Sous Vide rump, I expected more from it.

[Shirley03]

Good Morning all and thank you for letting me join your society.

I've been a lurker for a long time but wanted to take a more active part.

I've been very excited by all the talk of Sous Vide and had a few successful attempts with a slow cooker (crock pot) and a thermometer but wanted to try the longer cooking times without having to babysit the equipment so i'm now the proud owner of a Sous Vide Supreme.

I've read all about not needing to use the more tender cuts ( I did a fillet steak that just melt in the mouth) so decided to try a tougher but more flavourful rump steak. I put it in the SVS for just over two hours at 57.5c but the result was a real disappointment. Really quite tough and chewy.

So ok, I need to rethink what i'm doing and I have Mr Baldwins book on order to hopefully arrive by Monday. However I'm now worried about a piece of meat that I put in the SVS twenty four hours ago at 57.5 and will be eating in about eight hours. I read that as long as the meat is between 55 and 60c then a long slow cook will make it very tender, however other sites suggest cooking at least 60c for the tenderness. Would it be wise to up the temp now for the last eight hours? The meat in question is a sirloin joint.

I really wanted success with this process but i'm feeling a little deflated after the rubbery rump.

[Kerry Beal]

Welcome Shirley.

I think 2 hours is perhaps a bit short - I do eye of round for 36 hours at 58 C to get a nice tender product.

[rotuts]

Id also consider shoulder. its taster. try to get a piece where you can separate the muscles into 'individual' pieces. then bag so you know how to cut it across the grain, I do 131 for 48 to 72 hours

delicious.

[Shirley03]

Many thanks people, I assumed it was user error. I will definitely try again with your suggestions. I really need my book to arrive!

I've upped the temp on my sirloin joint roast to 60c for the last five hours. I do hope it will turn out well as i've promised hubby the best bit of pot roast we have ever had

I'm trying other things apart from meat as I want to make full use of the SVS. I tried omelette and that was stunning. The texture was so creamy. I doubt I will make one any other way from now on.

[rotuts]

study the Eggs (SV in the shell -- its own 'plastic wrap') threads.

pay careful attention to the times and temps. and well, wait until you taste the Perfect Yolk !

Edited August 11, 2011 by rotuts (log)

[Shirley03]

Thank you rotuts, that is something i'm looking forward to doing. I used to keep my own hens and the eggs were wonderful so I can just imagine what Sous Vide would do to them. Nowadays I buy from the farmer nearby, I can't face eating ones from a supermarket. I will give it a go this weekend.

So, I gave the piece of meat its full thirty hours. It was fully grey with no pink at all. The texture was far nicer than I would normally expect from the cut of meat but was rather dry. I wish now that I hadn't upped the temp to 60c for the last five hours. Never mind, must keep experimenting.

[jduncan81]

Thank you rotuts, that is something i'm looking forward to doing. I used to keep my own hens and the eggs were wonderful so I can just imagine what Sous Vide would do to them. Nowadays I buy from the farmer nearby, I can't face eating ones from a supermarket. I will give it a go this weekend.

So, I gave the piece of meat its full thirty hours. It was fully grey with no pink at all. The texture was far nicer than I would normally expect from the cut of meat but was rather dry. I wish now that I hadn't upped the temp to 60c for the last five hours. Never mind, must keep experimenting.

If you want it pink I would work a lot closer to 55C - but still for 36-48 hours (depending on how tender you want it)

[Shirley03]

Thank you jduncan. Its not so much that I need it pink, its that I want the juiciness. Yes the texture was good but just 'dry' I do worry about getting too close to the 55c mark as I understand that this is the cut off period to keep the meat safe.

I will try perhaps 57c for 36-48 hours. Oh dear my meat intake is increasing by the day with all these experiments!

[LoftyNotions]

Welcome to eGullet, Shirley.

I routinely cook meat at 55c for 48 to 72 hours. I've found that round steak or roast tends to get a bit mushy if cooked that long however. For Sirloin I'd probably shoot for around 24 hours. Chuck (shoulder) in my opinion is a much better cheap cut to sous vide. It has better flavor. 48 to 72 hours seems to work well for it.

Searing the exterior of the meat after sous vide really helps the flavor.

Enjoy your new toy.

Larry

[Shirley03]

Thank you Larry.

