Merridith

I once tried shrimp 60C for ~1 hour (a single layer in the bag) and they were not mushy. I think you should be OK. What would be the advantage of cooking shrimp SV? Why not just saute or boil - it just takes seconds?

You can order duck fat from Hudson Valley (and other wonderful and reasonably priced things). They send it REALLY fast, too! In St. Louis, try the Wine & Cheese Place in Clayton, Local Harvest Grocery in the City or Winslow's Home in U City. Another possiblity is to call The Shaved Duck restaurant and see about getting some from them. If that does not work, put out an APB on StLBites.com and those great folks will probably be able to help you. I think that I have seen it around here (St. Louis) but I just can't recall where. All that having been said, chicken fat is much more delicate than duck fat. It breaks down more easily in the rendering, I think. It liquifies instantly whereas duck fat stays coagulated much longer. I would suggest using good fresh lard as a duck fat replacement.

Retarding the ones you made the adjustment to, did you cook them at 73C? I have some incredibly meaty shanks in my freezer from a grass-fed cow I just bought and I sure would love to use them for something other than soup (which is the ONLY thing I know to do with beef shanks). How did you prepare/serve them? Thanks.

No, I don't think so. They offered the big one for a short time only with the sealer.

For a change of pace, we went back to the pan sear method for ribeye (I get the pan SUPER hot) and the results were nice but I have to say that we all liked the torched steaks better. We also cooked a nice thick ribeye using the Ducasse method -- the crust looked gorgeous but the consensus was that while the crust looked better than the torched steak, it actually was less tasty than the torched crust. And much more of the steak was 'overcooked' than sous-vide plus torch. I wouldn't say that pork isn't worth the effort. I would say that if you are looking for transformation, you won't find it as much in pork as in other cuts (you might find it with pork belly or shoulder, but I haven't tried belly and my pork shoulder experiment was very good but nothing compared to my 14 hour slow smoked shoulders). I agree with Merridith that sourcing seems even more critical than with beef. I also never cook pork sous-vide without brining first. Good point...I do brine as well: a 7% salt 3% sugar brine is my favorite. I did cook belly twice and it was sublime - and transformed. I cooked it relatively high (80C) to get the fat softened, after first brining for 24 hours with aromatics. I took it from the bag and quick chilled it, cut it in cubes and then flash fried it to "brown and serve." It was sensational, decadent and DEFINITELY transformed. I used the bag juices, amended with reduced sweet cider, cider vinegar, brown sugar and balsamic vinegar, and this made a fabulous sauce. Brine, formula is: 7–10% salt, 0–3% sugar, water solution (70–100 grams salt and 0–30 grams sugar per 1 liter).

I don't agree. I think that even though the texture is not transformed with the loin chops, that SV cooking the chops is worth the result - pork is unpredictable, sometimes dry, sometimes over cooks more quickly, sometimes more tough, etc. I buy only all natural, organic, routing, pasture raised heirloom pigs (Red Wattle, Birkshire, etc.) and although the taste is far superior to commercial meat, the texture can still be challenging. The advantage of being able to get an even reliable cook with SV is worth the trouble. As far as a transformation, the shoulder, butt and picnic are ABSOLUTELY transformed by SV cooking. Better than the crock pot or braise because all the juice that stays in and all the flavor you can infuse. Use your favorite rub and aromatacs and you get incredible results. Then, the fat just separates off and you have lean, delicious completely eatable chunks of juicy, not overdone pork. I use 24-48 hours at 57c for this, usually, and it is GREAT!

I do pork chops SV for the sole and only reason that they can be cooked evenly throughout - i.e. you can avoid having them get over cooked in places. I have never found that I have been able to get an altered texture with SV cooking of pork loin. But, you can cook a 12-15 mm chop for about two hours or so at a rather low temp (57C), after brining, and get a juicy piece of meat that is very appealing after being torched for some carmelization. I usually put a teaspoon of bacon grease in the bag.

I did a chuck roast in the SVS for 72 hours at 55C. It was incredible. I put salt, granulated onion, a bay leaf and some fresh thyme in the bag. I used the bag juices with some demi-glace prepared as nickray describes on this thread. I added some, minced shallot, mirepoix and garlic to the juice before deglazing the pan with some red wine. It was stellar. The chuck meat had to be trimmed of the fat and torched before saucing and serving but it was tender, intensely flavorful and tasted more like prime rib. It was not the least bit stringy, dry or in anyway sinewy. I am going to try an arm roast this week.

