Sous Vide at Home: The Modern Technique for Perfectly Cooked Meals [A Cookbook]

Until I had acquainted myself with Sous Vide at Home, I viewed sous vide as one of those cooking techniques that is ideally suited to three or twelve dishes that have almost no currency because they were never cooked before the invention of sous vide equipment. The technique is ideally suited to cooking eggs, poultry, fish, and red meat to a specific temperature - on at which it is safe to eat but where internal proteins have not all contracted to squeeze all the delicious moisture and fat out of the food, leaving it grainy, tough, and dry. Hollandaise sauce, poached salmon, and pefectly seared steaks are the obvious entries for a book on the subject; and they are found here. Author Lisa Fetterman has gone beyond the obvious in revealing the unique potential of the technology. She offers Stout-Glazed short ribs where slow cooking "melts the gelatin" in the meat, melding it with stout for a finger-licking presentation. There's chicken liver mousse presented with figs and sourdough bread. The author goes out of the way to describe how to seal your mousse with duck fat and present it as freshly made two days later. Then there's a version of poached carrots with dill yogurt dressing, that raises new ideas about how one might use sous vide in other poaching methods. It stimulates the imagination: how might I reinvent poached pears? Never mind, that's here, too. These are really good recipes that demonstrate both a powerful grasp of the advantages of this cooking medium and a sophistication in methods for combining a basic food with other foods that might complement it. Other sous vide cookbooks are better oriented to imparting an understanding the fundamental sous-vide rules: times and temperatures for various fare. This one is more oriented to cooking a specific recipe. So it is better suited to a home cook than to a person who is trying to adapt sous vide to cook their own recipes in a more commercial setting. The book is thick, beautifully produced, and richly illustrated. I do wish my eyes were forty years younger, as I can only just read the recipes in bright daylight, the font being small and filamentatious. There is a quirky (wide but not tall) page layout that would be beautiful had it not forced the choice of tiny font size. I bought the spiral bound version form; and I will confess that I regret it. 1) The rings are not of sufficient diameter to gracefully allow the book to be paged through without the pages getting jammed and torn as one pages through it - unless one pays attention as one turns each page. 2) The production quality of the heavily inked pages is so high that I could never cook with the book open for fear of splattering the the artwork. This obviates the reason for buying a spiral bound book. 3) The book designer did not leave ample room for binding the spiral pages, leaving an insufficient margin between the spine and the paragraphs beside it. Overall, this is a luxurious cookbook that just happens to be about sous-vide. It's the kind of thing that tempts one to spend one's free time through a long series of summer and fall weekends just cooking all the recipes in order to explore a new food frontier.

Let me preface this with, as a designer, I am a fussy brat about what goes on our coffee table and I HATE reading unless I have a sense that there is something really epic and groundbreaking going on in a book. So, yes, I have read Sous Vide at Home cover to cover, and yes, it will sit on my coffee table for at least the next two months. This book is outstanding. I work in the tech industry currently and about 6 months ago my most brilliant colleage started hounding me about how amazing sous vide is and how it will change my life forever and restore my faith in cooking, etc. etc. etc. My brother in law is a bit of a foodie so I bought him a sous vide device, this book and a handful of vaccuum sealing bags for Christmas... and then I was feeling extra generous that day so I kicked in for the same items for myself ;) So, this book came, and oh my goodness - that cover. A gorgeous silky black background with a mouth-watering steak and what I can only imagine is sea salt scattered artfully acroas the page. Turns out you CAN judge a book by the cover - every recipe inside is as tantalizing and magical as the opening image in this gastronomical page turner. I really appreciate the back stories to each section of the book, the approachable language of the author and the specific invitations to experience new people and cultures through recipes. The Chinese Tea eggs are artful and wonderful and I can't wait to try them. I seriously can't recommend this book enough for a clear and concise intro to the many and varied possibilities of sous vide, and as a work of art for any sitting room focal point. Thank you, Lisa, for sharing your experiences and best wishes in your continued success.

