Braising vs Sous Vide: A Quick Glance

Braising and sous vide are two different, famous cooking methods.

But novice cooks can’t distinguish the methods and get confused with them. If you are one of them, let’s give you the simplest idea about braising vs sous vide.

Braising and sous vide – both take time; however, they differ in time, temperature, texture, and flavor. Braising softens meat, giving it a falling apart look, but includes less flavor and inconsistent heat. Contrarily, sous vide deliver even heat, meaty texture with enhanced natural flavor.

To know more about the similarities and dissimilarities between braising and sous vide and tricks and tips, let’s move ahead with the reading.

Braising Vs Sous Vide: A Quick Comparison

If you are a brand new home cook, choosing between the two methods, braising and sous vide, is definitely puzzling.

Braising involves two approaches to cooking your meat – heating, and drying. You use a pressure cooker here, where your meat undergoes high heat. As a result, the muscle fibers break down, and the meat turns brown.

Next, is simmering, where you add a bit of water and cook the meat at a low temperature for a long time.

On the other hand, sous vide approaches with a controlled temperature and even heat. You put the food in a sealed bag, fill the pot with water, submerge the bag into the water, and turn the machine to cook the food.

However, be careful about the temperature –  it’s 140 degrees F. But heat and time may vary for different foods – meat, fish, vegetables, etc. But the end product is highly flavorful and tasty.

Takes take a quick look at the similarities and differences between the two methods.

Braising Vs. Sous Vide: Similarities And Differences In Detail

To pick the right method between braising and sous vide, you need to know how they match and differ. So, let us start with a detailed discussion of the similarities and differences.

1. Similarities

Do you want to know how braising, and sous vide are on the same pitch? Check the similarities.

• Long Cooking Time Requirement

Both cooking methods require considerable time to tenderize and enhance the flavor. Braising meats will take 2 to 3 hours, including two major steps. It will take about an hour to braise vegetables. 

On the other hand, the Sous vide method requires a minimum of 1 hour and a maximum of 4 hours to cook meats, and it takes a minimum of 15 minutes to a maximum of 1 hour to sous vide vegetables. This method also requires consistency and rigid maintenance of time and temperature.

• Low Temperature

Both method requires low and precise temperature. Even though braising technique has two major steps, the temperature has to be higher in the first step.

• No Use of Oil

The purpose of both braising and sous vide is to cook meats or vegetables without using oil or any kind of fat.

2. Differences

Now, let’s explore the differences between braising and sous vide.

• In Texture

The results are the prominent differences between braising and sous vide.

If you use braising for the beef, you will get soft meat with a bit of crunchiness that makes it crumble.

On the other hand, Sous vide is required to ensure a thick meaty texture. Though it’s thick, it’s delicious.

• In Flavor

Each process produces completely different flavors.

The natural flavors and smells of the food are enhanced by sous vide cooking.

But as the meats or vegetables are dried in braising, the juice is soaked away into the stock water. In addition,  the flavor also transfers to the stock, which makes the food tasteless.

• Clashing of the Pots

Braising method requires a dutch oven. You can also use crockpots. Click here to find the best utensils for braising.

On the other hand, the sous vide method needs a lot of unique tools for both the cooler method and the heating technique. 

You might need a ziplock bag, cambro containers, a cast-iron skillet, immersion calculator, and binder clips to sous vide your food. Click here to see the best utensils for sous vide.

• Amount of Water

Braising requires a small amount of water in the second step, where the food is stewed at a lower temperature.

But sous vide needs the pot to be full to the brim so you can keep the airtight bag of food underwater in the pot.

Can You Braise In A Sous Vide?

Yes, you can. It will take a longer time than the usual braising time. But braising in sous vide will turn the dish into a flavourful delight.

Let us follow the steps below to combine these two methods.

• First, take the sous vide container, put water full to the brim, and adjust the heat. 
• Cut the meat into little pieces and season it with the necessary salts and spices. Dry cook the meat at a high temperature until it becomes brown and crusty. 
• Remove the meat and add vegetables, spices, seasonings, and a little water to cook them. Simmer until the water gets thick and everything is cooked nicely.
• Put the cooked meat and vegetables into airtight bags.
• Drown it in the sous vide container and put the immersion calculator to work.
• After cooking, serve and garnish to your heart’s content.

Can You Sous Vide Braising Steak?

Yes, you can sous vide “braise like” steaks. By using this process, you can soften the steak making it juicier.

At first, you have to cook the beef in a sous vide container until it has turned brown, for about 5 minutes. Transfer each batch to a large zipper-lock or vacuum seal bag and set the timer for 12 hours. Fry soups in small batches over 375º oil until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes each.

Transfer the beef to a medium bowl and shred it into bite-sized pieces using two forks. Serve shredded beef on top of soups, garnished with vegetables and salsa.

What Is The Difference Between Searing And Braising?

The distinction between braise and sear is that braise involves cooking in a little amount of water in a covered pan midway between steaming and boiling, but sear involves caramelizing or burning the skin of anything with a hot tool.

If you want the most exquisite roasts, steaks, and more, you must sear the meat first. When you sear a steak, the carbohydrates in the meat caramelize and make the collagen brown, resulting in a rich brown crisp on the outside that enhances the flavorful taste of the final meal.

What Is Braising Most Appropriate For?

Braising is most appropriate for large cuts of meats. It includes pork shoulder, beef ribs, pork belly, pot roast, beef brisket, etc. 

In braising method, big chunks of meats are cooked in little water, which softens and tenderizes to make a delicacy.

FAQ‘s:

• What are the differences between braising and stewing?

Braising includes slightly immersing big cuts of meat or whole chicken in water, whereas stewing requires completely submerging smaller pieces of meat in water. Typically, the water will soak flavor in and turn into stock.

• How do you fix tough braised meat?

To fix it, you need something sweet or sour. You may need some sweetness and acidity to bring up the tough meat. Boil in water. If your meat becomes stiff and dried, you may boil it in a little stock for a few minutes, much like burned meat. Let the stock permeate the meat rather than cook it again.

• How to sous vide steak in a cooler?

To sous vide steak in a cooler, add spices and seasoning to the steak and air tight it in a zipper-lock bag. Boil it in a container until it turns to 130 degrees F. Fill a cooler halfway with water, place the bag inside and seal the top. Take it out after 90 minutes and take the steak out of the zipper. 

Check the temperature of the middle of the steak using an immersion calculator to ensure it is 130 degrees. For the crust, wipe the steak dry and cook it in a pan for one to two minutes.

Final Words

With the sous vide cooking technique, you can produce exceptionally soft meat that falls off the bone, and you can use the stock as sauce and use it for cooking other dishes. The cooking procedure is also easy and hands-free. 

On the other hand, braising meat requires much attention and offers less flavor and taste. So in braising vs sous vide competition, I would have preferred the sous vide method over braising, but you can also combine the two to make more amazing delicacies.