What Is Sous Vide? Chefs Explain Whether It's Worth It

Preparing chicken, steak, and eggs has never been more foolproof, but there are a few potential cons to consider before adding a sous vide to your arsenal.

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As a child of the ‘90s, I was raised during primetime for infomercials. Everything from the George Foreman Grill to the Slap Chop to the Ronco Rotisserie Oven (“set it and forget it!”) were available for the three easy payments of some “low, low price.”

Witnessing ads for such unnecessary products nearly every day during grade school, you’d think I’d grow up to be extremely skeptical of every gadget and countertop appliance. But teaming up with our Test Kitchen has taught me that a select few of these cool tools are actually worthy of the kitchen real estate and can make life much easier and more delicious. (The air-fryer is a star at reheating pizza and quickly cooking steak, for instance, and the Instant Pot makes quick work out of preparing dried beans or boiling a dozen eggs.)

At the BHG HQ, we put as many new tools through the paces as possible to be able to be able to answer when fans write in to ask “worth it or not?” One recent emailer asked us, “What is sous vide—and should I get one?” So today, we’re diving in.

Sous vide (pronounced soo-veed) means "under vacuum" in French. It’s a cooking technique that involves “sealing food in a vacuum bag and cooking it in a precisely-controlled water bath at a consistent, low temperature” of around 130° F, explains Derek Piva, executive chef at The Restaurant at Tu Tu’ Tun Lodge in Gold Beach, Oregon. “This allows for perfect doneness and enhanced flavor retention.”

Since the cooking temperature is consistent—when you hear “sous vide,” think “slow and low”—”it ensures even cooking, seals in and enhances flavors, preserves moisture, keeps yields high, and makes it nearly very hard to overcook food,” adds Kieron Hales, executive chef and managing partner of Zingerman’s Cornman Farms in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Hales likens sous vide to a spa for your ingredients. Instead of using high heat as you might in an oven, on the stove or in the grill, “sous vide allows food to reach the exact temperature you want it to be—never more, never less—resulting in perfect textures and flavors every time,” Hales says.

Before you can sous vide, you need to get in gear, explains Nick Ocando, culinary director of Allelo, Juno & The Peacock and Pluma in St. Petersburg, Florida. Here’s the sous vide equipment you’ll need to give it a try:

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Sarah Brekke, M.S., Better Homes & Gardens Test Kitchen brand manager, walks us through how to sous vide anything:

Test Kitchen Tip: When preparing meats sous vide, for optimal browning and texture, pat the sous vide protein dry with paper towels. Sear in a hot pan coated in a thin layer of oil until the meat is browned to your liking. (This is similar to the “reverse sear” method we use for many steak recipes.)

The chefs we spoke to confirm that the following foods shine when cooked sous vide:

Avoid cooking the following items sous vide, the chefs say:

We’ve already mentioned a few of the pros of sous vide, but here’s a full recap from Brekke, Hales, and Kung as you consider if this is a good fit for you. Sous vide…

Despite all of those benefits, sous vide isn’t the perfect solution. Read on for the cons of cooking using sous vide, from our pro panel. Sous vide…

Now that you could answer a trivia question about “what is sous vide?” and are well-versed in the pros and cons, we couldn’t leave you hanging without answering the question we teased at the outset. Is a sous vide worth it or not?

Kung, Hales, and Schmidt agree that if you’re an adventurous cook and a sous vide set-up (complete with a vacuum sealer, boiling bags, and an immersion circulator) is within your budget, go for it! While it’s not an essential tool and does take up some space, Kung deems a sous vide machine a “nice to have” addition to his kitchen arsenal.

"If you’re a busy person or have a hectic busy day, sous is a game changer,” Hales says. “It’s especially useful for meal prep, entertaining, or cooking meats and seafood perfectly every time. Cooking sous vide frees up stove space and takes the stress out of cooking lots of foods.”

The cost for an immersion circulator has fallen rapidly in the last decade—each unit goes for about $150 to $350 these days—”making it even more accessible,” Schmidt says.

It takes some experimentation and training, but most quality sous vide recipes will walk you through exactly how it’s done so the technique is fairly foolproof. Don’t just take our word for it. According to Hales, “once you try sous vide, it’s hard to go back!”