argie916

I'm the one who placed the original post, and I wish to thank all who participated. I've learned quite a bit. I've read Hellen Rennie's blog (http://www.beyondsalmon.com/2011/06/why-sous-vide-sucks.html, but she's not knocking SV), in which she posits that many people are cooking sous vide meats much too long, which leads to a greater loss of juice and, perhaps, loss of flavor. She's proposing to SV generally at 130F (54.5C) for only about one hour (varies shoewhat by meat cut). She offers well-researched evidence for it. Also, I read a technical paper on why the use of a Jaccard tool helps to make meat juicier, which appears to be counter-intuitive. I wonder if some of the more experienced SVers might be able to expand on this. Thank you. George Bedford, TX

I'm using the Anova circulator, which I think is fantastic. I've tried sirloin and flatiron steaks so far, cooked at 133F(56C) for anywhere from 3 to 6 hours. All came out perfectly medium rare-to-rare and tender. After removing from the bag, I dry them with kitchen towels and then sear them in a heavy skillet with a little oil. They look terrific, but i sorely miss the flavor of steaks prepared in the conventional ways. I've tried salt & pepper after searing, as well as vacuum-bagging with dry garlic, oregano, a little pepper and a couple of other spices. No difference. What am I missing ? George Bedford, TX