Sous vide cooking, here are two recipes using slow cooking with a bag for tender and flavour filled results

When dining out in recent times I’ve noticed a real trend towards Sous Vide cooked meats, eggs and just about anything. Sous vide cooking allows for a dish to be cooked in a bag surrounded by water set at a specific temperature, the cooking time can be just a few hours or can last a few days, depending on the depth of flavour and tenderness you require. I was excited to see Aldi was offering a sous vide cooker for a very reasonable price so last week I went and got myself one, check it out here.

The weekend just gone was the perfect time (cold and windy in Melbourne) to crank up my new toy and make some tasty dishes. Below are two recipes I tried and tested with tasty results! One being a longer, more drawn out recipe ideal for a weekend cook-up and the other quite suitable for an evening meal after work.

24Hour tequila and five spice pork belly tacos
This dish started out as a 9 hour dish but we got a bit excited about seeing how a full 24hrs would marinate the pork belly and the results were well worth the wait.

Ingredients
900g Pork belly
2 star anise
3 bay leaves
1 garlic clove
1 knob of ginger peeled
3 tbsp five spice
1 shot of tequila (we went with Patron)

Method
Turn the sous vide to 80 degrees and set for 24hrs, the machine will take at least half an hour to heat up if the water you fill is room temperature. Allow pork to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes, remove skin from pork and wrap skin in glad wrap before putting in the fridge. Take the pork and rub the five spice over the meat, place in the bag star anise, bay leaves, garlic, ginger and tequila with the pork. Seal and vacuum (using the appropriate machine is necessary to ensure an air tight compartment) the bag and submerge in the water, close the lid and hit start.

Once the 24hr period is up remove the bag from the machine and cut open. At this stage we decided to make Tacos.

Taco Ingredients
1 pack of white corn Woolworths gluten free soft tacos
1 avocado mashed with salt and pepper
1 carrot grated
1 green apple grated
2 tbs brown sugar
1/4 cup grated parmesan and tasty cheese
Juice from 1 lemon
1 tbs fish sauce
Olive Oil

Method
Take the pork and shred using a fork, set aside. Heat the oven to 200 degrees and take the crackling and place on a baking tray. Cook until golden and crunchy (about 30 minutes). In a fry pan add a dash of oil and heat the tacos individually, cook until slightly browned on each side and place on plate covered in foil to keep warm and set aside. Add additional oil to the pan for each taco. In a small pot add the lemon juice, fish sauce, sugar and apple bring to boil then allow to simmer. In a separate fry pan on a minimum heat add the pork and spoon some of the apple sauce into the pan, slowly add the sauce and stir through until the pork is heated and moist. Then build your taco using the avocado, cheese, carrot, pork and top with splinters of crackling.

Sous vide dill salmon with sautéed kale
This is a far quicker recipe and ideal for shorter meals or mid week eating.

Ingredients
2 Salmon fillets
1 bunch of fresh dill chopped finely
1 tbs olive oil
1 tsp pepper
1 bunch tuscan kale
2 garlic cloves sliced
1 knob ginger sliced
4 tbs olive oil
1/4 cup white wine
2 tsp fish sauce
2 tsp tamari soy sauce
sea salt

Method
Heat the sous vide at 70 degrees and set for 1hr 10 minutes, be sure to allow 30 minutes for the machine to heat to the correct temperature. Remove the skin from the salmon fillets and seal and set aside in the fridge. Take the fillets and brush with olive oil then lay dill on one side of the filet, add to sous bag, seal and submerge in water then close the lid.

After 45 minutes of cooking take a fry pan and add oil and heat over medium flame, add the garlic and ginger and allow to brown slightly. Add the wine and sauces before adding the chopped kale, cover with a lid for 10 minutes and stir occasionally, remove from heat once kale is softened slightly but not soggy.

In a separate pan heat 2 tbs of olive oil, remove the skin from the fridge and salt generously, wait until oil is hot before adding the salmon skin, cook either side for approximately 7-10 mins each side or until browned and crispy.

Once salmon fillets are read remove from bag and serve with kale and crispy skin on top.