We Didn't Expect This Fast Food Chain To Sous Vide Its Beef

Grilled beef may be common throughout the fast food industry, but when it comes to beef at Chipotle, the grill is reduced to a secondary role. Rather, the fast casual Mexican food chain cooks all of its beef sous vide. The only time the grill comes in? When it's time to finish the steak.

Sous vide, a French term meaning "under vacuum," is a cooking method where food — usually a protein like beef — is vacuum sealed inside a plastic bag, and submerged in low temperature water for a long time. The low and slow cooking method results in tender, juicy, evenly-cooked meat, with minimal risk of overcooking: perfect for Chipotle's thin strips of steak and shredded barbacoa.

Sous vide is an increasingly popular way for fast casual restaurants to prepare food. Chipotle was ahead of the trend by adopting the cooking method in 2016, and Starbucks followed suit a year later with its hugely popular sous vide egg bites. In both cases, the food is cooked sous vide in central production kitchens, and finished at individual stores.

If Chipotle's generous portion sizes are too much for you to eat in one sitting, you can also sous vide your leftover burrito. With a large pot, a vacuum sealer, and a kitchen gadget called an immersion circulator, you can seal your Chipotle leftovers in an airtight bag and perfectly reheat them. Unlike a microwave, oven, air fryer, or frying pan, reheating your Chipotle leftovers sous vide will not dehydrate or overcook the meat or make your vegetables soggy. Because it uses a low temperature, it will take longer to reheat than any of the other options, but it will arguably lead to the best results, with no moisture loss and an even heat throughout.

And just as Chipotle cooks its steak sous vide for the best results, the same is true of cooking steak at home. Sous vide is a particularly useful method for improving cheap cuts of meat like a humble hanger steak, allowing them to maintain as much of their pre-cooked mass and moisture as possible.