can take your vacuum sealed Ziploc bag from freezer to immer- sion bath for an hour. It’s like magic.  They are affordable – I purchased an Anova for less than $100, and there are multiple options in the $80-$200 range. I have since pur- chased a second Anova so that I can have a medium rare water bath and a medium/well water bath when hosting groups. The second circulator also works great for cooking vegetables.  Experiment – there are a ton of recipes available online and in print. I use the Anova app on my smartphone, and all the recipes include time and temperature settings. The Anova is also Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled – so I can turn on/off, set the temperature remotely and receive updates when my steak is ready!  They are portable – my buddies and I cooked delicious steaks while camping (glamping?), and have seared directly on the campfire coals.  Easy to clean and store – dry it when you are finished, and it fits in most utensil drawers. Sous Vide Immersion Circulators and the Perfect Steak By Jason and Nicole Covney Contributing Editors Continued on page 29  For years, master chefs at high-end restaurants have been cooking using a method called Sous Vide – a French word meaning “under vacuum.” Sous Vide allows cooking in a water bath while circulating heat at a consistent temperature to the exact level of desired doneness every time. The machine of choice for most culinary experts is an immersion circulator – which utilizes a pump to draw water from a tub, heats the water, sends it back out and continually circulates the heated water. This continuous circulation of