DanMLondon

I'm in the UK - but I assume the same thing appla here. I'm going to go into Whole Foods & ask nonetheless. This term raw is ridiculous in that case - I guess you couldn't eat truly raw cashews as firstly they'd be green and you'd likely poison yourself!

Hi guys I am needing to make a vegan 'cream cheese' - I am not a vegan in any way but respect others wishes so want to offer my guests a vegan cream cheese substitute instead of buying them Tofutti. It's super simple to make; bunch of cashews + garlic + lemon juice + salt + pepper + Apple cider vin + chives and blend to a cream cheese texture. However! All the recipes I can find call for 'raw cashews' to be used and to 'soak them overnight or for 2+ hours' - this sucks - using raw cashews I run risk of poisoning people as you should always cook cashews before eating. I am not interested in offering a raw product just one Vegans can eat. So can I use normal roasted (plain) cashews for this sort of recipe? If they are cooked do I have to soak them to make them easier to blend? Anyone have any ideas for me?

Hi This might not be the right place for this but its worth a try. I'm looking for a commercial caterers or a food manufacturer based in London UK that can cook a product via a water bath/SV method in large volume as an ongoing concern. I don't want to hire a kitchen myself and do it, I need a company who already have space and equipment, and as a side venture would cook my product to my spec.They have to use waterbaths/SV and have vacuum packing facilities too. I would also expect HACCP/SALSA in place. Please PM me to discuss further. Thanks D

Does anyone have any killer thousand island or special burger sauce recipes. I used one from food network but wasn't blown away and it contained a grated egg which I didn't like. I don't really like the taste of the soured cream recipes - its too creamy lol - so would rather use a mayo/ketchup mix. They are easy enough to make but has anyone ever added any cool things which people have loved? Like what goes into an In N Out burger special sauce/spread - I'd like to make an organic homemade version of that for some burgers tonight for some family coming over.

I wouldnt be freezing it, its too big but definetly looking to chill/refrigerate and then reheat in the SV when needed. Glad nobody thinks its detrimental.

Whats everyones opinions on Cook/Chill/Regenerate when cooking with SV? Does it alter the taste because its been reheated - I don't think it does personally with things I;ve tried such as steak but I'm worried that sometimes the texture will suffer or is this not the case. I made another thread about SV brisket - I wonder if I cooked brisket via SV then ice bath/refrigerate and then reheat them when needed but I dont sacrifice any flavour/texture. I hear most restaurants do this with chicken etc when they have a slow day then just slap them on the grill for service.

I love lemon too - I squeeze it pre oil and rub the squeezed lemon over the flesh then pour olive oil then the dry ingredients obviously. I find sometimes the lemon inside the chicken can make a bitter taste so I'm experimenting with taking the lemon rind/skin off before inserting into the carcass.

I'm using a Vacstar SCII which has been used maybe 10 times max for long durations. I dont know how to calibrate and would I really need to considering I'm only getting a couple of odd results?

Did brisket at 65c/36hrs - was by far the most inedible brisket I've ever made. The connective tissue/collagen and fats were absolutely nowhere near broken down enough, it was like an old boot. There was no moisture coming out when you pressed the meat and the fat was still in a hard state. You couldn't eat this unless sliced super thin. I use typically pretty lean briskets and when done right it literally cuts like butter and stays moist and tender even when refrigerated. We must be using completely different cuts of meat (including the actual type of meat or the size/shape/width/depth etc) if you got tender results using 65/36 or maybe you don't understand the type of result I'm looking for. I can see 65c working if it were in for 72hours but at 36 it barely touched the edges. The result I get form 76c/45hrs is so far and beyond this that I think I am going to revert back to this and hope the cuts I used were bad in the couple of times its gone wrong. Now that I've done it lower I don't understand what I was thinking lowering both the temp and the time, surely you lower one increase the other or vice versa. No big deal its only an experiment and I appreciate all the input but the results I got were so bad that I can't imagine this would ever work. Back to the drawing board.

Simple yet effective: Put butter between skin/flesh on breast and legs - cover in olive oil, squeeze half lemon over it then salt/pep/garlic salt/stuff carcass with other half of lemon and an onion - 1hr20-40mins @ 180c, baste every 20 mins. Its a sort of mixture of recipes but I make it religiously and never fails.

Cheers guys all duly noted. I have it in the tank at 65c for 36hrs. Lets see how we go and judging by what you are all saying I think it'll be great, if not I'll regroup! Pics to follow..

Ok now I see what you guys are getting at. That stringy corned beef is not what I'm looking for but the pics below with the sliceable corned beef is exactly what I want - its for sandwiches on rye or in bagels afterall. I achieved this at my previous temps/time but it seems somethings gone wrong so I have to try lower. 65c/36hr is the next experiment I guess. I will post results/pics I'd love for dcarch to post in this thread

Ok I might go ahead and try your 65/36hr method. For some reason 70c/40hrs feels right after everything I've read all over the internet. Might be worth cutting my 2.8kg brisket in half and doing 2 batches at those to see what comes out best perhaps?

@gfweb If I do this at 65c for 36hrs - is this hot enough to break down conn tissue/collagen and turn into gelatin? Is this also hot enough/long enough to pasteurise? I too think 75c is too high which is why this keeps happening. Also, what size of brisket are you doing, this is generally a big factor, mine are usually 2.5-2.8kg and are 2-2.5" thick. They have also been brined. Thanks for all input thus far!

The 2 stage SV is a good idea but my problem is not thick tendons as there are none in my briskets. Possibly the moisture is being pulled out at such a high temp throughout which is why I'm left with a dry exterior. The smoker, although I'd love to try it is not feasible for me atm and I really want to keep this as simple as poss.