A couple of weeks ago I made cabbage rolls using the Pressure Cooking Today recipe. I put them in the freezer, enough for a meal for Vince and me per container.
You understand I have never seen a sous vide in real life so I am not giving advice! My understanding is that I can put food in sealed bags to heat up or cook so I took all the frozen cabbage rolls and sauce out of the containers and sealed in vacuum seal bags.
I usually do this anyway – freeze things in containers, then transfer to vacuum seal bags. Trying to seal anything with liquid is next to impossible because it will vacuum liquid up into the machine. Also for something like stuffed peppers that you don’t want mashed, freezing keeps the vacuum sealer from mashing them. My plan is to defrost these, the place the bag in a container of water and let the sous vide heat it up. It should get it right to the temp I want and not heat it any more, no matter how long I leave it going. I also could put them in still frozen but that seems like a waste of electricity when I could just take them out of the freezer and let them defrost, then heat them up.
I had three big bell peppers left from the six I had purchased last week so I made stuffed peppers yesterday. I cut them in half and pile on the “stuffing”. I package them three halves per meal.
These are now in the freezer and I’ll remove the contents from the trays and vacuum seal them today.
I put about one inch of warm water in a container, stick the container of frozen food in there and by the time I’m finished vacuum sealing one bag, the contents of the next container are ready to pop out and go into a vacuum seal bag.
Those black containers are so perfect for just enough for a meal for the two of us. They aren’t good for long time storage but just to freeze, then release and vacuum seal, they’re the best. I wash them (not in the dishwasher) and use them over and over again.
I’ve washed the containers with the red lids and I’ll fill them up with gumbo, freeze that and vacuum seal it. I use those when there’s a lot of liquid because they’re a little more spill proof than the black ones but they’re also more expensive and take up more room when in the cabinet.
Tracy says
If you have extra steaks (like when you buy them on sale) salt and season them, sear them, seal them and freeze them for sous vide.
Claudia Duke says
My husband loves his sous vide, but he does the opposite. He sous vides, then sears when he is ready to eat. They turn out great! I love the idea of freezing juicy foods or foods that you don’t want to smash first and then using the vacuum seal. Oh, have you tried aging steaks yet? My husband is into that too. 45 days was his last one. They taste great.
Judy Laquidara says
That’s how I plan to do it – sous vide, then sear. I haven’t tried it. I’ve heard about it. Maybe I will try it. Thanks!
Melinda says
I put the black containers on the top rack of the dishwasher all the time. My biggest problem with them is when they are frozen the lids are very easy to crack.
Judy Laquidara says
I have never cracked a lid but now that you say that . . I’ll probably crack them all. I sometimes wrap the container/contents in foil and don’t even use the lids.
I’m pretty picky about putting plastic in the dishwasher – not to preserve the life of the plastic but I’m not sure what the high temps do to the safety where food is being stored in them.
patti says
it looks to me that you are freezing raw peppers with cooked “innards,” is that right? i’ve always made a raw meatloaf mixture to stuff with and they cook together. wondering if you could tell me if i’m seeing that right as i like my peppers a bit on the raw side but never thot to start with cooked meat – maybe because i put raw rice into my mixture.
Judy Laquidara says
The peppers were boiled first. They’re probably not cooked all the way but this is the point where I would put it all in the oven and bake it about 30 minutes if I were serving it and not freezing it. I usually don’t use raw rice, but I have before. I generally like my rice not cooked with other things because I never seem to get it perfect – too much liquid makes it mushy; too little makes the rice not done so I usually cook the meat, mix it with the rice and shove it all into peppers that have been boiled for about 10 minutes. Then I bake for 30 minutes. The peppers are still a little on the raw side but cooked enough that I can remove the skin. For some reason, pepper skins and my tummy do not get along well.
Sibyl Scott says
I just use my steamer and put my food that I’ve packaged with my foodsaver in the top and then let it simmer with the steamer til it’s hot. Been doing that for years. Then when it is hot serve it. I guess I don’t understand the Sous Vide. Wouldn’t your steamer do the same thing? I know even have an electric one–you told us about previously. Just trying to figure all of this out
Judy Laquidara says
The steamer would as far as reheating but I think the Sous Vide would do it more quickly and evenly since the water is circulating constantly around the food. The Sous Vide actually cooks food and isn’t just for reheating. Chad did steak with his tonight and said it was the best steak ever! You set it to the temp you want the steak cooked and it never gets any hotter than that so the entire steak is cooked at that temp. Then he seared it in a hot skillet.
Sibyl Scott says
So wonder if it can get to medium well? Which is usually 160? Just what we need another gadget. My kitchen is filling up with gadgets because Judy talked about them on her blog. 😀 Pray for your family.
Judy Laquidara says
They say you can.
Susan says
Sous Vide is a new technique for me. How long would you need to “cook” something that normally would take 30 mins in an oven? I’m going to google this next. Can’t wait to hear how you use it and like it.
Judy Laquidara says
Probably longer with the sous vide but (1) it takes less electricity/propane cost than using the oven and (2) it doesn’t heat up the house. In the heat of summer, when I really want zero extra heat in the house, I can take the operations out to the garage. I hear that it gets way more tender with the sous vide but I have no idea. Yes, I will share my results but it still hasn’t arrived.