Sous Vide: Recipes, Techniques & Equipment, 2012

[rotuts]

Sooooo what do they look like pre-Cook?

[FoodMan]

This is looking like a Kickstarter I can get behind.

http://www.kickstart...to-your-kitchen

They actually met their funding goal this morning, so they'll be going into production with them if anyone is interested in picking one up. I'm already in for one.

Looks like it will retail for $360.00 according to their latest update. They are over 500K now in funding! I might just pre-order one as well.

Edit: I contacted them regarding warranty info and received this "We are offering a one year manufacturer's warranty. So basically if we did anything wrong on our side that makes the Nomiku not work we'll replace it after you send it back."

Edited July 17, 2012 by FoodMan (log)

[avaserfi]

Hello guys, please help me out.

Got a couple of pounds of "Beef Chuck Short Ribs Boneless". Looks wonderful with marbling almost like Kobe.

I have done short ribs many times before, but not chuck short ribs.

What should I do with this? Timing? Temperature?

Thanks.

dcarch

Below are some boneless chuck end short ribs that I cured in kombu then cooked for 16 hours at 56c. Chuck end short ribs are slightly chewy if just seared, but have great flavor. The 16 hour cook tenderizes them so they eat like a nice steak.

[ElsieD]

I do mine for 45 hours at 55.6 followed by a quick sear and they are perfect.

[paulpegg]

Hello guys, please help me out.

Got a couple of pounds of "Beef Chuck Short Ribs Boneless". Looks wonderful with marbling almost like Kobe.

I have done short ribs many times before, but not chuck short ribs.

What should I do with this? Timing? Temperature?

Thanks.

dcarch

I use them all the time in Momofuku's 48 hours short ribs. These are done at 60C for 48 hours. The recipe calls for bone-in ribs but the boneless work just as well. The marinade is so good that I make large batches, reduce it to 20% and serve the thick, almost black sauce with beef and pork done other ways as well.

[dcarch]

Thank you guys, I know I can count on you.

Now I know what to do.

dcarch

[Josh Fredericks]

Hi Folks,

I just bought a SideKIC immersion circulator and gave it a try on some chicken breast with skin that I purchased from whole foods. I don't have a food vacuum so I used the displacement method. I seasoned it with salt and pepper and cooked it for 1.5 hours at 146.0 degrees. The temperature sensor on the SideKIC didn't match my CDN digital thermometer-- the thermometer read 144.0 degrees in the water bath. I wasn't sure which one was more accurate, so I cooked it a few degrees above the suggested temp (140) to be safe.

When the chicken came out, it seemed to have expanded in size and was overly spongy in texture. I browned it in a cast iron pan but other than the skin it tasted quite bland. It wasn't especially pleasant to eat. Do you think the problem with the texture/taste was that the temperature was too high? Or could it be because I used the displacement method to seal instead of a vacuum?

Thanks for any advice/help!

[Heartsurgeon]

i generally like to cook bone in chicken thighs, skin on, sealed with either butter or olive oil. no seasoning. 150 degrees for 3 hours. leave in the bag, cool and refrigerate.

i do this 1-5 days before i'm going to use them.

when i want to eat them, i take the thighs out of the bag, at this point i can easily strip off the skin if i want.

Pat them dry, season as normal, and either cook on the grill, or sear in a pan to warm up the meat and brown the surface.

flawless, tastey, fall off the bone chicken everytime.

[nickrey]

Hi Folks,

I just bought a SideKIC immersion circulator and gave it a try on some chicken breast with skin that I purchased from whole foods. I don't have a food vacuum so I used the displacement method. I seasoned it with salt and pepper and cooked it for 1.5 hours at 146.0 degrees. The temperature sensor on the SideKIC didn't match my CDN digital thermometer-- the thermometer read 144.0 degrees in the water bath. I wasn't sure which one was more accurate, so I cooked it a few degrees above the suggested temp (140) to be safe.

