Lawless Cooks

I watched this video and have followed it by cooking three chickens in two weeks! Works perfectly. I picked up some basic techniques (including tempering your food) and the vegetables are awesome.

Haven't seen it mentioned on this thread yet, but the Polyscience creative series price has been lowered to $399 both on their site and Williams-Sonoma. http://www.cuisinetechnology.com I already have a PS Creative series and just ordered the Anova as well and am excited to check it out. Three day short ribs are my favorite and wanted to be able to SV vegetables while the other bath was busy with a longer time protein. Anyway, looks like the price points on the circulators are really falling and I have to think the Anova is a big player in this. Looks live SV might be coming to the masses and soon all my friends that think I'm nuts with this weird, laboratory cooking style will learn what I am talking about!

That was actually on my list to try SV - definitely will try, thanks!

I sealed it with a little bit of microplaned garlic and some butter. I put it in a 135F bath for about 1:15 but that was more for convenience and was only planning on about 50 minutes. Turned out great! Getting the loin of lamb from a butcher was the hardest part. Not sure if i wasn't using the right language, but they finally got me half a saddle and I had to do a ton of trimming to get a lean loin out of it. Probably was only about a pound and a half once I get it cleaned. Definitely going to try it again. Maybe a little less garlic next time because it was pretty powerful. Maybe add some lemon zest in the bag?

First try, so I impressed myself that they were even edible! Homemade Shitake marmalade ravioli in brown butter sauce.

Sous vide lamb loin, red wine & shallot sauce, confit garlic mashed potatoes and braised fennel.

Ha, I was just about to start a thread with this topic. I have purchased boneless short ribs three time from the same source and ended up with three different results. 144F for 72 hours each time sealed with a little salt and oil. First time, outstanding. Pink, tender and moist. Short rib perfection! Second time, slightly dry but still pretty good. Third time, dry but edible. The sauce helped it a bit but certainly not what I got into SV for. Where are the variables and unpredictability? Does a lot depend on the specific portion of meat and fat/water content? Doesn't seem like it from everything I've read about SV boasting about perfection every time. Where are we going wrong?

Sous vide filet over crispy shallots with a port demi-glace and mushrooms ...

I just bought the Creative Series a month ago and it seems like a very well built device. You can definitely tell this company had a lab equipment background and not just some weak heat pump. Anyway, I have the same thoughts, ended up buying the Creative Series MC@H kit, and have no regrets. I usually do buy the pro products but in this case I cheaped out and am totally happy. I only use my 2-3 times per week right now, but one of those times will be 72 hours!

Just wondering what type of salt people use. I generally use Morton's Kosher coarse salt, which I like. Except, this last box was too coarse. I have noticed the size definitely affects the strength of the salt. Just wondering, what is everyone's go to salt as well as maybe a discussion of types of salt to use when. I am a little confused on when to use sea salt and then there is getting into Fleur de Sel and smoked salts.

Thanks - they tasted as good as they looked! For my second attempt, I used 72 hours @ 138. The meat was sourced from a local butcher this time as opposed to Whole Foods last time. Not sure if it was the temperature or meat that made the difference but I think I liked the first time better. Need a few more experiments (followed by 5K runs) to figure it all out. I want to get HB at Home and start playing around with his recipes and techniques. Have been watching him on YouTube and using his potato puree trick lately:steep the peels in the mile you are going to use ... Sounds interesting, multiple temperatures and would like to understand the effects better.

I just bought a VP112 for $549 from Quality Matters with free shipping. If you dig through the vacuum chamber threads on here there is a code buried somewhere for another $15 off. Still learning the unit and all the things I can do with it. I have had the chance to use a $7,000 Orved chamber sealer at ICE (NYC) and the 112 is definitely not as strong. I do wish I had a stronger pump but for $500 I don't think there is anything else close. It's at least another $1,000 to take the next step, so I think the 112 is a very "reasonable" unit and since I just started an avoided FoodSavers, I think a good buy. http://www.qualitymatters.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=QMAR%2DVP112&CartID=1

Sous vide vanilla-butter poached lobster tails. They were great!

A little off topic and I'm no pro, but I have been using these and they are pretty good. It was recommended to me by an instructor at the CIA with all natural ingredients. I think you can buy them on Amazon too. http://www.morethangourmet.com/pantry-stock-sauces-gourmet-soups/meat-based-sauces-a-stocks

My first attempt at any longer cooking time Sous Vide and my first with short ribs. Followed MCAH recipe and cooked at the higher end of their suggested range - 144F for 72 hours. A day in I started having second thoughts about a temp so high. When they came out, they were great. I would have preferred slightly more towards mid-rare, but I'm on board, some of the best short ribs I've ever had. Next time I might try 136 or 138F. They weren't fall apart/no knife, but fairly close. I didn't really care though. They were so moist and had so much more beef flavor than I was used to with restaurant short ribs.

I did let the butter cool. I put the pot in an ice bath trying to get it cooled down quickly to put in the fridge. Then I let it sit overnight. When it was still one consistent mass the next day, I reheated it and tried letting it cool on its own. Still the same result. Anyway, you and others successfully made the butter? I will definitely try again before purchasing a centrifuge!

Longtime lurker, first time poster. I ventured into my first recipes from MCAH this past weekend. Of course, the obligatory carrot soup and based on the posts on the forum, Pork Belly Adobo. A couple of issues I wanted to run by the experts: When I made the carotene butter for the soup (stovetop method) I couldn't get the butter to separate. I got the impression from MCAH yield and photos that it was supposed to be just the butterfat infused with carotene along the lines of a clarified carrot butter. Instead I got one continuous emulsion with a little bit of foam at the top. I used an immersion blender to incorporate the butter, per the recipe. What did I miss? The soup was excellent, regardless, so not a waste at all! On the Pork Belly Adobo, after pressure-cooking, the liquid that is used as a sauce was more of a broth than sauce consistency. The portion in the pan reduced to the glaze was perfect. Was this other people's experience as well? Once again, the dish was great and I guess this one is more of an issue of judgement as I can always reduce the liquid to a desired consistency. I guess with MCAH's precision in measuring ingredients I was hoping the recipes would be more predictable. In the end I guess it's all up to personal taste ... The forum is great and I can't wait to work my way through more recipes and learning through the process!