If you’re not serving the food right away, it’s important to rapidly chill the food before storage. Why? Food safety. (See this page for more.) Plunge the still-sealed bags into a large ice bath to stop the cooking, let sit until chilled, and then refrigerate it for later.

Seared Duck Breasts

Chefs began to acquire sous vide circulators for their kitchens in the early 2000s. (Thomas Keller was one of the first.)

We spent a lot of time testing the perfect temperature and time for our soft-poached egg, and we found that 12 minutes at the (relatively) high temperature of 167°F/​75°C set the white just enough to be firm yet tender right out of the shell, while the yolk remained runny.

Once the bath is up to temperature, gently lower the bag into the bath. If the ingredients in the bag have a tendency to float, weight the bag down (see this page for weight options).

We recommend adding a small amount of olive or vegetable oil to the bag for meats and fish. To ensure that all food finishes at the same time, make sure the pieces are cut to about the same size and thickness, and lay the food as flat as possible in the bag. Once your food is in the bag, press out as much air as you can, and seal the bag. If

How you sear depends on the size and cut of the meat, but whatever method you choose, the goal is to get the searing done as quickly as possible to avoid raising the temperature of the meat further. Make sure you use high heat and dry the food as much as possible before searing.

Why This Recipe Works For those interested in making their own cheese, homemade ricotta is a great entry-level recipe.

To achieve that, we cook our eggs for a far shorter time (12 minutes) at a higher temperature (167°F/​75°C). (Bonus: Cook our sous vide Soft-Poached Eggs at the same time as our sous vide Hollandaise, and win brunch for a crowd.)