How to Sous Vide by Daniel Shumski

How to Sous Vide

by Daniel Shumski

Perfection—in the bag Ready to turn out the best steak of your life by sealing it in a plastic bag and simmering it in a bath of warm water? The technique is called sous vide— it’s how a lot of the pros do it—and now with sous vide devices affordable and available, you can too. Daniel Shumski, the gadget whisperer who demystified the Instant Pot, unlocks the secrets of professional sous vide for home use. He explains step by step the process, timing, precise temperatures by ingredient, best techniques, and ins and outs of the equipment. And then offers 100 brilliant recipes designed to take full advantage of this revolutionary method, plus a dozen unexpected sous-vide hacks (make short-cut “cold-brew” coffee; infuse your olive oil with new flavors!) With Shumski’s guidance, anything can be made better through sous vide, from favorite meats (you’ll never cook a chicken breast any other way) to the surprises of sous vide carrots (try them with miso butter) to the showstopping glory of a Berry Cheesecake in a jar.

Reviewed by annieb123 on

4 of 5 stars

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Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

How to Sous Vide is a tutorial guide with recipes by Daniel Shumski. Due out 23rd Nov 2021 from Workman Publishing, it's 240 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

The introduction covers the basics of sous vide cooking (long time low temp with food sealed in pouches) and essential accessories as well as an intro to the processing, uses, ingredients, tools, supplies, and how-to. The following chapters include the recipes arranged roughly by category: poultry, pork, beef, duck & lamb, seafood, eggs, vegetables, and desserts.

Ingredient measurements are supplied in American standard measurements only. There is a metric conversion table in the appendix. The nutritional information is not included. Each recipe has a header with special info - cooking times and temps, and yields, along with a short description. Extra tips and recipe alternatives are listed in text boxes. The recipes themselves are fairly straightforward and are made for the most part with easily sourced ingredients. Special equipment is listed in the directions as well as in the tools overview in the introduction.

The photography is clear and well done. The serving suggestions are stylish and appropriate. Roughly 30% of the recipes are accompanied by one or more photos.

Because of the nature of the cooking process (long cooking time, relatively low temps, multiple processing steps), many/most of them are not really what I would consider "have to get dinner on the table or the kids will gnaw the legs off the table" after-work dinner type dishes. They're fine for weekend or special occasion cooking.

We're definitely going to try more of these recipes. Well written book, very tasty recipes and a style of preparation which places emphasis on safe and nutrient dense food.

Four stars. This is a solid recipe book which will be used. It would make a superlative gift for a culinarily adventurous friend or family member, as well as readers looking to branch out and learn new techniques.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 10 November, 2021: Finished reading
  • 10 November, 2021: Reviewed