I bought mine last February. Perhaps the Drs. Eades would like to replace mine with one that does not leak? I know that they read this thread. I know that it doesn't leak, it's just condensation. The first time I used it for short ribs I left the water in it for 3 days after I'd shut it off just to make sure. Not one drop of water. But it does lose a significant amount of water onto the counter during use and I don't like that. Maybe it was just the early ones that do that? Maybe all we need is a new lid and the fix wouldn't be very expensive. So, after reading/responding about the SVS leakage problem, since it wasn't just mine that has the problem, I decided to try again to contact Sous Vide Supreme. I had written months ago about the problem but had received no response. Apparently, in the meantime, they REALLY got their customer service together and I received a response within hours!! That is really impressive to me. I received not just an email response but I also received a telephone call. I was told that out of around 5000 units sold, they have had this problem with about a dozen units. They have fixed the problem and they are happy to replace any unit that has this trouble. Here is the content of their email to me. If you have the same problem, feel free to contact Mr. McAfee. He was entirely curteous and attentive. I give many cudos to the SVS company for this approach! Hello again Merridith, I reviewed the blog you attached but was unable to add a comment. If you would be so kind as to post the customerservice@sousvidesupreme.com and my number 877 787-6836 and let everyone know that if they are having any problems with their SousVide Supreme to please get a hold of me and Ill make sure there taken care of. Thanks Merridith. Doug McAfee SousVide Supreme

I bought mine last February. Perhaps the Drs. Eades would like to replace mine with one that does not leak? I know that they read this thread.

I also get the pool of condensation - I just put an absorbtive cloth but the side of the machine and this takes care of it. It just happens when I cook for long hours, of course. It is annoying and, actually, I think it is the result of a design flaw. I think the stainless should have more of a lip at the top edge to funnel the condensation back into the bath. I find that I have to add water about every 12 hours to make up for the loss. Though I love my SVS machine and have been cooking some great things, this is one reason I would pause about buying it again - maybe the immersion circulator is less of an issue in this way, and it takes up less room for storage??? I don't know?

The Electrolux is a very nice appliance, especially suited for small kitchens. The Gaggenau appliances have direct water in - and outlet. Unique with household appliances, AFAIK. The Eloma Compact is a compact (household appliance size, 6 x GN 2/3), professional combioven with according features and, ahem, price (~$8000). Ok, maybe this is a really dumb question but I will ask anyway. Can you use the steam function in a combi oven to bake bread? Also, FYI Sharp makes one that is a countertop steam/convection/microwave for about $800 - I have been planning to get one when my regular convection/micro dies, which I expect will happen soon as it is more than 20 years old.

In all this talk about the duck and why use SV cooking, no one has mentioned the fact that SV cooking allows you to use what some believe is lesser quality product - for instance duck breast from Hudson Valley Fois Gras - and achieve a tender, succulent and delicious medium rare end result. Otherwise, without SV you are much more likely to end up with something that is tough and too chewy to enjoy. This is a common there in much of SV cooking of proteins: lesser quality cuts become very wonderful end products with SV. I get my duck breast skin crispy and delicious by cooking it in a very hot skillet under a bacon press. The method of roasting it in the oven by weighting it down also works well.

I enjoyed the videos and once I figured out how to turn up the volume on my own speakers, I could hear perfectly well. I would like it, though, if you would give a little more information about the basic principles of sous vide which apply to a particular lesson. Thanks for your wonderful contributions, research, etc. in this area.

Chris Amirault, I have the SVS and I do a one inch strip or rib steak for an hour at 55c. It is delicious. I would suggest that you use the hottest water possible to fill up the machine with and then it will take it much less time to heat up. My hot tap puts out water at about 59 or 60 C so it cools down to the lower temps very quickly and stays there +/- .5. P.S. Forgive my shameless self promotion but I write a lot about using the SVS on my blog www.fabulousfoodfanatic.com

Another question: Would the Thermapen or other thermocouple type digital IR thermometer be acceptable for calibration? I have, by the way, tested my SVS with about 4 different thermometers (including two digital IR thermometers, an old analogue IR type and a basic candy thermometer) just to see if the thermometers agree with the read-out on the SVS and the digital IR thermometers always agreed within .1C.

OK, now I am really confused. 52C for tender pork sounds very, very rare if not raw to me. So apropos of our recent discussion, may I assume you are not cooking it for more than 4 hours? I'm not sure I understand what "tender pork" is other than a tenderloin. Most pork chops seem pretty tough to me even when brined in a 7% brine for 3 hours before bagging (how I handle my pork chops). Also, at 52C, how long are you cooking say a 15 cm thick slab? I cooked a boneless pork shoulder for 48 hours at 60C it was still plenty pink, juicy and tender. I have done 10cm chops for one hour at 58C, I would like to do it a little less (say 57C)because the loin chops I use are so lean. What would you recommend. Thanks.

Thank you Pedro. I appreciate your input. I am following the pasturization chart at http://www.cookingissues.com/uploads/Low_Temp_Charts.pdf. (I find the visual aid of the chart very helpful.) As I understand it from looking at these charts, after 65 minutes at 58C, chicken is pasturized. I am leaving it in for 75 minutes which assumes about 10 minutes for it to come up to temperature. My farm fresh chicken breasts are not terribly thick and neither is the duck. (I do not cook the skin sous vide, but the way.) It seems to me after re-looking at this chart that I need to put my temp back up to 58C (not 57.5) and keep my time at 1.25 hours minimum.

