r/ZeroWaste • u/mrs_rabbit_0 • 13d ago
Question / Support can I get a sous vide?
I like cooking. I have been thinking about getting a sous vide machine for ages.
the machine works by carefully controlling the temperature of water where food floats. the food is put in plastic bags and vacuum sealed so that it is fully in contact with the water.
the thing is I HATE plastic, especially near my food (part ecoconsciousness, part disgust at consuming plastic particles). is there a way of doing sous vide with anything other than plastic bags? I’d guess silicone bags could work if you were able to truly get all the air out, but I don’t know if anybody actually has attempted this.
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u/thegarbagegirl 12d ago
My partner and I use ours with silicone bags and have never had issues, we love it!! Definitely recommend getting one secondhand if you do go for it, because so many people buy them and don’t end up using them.
I think the science behind it is so cool, and as someone that feels grossed out by meat I really appreciate the ability to monitor the exact cooking temp for so many hours.
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u/Bengy465 12d ago
Which silicon bags do you use? I have one, but barely use it. I’d love to have a plastic free option.
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u/thegarbagegirl 11d ago
We use Stasher brand bags! I have a fear of the cheaper “silicone” bags being impure/not truly 100%, and don’t want to risk it when heating them like this.
Here is a video demonstrating a brilliant trick to get a perfect vacuum seal on them!
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u/yo-ovaries 12d ago
We do sousvide with silicone bags using the water displacement method of sealing.
I will say it’s not as convenient as vacuum sealed which I do still use as I’m able to purchase and prepare meat and freeze it while getting a good price and supporting local farmers and butchers.
The best part imo is being able to take a frozen vacuum sealed protein and drop it in the sousvide. That is where I feel like it’s actually getting a sweet spot of fast, cheap, good, healthy. Zero waste? Nope.
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u/unicyclegamer 13d ago
I have one and it’s a cool novelty but I think they’re more useful for restaurants than home chefs. What do you want to make with them?
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u/mrs_rabbit_0 12d ago
I want to make juicy birds, mostly.
what prompted me just now is a guy on youtube who made his own turkey deli meat and that looks great and so much better than whatever passes for turkey breast at the supermarket.
I know sous vide machines are kind of gimmicky but I figured that one will not take up too much space, and if I buy one secondhand it wouldn’t be so bad
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u/mezasu123 12d ago
Was it the recent life with Mikey video that made me want to get a sous vide machine as well. And a vacuum machine. But I know it won't get used and will be a huge cost as well as where the heck am I going to put it.
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u/pm_me_ur_fit 12d ago
I really don’t think they’re gimmicky they’re phenomenal at what they do. I use it for things like super soft pork tenderloin, chicken, pork belly, that sort of stuff
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u/Disastrous-Handle283 12d ago
Best bbq chicken I ever had was sous vided then finished on the grill. So moist! But those folks didn’t even recycle so I don’t think it’s a zero waste kitchen tool
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u/unicyclegamer 12d ago
Yea it’s mainly the plastic waste that I don’t care for. I mainly used it for steak and it was great, but IMO a reverse sear does just as good a job. The sous vide is great for making 5+ steaks at once though.
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u/bridgeofpies 8d ago
I saw that video, and thought, yeh, nah. I'll just stick to poaching chicken instead. This recipe by Nagi works a treat, and she explainsa bit about the technique too: https://www.recipetineats.com/poached-chicken/
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u/Usual-Language-745 12d ago
You need to learn the science of actually cooking. Poultry gets dry because it doesn’t have intramuscular fat. The remedy for this is to cook it as fast and at the highest temperature possible. This is why fried chicken is more moist than roasted chicken, because it’s only losing moisture for 10 minutes instead of an hour. If you have an oven that can hit 700 you can cook half a chicken in about 15 minutes. Best bird you’ll ever have. Also you are probably overcooking your poultry. 165 is psychotic and doesn’t take into account carry over cooking. Pull that shit at 130
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u/Tree_Ring 13d ago
There are silicone bags for it!
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u/mrs_rabbit_0 12d ago
really?!
thanks!
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u/TheQuaeritur 12d ago
And sous-vide machines l were very popular a few years ago. It shouldn't be too hard to find one second hand.
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u/jupiterLILY 13d ago
Don't know about the bags but i reckon there's a really good chance you'll be able to get a second hand one.
Because they were trendy, I can imagine that there are a fair few in peoples decluttering stashes.
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u/russkhan 12d ago
If you think the plastic bags are wasteful, wait until the circulators start dying on you. I went through 3 of them before getting tired of trying. (mine were Anova and Joule, which were among the more respected brands)
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u/GeeMunz11 12d ago
I have the same one I bought in 2016. I also use silicone bags for my cooks. It's genuinely a great method of cooking food.
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u/DyingGasp 12d ago
I eliminate as much plastic from my life with a few exceptions. I vacuum seal my meats as I buy in bulk to save money. Vacuum sealing stretches my purchases as long as possible since it prevents freezer burn. Because I do this, I vacuum seal some cuts aside knowing I will sous vide them.
I have a multicooker that has a sous vide option.
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u/SelectionDangerous11 12d ago
While I am not a fan of the plastic, the sous vide is brilliant for helping us reduce food waste AND keeping our food costs down. If we are reheating the previous sous vide meal, we re- vacuum seal using the original plastic.
Re: food costs... we are able to go to Costco or our local butcher for larger cuts of meat and then we subdivide the cuts with individual marinades or dry rubs. If we have a rotisserie chicken that we won't be able to finish before it goes bad, we are able break it down and save it for later.
Little known sous vide bonus: It can also chill beverages!
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u/sjmuller 13d ago
Silicone is plastic (technically it's a synthetic polymer, like all plastics).
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u/_your_face 13d ago
Sigh, sure and DNA is technically a polymer along with proteins and cellulose, if you’re just stretching to domain specific definitions and ignoring context. Hey look everyone, people and plants are all made out of plastic!
“Plastic” has different meanings in different fields. In laymen discussions it means a petrochemical/carbon based synthetic polymer. The stuff that cause health and environmental issues by leaching endocrine disruptors and carcinogens, while also breaking down in to microplastics.
Those plastics, the way any normal sane human understands them, do NOT include silicone, which is a silicone-oxygen structure, does not leach endocrine disruptors and carcinogens, and does not break down. There’s a stance on the environmental side against that fact, but it’s the exact opposite of why people dislike common plastics.
Stop spreading disinformation so casually.
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u/shorty0927 12d ago
Serious question, since it sounds like you understand the chemistry of silicone. Some of my silicone spatulas, pan handles, baking mats, etc. develop an oily/sticky residue that can't be washed off with soap and water, which has me questioning its stability and food safety. What is it, and why should I not be concerned?
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u/hmmmpf 13d ago
Yeah, your reasons are the reasons that I don’t have a sous vide as well.