10 Mexican Sous Vide Recipes: Including Tacos, Carnitas, Queso, & A Mole Infusion | Food For Net (2024)

10 Mexican Sous Vide Recipes: Including Tacos, Carnitas, Queso, & A Mole Infusion | Food For Net (1)

Sous vide is often used for cooking meat, particularly steak. But, the technique is so much more versatile than most people assume. As a result, it can be used for many different types of dishes, including Mexican meals and dishes that use Mexican flavors. For that matter, many Mexican-inspired dishes use ingredients that naturally work with a sous vide setup anyway, including beef and pork.

Some of these 10 sous vide Mexican recipes are fairly traditional, while others take advantage of Mexican flavors to create something entirely different.

Regardless of the overall style, the recipes are all powerful in their own right. Besides, it’s always good to introduce some new meals into your repertoire.

I even prepared some sous vide pork carnitas while playing Top Golf all day yesterday, and came home to tender pork, ready to shred and serve when I got home!

Table of Contents

Mexican Sous Vide Recipes

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  • Carnitas Sous Vide
  • Sous Vide Shrimp and Chile Queso
  • Sous Vide Pork Tamales
  • Sous Vide Chicken Burrito Filling
  • Sous Vide Tacos de Lengua
  • Sous Vide Pulled Pork Tacos
  • Sous Vide Carnitas for Tacos
  • Sous Vide Steak Quesadillas
  • Wicked Good Sous Vide Pulled Pork Shoulder
  • Sous Vide Mole Bitters Infusion

Carnitas Sous Vide

This Carnitas Sous Vide recipe from stefangourmet.com is very different from the traditional Mexican approach. For one thing, he has altered the type of pork used, relying on pork belly, rather than pork shoulder. At the same time, using sous vide inherently changes the end result.

Those differences aren’t a bad thing though, especially as you still end up with a tasty meal overall. The recipe is also clever, as Stefan takes steps to ensure his meat is still crispy, despite the use of sous vide.

10 Mexican Sous Vide Recipes: Including Tacos, Carnitas, Queso, & A Mole Infusion | Food For Net (3)

10 Mexican Sous Vide Recipes: Including Tacos, Carnitas, Queso, & A Mole Infusion | Food For Net (4)

Sous Vide Tomato Sushi

10 Mexican Sous Vide Recipes: Including Tacos, Carnitas, Queso, & A Mole Infusion | Food For Net (5)

10 Mexican Sous Vide Recipes: Including Tacos, Carnitas, Queso, & A Mole Infusion | Food For Net (6)

Sous Vide Crispy Chicken Adobo

10 Mexican Sous Vide Recipes: Including Tacos, Carnitas, Queso, & A Mole Infusion | Food For Net (7)

Deonjang-Spiced Sous Vide Eggplant

10 Mexican Sous Vide Recipes: Including Tacos, Carnitas, Queso, & A Mole Infusion | Food For Net (8)

11 Spices for Fajitas to Elevate Your Homemade Fajita Treat

10 Mexican Sous Vide Recipes: Including Tacos, Carnitas, Queso, & A Mole Infusion | Food For Net (9)

Sous Vide Pork Belly Adobo

Sous Vide Shrimp and Chile Queso

10 Mexican Sous Vide Recipes: Including Tacos, Carnitas, Queso, & A Mole Infusion | Food For Net (11)

Meat-based dishes are the obvious choice for Mexican sous vide meals. However, options like this Shrimp and Chile Queso from amazingfoodmadeeasy.com can also work very well. The recipe itself has three components, each of which involves different steps. However, it is worth trying out for the shrimp alone and the entire recipe is easy to follow, even for beginners.

Sous Vide Pork Tamales

10 Mexican Sous Vide Recipes: Including Tacos, Carnitas, Queso, & A Mole Infusion | Food For Net (12)

These Pork Tamales are another option if you like Mexican food and the recipe comes from stefangourmet.com, again. With dish recipe, the pork is cooked in the sous vide, while the rest of the components are prepared separately. The end result is worth the effort, especially as the tamales look very authentic.

The recipe itself also contains a large number of images, including photos of every step in the process. That aspect could be essential if you’ve never made tamales before or if you’re not confident.

Sous Vide Chicken Burrito Filling

10 Mexican Sous Vide Recipes: Including Tacos, Carnitas, Queso, & A Mole Infusion | Food For Net (13)

With this recipe, from almost-kosher.net, the focus isn’t on an entire Mexican meal. Instead, the information provided is just for the chicken filling of a burrito.

But honestly, that’s all the details you need and the meat is the most critical component anyway. After that, you can choose the rest of the ingredients based on what you have at hand, along with your personal favorites.

