Low-temperature baking technology is the most advanced and economical cooking method.

Long-term simmering of products while maintaining a certain temperature makes them juicy and perfectly cooked. Cooking using this approach allows modern ovens and devices designed for this purpose.

What is sous vide?

The term " sous vide"translated from French as "in a vacuum." Thanks to this technology it became possible cooking food at low temperatures. The process takes longer than other heat treatment methods, but this method achieves several goals:

• Low-temperature cooking modes preserve the integrity of cell membranes, so dishes are juicy.
• Right choice temperature and cooking time allows you to get soft foods. Thanks to this, even the most tough meat will turn into a divine dish.
• If you bake or fry a piece of meat, the outer part becomes very hot and uneven heat distribution occurs. Sous-vide technology allows you to forget about burnt, dried out, undercooked foods.
• Cooking vegetables at low temperatures maintains their freshness and crispiness, which is not achieved by simply boiling them in water.

Benefits of technology

To understand why the method is remarkable, let’s get acquainted with the basics. The essence of the method is simple: the products are vacuum-sealed in a special plastic bag, after which they are cooked in water while maintaining a constant temperature, usually not exceeding 70 degrees (for vegetables the limit increases).

The most important thing is precise control of temperature and time. Sous vide provides results that cannot be achieved with traditional cooking. Will always be in the house with him delicious food, retaining all the beneficial properties.

If you learn to bake meat according to... low temperature technology, then you will forever remain committed to this method. The technology is especially relevant for fish. It must be borne in mind that it remains tender within very narrow temperature limits, so it is important to carefully monitor the time.

Creating a vacuum

The sous vide method is ideal for young housewives and experienced chefs who want to surprise guests. When cooking meat at low temperatures, it must be placed in a vacuum. However, many people wonder whether such results can be achieved without special equipment.

Firstly, in the kitchen you can completely do without vacuum sealer. Comes to the rescue cling film, which needs to tightly wrap the products on all sides, without leaving gaps and squeezing out air. Another alternative is plastic ziplock bags. They are lowered into a large container of water so that the upper part with the clasp remains above the liquid.

When cooking meat food in a water oven, excess air is released from the bag. But since the vacuum obtained by such methods is not complete, then long-term storage prepared meals are excluded.

Sous vide machine or oven

Modern devices work by combining three key elements: presence of a thermostat, heating element, water tank. Thus, low-temperature cooking of meat without an oven becomes possible. What to do if the farm does not have such a device?

You can simulate low-temperature conditions when cooking meat. To do this, use any capacious container of water (for example, a saucepan) placed on the stove or in the oven. Therefore, if you like any beef recipe, you can always try it.

Special water ovens for sous vide have a number of advantages:

• temperature control with an accuracy of 0.5°C;
• uniform cooking of food;
• timer;
• large capacity.

Low temperature for cooking meat in the oven

The average temperature of cooked meat ranges from 55 to 70 degrees. If you lower the cooking temperature to 56-70°C, you will be able to retain all the juices and unique taste. Before you heat the oven to a low temperature, you need to make sure that it can maintain it, otherwise the food will remain soggy.

It is best to cook meat at low temperatures in an electric oven with top and bottom heating. First, the piece can be lightly fried in a frying pan, and then placed in a bag and left to bake for several hours. A special thermometer helps check the degree of readiness. This way you can cook delicious dishes with any type of meat - from chicken to lamb.

A gas oven heats up very quickly, so it is difficult to protect meat from extreme overheating. It does not need to be turned on in advance. The meat should be removed from the refrigerator an hour before cooking, and then placed in a shallow dish and turned on the oven.

Disadvantages of the method

Cooking food using the above technology is not easy, but it allows you to get ideal results. However, sous-vide has a number of minor disadvantages.

Low-temperature cooking of meat does not trigger the Maillard reaction, which is responsible for the formation golden brown crust ready-made dish. It appears when the temperature exceeds 150°C, which is much higher than the technology requires. Therefore, to make the product appetizing appearance it must be fried before or after simmering.

If a temperature of less than 52 °C was chosen for low-temperature cooking in the oven, and it takes more than four hours, the chances of the growth of botulism pathogens increase. This danger can be avoided by setting more high degree for products that take longer than 4 hours to cook.

