Isn't that dangerous?

The food is vacuum-sealed in bags and then cooked in a water bath for better heat transfer.

We called them "boil-in-bags". Everything old is new again.

Does that froth stuff gross anyone else out? They're always using it on Top Chef, and it just looks like... spit to me. Blechhh.

And I've wondered about sous vide - what sort of bags are used? Is there any chance of leaching BPA or other stuff? Plus, I'm always a big fan of minimal waste, so sous vide doesn't really appeal to me for that reason - single-use plastic bags annoy me...

We called them "boil-in-bags". Everything old is new again.

MRE, anyone? Mmmm... ;)

Taco Bell has been cooking sous vide (i.e., boil-in-bag) "beef" for years.

Typically I have seen chefs use sous vide for one of two reasons: infusing flavor by sealing herbs/juices with the protein or protecting moisture. How many times have you had a chicken breast sandwich or added to a salad that was dry stringy and inedible? Sous Vide (properly) the chicken first and voila moist.

Favorite area sous vide: Any chicken dish at Bistro Blanc (added to the new tomato bread salad my current favorite), the steak frites at Bistro Blanc, the duck breast at Jack's. 72 hour short ribs at Citronelle in DC.

Least favorite: The Filet Mignon at Jack's
(I find sous vide works better with lesser cuts of meat)

BTW can we next talk about that other great trend duck fat fries.

Sean - I laughed out loud at your comment. YES - that pic grosses me out, except I thought it looked like soapsuds (which isn't quite as repulsive).

Forget the sous vide-- can we talk about the froth? That's another topic, I guess, but seriously, what is with all the froth and foam these days? GACK, infinity.

Jack's was pretty good. their duck was good from what i remember.

also, you can do it at home, using foodsaver bags. but yeah, you have to keep the temperature just right, and know how to cook it just long enough. i tried it once, and didn't cook it long enough. finished it off on the pan, and it was definitely more tender than usual, but yeah... was too much of a pain.

sean, kitkat--with you all the way on the froth. I thought of something else which shall remain unnamed ...

Parmesan froth? --- one more vote for spit.

sous vide? Wasn't hungry jack doing that years ago with creamed chipped beef? betcha that would foam up well

Sous vide = French for "Ronco Seal-A-Meal"

Can the "scramble eggs in the shell!" gizmo be the next big trend?

Dahlink... I have no words... but I DID chuckle!

I saw the chef from B&O doing a sous vide short rib in Loose Cannon (my favorite beer) on the channel 11 news this weekend. I will make a point of trying that.

Chipotle has actually brought this technique to fast casual a few years back.

(Mmmmm-hmmm... burrito carnitas ......)

next we're going to discuss that new dessert, tiramisu...yawn...

Get ready for a brief dissertation on "molecular gastronomy".

Hmm I recall already two weeks ago that your blog topics "leached" into your review, so somehow I have a feeling that you had some unsuccessful sous vide at Alizee, but we shall see in the review.

Not to be dogging the Baltimore food scene, but really just look at the comments -- nobody here is really interested in hearing about sousvide or foam or transglutimase (isnt that a heart medication hur hurr hurrr). And that's fine I guess. Any technique really has to be executed well for it to be effective -- it has to be better than what you could do without it.

Take for example a sous vide steak. Basically what you do is put your steak in a vacuum bag, seal it, and put it in an immersion circulator at a set temperature (say 125F) for 6 hours, or however long it takes to get there. Then your steak is perfectly med-rare throughout, and a quick toss on the grill. Now for like a sirloin, is that better than just grilling it? I dont know. Maybe if you infuse some herbs into it.

But a sousvide short rib that is cooked at say 130 for 48 hours or whatever (see also the flank steak I had at bistro blanc), youre getting a pink piece of shortrib that as just as tender as any pot roast you've had, which is a pretty interesting improvement on the original (the tenderizing effect is temperature vs time.. the collagen breaks down at say, 170 internal temp for 3 hours, but also 225 for 2 hours (but your meat is also shredded and dry), or say 130 for 35 hours. These are enhancements to the original.

Foam is out -- air is in. Again with many of these chemically thickened sauces, well say you want to make an intensely flavored chicken consomme. What do you do.. start with stock, mix egg whites with ground meat, let it bubble gently, strain it carefully, through a coffee filter etc etc. Now what if you wanted to make an intensely flavored tomato consomme. Or lime juice, or maple syrup? Kind of out of luck, unless you turn to some chemical agents (well agar which is seaweed, so its not too crazy).

Same with say a cheese sauce, or an intense red wine sauce or something -- normally it involves concentrating flavors, thickening with roux or cornstarch.. a lot of cooking and muddling of the original flavor. But with use of some chemical agents (yes I do like using this peculiar phrase more than "molecular"), you can make a very intensely flavored sauce or whatever, that is not marred by starchiness or reduced, burnt flavors, etc.

Again.. improvements over the original.

