asiebengartner

Results of trotter experiment: So, I did one whole trotter at 145° for c. 60 hours. The plan was to use the meat to make Thomas Keller's trotter dish from his Bouchon book, which involves extracting the trotter meat, making a "log" with it (+ mustard, shallots, seasoning), chilling that, then slicing the log into thick discs and frying them covered with Panko crumbs (adhered by Dijon and flour). He braises the meat. ANYWAY: I opened the bag and, well, my girlfriend was absolutely right in describing the smell as that of a Porta-Potty. Really bad. This was a good quality trotter from a great butcher and they had been in the refrigerator for (only?) 3 days or so before I started the cooking. Did they go off in that time? Was the smell something normal? It seemed to emanate most intensely from the skin. Did I not clean the trotter well enough? (I did blanch it in boiling water for a few minutes before cooking, as TK recommends doing in his recipe for braising them.) The other problem, even if I'd been brave enough to eat this foot, was the amount of meat. I really had expected more. There was probably a little more than 100g of meat that I could extract. TK says he uses fresh ham hocks because of this issue. All this having been said, the meat seemed to have reached a perfect consistency and was easy to extract while the trotter was still hot (as TK recommends doing). The fat and connective tissue had broken down nicely and the skin was easy to remove. Any tips? Anyone else try a trotter sous vide before?

I live in Brooklyn, NY, and, like many others, it seems, am reluctant to buy a full kilogram of transglutaminase for myself to start experimenting with. Is anyone who lives in Manhattan or Brooklyn interested in splitting an order with me? I'm thinking I'll start with Activa RM. Looks like it goes for about $85 for 1kg. I'd only want 250-500g of it for myself. I've put together a "kit" of other ingredients, but maybe down the line I'd be up for doing something like this again with bulk orders of other ingredients too.

I wonder whether Nathan Myhrvold has ever considered returning to Princeton, where Wikipedia says he did his graduate degree(s), to run a course like this one. With its emphasis on engineering, mathematics, and the sciences in general, as well as its proximity to NYC and its chefs, it would seem to be a great venue for something similar to this Harvard series. Please?

Thanks for the suggestions. I hope Jan's post will generate some more interest. I too would like to know about about those products. This discussion raises a question I have had since starting to learn about sous vide: If I have two products that require several days of cooking, but each at a different temperature, is it OK to put both products in at the lower temperature and then simply raise the temp for the higher-temp product once the lower-temp product has been cooked long enough and removed from the bath? If so, how do I decide how long then to keep the higher-temp product in the bath? I would have thought that this would end up saving time, that the higher-temp product would only need to be in the bath for a relatively short period of time. Or would it really need to be held at its higher temp for the full several days of cooking? I hope that makes sense. With one circulator, and an eagerness to use it for almost everything as I get acquainted with it, it can be frustrating to have to cook each product separately at its designated temperature. Any tips on saving a bit of time, and cooking several products at once, would be great to hear.

I am interested in experimenting with inexpensive cuts of meat, especially offal, cooked sous vide, but I am having trouble finding information on temperatures and time. The two cuts I'd like to try first are pig's trotters and lamb neck. Any suggestions for time and temp for either one? Has anyone come across a helpful chart for cooking offal sous vide?

I realize, or course, that Modernist Cuisine would be perfect. Alas, I don't have access to a copy.

Thanks, all, for your tips. One more question: what would you assign a high school senior, with a solid amount of chemistry, to read on sous vide? Is there a good, fairly basic introduction to the science of sous vide and how it has been used in the kitchen. It would be nice to see something that discusses what exactly are the differences between the cells that break down at different temperatures or only after different periods of time.

Steaks are a nice idea. You're right about the cross-section being a great visual for them. And I think I probably could set up in the room ahead of time. If I were to do steaks, it would be nice also to include an example of a steak cooked to the right temperature, but for too much time, to show them the effect that time can have on texture, that temperature is not the only issue. How long does it take for this to happen, for a steak cooked, say, medium-rare, to begin really falling apart? A few hours? Longer? Thanks again for that tip!

This is my first posting on eGullet. I am planning to demonstrate my new Sous Vide Professional to a high school "chemistry of cooking" class and am curious whether any of you have in mind a good way to quickly demonstrate what sous vide can do for the kitchen. I will only have 45 minutes. I had been thinking of doing eggs, because they are quick and very obviously different at slightly different temperatures. I could bring in things I had prepared already, but it would be nice in the classroom to be able to use the unit. Any ideas?