To achieve the perfect result and implement sous-vide in it original form, which is used in restaurants, it is necessary to have devices created for this: a vacuum sealer and a thermostat, a device for maintaining a constant temperature.

When you fry a piece of meat in a frying pan or on the grill, there is an amazing aroma all around, and your steak (or roast beef, filet mignon, Chicken's leg etc.) looks very appetizing. True, cooking at high temperatures has one “but”, especially when it comes to beef. So in a fast way Most often, “premium” meat is prepared: the most tender, non-working muscles (various cuts, thick and thin edges, or they are cut into steaks according to the Western method - rib-eye, striploin, etc.). And this is only a small part of the animal’s carcass. What about the rest of the cuts - the working muscles (rump, shank, eye muscle, etc.)? If you are not going to make burgers or cutlets out of them (this is quite possible variant solution to the problem), and you are tired of endless stewing and cooking, there is only one answer - cooking at low temperatures.

History of the method

The man who invented cooking foods at low temperatures was the English physicist Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumfoord. He studied the relationship between mechanical work and internal energy and laid the foundations of thermophysics. And in the process he came up with a lot of useful items - for example, a kitchen stove and an army kitchen. One day, the count came up with the idea of ​​cooking a lamb shoulder in a potato drying apparatus he himself invented, where the temperature inside did not exceed 80 °C. He put the meat in the machine, tried it 2 hours later - the lamb remained raw. Rumfoord decided that nothing had worked out and went home. After a couple of hours, the assistants tried the meat - it was raw, then they turned off the fire and left the laboratory. The shovel remained inside the car until the morning. When they took it out and tried it, they found that the meat was ready and had a surprisingly tender texture and a very expressive taste! What happened? In order for the meat to become soft, the structure of the muscle fibers must be disrupted. This is what heating does. The fibers are covered with connective tissue containing collagen. At high temperature The collagen is cooked so that the meat loses moisture. At low temperatures the meat warms up gradually - and the collagen, changing, turns the connective tissue into jelly. At high temperatures, volatile substances responsible for odors and taste evaporate, and at low temperatures they are retained. The meat remains juicy and does not lose its flavor.

What is sous vide cooking?

200 years have passed since the time of Count Rumfoord, and experiments with low temperatures continue. In the 1970s, a chef famous restaurant“Troisgros” Georges Pralu tested a technology that was later called sous-vide (sous-vide - in French, “in a vacuum”). He put foie gras, fatty goose liver, into the bag, added seasonings and delicately pumped out the air from there. He immersed the package in a pan of water heated to 70 °C. He wanted to ensure that the liver did not lose valuable fat, and that the aroma of spices penetrated into the pulp as intensely as possible - and everything worked out! Since this method requires constant maintenance of a precise low temperature and a vacuum apparatus, for a long time only the kitchens were equipped with a sous vide device expensive restaurants. But ten years ago, sous vide machines for home kitchens began to appear on sale (however, they were still not cheap).

But complex devices are completely optional. A good stove and oven that can hold the required heat is quite enough. On the stove, you can cook meat by “wet simmering,” that is, in a regular saucepan in some liquid. You need to be sure that your burner does not heat up more - to do this, set the minimum heating value for electric stove(more precisely, this happens on induction hobs), and place a divider on the gas burner. For the oven, the “dry” method is more suitable - baking just like that. You can try cooking any recipe from this issue of the “Collection” not at 120-140 °C, but at 70-80 °C. It will take 3 times longer to cook.
So, there are 3 methods of low temperature cooking. 1) Baking in the oven at a temperature of 60-140 °C. 2) Simmering meat in liquid on the stove at 50-90 °C. 3) Cooking in sous vide - in a vacuum bag immersed in liquid at a temperature of 40-90 ° C. Let's look at each one separately.

How to properly bake meat and poultry in the oven at low temperatures

To obtain great result when cooking different dishes, you need to understand very well what exactly you are doing. General rule: the more “working” the cut was (the neck bends, the legs walk, etc.), the more time it will take to cook it. It is best to simmer the following in the oven: beef cuts: boneless brisket, sirloin, inside rear cut, eye muscle. Pork: shoulder, ham, brisket. Chicken: the whole bird, legs, wings.

