Sous Vide: Recipes, Techniques & Equipment, 2012

[paulpegg]

Hello,

I'm new to sous vide and would like to cook a thai style chicken curry using a pre-made curry paste. Given that garlic reacts badly in the Sous Vide technique does anyone know if the curry paste which contains garlic will be OK or will I have to do the paste again without the garlic?

Thanks in advance.

The caution regarding garlic in Sous Vide relates to whole garlic cloves where direct contact of the whole clove against the meat can cause localized saturation of the flavor. Thomas Keller in Under Pressures advises to wrap the garlic and other whole herbs in plastic wrap, cut off the ends of the wrap and put them in the bag with the other ingredients. Your curry paste will not have enough large pieces of garlic to cause a problem and you will probably use less than if you prepared the dish in a skillet or wok.

[Toufas]

Hello, has anyone had any experience with this: http://www.sousvidetools.com/sous-vide-chef-thermal-circulator ?

I would prefer a portable unit that would require less space, and I can't afford the polyscience controller.

Have you considered the Fresh Meals Magic heater/circulator, with the Sous Vide Magic controller? Or just the SVM with a rice cooker or crock pot you already have?

Do you mean this: http://freshmealssolutions.com/store/products/220V-SVM%7B47%7DFMM-Sous-Vide-Kit-%28Commercial%29.html ? (I noticed that the non commercial version does not have an air pump, I suppose this is for better circulation?)

And I could use the same system with any container/pot? I don't have any rice cooker or crock pot.

The price is much better than the one I was actually considering and the review I read was very good.

[vengroff]

The caution regarding garlic in Sous Vide relates to whole garlic cloves where direct contact of the whole clove against the meat can cause localized saturation of the flavor. Thomas Keller in Under Pressures advises to wrap the garlic and other whole herbs in plastic wrap, cut off the ends of the wrap and put them in the bag with the other ingredients.

I use Keller's technique with scraps of plastic from the bag roll. If you look closely you can a diagonal strip of it here protecting the meat from direct exposure to the rosemary and garlic slices.

[Robert Jueneman]

Hello, has anyone had any experience with this: http://www.sousvidetools.com/sous-vide-chef-thermal-circulator ?

I would prefer a portable unit that would require less space, and I can't afford the polyscience controller.

Have you considered the Fresh Meals Magic heater/circulator, with the Sous Vide Magic controller? Or just the SVM with a rice cooker or crock pot you already have?

Do you mean this: http://freshmealssolutions.com/store/products/220V-SVM%7B47%7DFMM-Sous-Vide-Kit-%28Commercial%29.html ? (I noticed that the non commercial version does not have an air pump, I suppose this is for better circulation?)

And I could use the same system with any container/pot? I don't have any rice cooker or crock pot.

The price is much better than the one I was actually considering and the review I read was very good.

Yes, that's the one. It comes with a Cambro polycarbonite tank, but you could use it with anything. It works best with a tank that is taller than it is wide, and has been used with some monsters -- I think 50 liters or more.

For non-commercial use within the US, they recommend the 110 v version with the air pump, but the 220 version will also work -- you might have to find a 220v pump, however, or buy a transformer, or do without the circulation and just rely on convection.

[Paul Bacino]

Searing Sous Vide Meat.. I found this method works well!! Make sure the coals burn down a bit..

This is a Weber Chimney starter.. it can be like a baby jet engine if you want that hot.. You have to be careful not to char to much.

[ScottyBoy]

Oh, I like that!

[Shalmanese]

Searing Sous Vide Meat.. I found this method works well!! Make sure the coals burn down a bit..

This is a Weber Chimney starter.. it can be like a baby jet engine if you want that hot.. You have to be careful not to char to much.

Have you tried Alton Brown's method of putting the chimney starter on top of the meat instead of the other way around?

[OliverB]

I'm running an experiment today, I put a big beef chuck roast into my Demi at 135 degree. It's been in there for about 20 hours when I take it out to give it an other browning (I seared it before I sealed it).

I have no idea if such a big roast works Sous Vide, I searched here and in my books but could not find anything. My guess is that it'll work just fine, I'm sure it's "at themperature" for many hours already. If it smells off (which I can't imagine) or is too rare, I can always continue it on the stove or in the oven, but it was something I always wanted to try. The roast is somewhat over 5lb.

Anybody ever do this? I searched for roast sous vide but found nothing. I'm hoping to get wonderful med/rare roast beef from this experiment and will post what happened. In the mean time, if you've done this or know of a post/website that talks about a roast in the Sous Vide machine, please let me know!

