Start with properly packed foods sous vide or under vacuum. Here I'm using venison shoulder steaks
We already know that our trusty Thermomix has an amazing number of functions. With just one blade, one Thermomix can steam, knead, weigh, whisk, crush, sauté, grind, grate, cook, mill, stir, mix, whip, chop, blend, purée, mince, crumb, simmer, emulsify and liquidise. Thermomix replaces about a dozen different appliances in your kitchen – domestic or professional – and declutters your worktops.
But now, thanks to a method developed by Chris Horridge of Alan Murchison’s 10 in 8 Group, Thermomix can even function as a water bath to gently and evenly cook meats, fish and vegetables to a perfect degree of doneness and an amazing texture.
So if you’ve already got a Thermomix you don’t need to fork out an additional £200 – £1,000 or more because you can use your Thermomix as a water bath and that is brilliant news. And if you don’t yet have a Thermomix, the money you spend will get you one single appliance that can function as a water bath, a slow cooker, a blender, a food processor, a stick blender, a chopper, a sauté pan, a whisk, a set of scales, and much more!
I am delighted to document here the Thermomix Water Bath method developed by Chris Horridge and originally unveiled at a Thermomix Master Class held in 2011 at The Fine Dining Academy. It’s so simple, I had to read and re-read my notes to believe it. And ThermoHubby John and I were absolutely delighted with the results at dinner this evening!
Using Thermomix as a Water Bath is as Simple as 1, 2, 3
Chris Horridge’s Thermomix Water Bath Method
- Fill your Thermomix bowl with 2 litres of water and insert the internal steamer basket. Warm the water to 60° C by setting your Thermomix to 60° C/10 minutes/Speed 2. This temperature is generally considered too “hot” but the water will cool down slightly when we add the item we want to cook.
- Place your sous-vide packaged food into the internal steamer basket and cook 50° C/25 minutes/Speed 2. This amount of cooking time will gently cook your ingredients to a perfect Rare but you can increase the cooking time to achieve enhanced texture effects.
- Remove your food from the Thermomix water bath and colour in a hot pan. Rest/keep warm while you prepare a silky smooth purée and a sauce in your Thermomix. Enjoy the tenderness, texture, and perfectly even doneness of your food.
Fill your Thermomix bowl with 2 litres of water
Insert the internal steamer basket and heat the water to 60 degrees C
Heat water to 60 degrees C
Once water has reached 60 degrees C, put food into internal steamer basket and cook 50 degrees C/25 minutes/Speed 2. Here I am steaming two shoulder steaks of venison, packed sous vide by the supermarket in the same bag
After cooking for 25 minutes, I was able to hold my venison for an hour at 50 degrees without hindering the perfect doneness, tenderness and texture of the meat
My venison as it came out of the packaging after about 90 minutes in my Thermomix water bath: it needs colour but it's a perfect rare
Sear your meat in a hot fry pan to give it colour
My venison cooked in the Thermomix water bath was evenly done to a perfect rare, was superbly tender and had brilliant texture
In addition to all its other functions and to all the appliances it replaces, my trusty Thermomix also functions as a water bath to produce perfectly cooked, evenly done, tender meats
I searched the internet for a proper definition of water bath or sous vide cooking and found pages and pages of more or less scientific definitions and requirements in terms of time and temperature but Chris’ Thermomix water bath method is much, much simpler and it works a treat. Try it and let me know your thoughts. I think you’ll be suitably impressed at what your trusty Thermomix can do.
Bon appétit !
Please practise safe food handling and ensure that you avoid serving food at temperatures between 5°C and 63°C, the range known as the danger zone.
 |
I have been using my thermomix for exactly the same thing as is one of the reasons I bought mine. It makes a great steak as you can see here -> http://365thermomix.com/2012/02/26/sous-vide/
I just wish they had a +5oC button on the thermomix so you could do 65oc or 75oC etc. so that you could fine tune it even more.
So glad to hear it, Mark! And I love your photo, too. Water bath is just another reason to love our Thermomix!
Hello Madame!