Need to remember:
The larger the piece, the better it is suitable for baking in the oven using the “dry” method. The larger it is, the lower the temperature should be and the longer the time.
The more fat there is in a piece, the better it is to bake it “dry” - the fat will gradually melt and make the meat juicy.
The less fat, the more often the piece needs to be greased with sauce during baking.

Temperature
At what internal temperature is meat considered cooked and safe?
chicken - 73 °C
pork - 62 °C
beef - 52-60 °C

We empirically They found that long-term baking of pieces of meat works best at 120-130 °C. For fattier pieces - at 140 °C. This way the meat is cooked for 2 to 6 hours, depending on the size and quality. The temperature can be reduced to 60-70 °C, but the time increases to 10-12 hours. Heat— 180-240 °С — needed for a short time, To obtain delicious crust on meat.
Processing and slicing

Before baking large pieces of meat do not need to remove any fat or film from the surface. You can even leave the skin. All of them will serve to protect meat juices and aromas from evaporation - this is a natural meat “packaging”. When baked for a long time, they will have time to soften sufficiently, and the pork skin, fried under the grill on last stage cooked until crunchy, it becomes a real delicacy. If you want to stuff meat, make cuts only at the top, but almost throughout the entire depth (1).
If you need to cut the meat into smaller pieces for baking, follow the natural “cutting” - the meat has tendons and films running along the fibers. If you separate the meat into them, the pieces will not fall apart further, and this “coating” can also be left as protection (2).
If you want to get beautiful portioned pieces, then, of course, the meat will need to be cut across the grain. The thickness of the pieces is at least 2 cm so that the meat does not become dry (3). There is no point in cutting meat finely for long-term baking.

Spices and marinades
There is also one here general principle: the fattier the meat, the more aromatic spices required for it. This is, first of all, coriander, star anise, allspice, paprika, nutmeg, cardamom. To make this meat better absorbed by our body, you can add fennel seeds. It won't hurt either spicy vegetables and herbs: garlic, ginger, thyme, rosemary, oregano. However, they are also great for lean meat along with more delicate spices: black and pink pepper, cumin, sumac, turmeric. Fatty meats love dry marinades, where spices and chopped herbs are mixed and rubbed into the surface of the meat from all sides.
Lean meat is best marinated in different types unrefined oil: olive, peanut, sesame oil walnut, adding soy sauce or salt. Adding onions to the marinade gives an onion flavor cooked meat, as in the classic Soviet shish kebab - not everyone likes it. But if you like it, then chopped onions with salt and pepper are a self-sufficient option; you don’t need to add anything else to it. And after the meat is marinated, the onions can be fried and served along with the meat.
Need to remember:
How more piece meat and the fattier it is, the longer it is marinated - from 2 to 24 hours.
Marinating with the “acid” component should be quick: 30 minutes. — 1 hour
If you don't have much time to marinate, cover the container with the meat in the marinade with film and leave it to sit. room temperature for 2 hours is enough.
Store the fermented milk marinade in the refrigerator from the very beginning; you can keep meat in it for quite a long time - up to a day.
Marinades containing acid (vinegar, wine, lemon juice, tomato paste), are quite aggressive, quickly soften - and subsequently destroy - upper layer meat without getting to the core. Do not add acid for softness - good meat does not require it, add only a little for taste and aroma.
Other types of marinades—yogurt or kefir, teriyaki or oyster sauce—work best for poultry and fatty cuts of pork. You can add an “Asian set” to them: ginger, garlic, chili, curry powder or paste, cilantro and green onions.

