Dinner in a Bucket???

Doesn’t that sound tasty? Reminds me of the Bahamians and their Chicken or Conch in a Bag. Honestly, food in a bag sounds better than food in a bucket.

But I digress.

A few years ago, I was introduced to cooking protein using a Sous Vide. What you ask is Sous Vide? It is a cooking method where food is sealed in a plastic pouch or glass container and placed in a temperature-controlled water bath. This allows perfectly cooked food from edge to edge.

So, what does this have to do with being on a boat? Well, a sous vide is a great way to prep your protein with minimal heat and minimal power. Imagine sailing or motoring all day and having a perfectly cooked steak or pork chop waiting for you once the anchor is down. All you need is a zip lock to seal your food or prepared vacuum sealed piece of meat. Take it straight out of the freezer, ideally pre-seasoned with spices or whatever you like on your protein. Fill a container with water, heated is helpful, otherwise the sous vide can heat it to the required temperature. Pop the sealed protein into the water. Your time and temperature are set on the sous vide based on what you are cooking. Leave the container in a safe spot so it doesn’t spill and dinner will be ready when you are!

We love to cook steak and chops at home and on the boat this way. It doesn’t use a lot of power and if you are motoring, you typically have the power. This method does not heat up the boat, and you don’t have to spend as much time in front of the grill with the ensuing grease and smoke. You will want to grill the protein to get some color and umami and that can be done on a hot pan, with a grill torch flame or on the grill. The meat is perfectly cooked, juicy and amazing.

The sous vide is perfect for cruising when you may not have access to the best cuts of meat. You can take an inexpensive cut of meat, cook it for hours and create a mouthwatering meal. We have sous vide ribs and chicken wings on our last cruise and both turned out amazing with little grill time involved.

If you like steak and chops, check out how to sous vide and go get yourself one.