Great post! I’ve got a couple of sous vide dishes in my book In the Mix …along with a rather lovely Tempura recipe
…. The Salmon Confit (p109) is cooked in a water bath in the Varoma using a slightly different technique but the same principle and there’s a Grouper recipe (p104) where the fish is cooked in the TM basket, just like Chris’s recipe.
See more about In the Mix here: http://www.facebook.com/InTheMixGreatThermomixRecipes
And remember, I’m coming your way in July!
Dani
Hey, Dani! I’ll have to try those fish recipes from In the Mix for my next sous vide/water bath adventure with Thermomix!
Can’t wait to cook with you this summer
Funny but I was just saying that you could use your Thermomix as a water bath at the Masterclass Ruth held in Dublin last week! So your post comes at the perfect time. I haven’t tried this method of cooking yet but I’m thinking of cooking fish that way. Must be so tender and moist. Can’t wait!
Fish does cook well in a water bath, Nora, with extremely interesting texture results. Feel free to pass the link to this blog post to anyone who cares to read about Thermomix as a water bath, and let me know if they have any further suggestions. Cheers!
Lovely post and oooh… that venison! The first time I used Thermomix as a water bath was when making Heston’s Meat Fruit:
http://www.superkitchenmachine.com/2011/11213/heston-blumenthal-meat-fruit-recipe.html
Heston uses a proper sous vide machine of course, but I was determined to adapt for TMX. It worked well in theory but there was a tad too much to fit easily into the steaming basket, so I ended up altering the recipe and eliminating that step. For smaller quantities as this lovely venison, it’s perfect!
I see Dani Valent is coming your way in July — what a treat! Sounds like too much fun… Can’t wait to see those photos
Thanks for your comment, Helene! Thermomix works beautifully as a home water bath for either individually sous-vide packed portions or, as in my post, two steaks in one pack. To ensure even cooking, the water must flow freely around the food so you can’t over fill the internal steamer basket.
Your recipe for Heston’s Meat Fruit is on my list of must-makes
I’ll keep you – and all my readers – posted on Dani Valent’s visit this summer. We’ll really be In The Mix now!
Thanks for this post, Jane! I still haven’t tried this, must do it.
I can’t wait to try the water bath of fish and even vegetables, Jo. What a nice appliance our Thermomix is!
I have had my eye on a new sous vide machine so now I can use my Thermomix instead. Way cool!
Just another way that Thermomix can declutter your kitchen and provide added value, all the while helping you to eat well and cook with joy! Cheers, Maureen!
Another reason to love Herbie the Thermomix.
You’re so right, Louise!
I have been reading Chapter 9 in Volume 2 of Modernist Cuisine which is 88 pages on Sous Vide and I am inspired to use my Thermy to Sous Vide just about everything. I have only tried steak and Duck so far. Both were good.
That’s great to hear, Mark! Nearly every day I learn something new that my Thermomix can do. Let me know what you cook next in your Thermomix water bath!
Hi,
I just went to a restaurant and had the most delicious salmon that was cooked sous vide so will definitely try this! Was just wondering… after I buy it from a fish shop, would I need to then get it vacuum sealed or could I just wrap it in cling wrap before cooking?
Many thanks for your post.
Hi Bianca, it’s amazing that you read my Thermomix as a water bath post yesterday because I am working on another water bath post right now – watch this space!
To answer your question, yes you need to have your fish (or meat or poultry or even vegetables) sealed in a sous vide/vacuum bag before cooking in your Thermomix water bath. Cling film will not keep the water out and you’ll end up with tasteless, soggy food
I do not have a vacuum packaging machine at home but I have just had good luck with Ziploc’s Zip’n Steam bags. They are food safe and have a good seal on them, but as with all domestic plastic bags somehow some water seeps in but this was minor and did not effect my food. I was able to pack up my meat along with loads of aromatics to make a super tasty treat in my Thermomix water bath. Watch this space for my next post and thanks for reading Why Is There Air!
[...] steaming bags so you can add the flavouring elements at the same time. We use Thermomix as a water bath to cook the lamb and its aromatic elements sous vide, then we quickly knock up a red pepper coulis [...]