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June 6, 2018 Food

Sous-Vide Meal Prep Ideas

Prepping meals in bulk has never been easier!  These Sous-Vide meal prep ideas are easy enough for busy weeknights but elegant enough for entertaining.

Prepping meals in bulk has never been easier!  These Sous-Vide meal prep ideas are easy enough for busy weeknights but elegant enough for entertaining.

I don’t know if I’ve shared this with y’all… but I happen to have rock-star, chef-neighbor.  Makes for some super-fun impromptu evening get-togethers… either when we collaborate on meals with random fridge ingredients or when I call him up for help with recipe development.

Prepping meals in bulk has never been easier!  These Sous-Vide meal prep ideas are easy enough for busy weeknights but elegant enough for entertaining.

Such was the case for this post, where I wanted to share with you how to meal prep using the FoodSaver® V4440 2-in-1 Automatic Vacuum Sealing System for sous-vide cooking.  Chef Ben to the rescue!

New to sous-vide? In laymen’s terms, it simply means to seal food in a air tight container, then to cook that food in temperature-controlled water.  Why? Because it takes the guess work out of cooking (no more dry chicken breasts) and makes cooking for a crew easy-peasy.

He graciously helped me to create some easy-to-execute and absolutely delicious ideas that can be used for both busy weeknight meals and elegant suppers alike.  Trust me, we taste-tested them all on one fun (and belly) filled Sunday afternoon.

Click the image above to view the products on Amazon.com.

The Tools

The first step to sous-vide cooking is to seal the foods using the FoodSaver® V4440.  Y’all!  This thing is super-handy.  By evacuating air from the bag,  food is protected from the deteriorating effects of oxygen locking in freshness and protecting food from spoiling.  The system includes vacuum seal bags, vacuum zipper bags and containers designed to work together with vacuum sealers for optimal performance.

Prepping meals in bulk has never been easier!  These Sous-Vide meal prep ideas are easy enough for busy weeknights but elegant enough for entertaining.

The Ingredients

Proteins: When I am prepping meals to sous-vide at a later date, I like to plan a variety of meats and seafood.  For my family of four, that usually means I prep 4 steaks, 4 chicken breasts, and 4 salmon filets.  You can also prep pork chops, other chicken cuts, seafood, and veggies.

Garnish: Butter, herbs, citrus and garlic

https://forksandfolly.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/FoodSaver-Chicken-Vacuum.mp4

 

The Process

Use the FoodSaver® Vacuum Seal Rolls to form a bag to fit the protein you’d like to sous-vide.  Be sure to leave several inches on all sides.  Insert the meat, and top with several slices of citrus, sliced garlic cloves, fresh herbs, and several pats of butter.

Seal using the FoodSaver® V4440.  Repeat the process for the rest of your meals.  Refrigerate or freeze until ready to use.

Sous-Vide Meal Prep Ideas

Prepping meals in bulk has never been easier!  These Sous-Vide meal prep ideas are easy enough for busy weeknights but elegant enough for entertaining.

NY Strip: Seal each 16 oz. steak (this usually serves 3 adults for my crowd) with 2 Tb. butter several sprigs of thyme and rosemary, and a two cloves of garlic, sliced thinly.

Prepping meals in bulk has never been easier!  These Sous-Vide meal prep ideas are easy enough for busy weeknights but elegant enough for entertaining.

Sous-vide at 125 degrees for approximately one hour.  Refrigerate in the bag until ready to sear and serve.

Prepping meals in bulk has never been easier!  These Sous-Vide meal prep ideas are easy enough for busy weeknights but elegant enough for entertaining.

Chicken Breasts: Seal 1 1/2 lbs. of chicken in one bag along with fresh sage leaves and thyme sprigs, 2 Tb. butter, and one clove of sliced garlic. Sous-vide at 160 degrees for approximately 2 1/2 hours. Refrigerate in the bag until ready to sear and serve.

Prepping meals in bulk has never been easier!  These Sous-Vide meal prep ideas are easy enough for busy weeknights but elegant enough for entertaining.