I have had great success with chicken breasts and with moulard duck breasts from Hudson Valley Fois Gras. I do them at 57.5C for as little as 45 minutes and as much as an hour and 15 minutes. I remove the duck skin and it gets crisped like bacon on top of the stove using a bacon press. You can also crisp the skin in the oven with parchment - by putting the skin between two cookie sheets. I have brined the breasts or not - they always come out juicy and perfect. I have marinated the duck breast or not - they always come out tender and tasty. Frankly, I like the non-brined/non-marinated versions the best, but note that for chicken I am using all natural, pastured, farm fresh chicken. Check out my post #3411 in this thread.

Hello Percyn, Can you tell me about how long, at 72C it took you to get the eggs to this consistency? Thanks.

Thanks Paul. Actually, I don't eat fried anything, very often at least, since I have a very obese person inside of me always fighting to get out. That is one of my motivations for learning to cook SV - the ability to cut down on the fat. But I have a question about figuring out temps and times for the fish. As I said the Halibut was pretty perfect but last week I made swordfish and it was dreck. One thing I know I did was cook it for way too long (1 hour) but I also might have cooked it too hot. Can you give me a generalization for different "classes" of fish? For instance (1) the soft flaky white type (i.e. sole or trout); (2) the meaty, solid type (i.e. swordfish) and (3) the medium dense but flaky type like halibut or salmon. And how about crab? Would you do that like lobster?

I have just started experimenting recently too but even in a short time I have learned quite a bit. I think that SV fish might turn out to be near the top of the list. I did halibut last night - 57.5 for 15 minutes - and it was the most perfectly cooked halibut I have eaten. I gave it a hit of heat and a light crust with my torch and served it with a shrimp butter and white wine sauce - for a first try it was super. I love the way you don't have to worry about it falling apart and totally love that it does not smell up the house. I have also decided that I never want to eat another chicken breast that isn't cooked SV/slow and low. And have a look at my post (a few above here) about the duck breast - it was fantastic - much better than if cooked on the grill or in a pan.

I cooked Duck again tonight in the Sous Vide Supreme. 57.5C for 1.25 hours. This was a moulard duck breast I got from Hudson Valley Fois Gras. I have read several posts talking about how this kind of duck breast is tough and not good. Boy was I worried since I spent a lot of money getting those breasts. So, I am here to tell you this has not been my experience, at all. The first time I prep'd one of these breasts last week, I cooked it at 59C for 4 hours. It was good, and it was soft and tender and nice and pink but it was bordering on too soft (not steak-like) and I like mine more rare. This time, at 57.5C, it came out exactly the right doneness. Also, by shortening up the cooking time, I got a product that had a more steak-like chew but it was not at all tough. It was like a perfectly cooked, tender ribeye. I removed the skin before bagging, seasoned the meat with salt and chinese 5 spice. I fried the skin in a skillet under a bacon press, after seasoning it with salt and Chinese 5 spice and served the crispy bacon-like pieces of fatty goodness right on top. I served it with steamed parsnips which I glazed with a brown, nutmeg infused butter and haricots vert.

I just cooked two pieces of very fresh, wild caught swordfish at 54.5 C for 1 hour. They were 3 cm thick. I put a little bit of chicken fat, salt and lemon slices in the bag. I think the fish was overcooked. Not rubbery but just too dry. What time/temperature shall I try next round. Any suggestions for Halibut (same thickness)? Thanks. For anybody who is interested, I am using the Sous Vide Supreme. I have stayed with it for hours and watched and I am amazed at how consistent the temperature is. It always seems to stay within .1 or .2 C of the target temp and most of the time it is right on. The rack that comes with the SVS solves the floating problem though I am very good at getting the air out of my vac packs notwithstanding that I am using a food saver.

Check out this link and the discussion following it. Basically the two methods discussed are the Thomas Keller 70 degrees celsius for 24 hours or NathanM's 56 degrees celsius for 48-72 hours. A number of people suggest brining to get a corned-beef flavour but you can do it without; depends on what you want to do with your tongue. Thanks so much for your help. Here is what I ended up doing. I soaked the tongue overnight to purge it and then bagged it with half an onion, a carrot, a 3 inch piece of celery, 2 tbs of sea salt, peppercorns, a sprig of thyme and three ice cubes of beef stock. I cooked it at 64C for 24 hours - a compromise in temp between NathanM and Keller and another Chef I know personally. I served it with 100 ml of a very neutral veal demi seasoned with a little bit of wasabi and further enriched with some apple juice which I reduced from about 250 ml to 60 ml. It tasted delicious but next time I will do it for at least 48 hours. It was not quite soft enough and I could not get the skin to peel off - I had to remove it with a knife. This was a real pain in the butt. I will also have more patience and brine it as it did not have enough of the corned tongue flavor I was wanting. NathanM's 56C made me nervous as I do not find medium rare tongue an appealing thought. But next time, I think if I have brined it, that I may follow NathanM. I would love to hear his comments because I could find nothing in the way of follow-up on how that worked out for people.