Sous Vide: Recipes, Techniques & Equipment (Part 8)

[rotuts]

mushrooms have a lot of water in them, good or bad.

Ive taken store bought mushrooms, white or brown ( baby porto's ) and roughly chopped them ( a la Cuisinart ) then sauted them to release the water.

those Ive added to chicken and turkey breast for their usual SV time and temp. If you want to see more of the mushrooms, then dont chop them up.

with reasonable seasoning this was a very good dish!

Edited January 17, 2013 by rotuts (log)

[rotuts]

BTW: Id love to see your 'homebrew' set up. i moving soon to a bucket heater in a Coleman Extreme cooler. with a bubbler under the heater and an aquarium pump in the water T = < 150.

[jmasur]

I was thinking about ending up with sliced portabellos, prepared separately from the chicken, then placed on top and sauced.

I'll try to take a picture soon. FWIW, the heating element is a Marshalltown 742G 1000w bucket heater, attached at about a 45-degree angle, and the circulator is a Hydor Koralia 240gph aquarium pump, positioned at the aperture of the bucket heater, pointing down the barrel of the protective sleeve. I sorta wished I'd gone with the 425gph, but it seems to work fine.

Edited January 17, 2013 by jmasur (log)

[nickrey]

I'd like to get back to Chris' original point rather than address a whole lot of spurious issues. The sous vide rig is set either at or one degree above the desired cooking temperature. The food is quite possibly frozen or at the very least chilled. You put the food in the bath and it causes a drop in the temperature (same process as putting ice in a drink). By filling the bath with water a few degrees (C not F) higher than the food, you reduce the bounce required to get the bath up to temperature. If, by chance, the water was slightly too hot normal pid processes will bring the temperature back to what you want rapidly (Although possibly not so rapidly with some of the hyper insulated home rolled rigs we're hearing people describe). Having the food exposed to temperatures slightly (not significantly) higher than target for a few minutes is not going to do anything bad to something that you either have seared or will sear later as the slightly hotter water will only affect the part that you are trying to gain a Maillard effect on anyway.

It is a handy hint (thank you Chris) and something the I've done since I started sous vide cooking over four years ago.

Bottom line. If you add cold food to your bath, the temperature will drop. To reduce the impact of this add water a few degrees higher. Simple really. Let's use the technique rather than overcomplicating it.

[rotuts]

jmasur

please, some pic would be so helpful!

[nickrey]

I always sauté mushrooms used in these dishes in plenty of butter and some salt. This gives both a textural contrast to the sous vide cooked meat as well as an additional shot of umami.

Many of my sauces are prepared using the liquid thrown during the sous vide process and then frozen into ice cubes for later use, including the addition of sauteed mushrooms and a splash of sherry vinegar for finishing.

[Joe Blowe]

The Cooking Issues blog, on which the testing was described, has been down for a long while.

FYI, the Cooking Issues website, and the blog entry in question, appears to be back up. Was wondering if it we'd ever see CI again...

[PedroG]

The Cooking Issues blog, on which the testing was described, has been down for a long while.

FYI, the Cooking Issues website, and the blog entry in question, appears to be back up. Was wondering if it we'd ever see CI again...

OK, but there might be a problem, my antivirus program says it contains Trojan.Script.Agent.AO, and the page does not display as it did originally.

[Joe Blowe]

Wow! I just ran the URL through a few link scanners (this, this, and this) and it seems fine. But, I also checked my scanner log and it appears there was an attempt to install a couple of trojans around the time I visited the site. So, proceed with great caution!!!

P.S. to all: Not food related, but if you haven't disabled Java in your browser yet, now is the time...

[Ranz]

I tried a chicken galatine last week and wasn't satisfied by roasting it, since the breast dried up way too much.

So I sous vided the bird at 75C for three hours, then dried and browned it on a hot pan. Was much much better.

[scubadoo97]

So you stuff, tied and rolled the bird before bagging it for SV?

[Ranz]

So you stuff, tied and rolled the bird before bagging it for SV?

That was the plan, but I didn't realise we were out of twine. So I deboned, stuffed, then pushed in toothpicks to secure the shape. I then folded some aluminium foil and covered the area that had the toothpicks so they wouldn't puncture the bag. I used a gallon bag (I think) which fit the bird nicely, pushed the air out, then sucked out any remaining air with a straw.

Very juicy. I could probably lower the temperature a tiny bit. Maybe 70-72C. The stuffing was bacon, onion, green bell pepper and Gouda, with some rosemary, parsley and thyme.

[Todd in Chicago]

So you stuff, tied and rolled the bird before bagging it for SV?

That was the plan, but I didn't realise we were out of twine. So I deboned, stuffed, then pushed in toothpicks to secure the shape. I then folded some aluminium foil and covered the area that had the toothpicks so they wouldn't puncture the bag. I used a gallon bag (I think) which fit the bird nicely, pushed the air out, then sucked out any remaining air with a straw.