I was hoping to do Sous Vide on a more 'fast food' scale! I know that chicken breasts are better just done for a few hours and I was kind of hoping that I would be able to do the beef/lamb etc at a slightly higher temp for a shorter period of time. It looks like this will not be the case.

Really enjoying the experience however

[Paul Kierstead]

One of the great things in sous-vide is that cooked items keep really well, and re-heat really well. So you put your meat in meal-sized portions in the bath for your 48 hours, what ever. Remove and chill in an ice bath (this is really important). Do *not* open the bags; they are mostly sterile in there, and you don't want to expose them to bugs. Put in the coldest part of your fridge. They will keep for quite some time; peoples opinion will vary, but I'm more then happy with 2 weeks (though the food rarely "lasts" that long . You can also freeze of course, though with some loss of quality.

On your meal day, toss the bag in just for a while to re-heat, finish and serve. That way you get 48-hour meat in 30 minutes

[jduncan81]

Thank you Larry.

I was hoping to do Sous Vide on a more 'fast food' scale! I know that chicken breasts are better just done for a few hours and I was kind of hoping that I would be able to do the beef/lamb etc at a slightly higher temp for a shorter period of time. It looks like this will not be the case.

Really enjoying the experience however

Beef and lamb can also be done for a few hours - you just need to use more tender cuts. The typical stewing/braising cuts all require long cooking to break down collagen.

[Shirley03]

Jduncan81 Thank you, yes I see what you are saying. The first meat I did was a fillet steak that just had a couple of hours and was melt in the mouth tender, as was to be expected even if I had cooked it in a griddle. I keep reading I can get similar texture with cheaper cuts but I guess I was spoilt somewhat with the fillet.

Paul thank you, now this is the thing that i'm very nervous of. Up to now we have consumed everything shortly after it comes out of the bag and this is because ive read quite a few horror stories about bacteria and spores. I think the problem is i'm getting bogged down by reading so many conflicting stories on the internet, quite often from people who don't understand Sous Vide at all but want to have an opinion. For instance I mentioned to a friend I was trying it with a crock pot and thermometer and the reply was almost a laugh at me for being a two penny scientist and of course it would never work without thousands spent on 'proper' equipment. Actually it worked quite nicely, but it was too much of a faff for me.

The internet is a fantastic learning tool but its about weeding out all the bad information. Once I have Douglas Baldwin's book (its in transit to me!) I shall use only that for reference.. oh and here of course!

I'm not the most adventurous cook (I sometimes wonder why i'm allowed on here!) My strengths lie more in the old skills such as jam/butter making. I make all my food from scratch. I'm a soapmaker too and make all our beauty items but hey i'm rambling now

[Shirley03]

I just read back my last post and I feel I sold myself a little short. I'm more into the simple beauty of food (that sounds a lot better!) A perfect meal to me would be a salad that was picked from my greenhouse within the last ten minutes, with an egg laid that morning by my own hens or my friends. served with sourdough bread that I made using wheat from my own little granite mill, with of course, lashings of homechurned butter.

Its just the perfect piece of meat that it needs to accompany it.... and thats where I think Sous Vide fits into my lifestyle.

[Kerry Beal]

I just read back my last post and I feel I sold myself a little short. I'm more into the simple beauty of food (that sounds a lot better!) A perfect meal to me would be a salad that was picked from my greenhouse within the last ten minutes, with an egg laid that morning by my own hens or my friends. served with sourdough bread that I made using wheat from my own little granite mill, with of course, lashings of homechurned butter.

Its just the perfect piece of meat that it needs to accompany it.... and thats where I think Sous Vide fits into my lifestyle.

Those are some friends you have!

[Shirley03]

Ha ha Kerry, thats nothing... I have another friend who lays bricks....

[LoftyNotions]

Hi Shirley,

As jduncan mentioned above, if you want 2 to 4 hour cooking times the more tender cuts are probably what you'll want to use. My personal favorite is boneless ribeye.

Douglas has some the best food safety information you'll find anywhere. I'm sure you've seen this already, but here is a LINK to his website.

Larry

[Shirley03]

Thank you Larry.

Yes I have the link.... my book arrived in today's post so i'm ready to go! I've just read a couple of pages up to now but already i'm very grateful that temps are recorded in Centigrade as well, thats a nice touch.

I have a busy weekend but can't wait to get started... the perfect egg must be made.