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

[Merkinz]

Anyway, anyone have any recommended times & temps for pork belly? Specifically for a traditional braised texture that will then be portioned then deep fried.

Thanks

anyone?

[rotuts]

if 'braise' means well done:

Baldwin says:

Well, slow: 160 x 24

Well quick: 175 8 - 12

best of luck!

[jmasur]

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.

Pictures attached as promised -- one mounted in the cooler, the other removed and sitting on top. In the mounted one, you can see the grooves I melted in with a soldering iron for the cords, most easily, to the left of the cord for the circulator. (The discoloration on the cooler above the bracket is duck tape residue.) I drained the cooler partially before taking the picture.

Also any metal that is not Stainless steel will either rust or degrade aswell. Even if the metal doesnt submerge in the water bath the steam rising will get in and cause it to rust. An example of metal degrading is aluminum. I had to make a bracket out of aluminum 1/4 inch aluminum strip and even though aluminum doesnt rust, I started to get calcium build up on it within one 24 hour session. The calcium clings to it like a magnet would to metal. After brushing off all the calcium, there was pits in the aluminum bracket. I probably wont get much more use out of the bracket and will have to special order some 1/4 strip in stainless steel for long term use.

It doesn't show well in the pictures, but my aluminum mounting bracket is getting what appears to be calcium or other mineral buildup as well. (I keep this setup in a house in the mountains, where the water supply is probably similar to bottled spring water.) I don't think it's dangerous, and it's not like the setup is a work of art, Eventually, I'll probably replace with stainless.

[rotuts]

has heat ever caused this pump to fail? what temps and times do you use?

does the upper part of the bracket fit into the side of the cooler? Im at work thinking about my newer "cooler extreme" set up Ill need some day once my Early generation FMM completely rusts out. Its my understanding that the current FMM is stainless steel.

[jmasur]

If you look at the mounted picture (the first one), you'll see that there are extruded ribs to either side of the bracket. There's a third between them, obscured by the bracket itself. Basically, the bracket grabs onto that.

I have not experienced a pump failure, but I only set this up a couple of months ago. My most extreme temperature uses have been with potatoes, which I've cooked at up to 185F for up to a couple of hours. My most extreme time use has been short ribs at 132F for 68 hours (I would've done 72, but started the cook at 10pm and had guests at 6pm three days later).

[paulpegg]

I have posted this a number of times but here it is again. http://lesmarmitonsnj.com/sous-vide-cook.pdf i built this setup in 2010 and have been using it constantly ever since. Read the addendum a the end for info on pumps.

Best,

Paul

[FeChef]

I have posted this a number of times but here it is again. http://lesmarmitonsn...s-vide-cook.pdf i built this setup in 2010 and have been using it constantly ever since. Read the addendum a the end for info on pumps.

Best,

Paul

404 not found.

[rotuts]

Im also interested in the .pdf many thanks!

[Reignking]

My SV question -- if you bought pre-vacuum-packed frozen fish, would you thaw it for three days, and then SV it? Or thaw, drain, re-seal? Or just go straight to the SV?

Im sure others will disagree, or say im being to cautious, but I always thaw meats/poultry,fish in a bucket of cold water for 30 min per pound to thaw, then i SV. Its the safest way to thaw and cook.

I'm concerned about the quality, though, in the thawing process.

[paulpegg]

I have posted this a number of times but here it is again. http://lesmarmitonsn...s-vide-cooker.pdf i built this setup in 2010 and have been using it constantly ever since. Read the addendum a the end for info on pumps.

Best,

Paul

Sorry, the link was misspelled. Try it now.

[FeChef]

I have posted this a number of times but here it is again. http://lesmarmitonsn...vide-cooker.pdf i built this setup in 2010 and have been using it constantly ever since. Read the addendum a the end for info on pumps.

Best,

Paul

Sorry, the link was misspelled. Try it now.

Thanks. I used the same project box from radioshack for my pid controller but mounted mine in a different location. I like how you used a temp probe clip to mount the pid controller probe. Didnt think of that, thanks.