So anyway to end my little essay here, I'm not saying that these should replace common everyday food, nor are they always better. But I feel they are interesting when they can ENHANCE a dish.. make it better than could be done normally. But its also a double edged sword because Im sure there are cooks out there (not necessarily in Baltimore, but anywhere), who can do all these airs and foams and spheres and not be able to make a simple chicken stock -- there's a reason you teach long division, and not just hand kids a calculator. Thomas Keller and Grant Achatz were spectacular cooks before they tinkered with these methods -- it doesnt work the other way around. And you need a staff who is familar with these methods and can pull them off.. I really don't know if Baltimore has such a sophisticated talent pool yet (besides some obvious exceptions).

So where does all this fascination come from? I heard an interesting theory.. that basically it is a continuation of peasant food becoming haute cuisine. Back in the day, terrines and forcemeats, confit and such.. food of the poor, who HAD to eat those cast off parts, save them however they could. Even in the 50s, commercials would say "the MODERN woman uses canned celery hearts", and wonderbread.. and only the lower class would still have to make their own bread. Now.. Im dying for a good sourdough around here. Offal and charcuterie as well have had their resurgence into vogue.. it was a really desperate man who said "lets boil a pigs head, cover it with fat and gelatin, and eat it all winter". Now look at how many restaurants have a chicken liver mousse or "pate d'grand mere" on the menu.

So look even today.. what is our "peasant food".. fast food, junk food. Which is precisely where you will find agar, gellan, xanthan, methylcellulose, sodium alginate (burger king onion rings), and the like. It's just an extension of who we are (like it or not) as a society now, the old/lowerclass being elevated to the 'cutting edge'.

Anyway, this is very long, but I can't sleep, so thanks for reading. :)

Hi...
I really love to eat sous vide dishes , practically offered by all restaurants now. You also have mentioned nice trip...

Spam at 7:07.

Hal beat me to it, but, still: Shill at 7:07 AM! (I think there have been previous posts from the same general website, hawking French electronics.)

I do like the spam/shill posts remaining without their links. It adds a surreal quality to the conversation.

I'm so glad. I like them too, and they are always so complimentary. :-) EL

While I respect Thomas Keller greatly, and he certainly has brought a lot of attention to sous vide cookery, it's really the cats at Cuisine Solutions in Virginia that have been the pioneers in sous vide.

Sous vide is more than merely "boiling in a bag" though they are related. Sous vide is cooking at a very precise temperature to achieve certain textures while "boiling in a bag" is merely reheating pre-cooked foods.

Chefs like Keller and even Baltimore's Gjerde utilize sous vide not as a means unto itself but rather as an addition to their cooking repertoire. In reality, sous vide is no more important to the chef's arsenal than saute, braise, grill or frying.

I prefer my food to have a caramelized exterior and a notable texture. This might all change when my teeth fall out and I'm fitted with dentures. Is the sous vide trend another contribution of the Baby Boomers supply and demand economic ripple?

The first time I had a sous vide dish was about seven years ago at Bistro 110 in Chicago. The resident chef (name since forgotten) was a student of Joel Robuchon, and Chef Robuchon was actually there visiting that day. In honor of Chef R's visit, the restaurant prepared Lamb Robuchon sous vide. They marinated the lamb for about a week in the vacuum bags. It was absolutely delicious.

It was so good that the next time I was in Chicago, about two months later, I went back to Bistro 110 to see if I could get it again. Unfortunately, they didn't have it on the menu. The manager and I got to talking, and I commented on how much I loved the dish. He said they had put it on the menu for awhile, but the city health department told them they couldn't serve it because the cooking process did not raise the temperature to the required level. Although he tried to convince the health inspector that the food was actually quite safe, he could not get past the objection, and he took it off the menu rather than deal with the headache.

I hope it's back! I may have to fly to Chicago!

sue veed, I appreciate that interesting post.

Revisiting this thread, seeing the photo of the "foam", and reading the ocmments, I suddenly found a tune repeating in my head

"Foam, Foam on the range!..."

Seeing that photo of the foam all I can think of that someone in the kitchen spit on the dish.

I nominate sue vide for comment of the week. While I love the banter here on the EL blog occasionally I like a serious discussion of restaurant and food topics.

Trip Klaus, I'll second that motion. I especially liked the nom de blog!

PARMESEAN FROTH? the only way I know to froth cheese is to chew it up and spit it out!

Exciting as it sounded, I opted out of the sous vide short ribs the other night at Blue Hill Tavern.

So there's one more restaurant that's onboard this bandwagon.

'Twas an otherwise stellar meal -- though I'll refrain from re-QBing EL's thoughtful review.

Now there is a home sous vide unit called the sous vide supreme. They are taking pre-orders at sousvidesupreme.com. As for the foam on top, not a fan.

Behold the power of the pen ( I mean type key) Jack's Bistro has a hip new web site which now says "Baltimore's first sous-vide restaurant".

Trip Klaus -- The website looks updated, but I am pretty sure that Jack's Bistro has always called itself "Baltimore's first sous-vide restaurant."

Anon- If you look at the story above or you could access the old site you would see they advertised as the "only" sous vide in Baltimore.