How to cook sous vide meat without a sous vide machine

Sous vide cooking devices have become more accessible, although they remain quite expensive. But you can do without them! If you want to try stewing meat in a bag at low temperature, you will need a multicooker that can maintain exactly the specified heating level, and ziplock bags with a lock. The principle is very simple.
1 Place the product in a bag, add herbs, salt, spices, oil, vegetables, wine.
2 Immerse the bag in a container of water so that the water reaches exactly to the edges of the bag and displaces the air without pouring inside. Carefully close the clasp.
3 Heat water in the multicooker until desired temperature(usually 65-70 °C) and drop the bag there. If it floats, place a plate on it: the bag should be completely immersed in water. Close the lid, set the time (from 4 to 12 hours) and press the “start” button. The cooked product is soft and tender, but looks cooked. For a golden brown crust, quickly fry it in a frying pan over high fire from all sides.

Cooking meat and poultry at low temperatures on the stove

For simmering on the stove, you can use the toughest and densest pieces of meat, that is, the working muscles of the animal. The best cuts of beef to simmer on the stove are: front and back shanks, brisket ribs, and outer rear cuts. Pork: knuckle, ham, legs, boneless brisket. Chicken: breast, thighs, whole bird, cut into portions.
In order for the toughest pieces to soften and collagen to turn into gelatin, it is required long-term temperature maintenance 60-80 °C. How to achieve temperature accuracy? The easiest way is in a slow cooker (1) - this is described in detail in the chapter “How to cook sous vide meat without a sous vide machine.” Second simple option- on an induction cooker (2): with the minimum thermostat settings, this temperature is achieved, although it is better to check with a thermometer. And finally, on other stoves (conventional electric, glass-ceramic or gas). Here you need a thermometer (3), which you will have to dip into the sauce from time to time to see if the temperature has risen too high. To reduce the heat level, gas stove use the divider (4). And on an electric burner you can put a ring (5) folded from tightly twisted foil - and place the dishes with meat on it.
The simmering vessel itself must be spacious enough and have a thick bottom (made of several layers of metal, double or triple) and preferably thick walls. This can be stainless steel (6) or coated cast iron (7). Cast iron (duckling and goose pans) is an ideal cookware for simmering both on the stove and in the oven: it distributes heat as evenly as possible.
If you don’t have the opportunity to wait for hours for your dish to be prepared, you can always replace this labor-intensive process with tender and soft ready-stewed meat from Miratorg - it simmered in natural marinades and sauces directly in the package at 95 ° C for more than two hours.

Processing and slicing


Most often, meat and poultry for simmering on the stove are cut into portions or very small pieces. You can simmer the whole thing, but the product must be completely covered with liquid (1) or the pan must have a lid that fits without gaps so that the resulting steam remains inside
and prevented the protruding piece of meat from becoming dry. Otherwise, the processing of meat for simmering is the same as for baking (2).
If there is a layer of fat on the meat, when simmering, place the piece with the fat side up so that it gradually melts and enriches the meat with its taste (3).
The processed meat can be immediately fried until golden brown and then immersed in liquid, or vice versa - simmer first and fry, removing the sauce when it is completely cooked. Both options have a right to exist, but the taste is different - try it and decide which one you like.
Sauces for simmering
In order for the meat to be better saturated with flavors during simmering, ingredients with the appropriate qualities must be added to the cooking liquid. The most universal base for the sauce it is broth. Moreover, it is not necessary to use chicken for chicken, and beef for meat. Using a “different” broth enriches the taste of stewed meat. Instead of salt, you can add salt to the broth, but its substitutes - soy or Asian fish sauce.
An excellent element of the sauce when simmering is chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned in own juice. You can also use ready-made tomato sauce with minimal addition of vinegar or a small amount tomato paste. In the same small quantities can add dry wine, lemon juice or other sour fruits.
Unlike frying over high heat, when simmering you can use unrefined oils. Since the temperature in the pan is low, you can choose any oil you like - even sunflower or sesame, which burn over medium heat. Olive, mustard, nut and linseed oil will also fit.
Fresh herbs can be added either halfway through cooking or at the very end, while dried herbs can be added only at the beginning. Spices for long-term simmering are more suitable whole, unground: coriander, cinnamon, cumin, star anise, barberry, peppercorns, cardamom, mustard seeds... Spices can be placed in a fabric bag so that later you do not need to strain the sauce. Bay leaf It’s better not to keep it in the sauce for longer than 15 minutes - it starts to smell unpleasant and taste bitter. Try not to combine rosemary with bay leaf and/or juniper - you will not feel the taste of meat behind them. If the vegetables in the sauce are boiled, beat the sauce with a blender - this will make the dish look much more attractive

Many housewives have appreciated the “stewing” mode in a multicooker, due to the fact that cooked dishes retain maximum of their taste and aroma. In fact, this mode is reminiscent of cooking in a Russian oven, where food simmers in a pot for a long time in its own juice. The longer a dish is stewed, the softer, more aromatic and tastier it turns out as a result.