Sous Vide Tacos de Lengua

10 Mexican Sous Vide Recipes: Including Tacos, Carnitas, Queso, & A Mole Infusion | Food For Net (14)

This Mexican recipe, hosted at seriouseats.com, may not look or sound too unusual, unless you know that the meat in question is tongue. As a result, this recipe won’t suit everybody – not by a long shot. But, if you’ve ever been interested in tongue, the dish is a great way to try it out. For that matter, sous vide makes it so much easier to cook the tongue and the recipe itself is basic.

At the same time, the other ingredients used are fairly strong in their own right. That could be an advantage if you haven’t tried tongue before, as there are many other flavors present too.

Sous Vide Pulled Pork Tacos

10 Mexican Sous Vide Recipes: Including Tacos, Carnitas, Queso, & A Mole Infusion | Food For Net (15)

Tacos can be simple or complex and these Pulled Pork Tacos from bigspud.co.uk are on the basic side. That’s never a bad thing, as recipes like this let the flavor of the meat shine through. The key idea here is to use the sous vide to create Mexican-style pulled pork. Doing so works well, as the sous vide offers a better balance of tenderness and flavor than other techniques (like slow cooking).

Sous Vide Carnitas for Tacos

10 Mexican Sous Vide Recipes: Including Tacos, Carnitas, Queso, & A Mole Infusion | Food For Net (16)

I’ve always found that seriouseats.com offers amazing recipes and this Sous Vide Carnitas recipe is no exception. For one thing, the dish comes with some amazingly intense flavors that can make your tacos taste that much better.

Additionally, there is also information about various cooking times and temperatures that you can use – along with the outcomes that these produce. That type of information is important if you prefer a specific texture to your pork.

There’s a lot of talk about using pork for tacos, but I think you could also cook up some really good flank steak too!

Sous Vide Steak Quesadillas

10 Mexican Sous Vide Recipes: Including Tacos, Carnitas, Queso, & A Mole Infusion | Food For Net (17)

I found these Steak Quesadillas at amazingfoodmadeeasy.com and they’re perfect if you want something different than basic tacos. The recipe mostly focuses on cooking the steak via sous vide and you can then assemble the quesadillas from there. Doing so gives you juicy and flavorful steak, which basically cooks on its own. Nevertheless, the recipe does cover the rest of the steps too, including every aspect of putting the quesadilla together.

Wicked Good Sous Vide Pulled Pork Shoulder

10 Mexican Sous Vide Recipes: Including Tacos, Carnitas, Queso, & A Mole Infusion | Food For Net (18)

This Wicked Good Pulled Pork Shoulder, from www.chefsteps.com, isn’t specifically designed for Mexican cooking and doesn’t even use Mexican spices. However, the recipe is a very easy way to make pulled pork, especially as you can choose which spices you use. This approach would make the pork perfect for including in tacos.

After all, the quality of your tacos often simply comes down to the meat you’re using. So, if you can find a great recipe for that meat, the rest of the dish is bound to be amazing.

Sous Vide Mole Bitters Infusion

10 Mexican Sous Vide Recipes: Including Tacos, Carnitas, Queso, & A Mole Infusion | Food For Net (19)

To round off this list of Mexican recipes, here’s one from amazingfoodmadeeasy.com that is a little unusual. The recipe here is for Sous Vide Mole Bitters Infusion, where you are using sous vide to bring smoky and spicy Mexican flavors into vodka. By doing so, you have the chance to create a wide range of Mexican-style drinks, many of which wouldn’t normally be possible. Plus, the idea is fun if you want something different.

Sous vide infusions are actually quite common, and it’s a great way to get new, exciting flavors into foods you never thought possible..

10 Mexican Sous Vide Recipes: Including Tacos, Carnitas, Queso, & A Mole Infusion | Food For Net (2024)

FAQs

What temperature do you sous vide carnitas? ›

Temperature and Timing for Sous Vide Carnitas
Cooking Temperatures for Sous Vide Carnitas
145°F (63°C) for 24 to 36 hoursVery tender and moist; not very shreddable. Better for cubing or searing as slabs.
165°F (74°C) for 12 to 24 hoursMoist and easy to shred with your hands or forks
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Why is sous vide bad? ›

Toxin production occurs while in the anaerobic environment provided by sous vide packaging, which can then cause severe illness if strict temperature control is not maintained.

What is the process of sous vide? ›

What is sous vide cooking? Sous vide is a cooking technique that involves vacuum-sealing food in a bag and cooking it in a precisely regulated water bath. This low-temperature, long-time cooking method produces results that are impossible to achieve through any other cooking method.

