mark28209

Very successful experiment: 1.25 lb collards, stems removed, cut into ribbons, bagged with 2T butter, 1 hour @ 185. Although there was some loss of color per Keller, they were mighty darn fine greens, lush, silky with a heightened sweetness that I have never noticed in my traditional preparation. Having gone native he'ah in Cha'lut, I have been doing my greens in smoked-pork-infested water. I am going to experiment with some of my pulled pork bits in the bag (as I do with brussel sprouts), maybe (partially) substituting bacon fat for butter, hopefully not to overwhelm the sweetness. Color issue aside, worth a try.

Gotta think SV could produce great greens, esp. collard and kale, but can't find any references to either collard or kale in this topic, the eG SV index, nor any luck with more broad searching. I'm guessing 185F as a starting point but have no idea about time, 1 hour maybe. I'm thinking of trimming/chopping/bagging them with a small amount of crumbled bacon, planning to add vinegar (type TBD), etc. ex-bag. Any suggestions or links?

Why do you use the quantity of oil you do? I would have thought far less would be needed if you wanted to keep the tuna wrapped in oil in the bag? What is the benefit of this approach?

Hi Torolover, No, I haven't done pork belly (as yet) but it seems a major hit. My personal taste preferences drift away from significant fatty bits, even with the magic of SV. I did batches of short ribs when I first got my SVS. Too rich for this guy's blood. But DO the belly . . . and post your results. The Momofuku technique certainly works marvelously . . . but there ain't no smoke in them thar hills. I've tried Momofuku with some liquid smoke when I haven't had 20+ hours lead time. Very good but nowhere near my combo of SV and traditional smoking. Do you have access to a smoker? If you don't, I would personally stick with Momofuku over SV for the texture and flavor complexity that you get with the final heat blast. Cheers, Mark

A potentially relevant recent experiment driven by a great two-for one on pork butts. Butt 1:I basically followed Doug Baldwin's recipe - divided a 5ish pounder into 3 1.5-2" slabs, brined them a couple days. Slab 1: Brined only -- per Doug Slab 2&3: I made a batch of salt-free dry rub which I applied lightly to #2 and refrigerated for an hour. I then smoked slabs 2 and 3 (unrubbed) over hickory in a SmokinTex for a couple hours @ 200. Bagged all three/10 hours @ 175 per Doug in a SVSupreme. Butt 2: Rubbed (same stuff but with salt) and refrigerated while the others brined. Smoked at 225 (OK 200 for the first two hours) for 20ish hours to an internal temp of 185. The differences in the piles of hand-pulled pork was less among the SV variants than between the SV trio and the conventionally smoked butt. The SV trio were noticeably moister/more succulent but lacked the texture and taste contrast/complexity that the crunchy/chewy bits from 20 hours in the smoker bring. Not one better than the other, but a significantly different experience in nose and mouth. (Excuse my ignorance, but does the Maillard reaction also happen at bbq/low temps as well as saute/high temps?) Re the differences among the SV trio. I personally preferred the two slabs that were pre-smoked, closer to my expectations of pulled pork but the unsmoked version was delicious. Even with the addition of my version of a vinegar/hot pepper based sauce which I thought might diminish the smoke, it was there. The addition of the light dry rub to the smoke was only marginally helpful to my palette. What was wickedly wonderful was combining the traditional smoker and SV piles, the best pulled pork I've done/tasted. I mixed the SV trio together since the differences were slight. In the combo, there was dark n'crunchy complexity from the smoker and a moist tender richness from the SV. I am not sure if 50/50 is the optimal mix, more SV may be better. I definitely would not bother with the pre-smoking step in the SV prep, reverting to Doug's recipe. The preparation timelines are roughly the same for the two approaches, neither prep is daunting, and the result is outrageous . . . if you have a smoker and a SV kit. Cheers, Mark

For my initial foray into SV, the combo of a PID with a very large slow cooker (has to be one with a simple on/off switch to work with the PID) was the most affordable approach (with a fish tank bubbler to circulate the water). All in about $50-75 for cooker and bubbler. And perfectly adequate to many, many SV tasks. BUT think ahead. You'll end up popping for $200-250 for the PID/cooker/bubbler combo and once you get the SV bug (which is highly contagious), you're going to want either a simpler to use, all in one device or a more powerful/larger set-up. IMHO.

How much is convenience worth to you? I'm a year or so into my voyage into SV cooking and have been doing rather decent and occasionally amazing stuff with a SVM 1500D PID controlling a HUGE slow cooker with a inexpensive fish tank bubbler helping to circulate the water. Overall not a huge investment. All in, roughly $250-275 as I remember. In other words, it's amazingly affordable to jump in. (I've also done salmon SV by closely monitoring a big old pot of water on an electric stove. Cost = $0 but a real pain.) HOWEVER, if I were doing it all over (anyone wanna buy my kit?), I would very likely save up for an all-in-one device like the SVSupreme @ $450 or so. Dealing with all the bits and pieces of my set-up is a minor, but to me significant, issue. I think I would do more SV preps more often -- but probably no better -- than my current set up with an all-in one. One of the real fun things about SV is experimenting. Having an all-in-one can really facilitate the experience, I'm jealously guessing. Has anyone systematically compared the SVSupreme and the Polyscience for folks who go that route? Is that an appropriate discussion for this thread? BTW Ziploc has launched a line of SV plastic bags that includes a vacuum-extractor. Works wonderfully . . . as does DB's cheaper, and only slightly more demanding, approach. Enjoy! Mark

I haven't noticed it posted here yet, but y'all should have a look at the excellent article in today's NYTimes on "Modernist Cuisine": www.nytimes.com/2010/09/22/dining/22cookbook.html?_r=1&ref=dining I hope I live close enough to regularly visit someone who can afford to buy Nathan's obviously amazing work. Has there been previous discussion of the possibility of digital/DVD/etc. or online access to it? Cheers, Mark

Heck, yes! I/we would never have come this far if it weren't for the guidance of Douglas' freebie contribution to the community. I look forward to getting the cookbook both as a resource and an act of appreciation. Thanks to Douglas, Pedro and other contributors to this community for stimulating my wander into the hot water. Cheers, Mark

Terrific! Although I usually want to add my aromatic bits and pieces to the bag, an occasional simplification is welcomed. On a related topic, I have done my previous pork tenderloins to a somewhat higher temp, closer to 60/140. I've been collecting various temp charts, Keller, Baldwin, etc., etc. Do you know of a compendium that you rely on? I find Baldwin's concerns re safety lead to higher recommendations than others, have found some salmon reco's (e.g. 46/115) far too rare for my preferences (I'm now at 51.5/125). How are you approaching this? Again thanks for your response re the packaging! Cheers, Mark

Sous vide in original plastic packaging? I have had great success with SV prep of steak, salmon, chicken etc . . . as well as pork tenderloin. In all cases I have used the Ziploc vacuum bags with the manual air extractor. I am holding a Hormel pork tenderloin, packaged in heavy vacuum sealed plastic. Is there a reason NOT to just drop this into my SousVideMagic-controlled slow cooker? Is there something about either the composition of the plastic or its thickness that would make it inappropriate?