This is a good book and I’ll keep it but I was really looking for something with basic recipes for every day cooking of meats and chicken for a beginner and basic cook. I’m getting more comfortable with my soup vide so will start trying some of their more advanced recipes

I'm new to sous vide cooking and prior to seeing an ad for an immersion sous vide device, hadn't really studied much about it. But after spending an hour or so reading up on this style of cooking, the ad did what it should: it caused me to buy and try. There are TONS of recipes on the internet to inspire one to try something new, I quickly learned, but having a well thought out book that is crystal clear about the whys and hows is invaluable. Particularly when you're diving into something new. I'm probably not going to try every recipe (I just don't think of duck when I think of dinner, although maybe I should...), but we have hens and eat a LOT of eggs. The Soft Boiled Poach delivers perfect eggs. Just. Perfect. And the instructions on how to do them ahead have made our morning Eggs & Soldiers too simple. The Chocolate Pots de Créme is fantastic (if crazy-rich) and a cinch to prepare. I never would have tried that on a stove top. The inch thick pork chops, moist and delicious (we'd given up on pork chops) and the leftover pork was equally moist and tender when stir fried for another meal. General Tso's Chicken: prepared the chicken on Saturday and stir fried on Wednesday to oos and aahs all around the table. If you're new to sous vide cooking, this is a must-have. If you've got experience under your belt, this is a must-have. Beautiful photography. Clear explanations and instructions. Delicious recipes that work.

I'm a home cook, and I've been cooking sous-vide for almost 3 years now with an immersion circulator. When I first started cooking sous-vide, I purchased Thomas Keller's "Under Pressure", and was woefully disappointed with the recipes contained within. I started looking to the internet for resources on how to cook sous-vide, and what I found was a lot of discussion about what temperatures to cook certain ingredients at, but not full recipes. Fast forward to 2016, and I'm happy to say that Sous Vide at Home is truly a cookbook focusing on sous-vide with the home cook in mind. From addressing food safety concerns (regarding cooking temperatures, bacteria, and plastic bag safety) for beginners to introducing new recipes for the experienced, I found this book to be a wonderful resource of sous-vide cooking at home, and a must-have. I really appreciate that Fetterman takes the time to include instructions on a do-ahead strategy for most of the recipes in the book, so that one can sous-vide what is necessary ahead of time and then finish the dish afterwards. I think it's probably the first time where I've looked at a cookbook and felt like I wanted to cook every recipe in the book, and felt like I actually could, because the instructions are so clear, and it doesn't require a lot of fancy (or expensive) ingredients or equipment. One of the other wonderful things about this book is that she takes the time to include recipes from all parts of a meal -- not just appetizers, or entrees and dessert, but she even has a recipes for cocktails and sauces that you can prepare sous-vide.

This is a great sous vide cookbook, and the author's passion is obvious. It doesn't boast 300+ recipes, but is a well thought out introduction to all the possibilities of sous vide cooking - and exposes you to everything you can apply the technique to. The explanations ahead of each section are helpful and the book builds on the recipes so you can see why for those it makes sense to cook sous vide as opposed to standard methods, and I felt it gave me a good understanding of what sous vide makes sense to use for the most (very long time slow cooking or low-temperature cooking) and how to modify other standard recipes to take advantages of the method. The included recipes are not complicated (the beauty of sous vide itself is that it makes cooking most ingredients very straight forward) - the hardest parts of any of them will be the steps you need to do away from the sous vide part. The directions are very thorough and easy to follow and there is a lot of detail on how to do most of the work ahead of time. There is also good explanation as to why you use a certain temperature and how changing times and temperatures affects the cooking process. I have cooked a fair number of the proteins in the book, some of the veggies, eggs and also attempted the cocktails and desserts - and everything has come out excellent. While i like that it is a somewhat ambitious cookbook that tries to challenge a more experienced cook as well, the explanations are excellent so if you have any interest in cooking and are able to follow a recipe this should not be too hard to follow.

I originally came across this book at the library and enjoyed it so much that I ended up buying my own copy. I have been cooking sous vide for almost two decades, and even with that level of experience, these recipes genuinely surprised me. They are still very simple and approachable, but they elevate familiar dishes to a completely new level. Even if you are already comfortable and confident with sous vide cooking, the recipes feel thoughtful, refined, and almost magical in their results. This book is absolutely worth adding to your collection, regardless of your experience level.

