FeChef

I think cooked meat does not effectively absorb smoke flavor. Its actually the "smoke ring" your thinking of that doesnt occur in meats cooked above 140F. Smoke flavor does still absorb, but not as much. Its actually beneficial to meats that you want that subtle smoke flavor. I usually use a strong flavor wood like pecan or hickory when doing a quick smoke after a long sous vide cook.

I use to cold smoke, or smoke meats at low temps for a few hours (like 4) and then Sous vide. Everytime no matter how many vacuum bags i used (like 3) the smoke smell leached out into the water and (not joking) made the entire house smell of smoke. Its not a big deal when its only a few hours of smoke smell, but after 24 hours in the sous vide it becomes intolerable. I dont know if i am going to get the same smell results using liquid smoke as i did real smoke, or if adding it to the brine and rinsing before sous vide will help, but If it does i will have to keep dumping the water and adding fresh water everytime it starts to smell. I cant stomach it anymore. It gets in my sinuses and i cant sleep and smell stays in sinuses for days.

In the summer I use my smoker every weekend. Its just too damn cold this year.(minus 20 currently) I want to make some baby back ribs for the SB party but im thinking of doing them completely sous vide. My main concern is that i cannot stand the smoke smell that leaches out of the bags into the water and stinks the entire house. To avoid this i always smoke after. In this case I will need to either add liquid smoke to my brine before cooking, or possibly add liquid smoke to im thinking melted butter to brush on before hitting them with the torch after they come out of the sous vide. I want to mention that i do not like smoke flavored bbq sauce. I am guessing adding liquid smoke to bbq sauce would be the same. I need ideas how to impart smoke flavor into the meat without causing my house to smell like an ash tray. Does anyone know if adding liquid smoke to a brine overnight and rinsing before sous vide will cause my house to stink? Should i just try mixing with melted butter anf brushing on post sear before adding bbq sauce? I have only ever used liquid smoke once in a jerky recipe along time ago, and although i dont recall it stinking my house up, i remember not like the jerky..lol.

Im referring to walmarts produce, which is most likely distributed everywhere. Jalapenos just seem to be getting "breed" not bread btw, hotter and hotter over the years, atleast in my area's produce suppliers.(no idea where they come from. I also dont buy from local farmers anymore because of cross breeding. I have gotten jalapeno's as hot as habaneros from local farmers that had them growing too close to each other.

Thats strange. I live in the Northeast and the grocery stores list Pablano as 1000-2500 scoville, where Jalapeno is listed 2500-5000. I used to make a green dipping sauce with only jalapenos but the family and sometimes even myself thought it was way too hot to enjoy so I started making it from 1/2 pablano and 1/2 jalapeno. Now it is much more enjoyable.

I wont touch any enchilada sauce green or red that comes in a can. I make my own red sauce though, with a blend of dried california,new mexico, and pasilla chiles. They dont sell dried green chiles in my area. Im not sure if dried is needed though. I might try drying a blend of anahiem, pablano, and jalapeno chiles to make the same sauce recipe but green. Who knows, might be good.

I just did spiral ham this Xmas and made a peach & pineapple glaze using a can of goya peach nectar, can of dole pineapple juice, and 1/2 cup white sugar. Cooked down to the consistency of honey. Everyone loved it.

I am going to say this one last time, I am probing it as soon as i drop it into the 135F water bath. I will see how long it takes for the center to reach temp. I am setting my alarm clock to wake up at 7am, I am hoping it reaches 135F between 2-3pm. Dont expect a follow up. PM me after tommorow if you want to know details.

I think i am just going to drop the ham in a 135F water bath when i wake up.( probably 8am ish ) I will have to pull it around 3pm at the latest to head to the dinner party. I am going to probe it so hopefully it reaches temp sooner so we can leave alittle sooner. I still have to glaze it before we leave so thas a good 15 minutes aswell.

Yes the Question has been, still not determined, is how long will it take to bring a 10lb pre cooked, spiral sliced ham to serving temp (lets go with 132F) ? As far as sticky glaze, I am going with a peach and pineapple powdered sugar glaze, honey baked ham style.(Turn table, Flame thrower)

Its ok. I am actually not even sure i want to cook it further. I had a bad experience with a ham once before, but it could have been a fluke, and was not the same brand, and im not even sure it was spiral. I do know it was labeled as "fully cooked" though. Again it could have been a fluke. I am leaning toward just bringing up to serving temp, but i just dont know how long is too long or is too little. I dont want mushy ham, or ham that just falls apart. Its already pre sliced on the bone pretty thin, so could end it falling apart looking like bacon bits on the plates..lol

I seriously doubt it. Well either way, i suppose the verdict so far seems to be cook it overnight @ 132F and then 140F for 3 hours, or overnight till serving time @ 135F. Still could use some more opinions please Anyone think theres a chance of mushy falling apart texture, definitely dont want that.