Salmon: Seal 1 1/2 lbs. of salmon (I prefer it without the skin, but you do you), along with fresh basil, 2 Tb. butter, lemon slices, and one clove of sliced garlic.  Sous-vide at 130 degrees for approximately 30 minutes. Refrigerate in the bag until ready to sear and serve.

Prepping meals in bulk has never been easier!  These Sous-Vide meal prep ideas are easy enough for busy weeknights but elegant enough for entertaining.

Searing

Your meal now has lots of flavor, but it may not look awesome.  All it needs now is a quick spin in a piping hot cast iron skillet with a little extra butter!   Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the skillet, then add the protein, along with the herbs, citrus and garlic from the bag it was cooked in.

https://forksandfolly.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/basting.mp4

 

Cook, basting constantly until each side has a nice golden crust.  Allow to rest before serving.

Prepping meals in bulk has never been easier!  These Sous-Vide meal prep ideas are easy enough for busy weeknights but elegant enough for entertaining.

 

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Prepping meals in bulk has never been easier!  These Sous-Vide meal prep ideas are easy enough for busy weeknights but elegant enough for entertaining.

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Categories: Food Tags: beef, chicken, meat, seafood

About Katie

Katie Harding has been blogging since 2010. What originally started out as a platform to discuss new parenthood, her blogging now focuses on her passion for cooking: creating recipes and sharing tips for entertaining friends and family of all ages. Outside of the kitchen you’ll find her with her family (three boys, one husband, multiple exchange student daughters, and Hank the pup), or gallivanting around the world with her fork in tow.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dylan. F says

    August 9, 2018 at 9:55 am

    Looks very delicious and the end result looks like on par with fancy restaurant. Thanks for sharing the recipe, I’ll try it out.

    Reply
    • Katie says

      August 13, 2018 at 11:07 am

      Absolutely! Good luck and happy Sous-vide(ing)!

      Reply
  2. Rowena says

    March 29, 2019 at 6:51 pm

    This looks awesome! I have always been a bit intimidated with the sous video but this seems doable! How long can each meat item keep refrigerated before searing?

    Reply
    • Katie says

      July 31, 2019 at 10:48 am

      I’d do it same day! Fresh is best when you’ve got multiple ingredients in the bags.

      Reply
  3. Lori says

    June 24, 2019 at 1:56 pm

    Do I need to sous-vide the food before putting it in the freezer, or can I just prep and freeze, to be thawed and cooked later? (Sorry if this is a dumb questions – I’m new to sous vide cooking.) Do I even need to thaw before cooking? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Katie says

      July 31, 2019 at 10:44 am

      I generally recommend freezing and thawing separately before preparing the sous vide bags. Herbs and other ingredients can sometimes get funky when frozen first.

      Reply
      • Jennifer Caruthers says

        February 16, 2020 at 9:31 pm

        So I would vacuum seal my protein, thaw it open it add ingredients then reseal it cook it in controlled water then sear it? Sorry new to this.

        Reply
        • Katie says

          March 25, 2020 at 9:53 pm

          Yup. If you were just sealing it with hardy herbs though, you could vacuum seal them in with the protein before your freeze it.

          Reply
  4. Kirsty Bosman says

    December 15, 2020 at 7:17 pm

    How long can the food stay vacuumed in the fridge for before cooking in the sous vide? And can it be cooked In the sous vide then chilled in the fridge before searing?

    Reply
    • Katie says

      November 15, 2021 at 10:19 am

      I hate to say this, but it kind of depends…. Unseasoned and vacuum sealed, the packages can be in the fridge for a few days. Seasoned and vacuum sealed, I wouldn’t leave them uncooked for more than a day or so. Especially if there’s lemon slices, as that can cure the meat. After it’s been cooked, I’d go with the same rule of thumb as the seasoning can tenderize the meat more than is desirable.

      Reply
  5. kelly says

    September 19, 2021 at 10:18 am

    Can you sous vide – cool and freeze? My thought is to then thaw and sear for a quick weeknite dinner

    Reply

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Welcome to Forks and Folly! It's time to have some fun in the kitchen. Forks and Folly is about enjoying the process of cooking and entertaining. No complicated recipes. No stress. It's back to basics with easy, make ahead food, and fabulous hosting tips.

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