High production values (nice paper, great photos) earn this book one more star than it probably deserves. That said, if you are terrified and/or mystified by the idea of making your own mashed potatoes from, you know, potatoes, (or, EGADS, the biggest of all challenges (to some, apparently) actually _poaching_ an egg!! Surely, that's wizardry!), this is probably a great book to get you started. It is basic, very basic, and, while not particularly well written, talks to its audience like they are universally inept and ignorant in a helpful, hand-holding way. If, on the other hand, you're a competent home cook looking to add sous vide to your skill set, there are MUCH better books available. As already mentioned, the author's voice comes through strongly, and she is convinced that her audience is unable to boil water. Worse, her occasional nutritional asides are, in some cases, _blatantly_ incorrect... beyond just unnecessary and annoying. (Then there's taking all of the credit for the hard work of people around her in creating the sous vide at home movement....) Essential Sous Vide Cookbook or Modernist Cuisine Made Easy: Sous Vide, while *much* (well, I don't want to say "uglier," so, how about... "spartan," or "utilitarian," or "simple," or...) lower-production-value books are -much- more extensive, better written, frequently provide pros/cons of different temperatures instead of an authoritarian "DO IT THIS WAY, MORON" present throughout this book, less annoying, and, while still covering introductory concept information and simple recipes, also provide some more interesting paths to follow, too.

I have been using Sous vide method during this summer with wonderful results. This book is helping me up my Sous vide cooking greatly. Great recipes.

The book look really good, high quality paper, and the recipes looks yummy!

Es un libro de recetas, sin entrar apenas en los fundamentos técnicos de la cocina sous vide, que es lo que realmente se buscaba en este libro.

L'ho regalato a una cuoca molto piagnola sui libri di ricette. Non ha avuto nulla da ridire anzi è stata entusiasta. Il libro parte dall'abc sulla cucina a bassa temperatura fino a ricette gourmet. Insegna trucchetti niente male e anche a come fare il sottovuoto senza l'apposita macchina. Le foto sono perfette e l'esposizione chiara. ATTENZIONE: È IN INGLESE.

i have a two metre long collection of various cook books ...frankly this book has become the very best cook book I own. It is excellent. I previously bought the Thomas Keller book on Sous Vide and that is regarded as the reference standard for professional chefs. That book certainly helped me to understand the danger zone between 8.5'C and 40'C where bacteria multiplies rapidly and likewise it explained how to take a hot vacuum packed back of food and chill it safely. However I felt the Keller boom was very technical and intended for professional chefs, and that was reflected in the ingredients used within the various recipes...many of which I cannot source. This book by Lisa Fetterman explains in easy to understand principles the danger zone issues, and chilling cooked food but then goes on to provide simply excellent recipes. I found the photography, and the actual level of detail in the recipes very refreshing and it shows how sous vide compliments traditional cooking rather than takes over the kitchen. The are for example several recipes on preparing a "perfect" poached egg, with / without hollandaise sauce and how to perfectly cook the egg yoke ...these recipes actually are quite exciting and instructive. I have always found it tricky to poach a perfect egg to place on top f asparagus with some hollandaise sauce. This book shows how sous vide can help deliver something very special without egg white everywhere!! I bought some months ago a professional vacuum machine, and temperature controlled water bath with circulator and bought several sous vide cook books to get me started. I was disappointed in the competing book "Sous vide ...the art of precision cooking" as it seemed to be a book to compliment a particular sous vide machine "Supreme" and the "Smoke Gun" produced I guess by the same company. I did not appreciate that a book presenting itself as a Sous Vide cookery book should have sections about smoking with those sections having zero reference to sous vide. I can understand using Sous vide to intensify the flavour of smoked fish ...which Keller mentions and that is relevant. The book by Fetterman is obviously based on serious experience gained in professional kitchens and a deep knowledge on basic cooking of high end recipes. I intend to use many of the recipes at dinner parties, and even for cooking for my family. Lisa gives many suggestions on how to cook ahead , chill the meal and keep food ready to reheat in the water bath when ready to eat. This method takes the stress out of cooking for a large group and that is welcomed. I would add that I saw the need for a good cook book on sous vide for the advanced home chef as until now there has not been anything available. I even thought of writing one ...but now I have given that idea up. This book is so good and I unreservedly recommend it.