Use Ice Packs Instead of Precious Ice in Your Ice Baths
In the summer, my immersion circulation pump is used much more often than in the winter. Sous-video meat means I don’t have to turn on the oven, and the combination of a long period in a constant temperature water bath and a few minutes on the grill is my favorite method of cooking in hot weather (especially if I’m making ribs).
But the grill is in my boyfriend’s house, which means that I usually eat meat the day before, then cool and digest. This requires an ice bath, which will consume all my precious ice. So I started using ice packs instead of ice and my life is much better.
Now I understand that some of you have large freezers, freezers with built-in ice makers, or even entire freezers in your garage that are (in my opinion) entirely dedicated to ice. I love it for you, but it’s just not the world I live in. Currently, I can only make a couple of trays of ice at a time, and I need this ice for cocktails, cold coffees, and Diet Coke that I forget to chill.
Reusable ice packs can’t be used in cocktails, so unless I pack lunch for the beach or ice my increasingly finicky back, they’re just dangling in the freezer waiting to be fired, and they’re very good at cooling the bath. to quickly chill sous vide meat (which you pretty much have to do if you don’t finish eating it right away).
Of course, they can be used to shock and chill other foods; you just need to clear them first. The bag of ribs has a bag that protects it from anything other than the primordial that might hang out in the ice bath, but a bunch of blanched asparagus does not have this protection system. It doesn’t really matter – just remember to wash your ice packs.