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

[Baselerd]

I've been trying to make the Egg Blossom from MC book but am really struggling to get the air out when wrapping/trying the plastic wrap - then of course they won't sink in the SV - anyone with suggestions of how to get round this?

I've done those before - I simply laid some plastic wrap over hemisphere molds, drizzled some truffle oil over the plastic wrap, and cracked the eggs into the molds. To get the air out i just worked it out with my hands and twisted the opening shut closing it with a small rubber band. If your eggs are floating (and your plastic is sealed well), try gently resting a fork or two over the egg to keep it submerged.

[Morkai]

Tonight I am serving a "money muscle" from a Boston butt that will have been cooked sous-vide at 175F for about 12 hours. It was seasoned with salt and a little sugar (a la Momofuku) before going into the bath. Afterwards I plan on either searing on the grill or quickly deep frying. Not sure which yet.

I am asking if anyone has a quick sauce to recommend? The texture is much like pulled pork, only more tender, if possible. I have done this once before with a honey-sherry glaze, but am looking for something different. Any suggestions?

Also, here is a picture of the "money muscle" for those who are curious.

Edited May 3, 2013 by Morkai (log)

[jmolinari]

That muscle is the one that's used to make coppa. It's the best part of the shoulder:)

[Daniel72]

Tonight I am serving a "money muscle" from a Boston butt that will have been cooked sous-vide at 175F for about 12 hours. It was seasoned with salt and a little sugar (a la Momofuku) before going into the bath. Afterwards I plan on either searing on the grill or quickly deep frying. Not sure which yet.

I am asking if anyone has a quick sauce to recommend? The texture is much like pulled pork, only more tender, if possible. I have done this once before with a honey-sherry glaze, but am looking for something different. Any suggestions?

Also, here is a picture of the "money muscle" for those who are curious.

That's frankly an extraordinary colour for Pork - looks wonderful.

[Daniel72]

I've been trying to make the Egg Blossom from MC book but am really struggling to get the air out when wrapping/trying the plastic wrap - then of course they won't sink in the SV - anyone with suggestions of how to get round this?

I've done those before - I simply laid some plastic wrap over hemisphere molds, drizzled some truffle oil over the plastic wrap, and cracked the eggs into the molds. To get the air out i just worked it out with my hands and twisted the opening shut closing it with a small rubber band. If your eggs are floating (and your plastic is sealed well), try gently resting a fork or two over the egg to keep it submerged.

Thanks - I had thought about those molds and hence I had a delivery yesterday of one - will try as you suggest and perhaps be more forceful!

[rotuts]

I see a bit of the ' 7 bone ' ( scapula ) in that shoulder. would this cut be the Pig's blade ' roast ' ? never heard of this name.

[EnriqueB]

To late to edit my last reply, but regarding the length of the probe, do you think 2 inches would suffice? Do I need to insert the probe at an angle? I don't want to end up with a probe that's too short for cylindrical shaped fillets.

The longer the better.

Thanks you! Even if I use a 3.35" needle for a 1" piece of meet, will the needle still stay attached to the bag? Even though only 25-30% of the needle is inside the meat?

I have both probes. Both will do the job, but I find myself using the shorter one more often, as I normally don't sous-vide very thick pieces, and for thinner pieces the large one may have a too big portion outside of the bag. On the other hand, if you have the short one and you happen to want to measure a really thick piece you can do nothing...

I suppose a lot of my pieces are about 1-1.5 inches thick. Is it very difficult to keep the probe in place in those cases? I suppose the foam tape will add a bit of thickness (polyscience sous vide foam tape), plus you could also insert the probe at an angle.

You will not have problems with the long one, just put it at an angle or even all through the long section (entering from the piece side) if needed. I first only had the long one and it stayed in place, just be careful when introducing and removing the bag.

[opinionated_alchemist]

This might be a stupid question. Or it is just totally sacrilege...

I thought about the whole sous vide hacks - especially the ones in slow cookers. So why not "braising" the protein directly in the liquid - without the vacuum? Maybe some adjustments [to have a more consistent temperature] like aluminum foil on top is needed. But overall it should work!?

Not in all cases. But in case of stews and so on, it would be interesting [yes I know, you still would need to cook the vegetables on a higher temperature - separate].

Would be curious about your opinion on this...

Cheers!

Dominik MJ

[rotuts]

SV avoids the liquid and thus the 'leach' of flavor into that liquid. thats not always bad: thats how you make soup.

granted that at various temps with meat there is a liquid that comes out, as the temps increase more liquid comes out.

but thats fairly concentrated in relation to the same thing in a true unsealed water bath.

over all you get the flavor in the SV bag, not the water.

[cookalong]

Plus it's a very convenient way of preventing oxidation if you store the food for later use, and overall a very practical, non-messy and hygienic way of dealing with food. But in general, I don't think you would loose that much by just throwing the meat into a waterbath without the vacuum bag. Temperature control is way more important than the vacuum.