Edit: of course, once I posted this I did find a recipe online:

Sous Vide Roast Beef

So I guess it works! I just hope the 20 hours will be enough, as I can't stretch time (yet).

That looks like a neat website to explore further!

Edited January 8, 2012 by OliverB (log)

[e_monster]

I'm running an experiment today, I put a big beef chuck roast into my Demi at 135 degree. It's been in there for about 20 hours when I take it out to give it an other browning (I seared it before I sealed it).

I have no idea if such a big roast works Sous Vide, I searched here and in my books but could not find anything. My guess is that it'll work just fine, I'm sure it's "at themperature" for many hours already. If it smells off (which I can't imagine) or is too rare, I can always continue it on the stove or in the oven, but it was something I always wanted to try. The roast is somewhat over 5lb.

Anybody ever do this? I searched for roast sous vide but found nothing. I'm hoping to get wonderful med/rare roast beef from this experiment and will post what happened. In the mean time, if you've done this or know of a post/website that talks about a roast in the Sous Vide machine, please let me know!

Edit: of course, once I posted this I did find a recipe online:

Sous Vide Roast Beef

So I guess it works! I just hope the 20 hours will be enough, as I can't stretch time (yet).

That looks like a neat website to explore further!

The important question for safety is the thickness and shape of the meat to make sure that the core gets into the safe zone in a reasonable amount of time.

As an fyi, the smell won't tell you if it is safe to eat. The deadly pathogens don't result in an off smell. The spoilage bacteria that give rise to bad smells are different. Food can smell and taste just fine and still be unsafe to eat.

Best,

Edward

[OliverB]

That's certainly true. I washed the roast well and dried it off, then seared it all over the outside to hopefully kill what might have lived there. I'm not so concerned about what might be way inside, hopefully the cow was healthy. But my hopefully true guess is that it'll warm up faster in the water bath than in a low oven, since the close contact with warm water transfers the heat much faster than air in the oven.

Hopefully you'll hear back from me in the near future

I'd not cook a whole chicken Sous Vide though, that's for sure. As interesting as that would be. Too much air/empty space inside.

The recipe I linked uses 131 degree, I went to 135 (one above what I use for steak etc). Probably makes not much - if any - of a difference in that range, but made me feel "safer"

Edited January 8, 2012 by OliverB (log)

[m61376]

I'm a novice here, so let me apologize if this has been asked/answered. If I prepare a piece of meat and want to freeze it, I've read that I should keep it in its cooking bag, dip it in an ice bath to chill and then freeze. When I want to defrost it and reheat it, is there a way to do that other than using the sous vide bath? I wanted to prepare the food and bring it somewhere where the equipment wouldn't be available, and wondering what the best way to reheat would be. Of course, I would sear it prior to eating, but would that be sufficient to reheat if it was defrosted?

Also- out of curiosity- I know I read that the outside of the meat may turn a greenish tinged color which the searing takes away, as does any liquid/meat juices in the bag after cooking. What is this from? I noticed it especially after cooking a piece of chuck for 24 hours. It was unbelievable, btw- like the finest filet! My family was VERY impressed!!

Thanks for the help!

[Toufas]

Hello, has anyone had any experience with this: http://www.sousvidetools.com/sous-vide-chef-thermal-circulator ?

I would prefer a portable unit that would require less space, and I can't afford the polyscience controller.

Have you considered the Fresh Meals Magic heater/circulator, with the Sous Vide Magic controller? Or just the SVM with a rice cooker or crock pot you already have?

Do you mean this: http://freshmealssolutions.com/store/products/220V-SVM%7B47%7DFMM-Sous-Vide-Kit-%28Commercial%29.html ? (I noticed that the non commercial version does not have an air pump, I suppose this is for better circulation?)

And I could use the same system with any container/pot? I don't have any rice cooker or crock pot.

The price is much better than the one I was actually considering and the review I read was very good.

Yes, that's the one. It comes with a Cambro polycarbonite tank, but you could use it with anything. It works best with a tank that is taller than it is wide, and has been used with some monsters -- I think 50 liters or more.

For non-commercial use within the US, they recommend the 110 v version with the air pump, but the 220 version will also work -- you might have to find a 220v pump, however, or buy a transformer, or do without the circulation and just rely on convection.

Ι am in europe, that's why I linked the 220v one. I think I will go for this one then! Thank you very much.

[OliverB]

you could leave the meat in the bag and put it in a pot with warm/hot water that you try to keep at the target temp with a thermometer. If your destination is not too far away from home, you could also reheat it at home in the bath and then wrap it in a towel and put it in a cooler, where it should stay nice and warm for quite a while. I've made brisket on the bbq and kept it warm in a small cooler for several hours.