[PedroG]

I have posted this a number of times but here it is again. lesmarmitonsn...s-vide-cook.pdf i built this setup in 2010 and have been using it constantly ever since. Read the addendum a the end for info on pumps.

Best,

Paul

404 not found.

Here is the correct link: www.lesmarmitonsnj.com/sous-vide-cooker.pdf

[Todd in Chicago]

PedroG....

Thanks for the temp/time as in http://egullet.org/p1898461 , had those on Saturday night and they were indeed as succulent as you have said! Thanks for the temp/time combination you posted on eGullent and on modernist cooking db - 03:30 @ 55.0°C / 131°F. I COMPLETELY agree with you, a reproducible success!

PedroG style (temp/time) lamb chops with a demi-glace wine reduction, golden beets with blue goat cheese, and vadouvan curry carrots. A great Sat night meal!

Thanks PedroG!

Todd in Chicago

[PedroG]

Yum-yum! Looks delicious!

[rotuts]

you sure can say that again. Trader Joses has some stunning frozen racks (From Canada, no less) that would work perfect for this!

[scubadoo97]

That lamb looks wonderful. Can't wait to get my replacement SideKIC to try this

[paulpegg]

That lamb looks wonderful. Can't wait to get my replacement SideKIC to try this

Yes it does. Here is my version that I did for Valentine's dinner. i used a New Zealand rack from Restaurant Depot. The rack was given a dose of salt, pepper and garlic powder, bagged, SV at 53C for 3 hours, then seared, coated with honey and mustard and herbed bread crumbs per Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc at Home and finished for 10 minutes in a 220C (425F) oven. The sweet potato was cut in half, coated with EVO and roasted cut side down for 30 minutes in the same oven. The bok choy was cut in half, seared cut cut side down with some garlic slivers in some canola oil and then covered and steamed in the same pan with a half cup of chicken stock.

I like my meats rare and have found that 53C is just right for red meats.

[Todd in Chicago]

That lamb looks wonderful. Can't wait to get my replacement SideKIC to try this

Yes it does. Here is my version that I did for Valentine's dinner. i used a New Zealand rack from Restaurant Depot. The rack was given a dose of salt, pepper and garlic powder, bagged, SV at 53C for 3 hours, then seared, coated with honey and mustard and herbed bread crumbs per Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc at Home and finished for 10 minutes in a 220C (425F) oven. The sweet potato was cut in half, coated with EVO and roasted cut side down for 30 minutes in the same oven. The bok choy was cut in half, seared cut cut side down with some garlic slivers in some canola oil and then covered and steamed in the same pan with a half cup of chicken stock.

I like my meats rare and have found that 53C is just right for red meats.

lamb-rack-4-web.jpg

Nice!

I like the Thomas Keller treatment after the sous vide. I'll have to try that.

Todd in Chicago

[scubadoo97]

Paul, your lamb looks excellent. The combination of SV, searing and brief roasting gives the meat a traditional roasted appearance.

Edited February 20, 2013 by scubadoo97 (log)

[EnriqueB]

Yesterday I finished teaching what I think was, as far as I know, the first sous-vide course for home cooks in Spain.

Six hours split in two days in a demo kitchen for 18 people. It was a real challenge to multitask so as to address the required theory as well as preparing the dishes with degustations for everyone and answering many questions, all in a kitchen I was not familiar with. So the first day was a bit chaotic but I managed to organize things pretty well the second day.

We cooked tender meat (chicken breasts 56ºC with miso-butter-mirin-chicken glace sauce), tough meat (ibérico pork cheeks 65ºC for 36 hours, cooked prior to the course, with celery root puree and pickled apple slices, adapted from chefsteps), fish (salmon cured with citrics and cooked on lemongrass & coriander seeds infused oil at 43ºC, adapted from Keller), seafood (shrimps at 51ºC with butter and coriander seeds), soft-boiled eggs at 75ºC (fast method), vegetables as side dishes (green asparagus with evoo, butter-glazed carrots and leeks), and a dessert (vanilla crème anglaise at 82ºC with banana cooked skin-in also at 82ºC).

Many theory and tricks I showed were learnt here, from how to seal with liquids to egg tables and so on. This forum is a neverending source of quality information, thanks to everyone who has contributed and specially to PedroG whose tricks, tables and analysis have been extraordinarily useful.