What im saying is that it is a spiral ham so it comes already thin sliced. The liquids already in the bag are going to reach temp quickly. because the meat is already sliced the liquids will seep in between the slices and most likely bring it up to temp faster. You dont think?

Honestly, I have tried PedroG suggestion with a chuck roast and to be honest i saw no benefit. I actually had to rebag it and cook it an additional 12 hours to get it to fall apart. This was of course cooking it for 12 hours at 136.5F (58c) and then 12 hours at 160F. It was still tough and wouldnt pull. So it needed an additional 12 hours at 160F for a total of 36 hours. I saw more moisture loss then if i had just went a full 24 hours @ 160F. But back on topic, Im thinking because its spiral cut, the hot liquids in the bag will get in between the slices and cook faster? You think I should maybe just go a full 136.5F overnight and just take it out when im ready to leave? Probably going to coat it with a peach and pineapple glaze and hit it with a blow torch for some carmelization.

Anybody just drop a fully cooked spiral ham still in the package into a sous vide water bath? If so what temp and how long? I am going to be bringing a 10lb spiral ham to a Xmas dinner (6pm) and want to know what temp and time i should go with. I did some searching and found a few articles but after reading the articles reviews there was alot of mixed results. I have been reading between 3 hours and up to 24 hours, and temps of 120-140F. Need some advice. Im thinking drop it in right before bed @ 132F and 3 hours before serving time crank it up to 140F to make sure its cooked all the way through because in the past ive got a fully cooked ham and decided to slice it before reheating it for cold ham sandwiches and the connective tissue was under done.

Anyone experience loss in flavor when adding calcium lactate? I dont know what it is but i had a very strong marsala wine sauce reduction that tasted bland after making the caviar. I Also noticed this when making orange juice spheres for vodka screw drivers.

The reason for higher temps on the surface first is so that you kill any bacteria that could likely grow while cooking. In your case, if there was any bacteria it would have most likely penetrated into the fish. Depending on the temp you cooked, dunking after would be pointless. However, if you were to quickly dunk in boiling water first, then cook at a low temp like 127F, then your chances of bacteria growing will be reduced.

If you dont want to brown/burn the delicate flesh then dont use a blowtorch or other source of flame. But i would dunk in boiling water (212F) for 30 seconds should be enough to kill any surface bacteria without over cooking.

So lets say i want to retherm everything to 135F... large eggs...1 hour? asparagus...15 minutes? mash potatoes (2 inch thick quart bag)...30 minutes? Im guessing the eggs and mash potatoes should be fine at those times, maybe even longer. But the asparagus will get mushy if left in long. Im wondering if i should even let them in for 15 minutes. Maybe 10? This would be from fridge temp (40F)

Yes everything would be already cooked, and either chilled in the fridge or vacuum packed and frozen. The reason for everything is that asparagus needs to be cooked at a higher temp then every other course. I like to peel and steam asparagus. I dont always have time to run to the store and buy fresh asparagus so i would like to steam in advance and retherm along with every other course.

Steak is pretty easy. Around an hour from chilled or frozen. Chicken about the same. I am curious about large eggs (in shell) and also delicate veggies like asparagus. I have rethermalized asparagus before and it got mushy and lost its beautiful green color. Reason im asking is because sometimes i want to do a 7 course dinner and its almost impossible for a home cook to prep everything the same day. I want to expand our spare of the moment dinner plans with some of my self proclaimed 5-star dinners.

I think he/she wants the side of the breast with the skin to lay flat while cooking. I dont know if it will stay flat once cooked but my post above should do what was asked.

Now that i think of it, vacuum th duck breast first. Then vacuum any thin material against the skin side of the vacuum bagged duck breast.

Thin Stainless steel. Thinner the better and easier to cut. You might want to smooth the edges and round the corners so it doesnt puncture the vacuum bag. i suppose you could also use those cedar planks they use for grilling salmon. Bambo and other woods aswell should be food safe. You want heat to penetrate so thinner the better.

Two words. Bacon mayo. Best ever period. You can make your own with rendered bacon fat instead of using oil. Or kraft makes a reduced fat bacon mayo thats really good, and there is some gourmet brand you can usually find in the deli section of grocery stores. I usually use bacon mayo and a swirl of ketchup and a few slices of dill pickle and red onion, lettuce, tomato..yum