Quote:
Originally Posted by Matty81
Sous Vide thing looks cool, I just don't want to fork over another hundred for the vaccum sealer (although I guess that might be handy for food portioning and freezing too) and have been reading that cooking in ziplocks is not ideal as far as the quality of the plastic - anybody recommend a good sealer at a decent price?
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I've read that water displacement method works just as well for most recipes. You just have to make sure that you use high quality Ziploc (or similar) freezer bags that use polyethylene. A generic zipper bag that does not use polyethylene will fail at the seams at high temperatures (ie > 180F)
If you are really concerned about the quality of the bags, you can always order sous vide bags off amazon and use the water displacement method without vacuum sealing. These bags have more robust seams that will withstand higher temperatures, and have a polyethylene mesh in the inside of the bag. Polyethylene does not leach into the food at high temperatures.
Most recipes (ie steak, pork chops, fish, chicken) are cooked at under 180F, but if you want to do longer cooks (ie brisket, ribs, pork shoulder) for 12-24H, then you may want to use a sous vide bag or vacuum sealer. But for everyday use, a ziploc style freezer bag works just fine. Just be sure to clip the bag to the cooking vessel so that it doesn't float around.