How to make Vacuum Cooking a Roller-Coaster Ride

CHEFTALK

How to make vacuum cooking a roller-coaster ride

 Many of us love to be thrilled in life; I don’t mean thrilled like buying something new or getting a present. I mean the thrill of raising your stress levels to the max.

The thrill

I have never figured out why people spend money on an amusement park to get that thrill. Riding a roller-coaster that takes you up and down a hill to scare the, I do not know what out of you, just to beat death in a little cart dropping that turns your stomach inside out.

The stress

On the other hand when some stress comes into our lives, something we did not pay for, the world seems to come to a standstill. Life’s stress gets us down so easily, because we do not expect it, it comes out of the blue and therefore we cannot handle it. Stress at work because we are under pressure, financial stress because we have difficulties making ends meet.

How come we can be so brave when we pay for a scary ride and are so whimsy, whinny when we need to get the job done we get paid for?

Well, smart people have studied the subject at length and found that we love, “not me, but many of us” predictable stress (coming down a steep hill in an amusement park) but we cannot handle unpredictable stress. Meaning that when you are on top of the roller coaster ride you can predict that you stomach gets turned in-side out, but when the boss shouts we panic and get stressed out.

How to de-stress

We go home stressed, forget about important things in life, our family, health, having a healthy dinner, a good night’s sleep and start afresh the next day, life goes on after all.

So, what can we do to intercept that kind of unnecessary stress, one thing you can do to release that kind of stress is having a good dinner with loved ones. Talk about different things than issues that cause stress, divert and set focus on the moment.

Food unites, a dinner with close relatives makes you feel warm and unstressed, if you do not feel like cooking after a stressful day at work make use of pre- prepared meals you made at a quieter moment.

Once you sit around the table facing a bunch of happy faces you know that investing in a quality vacuum sealer was a good and wise decision.

All you need to do is grab one of your (and your families) favorite meals that you pre-cooked, vacuumed and stored in your freezer and heat it up, maybe with a small addition of some pasta or another staple, but you are done in a whimsy.

My story may sound a bit philosophical, but we all have issues in life, feel stressed and somewhat in limbo maybe. I truly believe that a united meal brings you happiness and releases some of the stress you may encounter.

Here are a few ideas for meals to make in advance and freeze: 

Chicken Cacciatore:

All you need is cubed chicken breast, mushrooms, onion, garlic, canned (or your own tomatoes), oregano, salt and pepper.

Heat a few tbsp of olive oil in a skillet, season the chicken cubes with salt, pepper and oregano and fry until golden brown, add the chopped onions, chopped garlic and the mushrooms (sliced or quartered) and fry for a few minutes, stirring regularly. Add the tomatoes and bring the mix to boil, check for taste and you are done.

Allow cooling, place the mix in a vacuum bag, vacuum and freeze. 

When you are ready to use this homemade delicious concoction, microwave the whole bag for 2 minutes to get the defrosting started.

Place the bag in a pot with boiling water, boil your favorite pasta and top with the Cacciatore, sprinkle some grated cheese.

Pre-preparing this meal takes around 10 minutes, making it ready to serve 15 minutes.

Crispy Pork Belly:

Ingredients:

10 oz                                                   Pork belly (cut in 1 cm pieces)

1 Tbsp                                                 Oyster sauce

2 Tbsp                                                 Light soya sauce

1 Tsp                                                    Crushed black pepper

½ Tsp                                                   Salt

Dash                                                    Chinese rice wine

Oil for deep frying

Method:

Marinate the pork slices with the rest of the ingredients and leave to marinade for 2 hours or so

Drain excessive marinade from the meat

Heat oil to 180 C and deep fry marinated meat for a minute, drain on kitchen paper

Deep fry a second time just before serving, about 2 minutes until crisp

Serve with steamed rice and braised Chinese Nappa Cabbage

Simplicity is the key to good home cooked food. The first and second recipe freeze very well, are a roller-coaster to make and delicious.

Your vacuum sealer helps, if you do not have one, find one here:

 www.vacupack.com  for USA and www.vacupack.ca for Canada. 

By: Marinus Hoogendoorn

Vacuum Seal Food and Sous Vide Cooking.

From= www.officialvacupack.com

Vacuum-Sealed Food Is Perfect For Sous Vide Style Cooking
by Stephen Daniels
Word Count: 408
Keywords: vacuum sealer, vacuum packer, home vacuum packers

Cooking vacuum-sealed foods sous vide style is not a new method, but it's increasingly catching on as an in-home alternative to using the oven. Sous vide means "under vacuum," the essence of it being that raw food is prepared precisely at the temperature it will be served. The process starts by sealing a cut of meat, seafood or even vegetables in a plastic pouch with a vacuum packer. The pouch is submerged into hot water heated to the desired temperature, letting the contents cook slowly and thoroughly.

Sous vide preparation takes much longer than traditional methods - 30 to 40 hours in some cases. While this amount of preparation is untenable in the short term, it allows one to start cooking a day or more before the meal. Among the benefits, less liquid is required to marinade foods, and none of the flavor is lost during the process. In terms of texture and flavor, the sous vide method is unsurpassed.

A medium-rare steak prepared sous vide isn't just medium rare on the inside, while remaining tougher on the outside - it is medium rare throughout. This method gives food a silky, smooth texture that is impossible with oven cooking. Even tough cuts of meat stay tender, with each bite melting in the mouth. Besides meats, all types of fish and seafood, vegetables and even eggs may be prepared sous vide.

This style of cooking requires a vacuum sealer to enclose foods in a sealed, airtight bag, as well as an even-heating pot. Sous vide has traditionally been limited to restaurants that have access to expensive equipment. However, many consumer-grade sealers and slow-cooking vessels are available to amateur gourmet chefs for far less money. 

Besides preparing food for "under vacuum" cooking, home vacuum packers can be used for other purposes. Quickly seal freshly-blanched vegetables or uneaten portions of meals; or save money by buying in bulk, and vacuum sealing the majority for long-term storage. Home vacuum-packed foods also save a tremendous amount of space when stored. After sealing, they must be frozen, but they will store far longer and not suffer from freezer burn. 

Sous vide is catching on with home gourmets, but it's been used by the world's top chefs for decades. One may even see demonstrations on TV cooking shows. While it takes many hours to prepare food in this style, the results are outstanding in terms of tenderness, texture and flavor, as well as nutrient retention.

Reproduction permitted only when all active hyperlinks are included. 2010 All rights reserved. 

Stephen Daniels is an acclaimed internet marketing strategist. If you need vacuum sealers or retort pouches for home, commercial or industrial use, he recommends Professional Marketing Group. Specializing in food packaging since 1984, they offer a variety of supplies and a full-service repairs and parts department.