When the chicken came out, it seemed to have expanded in size and was overly spongy in texture. I browned it in a cast iron pan but other than the skin it tasted quite bland. It wasn't especially pleasant to eat. Do you think the problem with the texture/taste was that the temperature was too high? Or could it be because I used the displacement method to seal instead of a vacuum?

Thanks for any advice/help!

Hi Josh,

Welcome to eGullet.

The temperature differential that you had shouldn't have affected the breasts.

I've never had meat "expand and become spongy in texture." It almost sounds like you got some water in there and the meat absorbed it but I can't work out how this would happen.

My advice would be to try again but try brining the meat overnight before drying it and sealing it in the bag. This will add flavour if the chicken you buy is bland. Use the water immersion method and be careful that you seal the bag properly.

It may be me but I always take off the skin as it does strange things when cooked sous vide: try it without the skin next time.

The chicken will be much more moist than any that you have had before because it has not suffered from contraction which squeezes moisture out when it is cooked at a high heat.

Stick with it, the product is more than worth it.

Thighs typically are cooked at a higher temperature to take into account their different texture.

[ChrisTaylor]

SV@Home kit landed on the doorstep yesterday. Have bagged up a few short ribs with the Momofuku marinade. These will go into the bath in a couple of hours, but for tonight's dinner I have a rack of lamb. Following Blumenthal's method from Heston at Home--60C for 60 minutes.

[Morkai]

Hi Folks,

I just bought a SideKIC immersion circulator and gave it a try on some chicken breast with skin that I purchased from whole foods. I don't have a food vacuum so I used the displacement method. I seasoned it with salt and pepper and cooked it for 1.5 hours at 146.0 degrees. The temperature sensor on the SideKIC didn't match my CDN digital thermometer-- the thermometer read 144.0 degrees in the water bath. I wasn't sure which one was more accurate, so I cooked it a few degrees above the suggested temp (140) to be safe.

When the chicken came out, it seemed to have expanded in size and was overly spongy in texture. I browned it in a cast iron pan but other than the skin it tasted quite bland. It wasn't especially pleasant to eat. Do you think the problem with the texture/taste was that the temperature was too high? Or could it be because I used the displacement method to seal instead of a vacuum?

Thanks for any advice/help!

Hi Josh,

Welcome to eGullet.

The temperature differential that you had shouldn't have affected the breasts.

I've never had meat "expand and become spongy in texture." It almost sounds like you got some water in there and the meat absorbed it but I can't work out how this would happen.

My advice would be to try again but try brining the meat overnight before drying it and sealing it in the bag. This will add flavour if the chicken you buy is bland. Use the water immersion method and be careful that you seal the bag properly.

It may be me but I always take off the skin as it does strange things when cooked sous vide: try it without the skin next time.

The chicken will be much more moist than any that you have had before because it has not suffered from contraction which squeezes moisture out when it is cooked at a high heat.

I recently purchased the SideKIC myself, and have cooked chicken breasts three times with it. I cooked the breasts at 140F (verified with my Thermapen) for 1.5 hours seasoned with salt and pepper, and then quickly seared the skin (or breaded with crumbs and quickly fried). I have to admit I came away each time disappointed.

I don't know if it's because my expectations were too high, but from what I had been reading about sous vide chicken, I suppose I was prepared for an otherwordly experience. I had been reading claims from people that it was the best chicken breast they've ever eaten - fork tender, that you couldn't even discern individual muscle fibers. I remember two specific claims - that chicken cooked sous vide is "mind blowingly incredible" and Kenji from SeriousEats claimed that it was "so soft that teeth were almost unneccesary". I found almost none of this to be true. Sure, it was juicy chicken. Really though, it just tasted like a nice, moist chicken breast - and nothing more. Is there something on the operating end that I am doing in error, or was I simply reading too much into these fantastical sous-vide chicken claims?