Very juicy. I could probably lower the temperature a tiny bit. Maybe 70-72C. The stuffing was bacon, onion, green bell pepper and Gouda, with some rosemary, parsley and thyme.

I've never myself yet tried a "stuffed" SV entrée. Whay happens with the cheese? I'm assuming the bacon was pre-cooked? How about the bell pepper? If you could list some specific steps, that would be great. Sounds really good! Cheers.... Todd in Chicago

[rotuts]

one of the fine things about stuffing something SV ( I do skinless Ck Br - flattened and folded over ) is the stuffing and melted cheese and other items stay put due to the fact that the bag holds things tightly together.

[Todd in Chicago]

one of the fine things about stuffing something SV ( I do skinless Ck Br - flattened and folded over ) is the stuffing and melted cheese and other items stay put due to the fact that the bag holds things tightly together.

Thanks Rotuts....I think I asked you a similar question a while back, still need to try this. I'm starting to get hungry!! Todd in Chicago

[rotuts]

I do tie the CkBr together before i slip them in the bag ... makes bagging easier.

[Syzygies]

I'm looking to improve "snip the corner" (as I described in http://forums.egulle...31#entry1902431) as a practical method for using vacuum chamber bags without a chamber vacuum machine. This method has replaced any other approach for me, as I love these bags (I don't love FoodSaver or ZipLock bags), and I'm usually willing to involve enough liquid for the "Archimedes" (evacuate using water displacement) approach to work.

However, there are times one wants to use a vacuum pouch without adding liquid. The basic principle I'm exploiting is that two films of plastic with the faintest bit of liquid between them makes a very effective check-valve. Once air leaves, it's not easily getting back in. Then one adds another seal using an impulse sealer, to prevent leaks.

For a few hundred dollars one can put together a home vacuum chamber and outboard electric vacuum pump that can reach and hold 25 bar. For far less (which could appeal to the "ghetto sous vide" crowd) one can reverse bike pumps or 12V tire pumps and build one's own vacuum chamber. There's also always the FoodSaver canister route, but I doubt that's much of a vacuum.

I'm thinking put dry food into a chamber pouch, very lightly wet or spray the upper inside of the pouch (cooking oil?), seal across the top and snip the corner, as shown in the photo. Now put the pouch in a vacuum chamber, create and hold a vacuum long enough to draw the air out of the pouch, and release the vacuum. I'm betting that the pouch will function as its own check valve long enough to seal it for good with an impulse sealer.

Is anyone in a position to easily test this theory?

[Ranz]

I've never myself yet tried a "stuffed" SV entrée. Whay happens with the cheese? I'm assuming the bacon was pre-cooked? How about the bell pepper? If you could list some specific steps, that would be great. Sounds really good! Cheers.... Todd in Chicago

It was my first time too

Yeah, the stuffing (except the cheese) was pre-cooked. I put down some bacon on a pan without preheating it, to render off some of the fat, once that was done I used that fat to saute some diced bell pepper and onions, with the herbs and garlic. The cool bacon was cut into pieces and put into that mixture. That was set aside to cool while I deboned the chicken. When the chicken was done, I mixed in the cheese with the stuffing mixture and stuffed the chicken. This would be where I make like rotuts and tie the chicken to hold the stuffing in, but I had to make do with the toothpicks and foil solution.

I never actually worried about the cheese to be honest, I just assumed it would melt, and it does so quite nicely. Once the 3 SV hours were up I wiped down the bird and used the same bacon grease to crisp up the skin.

The stuffing ingredients were just whatever I had in the fridge. If I had done some grocery shopping beforehand I would've maybe gone with mushrooms with the bacon and maybe some spinach.

I got the deboning technique from a Jacques Pepin video on youtube. Was quite simple, even for a beginner like myself.

[Todd in Chicago]

I've never myself yet tried a "stuffed" SV entrée. Whay happens with the cheese? I'm assuming the bacon was pre-cooked? How about the bell pepper? If you could list some specific steps, that would be great. Sounds really good! Cheers.... Todd in Chicago

It was my first time too

Yeah, the stuffing (except the cheese) was pre-cooked. I put down some bacon on a pan without preheating it, to render off some of the fat, once that was done I used that fat to saute some diced bell pepper and onions, with the herbs and garlic. The cool bacon was cut into pieces and put into that mixture. That was set aside to cool while I deboned the chicken. When the chicken was done, I mixed in the cheese with the stuffing mixture and stuffed the chicken. This would be where I make like rotuts and tie the chicken to hold the stuffing in, but I had to make do with the toothpicks and foil solution.