What are the best things to cook sous vide? ›

The Best Foods To Cook Sous Vide
  • Tougher Cuts of Meat. What's important to remember here is that a 'tougher' or 'cheaper' cut of meat, doesn't necessarily mean a 'worse' cut. ...
  • Eggs. Eggs are one of the most popular foods to cook sous-vide for a couple of reasons. ...
  • Pork. ...
  • Lamb. ...
  • Carrots. ...
  • Filleted Fish. ...
  • Liver. ...
  • Fillet Steak.

What is the best temperature to sous vide pork? ›

Temperature and Timing for Sous Vide Pork Tenderloin
Recommended Sous Vide Pork Tenderloin Temperatures
130°F/54°C for 1 to 4 hoursMedium-rare
140°F/60°C for 1 to 4 hoursMedium
150°F/66°C for 1 to 4 hoursMedium-well
160°F/71°C for 1 to 4 hoursWell-done
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Is it safe to sous vide at 130 degrees? ›

So long as you're cooking at above 130°F, there are no real health risks associated with prolonged sous-vide cooking.

Are Ziploc bags sous vide safe? ›

Ziploc brand bags, specifically those labeled as "Freezer Bags," are widely recognized as safe for sous-vide cooking. These bags are made from polyethylene with a low melting point, ensuring they can withstand the temperatures typically used in sous-vide without melting or leaching chemicals into the food.

What should not be sous vide? ›

Fruit, unless you are making coulis. Almost everything else can successfully prepared by the Sous Vide method of cooking. Be careful with seafoods as they are delicate and need a very low temperature which puts you air risk of food poisoning if they have not been prepared or stored correctly.

What is the danger zone for sous vide? ›

Because of the relatively low temperatures used in sous vide, one major consideration is the Danger Zone. The 'Danger Zone' is a range of temperatures where bacteria particularly thrive and multiply. It's generally defined as 40F to 140 F, or 4.4C to 60C .

Can you sous vide pork chops? ›

The low, slow method of cooking sous vide is well suited to proteins, like pork chops and steak. It makes for an incredibly tender cut that remains juicy and flavorful with no question of doneness.

Are sous vide worth it? ›

Sous vide is a great cooking method but it's a one trick pony. If you want to cook a piece of meat to an exact internal temperature, perfectly, sous vide is the best method. A long slow soak in a sous vide bath will transform a tough piece of meat into a hunk of tenderness as well, but that's all sous vide is good for.

What cut of meat is sous vide? ›

Most beef cuts can be cooked sous vide, including larger, tougher cuts such as Short Ribs or Chuck Roast, but rich, well-marbled cuts such as Strip Steak also really benefit from this preparation.

What is the first thing I should sous vide? ›

Steak is held up as the best example of just what sous vide can do, so it's probably one of the things that you'll want to try first. It's heartbreaking when you leave an expensive piece of steak just a little bit too long and wind up making it tough and dry, but thankfully, sous vide takes away all the guesswork.

What is the most tender meat to sous vide? ›

Tough Cuts of Meat

Prepare the meat with generous salt and any other desired seasonings, then cook for a long time at a low temperature. The best meat to sous vide for 48-72 hours at 135°F (57°C) is beef brisket, while pork shoulder can be cooked between 24-36 hours at 165°F (74°C).

How do you make sous vide more flavorful? ›

Herbs – I used fresh thyme sprigs to enhance the flavor of the steak during the sous vide and searing process. Other herbs you could use are rosemary, sage, or oregano. Garlic – A few garlic cloves will add beautiful flavors to the dish.

Should pork be cooked to 145 or 160? ›

The safe internal pork cooking temperature for fresh cuts is 145° F. To check doneness properly, use a digital cooking thermometer. Fresh cut muscle meats such as pork chops, pork roasts, pork loin, and tenderloin should measure 145° F, ensuring the maximum amount of flavor.

What is the correct temperature for sous vide? ›

Most food pathogens grow fastest a few degrees below the temperature that they start to die. Most food pathogens stop growing by 122°F (50°C), but the common food pathogen Clostridium perfringens can grow at up to 126.1°F (52.3°C). So in sous vide cooking, you usually cook at 130°F (54.4°C) or higher.

Can you cook pork at 130 degrees? ›

The USDA now recommends cooking pork chops, steaks, ham, and roasts to at least 145°F (63°C), which allows the meat to maintain its moisture and flavor without drying it out (7). Organ meats, ground pork, and mixtures made using ground pork, such as sausage, should still be cooked to at least 160°F (71°C) (7).

How long do you sous vide pork for 36 hours? ›

Preheat sous-vide water cooker to 155°F (68.3°C). Add pork and cook for 36 hours. Transfer pork to a sink filled with ice water and chill for 15 minutes. Remove from bag then carefully peel off congealed exuded cooking liquid and place in a medium saucepan.

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