Edited July 19, 2012 by Morkai (log)

[rotuts]

I do my chicken breasts at 145 for 3 hours. You need to keep track of what youve done so you can vary the times and temps until you get something stunning. I dont think SV skin is interesting at all. Some have taken the skin off, seasoned it and baked it between two silicone baking mats with jelly roll pans above and below ( sort of a sandwich: pan/mat/skin/mat/pan ) at 350 or so until cripsy. You need the lip on the pans to catch the fat.

try it.

[mgaretz]

Personally, I like chicken breasts done sous vide. They're juicy and tender, but not super-amazing. My daughter, on the other hand, doesn't care for them and prefers the texture from oven or BBQ methods, so that's how I make them. In other words, the difference isn't significant enough to make the chicken one way for her and another for me.

I think the big difference for most is that they don't know how to cook a chicken breast conventionally and are used to dry, somewhat tough breasts. The difference between those and ones made sous vide is huge and that may be why you've seen the descriptions you have.

[EnriqueB]

I cook chicken breasts even lower (131F/55C), 1 hour for me, 3 hours to pasteurize for my family. I find it wondefully juicy and tender, but of course if you set your expectations extremelly high anything can disappoint...

About the skin, the truth is that most skins do not sear very well after sous-viding, as they cook in a moist environment and the fast heat you apply not to overcook after the careful cooking is usually not enough for a perfect sear. To get the best you must devote some time to dry the pieces at a low temperautre before searing, which takes time.

[m61376]

Anyone try the new Polyscience Sous Vide toolbox for Ipad/iphone app?

[mgaretz]

Anyone try the new Polyscience Sous Vide toolbox for Ipad/iphone app?

Thats based on our own vengroff's Sous Vide Dash.

[rotuts]

are they identical?

[gfweb]

RE the unsatisfactory chicken breast texture post sous vide ..I've found that more than just a pinch of salt gives a slightly rubbery texture.

[ChrisTaylor]

Results of my first experiments:

Rack of lamb: I followed the recipe in Blumenthal at Home, which prescribes 60C for 60 minutes. I was preparing these after work so I wanted something I could get on the table quickly. That meant anything aside from maybe eggs was bound to be problematic, I guess. That and, hey, I was kind of surprised by how long it took the slow cooker to stabilise at 60C--I figured when it overshot the mark by 2 or 3 degrees that it'd come down very quickly. It didn't. Next time I'll opt for a longer cooking time (2 hours, perhaps) at a lower temperature. To sear the skin I might take a leaf from David Chang's book and deep- or at least shallow-fry the racks.

Beef short ribs: 60C proved to be too high a temperature for beef short ribs. They were nice, don't get me wrong, but I think next time I'll cook them at 56C or 58C. I was following David Chang's recipe from the Momofuku cookbook. I also think that the marinade, which was meant to be reheated and reduced to serve as a sauce, didn't stand up to 48 hours in a plastic bag with a piece of meat. Next time I think I'll make double the quantity of marinade: half will be sealed in with the meat, half will be reserved in the fridge and I'll use that as the sauce. To compensate for the lack of beefiness, I might jack it with a little bit of beef stock. Thoughts?

Octopus: A few minutes ago I dropped my third experiment into the bath, a 650g-ish occy tentacle (skinned and cleaned by the fishmonger). I'm following Thomas Keller's recipe from Under Pressure: 77C for 5 hours. I kept his spice mix and the chorizo and potatoes, although feeling like that wasn't enough to make a single course meal I've decided to add a couple of extra vegetables, meaning aside from the chorizo it's basically a version of the warm occy salad in Giorgio Locatelli's Made in Sicily. Oh well.

Things I have sitting in the fridge, awaiting vac bags:

Pork belly: I'm torn between Blumenthal's 18-hour pork belly from At Home and the spiced BBQ pork belly from the Alinea cookbook, which sounds like something I could slice and put into sandwiches for work. Cooked for decidedly less than 18 hours, that one. Thoughts on cooking time and temperature?

