Sous Vide: Better Home Cooking: A Cookbook

by Hugh Acheson

Just as Hugh Acheson brought a chef's mind to the slow cooker in The Chef and the Slow Cooker, so he brings a home cook's perspective to sous vide, with 90 recipes that demystify the technology for readers and unlock all of its potential. NAMED ONE OF FALL'S BEST COOKBOOKS BY FOOD & WINEWhether he’s working with fire and a pan, your grandpa’s slow cooker, or a cutting-edge sous vide setup, Hugh Acheson wants to make your cooking life easier, more fun, and more delicious. And while cooking sous vide—a method where food is sealed in plastic bags or glass jars, then cooked in a precise, temperature-controlled water bath—used to be for chefs in high-end restaurants, Hugh is here to help home cooks bring this rather friendly piece of technology into their kitchens.The beauty of sous vide is its ease and consistency—it can cook a steak medium-rare, or a piece of fish to tender, just-doneness every single time . . . and hold it there until you're ready to eat, whether dinner is in ten minutes or eight hours away. But to unlock the method’s creative secrets, Hugh shows you how to get the best sear on that steak after it comes out of the bath, demonstrates which dishes play best with extra-long, extra-slow cooking, and opens up the whole world of vegetables to a technology most known for cooking meat and fish.Praise for Sous Vide“High-end cooking comes to the home kitchen in this fun, clear approach to a gourmet technique. . . . [Hugh] Acheson writes with such charm that he can make warm water interesting.”—Publishers Weekly

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Reference, Nonfiction, Cooking

263 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 15, 2019

Reviews

[Jennifer Mazzara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not sure I've ever read a cookbook "cover to cover" before but this one is quite good. Many reviews complain that the recipes are too high end (= expensive) and require obscure or difficult to obtain ingredients. It's true, this 5-star professional chef does cook with obscure, high end, premium ingredients. I read it for the explanations of how and why to use certain tools for certain processes, certain types of ingredients for certain effects, certain cuts of meat for certain textures, and so on. A book very worth checking out from the library, and maybe worth the purchase if you sous vide a lot. Or like aesthetically well composed cookbooks on your shelf for bougie friends to see when they come over.

[Clwseattle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I checked out Sous Vide: Better Home Cooking from my library because two of my adult sons have circulators. One uses it for time saving and the other uses it for just about everything. One challenged me to a "turkey off" for Thanksgiving. Care to guess which? I declined.

Sous Vide: Better Home Cooking is interesting and illustrative with loads of tips, and, while I'm a fan of the quirky Hugh Acheson, I don't think he was actually thoughtful of the home cook he had in mind in writing the book. While I will eat snails and may try charred octopus, I will never make them at home. Never, despite how delicious the pictures of the actual food look. There are some 'home cook' approachable recipes but it's a delicate balance that tips a bit more toward chef cooking.

3.5 Stars

[Margarita Dunphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crystal Clear and enjoyable delicious

I was skeptical at first but I rolled up my sleeves washed my hands. Allowing the adventure to begin. It has been a terrific pleasurable experience. I love to experiment with food and new methods. My family didn't know what to expect but the smiles and empty plates said enough. Thank you Hugh.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here are few of my favorites:
Ropa Vieja
Pressed crisp chicken thighs

[Lorraine F. New · Rating 5 out of 5]

Expand Sous Vide use

I wanted to find recipes other than chicken and this gave me potatoes, parsnips and even celery. Lots of ideas for sauces too.

[Sparrowapril · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good collection of recipes that can be made with sous vide. Gives ideas beyond the cooking of protiens so commonly covered.

[Gretchen Bedell · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far we've had great success with everything in this book. It's my recommendation for everyone who's new or newish to Sous Vide cooking.