Alternatively you could warm it in a low oven. That will take a while, so you'd have to arrive early to the party. Insert a thermometer to make sure not to overcook, but you might get some more well done area on the outside.

Those are the approaches I'd take. Actually, a big pot with water in a low oven could be an other easy solution with less temp fiddling than a stove.

[ChrisZ]

Hello,

I'm new to sous vide and would like to cook a thai style chicken curry using a pre-made curry paste. Given that garlic reacts badly in the Sous Vide technique does anyone know if the curry paste which contains garlic will be OK or will I have to do the paste again without the garlic?

Thanks in advance.

While the garlic issue has been addressed, I thought I'd mention that I've made curries using SV and they've come out really well. I'm pretty lazy when it comes to Asian cuisines and although I don't mind using supermarket simmer sauces the meat usually overcooks by the time they're done on the stove.

By giving the meat a quick saute first to brown it, then chucking it in a bag with a jar of sauce you can cook it SV for hours and not have to worry about the meat drying out. I've mentioned before that I like the way sous vide makes simple food really shine - chicken breasts and salmon are great examples. In the same way, using sous vide to cook a basic supermarket simmer sauce is incredibly easy and yet the results are really much better than you get by boiling chicken or beef chunks on the stove. So definitely try it.

(BTW you can always try blanching garlic first before popping it in a bag)

[Paul Bacino]

Searing Sous Vide Meat.. I found this method works well!! Make sure the coals burn down a bit..

This is a Weber Chimney starter.. it can be like a baby jet engine if you want that hot.. You have to be careful not to char to much.

Have you tried Alton Brown's method of putting the chimney starter on top of the meat instead of the other way around?

No I haven't Shalmanese.

I like this way, but I'm going to put my "Lodge Cast Iron" pan on the upper grill. this way fat drippings won't cause fire ( ) as in my last searing of a butter poached Porterhouse. It was a wee bit late New yrs eve.

Paul

Better Like this Rib Cap Roll I did.

Edited January 9, 2012 by Paul Bacino (log)

[m61376]

you could leave the meat in the bag and put it in a pot with warm/hot water that you try to keep at the target temp with a thermometer. If your destination is not too far away from home, you could also reheat it at home in the bath and then wrap it in a towel and put it in a cooler, where it should stay nice and warm for quite a while. I've made brisket on the bbq and kept it warm in a small cooler for several hours.

Alternatively you could warm it in a low oven. That will take a while, so you'd have to arrive early to the party. Insert a thermometer to make sure not to overcook, but you might get some more well done area on the outside.

Those are the approaches I'd take. Actually, a big pot with water in a low oven could be an other easy solution with less temp fiddling than a stove.

Thanks! I was actually thinking about your last suggestion.

I've read that the outside of the meat can turn a greenish color due to lack of oxidation. I just wanted some reassurance that the juices may look off color as well. The meat tasted great, and looked fine when seared, but the juices in the bag I tossed; not very appetizing. Is the discoloration of the juices due to the same lack of oxidation?

I had cooked it for 24 hours at 133", as per Baldwin's rec. cook times, so it clearly was pasteurized. I guess as a novice I just wanted reassurance that this was normal. oh- I was cooking pre-salted meat (kosher meat, so it is soaked/salted), in case that makes a difference.

[DouglasBaldwin]

I've read that the outside of the meat can turn a greenish color due to lack of oxidation. I just wanted some reassurance that the juices may look off color as well. The meat tasted great, and looked fine when seared, but the juices in the bag I tossed; not very appetizing. Is the discoloration of the juices due to the same lack of oxidation?

I had cooked it for 24 hours at 133", as per Baldwin's rec. cook times, so it clearly was pasteurized. I guess as a novice I just wanted reassurance that this was normal. oh- I was cooking pre-salted meat (kosher meat, so it is soaked/salted), in case that makes a difference.

It's normal for the liquid in the bag to look unappetizing, especially for the long, low-temperature recipes. If you drain the liquid into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave it until it boils, it'll look more like what you're used to; many then filter out the precipitated (sarcoplasmic) proteins and brown them in a pan (with some fat) (add some flour to the fat to make a roux,) and then add the filtered liquid to make a simple sauce. That said, this method doesn't make a lot of sauce and the protein you just cooked is likely to get too cold while you prepare it.

[m61376]

Douglas- Thanks for the response. I still can't believe how incredible the chuck steak tasted!!

