Sous Vide: Recipes, Techniques & Equipment, 2012

[Charcuterer]

M61376, there are two threads devoted to Modernist cuisine at home. Here and here!

[ChrisTaylor]

A 4-point rack of venison--52.5C for 1 hour (no marinades, et al) works well enough. Just kicking it out there.

[ChrisTaylor]

Slow, tasty suicide (adapted from Peter Gilmore's recipe for slow-braised pork cheeks w/ celeriac and mushrooms):

-- bag pork cheeks (trimmed, etc) w/ some reduced stock

-- 85C, 10 hours

-- chill

-- sear cheeks then put in pan w/ more reduced stock and park in 180C oven for 10 minutes

-- reduce that and use to glaze the resting cheeks

Yeah.

Things you might want to go with your dinner, sort of supporting acts:

-- a very light salad with a fairly acidic dressing

-- a dram of, say, Fernet Branca

-- a nearby bed

-- at least one of eG's doctors on speed dial

Edited October 14, 2012 by ChrisTaylor (log)

[nickrey]

Did you mean 85C? Not sure why you'd need a doctor at that temperature.

[paulpegg]

I guess the doctor would be in case he decides not to commit suicide with this dish!! The bed is to lie down on while waiting for the slow death to take place. LOL

[haresfur]

So I have some nice looking vac-packed blade steak I picked up at the farmer's market and am considering whether to to open it, season the steaks, and reseal in ziplocs or just whack the meat as-is into the SV. This train of thought brought me to wondering whether salting meat before a long, slow, moist cook is more-or-less brining it and if so, how much of the SV texture relates to this, rather than the low-temperature cooking. Ideas?

[paulpegg]

This looks like a perfect opportunity to test it out. Open one steak and season it as prescribed in the recipe of your choice. Leave a second one in the original bag and cook both of them at 55C (or slightly less if you like it rare) for 5 or 6 hours and see what you get. It can't hurt and you will learn something!

[KennethT]

Personally, I"m not a fan of salting before doing long SV... I did it for a few years, then at some point started cooking unseasoned, and then season right before searing or serving (if not searing). I find the meat gets a bit tougher - almost cured texture when seasoning prior to a long cook. Dave Arnold agrees - one of his more recent posts (cookingissues.com) does a comparison of salting pre and post SV.

[Merkinz]

Has anyone seen, used or know anything about the "Minipack-Torre Vortex Vacuum Packers"?

I am able to source these locally but I simply cannot find anything on these machines:

http://www.minipack-torre.it/MPCatalog/mPShowProductProcess.jsp?productID=794&productCategoryID=185

[Steve Hiller]

I don't know anything about it but wanted to say I do feel bad for the bear they have all packed up!

[JBailey]

Polyscience sells the Minipacki-Torre, so you might go to their web page to learn more. I purchsased mine from them and highly recomment Minipack-Torre for chamber vacuums-they are terrific.

[haresfur]

This looks like a perfect opportunity to test it out. Open one steak and season it as prescribed in the recipe of your choice. Leave a second one in the original bag and cook both of them at 55C (or slightly less if you like it rare) for 5 or 6 hours and see what you get. It can't hurt and you will learn something!

Took your suggestion for the test. I didn't notice a huge difference between the 2 but 24 hours was probably too much, even though it was a relatively tough cut. So I'll try your shorter time next time and probably just season with pepper.

[ChrisTaylor]

Beef ribs. 'Seasoned' only with a dab of Vegemite before cooking. 54C for 72 hours. Then brushed with (commercial) BBQ sauce and given a couple minutes on the grill. Hit with some sea salt. Inferior to the 56/48ers, I think.

[Bjs229]

Beef ribs. 'Seasoned' only with a dab of Vegemite before cooking. 54C for 72 hours. Then brushed with (commercial) BBQ sauce and given a couple minutes on the grill. Hit with some sea salt. Inferior to the 56/48ers, I think.

Inferior in what way?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[Bjs229]

finished CkBr stuffed on the plate: N.B. green onions here count as Veg.

Nice. Was this browned with a torch?

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[rotuts]

yes. when my propane canister finishes, Ill move to MAP gas.

I have this single barrel model which I really like: you dont have to tilt the propane cylinder.

http://www.torchsale...m/warrinfo.html

im thinking of the triple barrel :

http://www.torchsale...hinfo.html its said to put out 30,000 BTU with MAP

( I cant get the second link to work. click on the first and the the upper L tab to see the double and tripple barrel models.)

its pricey: 90 bucks or so. but ive not had acceptable success on SV rare (130) steak with the single barrel regular propane: make it med-rare.