I never actually worried about the cheese to be honest, I just assumed it would melt, and it does so quite nicely. Once the 3 SV hours were up I wiped down the bird and used the same bacon grease to crisp up the skin.

The stuffing ingredients were just whatever I had in the fridge. If I had done some grocery shopping beforehand I would've maybe gone with mushrooms with the bacon and maybe some spinach.

I got the deboning technique from a Jacques Pepin video on youtube. Was quite simple, even for a beginner like myself.

Thanks for the inspiration! I'll look up that video. Cheers....Todd In Chicago

[FeChef]

Im trying a new idea on sous vide + smoked brisket. This time im going to SV first for 12 hours @ 132F and then smoke till 150F in a 200F smoker. I was lazy and just put the brisket straight into the water oven in its original package. I removed the labels just incase they fall apart and get into the circulator pump. Im pretty sure that 132F is a safe temp for standard cryovac/vacuum package plastic, but just want to hear some thoughts from others. If you disagree and convince me i will pull it and reseal with 2.5 gallon ziplock bag.

[Syzygies]

sous vide + smoked brisket. This time im going to SV first for 12 hours @ 132F and then smoke till 150F in a 200F smoker.

I can see one issue suggesting that your order is backwards: The brisket best absorbs smoke colder than 132F. In BBQ competitions people put very cold meat into a cold cooker to maximize smoke absorption and the telltale red smoke ring from the effects of the smoke. (Judges who are too bombed out from other contestants' smoke to taste anything look for this red ring as a proxy.)

[PedroG]

sous vide + smoked brisket. This time im going to SV first for 12 hours @ 132F and then smoke till 150F in a 200F smoker.

I can see one issue suggesting that your order is backwards: The brisket best absorbs smoke colder than 132F. In BBQ competitions people put very cold meat into a cold cooker to maximize smoke absorption and the telltale red smoke ring from the effects of the smoke. (Judges who are too bombed out from other contestants' smoke to taste anything look for this red ring as a proxy.)

See blackp's blind test: SV then smoke was best.

[Todd in Chicago]

I've never myself yet tried a "stuffed" SV entrée. Whay happens with the cheese? I'm assuming the bacon was pre-cooked? How about the bell pepper? If you could list some specific steps, that would be great. Sounds really good! Cheers.... Todd in Chicago

It was my first time too

Yeah, the stuffing (except the cheese) was pre-cooked. I put down some bacon on a pan without preheating it, to render off some of the fat, once that was done I used that fat to saute some diced bell pepper and onions, with the herbs and garlic. The cool bacon was cut into pieces and put into that mixture. That was set aside to cool while I deboned the chicken. When the chicken was done, I mixed in the cheese with the stuffing mixture and stuffed the chicken. This would be where I make like rotuts and tie the chicken to hold the stuffing in, but I had to make do with the toothpicks and foil solution.

I never actually worried about the cheese to be honest, I just assumed it would melt, and it does so quite nicely. Once the 3 SV hours were up I wiped down the bird and used the same bacon grease to crisp up the skin.

The stuffing ingredients were just whatever I had in the fridge. If I had done some grocery shopping beforehand I would've maybe gone with mushrooms with the bacon and maybe some spinach.

I got the deboning technique from a Jacques Pepin video on youtube. Was quite simple, even for a beginner like myself.

Thanks for the tip, I watched the Pepin video last night. I really enjoyed it and I see a chicken deboning project in my future.... :-) Overall, I thought his show was pretty cool and ended up watching another one, in which he made fish quenelles, a cool shrimp dish with shrimp mousse, and a monkfish (roulade?). He has a very slow, fun style and gosh darn....makes it look so effortless. I enjoyed them. Thanks! Todd in Chicago

[scubadoo97]

I watched Pepin and had to take some notes to get the progression. I've done it about 6 or so times and it gets easier. Still not as fast but can do one in around 15 min. Still have to think about it a bit.

I've taken to whacking the leg bone tip before getting started so after I scrape down the leg bone I can just pop it out. Before finishing I like to hack off that leg bone tip so there are no bones when finished. I can also pull out some leg tendons

Edited January 20, 2013 by scubadoo97 (log)

[FeChef]

From what ive read over the years, Is that smoke is best absorbed at temperatures under 140F. But still continues to absorb beyond that temp, just at a slower rate.

I have tried cold smoking first and SV after with all kinds of meats. I was never pleased with the results. In my experiences, once the meats start to cook the juices in the bag draws the smoke out of the meat and turning it into basicly liquid smoke. It was a very artifical tasting. The meats also had to be blow torched because there was no bark you would normally get from dry heat smoking.

I guess nobody thought the original packaging was unsafe at 132F so thats good i guess. But i am still up in the air on the final temperature i should pull it out of the smoker. 150F was my initial idea, but im leaning more toward a higher temp that can still be sliced, yet fall apart with little effort.