Do yourself
a favor and
FIND
OUT!
Have you ever heard the cooking term
“sous vide? Many consider it to be the
secret to success in cooking many
things, including meat and vegetables. When it
comes to steak, more and more restaurants
are trying this method to make the perfect
steak every time.
Carson Schiro, head chef at Beach Road
Wine Bar & Bistro in Englewood and The
Waverly on Manasota Key, as well as several
Boca Grande chefs such as those at The
Gasparilla Inn & Club and the Boca Bay Pass
Club, have been experimenting with this type
of cooking.
Schiro uses this method for all of his
restaurant’s meat, fish, vegetables ... and even a
few fruits for deserts. He has mastered the
science of "sous vide" because of the size of the
kitchen at the restaurant, and explained how
he wants each entree to be consistent each
time it is sent out of the kitchen on a plate.
“People come into a restaurant happy, and it
is my job to see them leave with a smile on
their face as well,” said Carson, who actually
started cooking with his mother at the age of
8. “Sous vide gives me the opportunity to give
them the best quality food possible. I am also
a control freak with my food.”
What is sous vide? The phrase (French for
"under vacuum") is the name for a method of
cooking in which food is placed in a plastic pouch
or a glass jar, then placed in a water bath or steam
environment for longer than normal cooking times
(usually one to seven hours, up to 48 or more
hours in some cases) at an accurately-regulated
temperature.
The temperature is much lower than one
normally used for cooking, typically around 131 to
140°F for meat, higher for vegetables.
The intent is to cook the item evenly, ensuring
that the inside is properly cooked without
overcooking the outside, and to retain moisture.
Three characteristics of sous vide cooking - each
of which developed separately are low
temperature cooking, containerized cooking that
separates the food from its heating environment
and pressurized enclosure using full or partial
vacuum.
Low-temperature cooking was first described by
Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford in 1799. He
July/August 2018 GASPARILLA ISLAND 33