Food nerd family, get to know the latest #anovafoodnerd, Andrew Wisnionski and learn his secret to sous vide pork shoulder. An avid home cook turned culinary student, Andrew has shown his love for food, and for Anova. What a beautiful combo that is, and he's using it to his full advantage.
"Such a versatile cooking method"
Andrew started using sous vide when he was working at a country club kitchen last summer. He'd heard of the technique before, but before that was pretty un-informed on the magic it could produce.
"I remember walking into our kitchen on that day and there was a large container in a sous vide bath. In that container were vacuum bags filled with a lot of octopus. Thats what got me hooked on it."
Seeing how versatile the method was, Andrew immediately became infatuated with the technique and soaked in everything he could learn.
Andrew received his first sous vide device roughly a year ago, then recently upgraded to the
Anova Precision Cooker WI-FI, and says Anova practically chose him.
"The company, the product, it's made for anyone. So whether or not you're an expert or beginner, the tool they provide is so unique, yet provides easy startup."
He says besides the perfectly cooked food, his favorite part is that the device is dead-simple to set up and use.
The man with the answers
When he's at culinary school, Andrew is ahead of the game. As the only student with a sous vide machine at home, he is constantly offering up advice and answering questions to his inquisitive classmates.
Andrew is most frequently asked if a sous vide device is worth the cost, and he emphatically says "ALWAYS!" and often shocks them with how affordable his Anova really is, and how it works just as well–if not better–than the commercial devices used in the classroom.
He says the biggest reason he believes this, is once you own the device it's all you need. It's ready to crank out delicious meals from day one with no other equipment.
Outside school, Andrew is a sous vide aficionado as well. As the go-to guy for all things sous vide, he is sure to make sure every soul knows the wonders of temperature-controlled water baths.
"Find inspiration in those around you"
As a culinary student at Joliet Junior College, just outside Chicago, Andrew says he constantly finds cooking inspiration from his peers. After school, he still shows off in his home kitchen, producing some of the finest home cooked meals around. If you were a fly on the wall, you would see Andrew rocking out to Stevie Wonder or creating a wicked awesome pork shoulder recipe (recipe included here...keep reading!) while listening to the "Rap and Hip-Hop" station on Pandora radio.
"Find a container big enough to fit a whole pig"
When faced with the question of a "bucket list" cook, Andrew says what we've all been thinking, but afraid to say. He would find a tub big enough to fit an entire pig, figure out a way to vacuum seal it, gather up a bunch of Precision Cookers, and cook that whole hog in a way nobody else ever has! He has plans for a southern-style BBQ, including his favorite rub recipe paired with his signature BBQ sauce.
Salsa Verde Sous Vide Pork Shoulder
Andrew loves a good batch of
sous vide pork shoulder, and was more than happy to share a recipe for the food nerd family to enjoy. What is better than perfectly cooked pork with a fresh acidic sauce? The answer is nothing, and away he went.
The long cook time and precisely controlled temperature results in the juiciest pork you have ever had the pleasure of putting in your mouth. Combine that with the ease of prep and this recipe is a no-brainer.
It's super simple, just bag the pork shoulder up with some herbs and seasoning, and set sail for 18 hours at 160°F / 71.1°C. When the pork is close to done, whip up that fresh salsa and serve with tacos, rice, or use it for tamale fillings (YUM!).
You can follow along with Andrew's culinary progress on his website at
www.drewspantry.com, and on Instagram
@andrewwizzo.
Fire up those cookers and give Andrew's incredible sous vide
salsa verde pork shoulder recipe a whirl, available on the
Anova Recipes Site, and on the
Anova Culinary App. Happy cooking, nerds!
