Meet #anovafoodnerd Harvey Persson
When Harvey first learned about sous vide cooking, he was immediately interested. The issue? The cost was too prohibitive, so he put his sous vide dreams on the back burner for a while.
About a year and ago, he stumbled upon Anova, saw the affordable price point, and quickly added it to his Christmas wish list. Since that day, Harvey has been serving up savory steaks, pork chops so tender you can cut them with a fork, succulent salmon, and so much more.
Residing in Fort Worth, TX, Harvey loves to travel with his wife, especially abroad. He finds cooking inspiration in his many travels to places like Osaka and Paris.
"More freedom to cook what you want"
Harvey says the most appealing part of cooking with Anova is the ability and freedom to cook what you want with no fear or anxiety about the result. "I can buy expensive steak, and know it's going to be perfect no matter what." One of his most recent ventures was whipping up sous vide fried chicken for his wife, who tends to only eat chicken when it comes to meat. He cooks the chicken for a couple hours at 140°F / 60°C, batters in seasoned flour, and then flash fries for a golden and crunchy bite. Having suffered through dry, overdone chicken for most her life, Harvey was thrilled to offer her up a restaurant-worthy dish.
Often hosting friends and family for dinner, his favorite meal to serve to a crowd is steak. Cooking a platter of steaks is easier than ever, and while he usually gets some stares and questions, the conversation quickly shifts from "what is that machine?" to people being wowed at the edge-to-edge doneness while taking photos of their perfectly-cooked steak.
Another crowd-pleaser is a full-size brisket, which he cooks in a modified cooler. Instead of hovering over the smoker for a whole day and ignoring guests, Harvey cooks the brisket overnight and is able to deliver ultra-tender beef with no fuss.
One of the trickier dishes to serve just right before he started cooking with Anova was salmon. Always a favorite, but traditionally was a bit elusive, Harvey loves that it's juicy, flaky, and never overcooked now. It's so good, that he's sharing his favorite salmon recipe below. With only four ingredients, it couldn't be easier and couldn't be any more delicious.
Super-Simple Sous Vide Salmon
What you'll need:
- 1 6-8 oz salmon filet per person
- Salt
- Pepper
- Oil for searing