Sous Vide

[snowangel]

I've noted your three recipes in the new book that utilize the sous vide technique. There is also a rather active sous vide topic on the cooking forum.

Was sous vide evident when you wrote the first edition of your book?

Is this technique gaining momentum in the Southwestern France region? Is method employed in home cooking in the region, or is it still primarily a restaurant technique?

Do you often use sous vide at home?

[Wolfert]

I've noted your three recipes in the new book that utilize the sous vide technique.   There is also a rather active sous vide topic on the cooking forum.

Was sous vide evident when you wrote the first edition of your book?

Is this technique gaining momentum in the Southwestern France region?  Is method employed in home cooking in the region, or is it still primarily a restaurant technique?

Do you often use sous vide at home?

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Hello Susan,

I wrote about it in the first edition describing how the chefs in Bordeaux were using a $5000 machine (see page 439 in the first edition). I supplied three sous-vide recipes: the salmon with sauce de sorges, the duck sausage (see my website for the recipe), and, in the apple croustade, I suggested in the notes the use of the Dazey Seal-a-meal, a contraption sold here at that time, as a stand in.

Chefs use it in the southwest. I don't know if French home cooks are using it, but Europeans have access to numerous sous vide products in their markets that are just beginning to show up here in the States.

As for myself, I use the method a great deal at home. It makes life easier and it's a lot of fun. My only objection is to the noise of the machine!

The idea for preparing confit of duck sous vide came from Nathanm, a regular here on egullet. He helped me develop the recipe and I thank him for that in the book. Interestingly, I had a confit taste-off for some food people at my home. among them Alice Waters. We tasted the sous vide duck leg in 3 varieties: Muscovy, moulard, pekin, versus 5 month old Moulard duck leg confit done up the traditional way. Everyone admired the moist silky quality and flavor of the sous vide cooked legs, but then Alice said something very interesting. She said it didn't have "chee." (Chee as in the Oriental idea of 'life force.') But when she tasted the duck leg 5 months old, she raved.

Based on her remarks and the opinions of others, I suggest using duck leg confit sous vide for cassoulet where it stands up very nicely to a second cooking and is not the star item of the plate.

Edited November 17, 2005 by Wolfert (log)