markdub

The best tasting recipe (although I still prefer the real deal) I've come across so far is the one reported on from the BGR restaurants. Note the consistency varies greatly depending on whether you bake these before grilling or finishing in a pan. They are not quite as firm as a garden burger, but they don't usually fall apart as long as you heat them through first. http://www.washingtonpost.com/pb/recipes/bgr-veggie-burgers/12648/

Just to close this out, here's a pic of what I referred to next to a dime for scale (very small flakes). Sorry for the delay but as a newer poster I could not initially upload due to restrictions then was traveling a bit without my laptop.

Container was my (inefficient) large stainless stock pot so no material issues from the container. Temp was 62C throughout. Given others' experience I am really wondering if the likely culprit were some particles either on the bags or on the anova at the start of the cook.

I verified that the flakes would not dissolve and still appear to be a plastic substance. The question is, did they come from the bags for which I could not ID any visible damage (or perhaps the damage was invisible to the eye), or was there some plastic in or around the anova unit when unboxed that could have been chewed up upon running the unit. Oh well - I'm not really concerned now given there was no evidence of anything inside the bag which is what matters. I'll still post a pic once I'm allowed to. Other than that, next time I sous vide with the bags again I'll look carefully but given comments here I don't expect it will happen again!

Update - we had an early dinner tonight given some plans, so just finished the short ribs. I was not able to find any evidence of the "flakes" inside the bags, nor was I able to identify any damage to the bag corners or edges. I'm perplexed by this. I took a picture of the flakes and will post as soon as I'm given the ability to do so (new member). I suppose none of this matters as long as the phenomenon is exterior to the food, but it was still odd. The short ribs themselves were quite good - my wife even enjoyed them and she's the one in our family who typically forces me (reluctantly) to cook her cuts of meat well done. I finished them quickly via a raging hot sear on each side. I'm not sure if I will make them again via the sous vide route though. Even though the level of doneness and tenderness were absolutely perfect, I would personally sacrifice a little of that perfection in exchange for the normal flavors that emerge from a traditional braising. I did a simple balsamic and soy reduction for these tonight, which was quite good, but there's just something I like about the mix of short ribs, vegetables, seasonings, etc involved in a traditional cook that just says "comfort food" to me. At any rate, the family is keen for me to try other sous vide recipes so looking forward to scouring the forums here for the next test. Thanks again to those that chimed in above. Again, I'll post a pic of the flakes I was talking about once I can.

Thanks for sharing the experience. I'm hoping when I examine them today that I'll notice a slight corner damaged, etc. The bags used were just the stock starter bags (pre-made) included in the foodsaver box. I'm also relieved to hear that there's a difference between the inside and outside, and looking forward to the short ribs today!

I've been lurking for a bit and finally decided to sign up so I could post. I received the Anova for Christmas, and bought a low end foodsaver. This morning I am about half through my first attempt at sous vide with short ribs. I'm dialed in at 62C, have verified that temp outside of just the Anova reading (I realize there is much back and forth on temp, time but want to avoid discussing that here and just focus on what I've seen) and about 36 hours so far. I peeled back the foil this morning on my water bath vessel and noticed a VERY faint smell of beef. I mean ever so subtle - barely detectable and I have a heightened sense of smell like I'm sure others here do as well. Of course my first thought was that a seal on a bag failed. So, I pulled the bags out of the bath and set them in a dish. I blotted them dry with paper towels and inspected them, including some mild pressure but could not find any breaks in the seals or leaks, nor is there any evidence such as water bath color, etc to further suggest a seal actually failed. However, just to be safe I double bagged them, vac'd and sealed again, and put them back in the bath. Now, here's the weird part I'm posting about. In the glass container in which I placed the original bags I pulled from the bath, there were lots of very small plastic "flakes" - very fine material but definitely from the bags. Has anyone ever seen this? I suppose it's possible that the circulation impeller somehow ground up a bag corner but there were quite a few of these flakes. My concern is really about the inside of the bags and whether I'll open them and find similar flakes. I would be relieved if someone else has seen this and it's an external phenomenon only, given I'm a little worried about this cook having to be discarded.