I own a small convenience store and I am looking for suggestions on a prepared food product that is easy and preferably no searing involved. I was thinking Baby Back Ribs or a steak sandwich. I think Sous Vide is perfect for this application because you never know how busy it will be at lunch time. The food can hold for several hours or even days.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Since you are selling food to the public don't you have to prepare all food in a certified and inspected kitchen? This may be more trouble than it is worth. That said, what would be good are sandwiches made with beef tenderloin slices on a crusty roll with sauce made from horseradish and mayonnaise. The meat could be sliced and kept warm in the bath and served individually. I bet individually packed hot dogs would be good too. All the flavor and juices would not be cooked out. Maybe not real cost effective though.
You are somewhat correct on serving food to the public. My store is inspected anually by health departsment. I have the required 3 sinks etc. The cooking is the hard part because of exhaust fans and fire surpression etc, Thats why I thought sous vide would overcomee that. Its just hot water afterall. I do hot dogs now on a roller grill but so does every other corner store. Maybe more exotc sausages smokies etc would be a niche market. Thanks for your input.
http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/sausages/r/cevapcici.htm
I'm not a fan of sausages generally, I've had the inside of my mouth coated with scalding hot fat (burns! blisters!) once my teeth puncture the skin, but cevaps are awesome and the perfect fit for sous vide cooking, plus the eastern European connection gives the food a brand you can market it with.
Also, the sous vide technique means less waste. Once the food is cooked in the vacuum pouch it can be cooled and stored in the fridge for a long time and only needs reheating before serving, so you don't have to dispose of any unsold produce.
@Comox I like the idea @Simon_C has for using sausage or maybe even bratwurst because you can also sous vide some peppers and onions from a frozen package and I'm guessing you already have buns and condiments to go along with them. Steak sandwhiches could be a great option or even steak tacos. Have you looked through recipes on our site? Not trying to shamelessly promote it but it may give you some ideas for some good ones to try out.
I think a steak sandwich finished in a Panini press would be good. Make them press their own if you can as it would be an attraction. Plus it should smell heavenly. Not sure what the food inspectors would say but the setup would be cheap enough.
@Helen Yumm…good call! That’s also a good workaround for those who miss the smells from cooking that precision cooking doesn’t provide.