The principle of extinguishing or how it works

The secret to stewing is that the slow cooker heats up slowly and cooks food for a long time at low temperature, never bringing it to a boil. Dishes prepared in this way are not only more aromatic, but also healthier, because there is no need to add oil during the cooking process. Products languish mainly in own juice or with a small addition of water.

Cooking time depends on the dish, the quality of the ingredients and the specifics of the recipe. For example, to cook jellied meat in a slow cooker you will need more time than to prepare soup or broth. You also need to take into account the quality of the meat (young or old), its size (small pieces will cook much faster than large pieces), etc.

Typically, a multicooker gives you the right to choose the time for stewing within a strictly limited framework (from 1 hour to 12 hours). The exception is those multicookers that have a multicooker function, which allows you to independently set not only the cooking time, but also the desired temperature. However, for inexperienced or inexperienced users, the automatic program is preferable, as it guarantees a good result.

Some housewives complain that the stewing process takes too long. However, the very idea of ​​cooking in a slow cooker means that you don’t need to be nearby all the time control the process! After finishing cooking in the stewing mode, the multicooker will automatically start the auto-heating mode.

However, if it is vital for you to reduce the cooking time in the stewing mode, you can resort to the following trick. Start preparing your meals as usual by selecting minimum time for a multicooker, and at the right time, turn off the mode yourself or change it to heating.

If in a slow cooker no extinguishing mode– don’t despair. First, look at the recipes for your multicooker model; perhaps the stewing mode is replaced by another mode. Or you can experiment on your own with selecting a similar mode. The “soup” cooking mode is very similar to the stewing mode and is also suitable for preparing many dishes. The only difference between these two modes is that for cooking soups the temperature is brought to a boil, but after that a constant low cooking temperature is also maintained.

What to cook

You can cook almost any food in the stewing mode. meat dishes: Even the oldest or toughest meat, after prolonged simmering, becomes soft, tender and melts in the mouth.

In addition to meat, stewing is great for cooking:

1. Aspic
2. Stew
3. Baked milk
4. Jellied
5. Stuffed cabbage rolls

To appreciate all the capabilities of a multicooker in stewing mode, prepare one of these simple dishes.

• Chicken stewed with garlic in sour cream

Place the chicken in small pieces in portioned pieces to the bottom of the bowl and start the simmer mode for 1 hour. No need to add water. After half an hour, add sour cream (100 g) and half a head of finely chopped garlic to the bowl. Mix all ingredients and continue simmering for another 30 minutes.

• Potatoes stewed with meat

Pork (800 gr.) cut into small pieces, salt, and fry on the “fry” mode for several minutes under a closed lid. If the meat is not fatty, add a little olive oil. After 10 minutes, add peeled carrots and finely chopped onions and fry for another 10 minutes. Add diced potatoes and a little water (1 multi-cup) and simmer for 1 hour. After completion, add spices, herbs, sour cream.

• Vegetable stew with beef

Beef (500 gr.) cut in large pieces. Vegetables: zucchini, carrots, onions, bell pepper, tomato, potatoes, cut into pieces as you wish. Place all the ingredients inside the bowl and stir, add salt and pepper. You don't have to add water, because... tomatoes, peppers, zucchini will release their juice. Then set the simmer mode to 35 minutes. After finishing cooking, add fresh herbs and spices at your discretion.

Before starting the stewing mode, make sure that the food in the bowl can release water, due to which the simmering will occur. Otherwise, you need to add water yourself, but just a little bit, because our goal is to stew the dish, not cook it. Instead of water, you can add milk, cream, red wine or broth - this will add a new twist to your favorite dishes, adding sophistication and piquancy to them.

