MEGAN MCARDLE: Yes, your kitchen needs that Sous-Vide machine. “It turns out that if you’re a meat eater, a sous vide machine is the killer app for meat, including (maybe especially) fish.”
They’re not super expensive. Even the expensive ones are cheaper than, say, an oven. That said, I haven’t bought one yet.
UPDATE: Reader Harris Reynolds (no relation) writes:
Megan is correct about the Sous Vide machine (or as we like to call it in Houston, Susie Veed). Our foodie/Petroleum Engineer son bought one for his Mum for Xmas.
Long story short, it makes chuck like sirloin, sirloin like filet mignon, and filet like buttah.
One side benefit is that it “renders” fatty meat and melts the gelatin out of bones; the fluids left over when you cook 3-day short ribs will make a meaty gel when you put them in the fridge. Come to think of it, you could probably make an aspic with them. In our house, we give the dog (otherwise a picky eater) a couple of tablespoons over her dry dog food, and she’s in doggie ecstasy. Apparently this stuff is The Essence of Meat.
Maybe I should order one.