[rotuts]

and the water will become soup. delicious as that might be ...

[nickrey]

A number of chefs use oil as a cooking medium similar to what you are proposing. In essence it's a very low temperature confit.

[calmopar]

I need some help figuring out what I did wrong. I did beef ribs 48 hours at 135 degrees. I use two thermometers to make sure my temps are accurate. I did the exact same thing last month and they came out amazing!

This time...two of them were fabulous (all were in separate bags), but the third one...smelled rotten. I threw it out. It's obvious some bacteria was multiplying in there. I read the pasteurization tables and given the time and temperature I didn't expect any trouble. What gives?

Also, what can I do to prep the beef so as to reduce the surface bacteria. I was thinking maybe a salting or brine in liquid for a few hours followed by a rinse and pat-dry.

Any advice here would be really appreciated. I love the results I can get with sous vide, but the food safety issue scare me. I don't let my little kids eat anything I cook that way (they are 3 and 1). TIA for insights!

[nickrey]

Dunk it in boiling water. This will kill the surface bacteria without compromising the sous vide cook. Also make sure that it hasn't been Jaccarded.

[PedroG]

Cooking at 54.4°C or above will kill any pathogenic bacteria. A bad smell comes from spoilage germs that may survive and thrive at higher temperatures. These may in fact be killed by a short dunk in (nearly) boiling water, provided there are no deep clefts in the meat.

[jmasur]

Those who suggested dunking in boiling water - in bag or out?

[pep.]

Those who suggested dunking in boiling water - in bag or out?

Already bagged.

[rotuts]

check your bags first in the water: many cheaper bags wont take that kind of heat.

[nickrey]

Out. Rotuts has a good point. There are bags that go to 120C but I've only seen and bought them for use in a chamber sealer.

[PedroG]

Dunking in the bag avoids recontamination; it need not be boiling water, 80-85°C may do the job, see the wikiGullet article Importance of temperature control on pasteurizing times, but clefts in the meat remain untreated.

Dunking before bagging will reach the surface in clefts as well, but while dabbing dry, eventually seasoning and/or marinating, and bagging, recontamination may occur if you don't follow very strict hygienic rules.

[rotuts]

there is a 'Mylar Chamber Vacuum Bag' trick for those of us with just a vacuum sealer and no vacuum: these are the mylar bags for chamber vacuums (w/o the textured single surface that us lesser vacuum-ists need and use to pull the air out. these Mylar bags are for chamber vacuum only. but can be used in a simple vacuum sealer with this trick.

cut a strip of the textured plastic from the non-mylar vacuum bags and place it in the seal area cross-wise to the bag and parallel to the vacuum sealer with the mylar non textured bag: this will allow a vacuum to pull the air out of the mylar bag prior to the sealing w/o a chamber vacuum, but with a regular plain vacuum sealer. much easier to see this done than write about it:

there are YouTube vids on this.

Edited May 12, 2013 by rotuts (log)

[nickrey]

I'd be concerned about the clefts that Pedro mentions above.

Use boiling water as the time in water only needs to be put in, let go with the tongs, reengage with the tongs, then take out. We are not sterilising, simply reducing potential hazards. Better to wash your hands thoroughly, dunk using tongs, dry off on clean paper towels, keep it away from possible contaminants (eg. chopping boards, bench tops), then place in bag using the tongs. Given that it will be pasteurised anyway, this should deal with contaminants that would survive this process. Because I use a chamber sealer I then fold over the bag and place it in the fridge to cool before sealing. You could also marinate at this stage.

[cookalong]

I need some advice for pork loin, for an upcoming dinner party.

In the past I've cooked an occasional loin and some pork fillets sous vide. The results has been pretty varying. Sometimes I've gotten a very pink, moist and tender piece at 60C. Sometimes I've got a white and pretty dry piece of meat at 56C. I'm very sensitive to overcooking and I hate "traditional" pork. I really want the meat to be red/very pink and moist. I think I'm able to find some really good pork from the Iberian pig this time around, instead of cheap super-market stuff.

Question is, how do I cook it? Which temperature should I go for? I just got a thermometer with a thin needle probe, so cooking at a higher-than-target temperature is an option. I really want the guests to appreciate it just as much as they've would have appreciated a nice medium rare beef fillet.

Edited May 14, 2013 by cookalong (log)

[rotuts]

I like this cut rare: 130.1 4 - 5 hrs take the time to trim carefully there are some tuff bits running along the side sometimes.

Edited May 14, 2013 by rotuts (log)

[cookalong]

I like this cut rare: 130.1 4 - 5 hrs take the time to trim carefully there are some tuff bits running along the side sometimes.

Will the long cooking time make a big difference, as opposed to just let the meat reach temperature? I assume it's for disolving collagen?