It is better to add seasoning or salt at the end of cooking, so the dish will preserve the flavor as much as possible. herbs and spices. After the multicooker has finished cooking the dish, do not rush to open the multicooker faster, but let the dish “cook” for another 10-15 minutes.

Before to cook similar dish, the housewife had to spend the whole weekend on this, but now the multicooker takes on all the worries. Pamper your loved ones incredible taste and the aroma of dishes prepared in the stewing mode.

I am a happy owner of multicookers Redmond. Since January 2014 I had Redmond RMC-M70. It's July 2015 and I bought Redmond RMC-M90.

Overall, I was pleased with my previous assistant.

BUT:

• I didn’t like the fact that I couldn’t make milk porridge because the milk boiled over.
• The pan broke down very quickly. Everything was burning. And this made me sad.

Tip: If your food burns to the bottom of the pan, and the company refuses to replace the pan under warranty, take special baking paper. Place baking paper on the bottom.

Multicookers differ in design.

Tip: To remove the chemical smell of plastic, boil water with half a lemon for 15 minutes before first use. My plastic smell went away quickly.

"Simmering" mode

In a slow cooker Redmond RMC-M90 I was attracted by the presence of a mysterious program "Languor".

Now I actively use it: I cook milk porridge in this mode.

This is how I cook oatmeal in the morning. I loaded a glass of rolled oats, 3 glasses of milk, salted it, added sugar, cinnamon, butter. I put it on simmer mode for 1 hour. An hour later I had breakfast delicious porridge, which even my husband ate. No foam and nothing boiled over, unlike the “Milk porridge” mode on Redmond RMC-M70.
.

I cooked millet porridge like this: 1 cup of cereal, 4 cups of milk, butter, salt and sugar. Simmer mode for 2 hours. The result was a porridge of extraordinary taste, beautiful color baked milk.

In a slow cooker Redmond RMC-M70 functions "Languor" No.

Advice: owners of the Redmond RMC-M70 multicooker, try setting the temperature to 90 degrees in the Multicooker. And increase the cooking time. This will be the “Simmering” mode. Oatmeal – 45 minutes to 1 hour. Millet porridge – 2 hours. Rice porrige 1.5 – 2 hours. Borscht can be cooked for 3 hours.

Handles on the pan.

In a slow cooker Redmond RMC-M70 the bowl has no handles. INCONVENIENT! To pull out hot pan out of the slow cooker, I grabbed oven mitts, they slid along the rim and sides of the pan. I risked scalding, and the supplied tongs did not inspire confidence in me.
The handles on a new pan give you a feeling of relief and confidence. EASILY!

Buttons on the multicooker Redmond RMC-M90 sensory. It's unusual for me. Everything doesn't always turn on as it should the first time.

Timer

“Hours and minutes” on a multicooker Redmond RMC-M90 You can only scroll forward. It is not comfortable. I missed a moment - let's do it again.

Special and unobvious moments in the Redmond RMC-M90 multicooker:

Delayed start is the amount of time by which the dish will be ready. If you want to have breakfast ready by 8 am and the multicooker will cook it for 1 hour, then at 12 pm you set the delayed start for 8 hours.

“Start”, as well as “cancel heating”, is activated by long (2-3 seconds) pressing these buttons.

Steamer mode

I use the steamer function all the time.
I cook cutlets in a double boiler, and at this time the potatoes for mashed potatoes are boiled in the pan itself. Fast and convenient.

The steamer mode allows you to make food healthy and dietary. Same for both multicookers.

Automatic heating mode is activated automatically in most programs. If you don’t need it, you can turn off auto-heating by pressing the button for two seconds. "Menu" when the multicooker is running.

Express mode

In a slow cooker Redmond RMC-M90 there is a mode Express. It is designed for 30 minutes. The result is crumbly porridge.

True, I don't use it much.

However, in the first version of this multicooker, it was a surprisingly smart mode that worked until the water evaporated. Then it turned off. This is an intelligent mode that ensures that food does not burn.

Unfortunately, in new releases of this multicooker it was changed and now it is just a 30-minute mode. Nothing! I envy the owners of the old version and remove one star from the rating.