A great experience that I expect to repeat.

Edited February 21, 2013 by EnriqueB (log)

[rotuts]

should you do this again, I and others would love to see some pics!

Gracias.

[EnriqueB]

I took my camera but was so busy I could not take any picture, but I promise I'll take some next time!

[Todd in Chicago]

should you do this again, I and others would love to see some pics!

Gracias.

LOL! Forget the camera, come on over to Chicago and give the class!! :-)

Todd in Chicago

[PedroG]

DiggingDogFarm asked me about the Thermoworks Reference Thermometer, ±0.05°C System Accuracy Model #222-555.

A 0.01° resolution thermometer with a 5-point calibration certificate at USD 295 certainly is a bargain, although it has no min/max function which would be practical for PID-tuning experiments.

Does anyone have experience with it? Please report your experiences in the Reference Thermometer Topic so it can be included in the wikiGullet Page on Reference Thermometers.

[Todd in Chicago]

Fellow eGullet members and sous vide enthusiasts…

During a conversation under the “Labels” topic that was started by Chris Hennes on July 10, 2010, I (from the USA) posted a question on November 25, 2012 about what labels or label printers would be a good fit for labeling bags for the sous vide technique, as my freezer was full of sous vide bags that had haphazard labeling, if there was any labeling at all. Check out the post for a chuckle if you'd like.

I also made a comment that I was thinking of writing a database to keep track of the bags in my freezer as well as my cooking attempts. Well someone from “down under” (BHSimon) posted a reply who was also very keen in the same thing, but doing it online so that other eGullet members could take advantage of it – and after a few PM’s and then emails, a plan was hatched to create a web-based tool that would do just that.

Over the past month and a half or so, BHSimon and Todd in Chicago have collaborated to create this web-based tool.

We have been working diligently on this program and are very proud of it and think this is a great way for us to give back to the eGullet community which has provided so much to both of us in terms of learning and conversing with our fellow sous vide enthusiasts. The site we are working on is now ready for pilot, and we are looking for 5 pilot users to “kick the tires” if you will, and see what falls out. As soon as the kinks are worked out, we would open registration for anyone who is interested.

I personally have been using this since it was first in some usable state, and it is PERFECT for me! BHSimon also shares the passion for the program and we are super excited about it.

If you are interested, please send an email to webmaster@modernistcookingdb.com and request to be added to the pilot list. At this point we are restricting registration to the first 5 users who would like to be in the pilot. Although we are mostly looking for “defects” in the current program, please provide any input or requests which you think would make the program useful. All requests will be evaluated for feasibility for future implementation. If you apply to pilot, you will receive within 48 hours an email back indicating that you are free to register.

We hope that you enjoy the program and find it as useful as we do!

Thanks, best wishes, and happy sous viding!

Todd in Chicago and BHSimon

Fellow eGullet members and sous vide enthusiasts,

Announcing open free registration to the Modernist Cooking DB site!

A short time ago, we announced a request for pilot users for a new website we created to track your sous vide efforts and your freezer inventory. We had several pilot users and fixed some bugs along the way, as well as adding some great features. Thank you to our great pilot users who inspired those additional features and helped find the bugs. The pilot period is now over and registration is now open for anyone. The site is free, and we hope that you enjoy it as much as we do.

The site is: www.modernistcookingdb.com

You can create your own login on the site, or use your credentials from one of six popular social networking sites, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google.

We, in conjunction with our pilot users, have logged many of our attempts at sous vide, or even just items we needed to track in our freezer into the website. As a matter of fact, over 200 items and counting have been entered thus far! In the end, this can produce a large number of experimental times and temps to choose from, and hopefully can provide a wealth of knowledge for our fellow eGullet-eers and sous vide enthusiasts.

When checking out the site, we encourage you to explore the links along the top of the page before you register. The Diary, Reports, Printer, and Security choices will guide you through what this site can accomplish, as well as how we value your privacy.

Simon and I are proud to offer this site back to the eGullet community which has immensely helped both of us, and many others as well.

Cheers!

“Todd in Chicago” and “BhSimon”