Trust it to the French to come up with fancy ways of cooking food. French cuisine is arguably unparalleled. The sous vide method of cooking is one of the major reasons why.
Just in case you are here and don’t know what sous vide, we’ll get to that later but for now, I will let you know what sous vide is French for Under Vacuum.
Do instant Pot sous vide? Is it possible? I will answer that as you read on. It definitely is possible to sous vide in an Instant Pot. You just need to know how to go about it and this article Is going to help you do just that so, buckle up and come along for the ride!
So, you don’t know what sous vide is? I didn’t either until quite recently and my world hasn’t been the same ever since Well, sous vide is where you cook food in a vacuum bag or sealed glass jar on low temperature over a longer time period than you would normally do.
The vacuum bag or glass jar is then placed in a water bath and cooked at a closely monitored temperature. This technique has been used by high-end restaurants for years to cook meat consistently every time.
In recent times, precision cookers have come onto the market that has allowed home cooks to sous vide right in their own kitchen.
You are, however, probably reading this because you are thinking of buying an Instant Pot and would like to sous vide a juicy steak in it.
Well, congratulations because you’ve come to the right place. Technically, you can only sous vide in an Instant Pot Ultra.
I will, however, show you a little solution that Instant Pot introduced onto the market if you don’t have the Instant Pot Ultra.
Why Sous Vide?
There are a number of reasons why it would be to your advantage to sous vide. First of all, you get a great taste like the food cooks in its own juices sealing in the flavor.
Secondly, your food does not lose any of its volume like what happens when you cook traditionally. You are also guaranteed consistent results as the food is cooked at carefully monitored temperatures therefore you get the same results each and every time. You also don’t need to continuously monitor your food.
How to Sous Vide in an Instant Pot Ultra
The first thing you need is your meat. I’ve heard of different camps as far as to season or not to season your meat is concerned.
Some are for it and some are against it. Those against say that the flavors are locked in and you don’t necessarily need to season.
I personally prefer to season and this is how I do it. I add black Hawaiian sea salt, pepper, red onions, thyme, and some garlic.
On the Instant Pot Ultra, add some water and select the ultra option. Go to pressure and set it at none. Depending on how you like your meat, set the temperature accordingly.
Vacuum seal your meat in the bag then place it in the Instant Pot. The time range will be anything from 1 and a half to 2 hours for most cuts of meat. Once the meat is cooked, brown it in a pan using a little bit of oil or butter.
Now, I promised you a solution available to you if you don’t have the Instant Pot Ultra. Instant Pot now makes sous vide immersion cooker that will allow you to sous vide.
Unlike its competitors on the market which can cost an arm and a leg, the Instant Pot Accu Slim Sous Vide Immersion Circulator works with any Instant Pot.
The Accu Slim Sous Vide keeps the water temperature at a constant level thereby giving you amazing evenly cooked results each and every time.
The great thing about it though is that you don’t actually need an Instant Pot to use it. You can use it with regular pots.
Prepare your meat as already described in this article and seal it in a vacuum bag. Once that is done, hook your Instant Accu Slim Sous Vide onto your Instant pot or regular pot and cook for the recommended time.
Once cooked, take the meat out of the back and sear it in a pan for about 2-3 minutes turning it every 30 seconds.