When I regale people in my latest sous vide endeavors they usually give me a sort of crazy eyed look and then tell me it is too much work to fit sous vide into their busy schedules. They say, “Sous vide is just not for me.” While it does take a bit of work, it is very doable to integrate sous vide cooking into a hectic schedule with a bit of meal planning. Usually while they are rambling on, my mind drifts off into song from another Lisa that I adore:
You say, I only hear what I want to.
You say, I talk so all the time so.And I thought what I felt was simple,
And I thought that I don’t belong,
And now that I am leaving
Now I know that I did something wrong, ’cause I missed you.
Yeah, I missed you.
But wait. I talk all so the time about sous vide and I’m not going to leave you without the simple tips on how to do it right everyday, because I’d miss you… Yeaaaaaah. I’d miss you!
I don’t want you to miss out on the deliciousness that is sous vide cooking. So this is how I’ve managed to be able to have delicious sous vide noms every day, even though sometimes a girl with no name likes to eat out as well (shameless geeky GoT reference).
Recipes
I usually pick proteins since these are the things I can freeze easily and are extra delicious when I cook them sous vide. I’ve done:
- Simple Salmon
- Hainan Chicken
- Soy Sauce Chicken
- Rosemary Ribeye
The Bulk Buy
For all the recipes above I head over to my local Costco and buy protein in bulk, and spend better part of a Sunday getting my assembly line of meals ready.
Large packs of chicken, salmon, steak, along with various condiments, and freezer bags into the cart.
Prep
- Portion out the large quantities of meat/ingredients into single serving portions via freezer bag, marking the packing date.
- Freeze
- Toss baggies in freezer for eating later.
Sous Vide
A lot of land animal proteins take ~ 2 hours to cook. If you’re getting home from work that wait time seems like an eternity. The trick with these items is pre-cooking them the night before after you’ve already eaten and then tossing them into the fridge. That way once you get home the next day all you have to do is reheat them to temp and serve.
If I am cooking something to eat the same night, I will take it out of the freezer and defrost it in the fridge before I head off to work.
Sharing is Caring
Best yet is if you have a bunch of friends with different recipes, then you can switch pre-packed baggies to be able to get variety in your sous vide diet.
Nomiku Eats
If all this planning does seem a little crazed to you and beyond what you have time to do, there are options! If you live in SF you can partake in Nomiku Eats, a subscription program whereby you can purchase pre-packed meals that you can either store in your freezer or heat and eat. They are super affordable, delicious and can be delivered to your place on the daily without additionaldelivery costs. Check it out!