Veal 'osso bucco' (meaning slices of shin). I read some article that compared a 12 and 24 hour shin and argued that the 12 hour one was vastly superior, but I've seen someone else argue that 48 hours gives you the best osso bucco. Thoughts?

[Kerry Beal]

Beef short ribs: 60C proved to be too high a temperature for beef short ribs. They were nice, don't get me wrong, but I think next time I'll cook them at 56C or 58C. I was following David Chang's recipe from the Momofuku cookbook. I also think that the marinade, which was meant to be reheated and reduced to serve as a sauce, didn't stand up to 48 hours in a plastic bag with a piece of meat. Next time I think I'll make double the quantity of marinade: half will be sealed in with the meat, half will be reserved in the fridge and I'll use that as the sauce. To compensate for the lack of beefiness, I might jack it with a little bit of beef stock. Thoughts?

Save the juices that come out of the packages of meat and steak that you sous vide in a bottle in the freezer. When you need to jack beefiness this stuff can't be beat!

And for short ribs - I like 55C for 72 hours.

Edited July 22, 2012 by Kerry Beal (log)

[m61376]

140 degrees for 48 hours makes incredible beef short ribs- even better if you smoke them beforehand for a few hours. Try a marinade of hoisin sauce and ketchup- easy to make and remarkably good.

[rotuts]

I have yet to try sort ribs SV, but its moving up on my list of things to try.

Does the fat melt and fill the pouch for any of you, or are the temps too low for that. In the braising days I recall a lot of rendered fat.

thanks

[ChrisZ]

Veal 'osso bucco' (meaning slices of shin). I read some article that compared a 12 and 24 hour shin and argued that the 12 hour one was vastly superior, but I've seen someone else argue that 48 hours gives you the best osso bucco. Thoughts?

Try it and let us know what you think! Osso Bucco is something I tried sous vide, for 24 hours @ 58C I think, and I found the result a bit underwhelming- meat was fine but the sauce seemed to lack flavour. I recently bought a pressure cooker and tried osso bucco, and had a pretty amazing result in less than an hour - the sauce was rich and dark. It made me think I should try it sous vide again to compare the difference, maybe I need to do it for less time at a higher temperature.

[PedroG]

Veal 'osso bucco' (meaning slices of shin). I read some article that compared a 12 and 24 hour shin and argued that the 12 hour one was vastly superior, but I've seen someone else argue that 48 hours gives you the best osso bucco. Thoughts?

Try it and let us know what you think! Osso Bucco is something I tried sous vide, for 24 hours @ 58C I think, and I found the result a bit underwhelming- meat was fine but the sauce seemed to lack flavour. I recently bought a pressure cooker and tried osso bucco, and had a pretty amazing result in less than an hour - the sauce was rich and dark. It made me think I should try it sous vide again to compare the difference, maybe I need to do it for less time at a higher temperature.

In my ossobuco recipe I recommended SV 24-36 hrs. at 58.5°C / 137°F for medium (alternatively 6-12 hrs. at 77°C / 173°F for well-done). Looking up my cooking notes, I found that 12h/58.5°C came out pink and fork-tender, but rather like a steak; later I preferred 24h / 58.5°C.

Note also that the sauce in sous vide variations of traditional braise recipes is missing the Maillard products from pre-searing the meat. This may be overcome by searing a small amount of ground meat mixed with some flour (and eventually condiment) before sautéing the onions and other ingredients.

[m61376]

I have yet to try sort ribs SV, but its moving up on my list of things to try.

Does the fat melt and fill the pouch for any of you, or are the temps too low for that. In the braising days I recall a lot of rendered fat.

thanks

I just made several dozen beef ribs for a party. Ones that were fattier had the insides of the pouch well coated with melted fat after 48 hours. I quick chilled them and actually froze them, and peeled off the fat on the wrapper (bag) before reheating. Reheated with some more barbecue sauce slowly in foil pans in a low temp. oven (200 degrees).

Turned some friends onto Sous Vide cooking after tasting those ribs- they were that good!!

Edited July 23, 2012 by m61376 (log)