I teach classes at Sur La Table and recently when teaching a class on sous vide cooking I was asked what was my eye opening moment or my “Ah-ha”. I had to take a second to think about it. I think there were two things for me. The first was when I did my first batch of 72 hour short ribs and my second moment was the first time I made a batch of creme brulee. So I propose to you all here what was your awaking moment when cooking with your Anova?
This should be a fun conversation to see what all the different dishes are going to be!
Hi @ChefKyleSwanbeck fun discussion idea! My real eye-opening moment is worlds-apart from yours. A boring chicken breast, vacuum packed in ginger paste squeezed from a tube and served as a mid-week dinner with microwave steamed frozen mixed vegetables. So tender and succulent, like nothing else I’ve ever had! I was enjoying cooking Sous Vide before that point, but from then on I became an evangelist. I now make a point of never having any fewer than two pre-cooked and marinaded chicken breasts in the fridge at any time, ready for a quick reheat or to slice for work sandwiches.
Actually, thinking about it, I had two eye-opening moments as well. I had pretty much given up being able to cook a good steak indoors, too many failures to count. I gave 48 hour chuck steak a go soon after first getting the APC and it was the best steak I had ever eaten, including in restaurants.
So who’s next?
Mine was making a moist and delicious pork tenderloin. Like Simon my first chicken breast was eye opening as well. They are so easy and fast to cook and are never stringy or dry.
It is really interesting to see what all of us have done that has been that awaking moment. The funniest part of this is that I have yet to try cooking chicken with mine. I don’t know why I haven’t done it yet but I am going to have to soon!
My eye-opener was a pretty straightforward dish, too. I was already on the border of a precision cooking addiction after the first couple of cooks because of how easy it was to make perfectly cooked meals after a culinary career of overcooking. My eye-opening moment was with a simple skirt steak, seasoned with sea salt and black pepper and a little olive oil...my world has forever changed. The skirt steak was my gateway cut to the world of chucks, ribs, loins, flanks, etc. that I had never been brave enough to attempt before. And now I'm hungry for skirt steak.