I want to try a corned beef next- what's the recommended cooking for that? I've been so busy reading about this that my head is starting to spin, but the results so far have been well worth it. I've been reading through your guide and it is VERY helpful- I am so glad you posted it, because there are so many different temperature recommendations and the three things I've made so far have been perfect using your temperature/time suggestions.

[rotuts]

re: making sauce from the 'bagged' juice

ive learned to do this: in a small sauce pan before i take the meat out I make a reduction (if I feel like it) that will match the sauce dry wine etc. reduce that.

then I open the hot bag and pour the juice into that pan. The meat will indeed get cold: but I roll over the snipped edge of the bag ( its a small snip ) and staple it closed in a few places. i then put this bag back into the warm/hot water so that the snip is above the surface a little. I Turn off the circulator and heating elements. Now when Im ready to 'carve' I have hot meat. If here is a little more juice at the end it going into the sauce pan.

Works well for me. The juice is fantastic that way. But Ill try browning the bits next. Thats a good idea.

[Shalmanese]

Searing Sous Vide Meat.. I found this method works well!! Make sure the coals burn down a bit..

This is a Weber Chimney starter.. it can be like a baby jet engine if you want that hot.. You have to be careful not to char to much.

Have you tried Alton Brown's method of putting the chimney starter on top of the meat instead of the other way around?

No I haven't Shalmanese.

I like this way, but I'm going to put my "Lodge Cast Iron" pan on the upper grill. this way fat drippings won't cause fire ( ) as in my last searing of a butter poached Porterhouse. It was a wee bit late New yrs eve.

The point of putting the heat above the meat is precisely so that the fat drippings won't cause flareups and carbonation. You can see the relevant section of the episode here

[rotuts]

Thanks for posting the AB seg on the Turbo above heat puppy.

AB will be really missed. he is not unlike TestKitchen /Cook's country on well 'enhancing' items.

glad to see Heston has taken over, at least with the Plastic Cow.

a further note: AB had a Salmon show where he TurboCharged the heating with the grill above the charcoal starter.

Ive done this a lot since:

of note: the smaller (and larger) grill grates you get ( get smaller here ) have one 'tine' that runs at 90 degrees from the rest, on the 'bottom' side.

I realized that on that Grill Starter Chimney Id put that grill with that tine down. it was unstable. it can be easily fixed with creating a notch 90 degrees off set for that 'tine' to perfectly fit on that Chimney.

much more stable.

and you need very little fuel for a short sear!

Edited January 9, 2012 by rotuts (log)

[Kerry Beal]

Douglas- Thanks for the response. I still can't believe how incredible the chuck steak tasted!!

I want to try a corned beef next- what's the recommended cooking for that? I've been so busy reading about this that my head is starting to spin, but the results so far have been well worth it. I've been reading through your guide and it is VERY helpful- I am so glad you posted it, because there are so many different temperature recommendations and the three things I've made so far have been perfect using your temperature/time suggestions.

For corned beef I like 80ºC for 16 hours.

[m61376]

Douglas- Thanks for the response. I still can't believe how incredible the chuck steak tasted!!

I want to try a corned beef next- what's the recommended cooking for that? I've been so busy reading about this that my head is starting to spin, but the results so far have been well worth it. I've been reading through your guide and it is VERY helpful- I am so glad you posted it, because there are so many different temperature recommendations and the three things I've made so far have been perfect using your temperature/time suggestions.

For corned beef I like 80ºC for 16 hours.

wow- I didn't think any meat was cooked that high.

Is this standard for corned beef or do others cook it at a lower temp.?

[GlowingGhoul]

Douglas- Thanks for the response. I still can't believe how incredible the chuck steak tasted!!

I want to try a corned beef next- what's the recommended cooking for that? I've been so busy reading about this that my head is starting to spin, but the results so far have been well worth it. I've been reading through your guide and it is VERY helpful- I am so glad you posted it, because there are so many different temperature recommendations and the three things I've made so far have been perfect using your temperature/time suggestions.

For corned beef I like 80ºC for 16 hours.

wow- I didn't think any meat was cooked that high.

Is this standard for corned beef or do others cook it at a lower temp.?

I've used this temperature for Sous Vide bbq brisket (which has a finish temp of around 90 using traditional methods), though I've found 78 keeps the meat more moist and still gets the same sort of result.

[OliverB]

The beef roast came out great! Gorgeous color all the way through, nice and tender, juicy and yummy. Definitely a winner. I made a rub with fresh garlic, salt, dried rosemary and pepper that I put on it after cooking, then browned it all nicely in the cast iron pan. Lots of wonderful roast beef left over for sandwiches too, I'll do this again! The roast was in the machine for a good 20 hours and came out perfect.