The food lab better home cooking through science ( PDFDrive ) 474

moisture as you cut it. It practically oozes juices as you
chew. Equally stunning results can be achieved with pork,
whichwillsubmittoyourforklikebutter.
With some foods, the final serving temperature you’re
afterisactuallybelowthelevelatwhichbacteriabegintobe
actively killed off. Rare salmon, or steak, is around 120°F,
forexample.Forfoodslikethese,youmustbeverycareful
nottoletthemsitfortoolong.Tobesafe,Idon’tholdmy
medium-raresteaksorsalmoninthecooleranylongerthan
3 hours. After that, dinner becomes a game of Russian
roulette.Andnever,evercookfoodinthecooler,letitcool,
andreheatit.Thisisabsolutelyinvitingillnessorworse.
Withthatsomewhatdrylessonoutoftheway,let’smove
ontotheactualtechniques—thefunpart.

COOKINGINYOURCOOLER
These recipes require an accurate thermometer as well as a
beer cooler with at least a 2.5-gallon capacity and a tightfitting lid. Some coolers retain heat better than others. Heat
retentioncanbefurtherimprovedbydrapingseveraltowels
over the cooler during cooking. Leaving it in a warm spot
alsohelps—Ileavemineindirectsunlightonawarmdayor
inawarmcornerofthekitchenindoors.Herearethebasic
stepsforcookinginyourcooler:
1. Season the food generously on all sides with salt and
pepper. Place in a single layer in gallon-sized zipperlock freezer bags along with any aromatics or rub.
Squeezeoutasmuchairfromthebagsaspossiblewith


your hands and close them, leaving 1 inch unsealed.
(Seephotoshere.)
2. Heat at least 2 gallons of water to the designated

temperature, using an instant-read thermometer to
ensure accuracy (the hot water from your tap may be
hotenough,withouthavingtoheatitonthestovetop).
Pourthewaterintothecooler.
3. One at a time, slowly submerge each bag of food in
thewateruntilonlytheunsealededgeisexposed.Any
remaining air should have been forced out of the bag
asitwassubmerged.Sealthebagcompletely.
4.Closethecooler,drapeitwithafewtowels,andsetit
in a warm spot for the specified cooking time,
checking the temperature of the water every 30
minutes or so and topping it up with boiling water as
necessarytomaintainitatwithin3or4degreesofthe
desiredfinaltemperature(withaverygoodcooler,this
maybeunnecessary).
5.Removethefoodfromthebagsandsearinhotfat,on
a grill, or with a blowtorch to trigger the Maillard
reactionandaddtexturalcontrasttothefood.

SEARING

A

s I mentioned earlier, sous-vide cooking is

deficient in one key aspect: it doesn’t brown your
meat. The browning reactions that give your meat