100 bucks buys a lot of steak.

Ill have the CkBr again tonight for dinner, with similar greens. I now make 12 at a time, 3:30 at 145.

I also in a pinch make gravy from Minors Roasted Chicken soup base, which I modify with any jus from the bag on the potatoes and add garlic, Bell's seasoning, Mesquite Liguid smoke ( very very little!) etc.

Edited October 19, 2012 by rotuts (log)

[PedroG]

yes. when my propane canister finishes, Ill move to MAP gas.

I have this single barrel model which I really like: you dont have to tilt the propane cylinder.

http://www.torchsale...m/warrinfo.html

im thinking of the triple barrel :

http://www.torchsale...hinfo.html its said to put out 30,000 BTU with MAP

( I cant get the second link to work. click on the first and the the upper L tab to see the double and tripple barrel models.)

its pricey: 90 bucks or so. but ive not had acceptable success on SV rare (130) steak with the single barrel regular propane: make it med-rare.

100 bucks buys a lot of steak.

Ill have the CkBr again tonight for dinner, with similar greens. I now make 12 at a time, 3:30 at 145.

I also in a pinch make gravy from Minors Roasted Chicken soup base, which I modify with any jus from the bag on the potatoes and add garlic, Bell's seasoning, Mesquite Liguid smoke ( very very little!) etc.

I corrected your second link, now it works.

[ChrisTaylor]

So. Chicken.

Breasts: rubbed w/ spice, left to ponder this situation for a while, then 60C for 3 hours (i.e. put it on, go out, get delayed, return home after 3 hours), chilled then smoked at high heat for 20 minutes.

Legs: rubbed w/ spice, left to ponder this situation for a while, then 65.5C for 4 hours (i.e. I went out and got delayed twice in the same day) then chilled and smoked for 20 minutes.

Nice enough. Might need to be refined a little, but the potential is there.

EDIT

I should add that the credit for all this goes to Keith W, the best cook I know.

Edited October 21, 2012 by ChrisTaylor (log)

[Greg Honeycutt]

Greetings. I'm the very guy here, and after several days of reading this thread, I realize that what I know about cooking sous vide is miniscule at best. The wealth of information here is amazing. I started experimenting with SV about 5 years ago with a stock pot and a thermometer. I now have a built in water bath with an immersion circulator sourced from a lab supply company. I'm pleased to say my success rate is greater than my failures. I'm so glad I discovered this forum, and know I'll learn a ton and hope to contribute some of my personal experience. Greg

[rotuts]

GH: welcome! can you tell us about that immersion circulator you use? what temps does it tolerate and where did you get it? $$? may thanks!

[Greg Honeycutt]

GH: welcome! can you tell us about that immersion circulator you use? what temps does it tolerate and where did you get it? $$? may thanks!

Thank you. My circulator is made by Freed Electric. I found it online after deciding I wanted one, but didn't want to pay the premium Poly Science wanted (just in case I didn't love the process). I checked with my brother prior to purchase, as he's more familiar with such electronic devices. I recall I paid about $200 shipped, but it's been 4 years ago, so I'm not 100% sure, and I can remember the site I bought it from. It will heat from 10 to 110 C, I need a cover and to insulate my pan to maintain temps over 75C for long periods though. It's ok since I rarely require anything above that. I found a steam table pan at work that was never installed. I removed the 240 volt heater from it, screwed a ball valve to the drain and installed it into my counter. I doubt it will help resale value of the house, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there. I'll get a pic up soon.

[ChrisTaylor]

Perhaps 54/72 beef ribs are superior after all. Last time I didn't pre-season them--well, there was Vegemite in the bag, but that's all--because of chatter around these parts about that sort of thing. This time I preseasoned them--a bit of salt, pepper and a tiny amount of chilli powder. They were seared then sliced and served in the form of a salad w/ cashews, mizuna, tomatoes, Viet mint, red onion and a dressing made w/ lime juice, rice vin, fish sauce and sugar.

[rotuts]

rats. coudnt find Freed Electric. In always on the look out for an immersion circulator I can DIY that can take the heat.

[Merridith]

So have you all seen this? Nomiku:

It is going to retail at $359. It is the cheapest circulator yet...really going to make it accessible to home cooks on a small budget

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nomiku/nomiku-bring-sous-vide-into-your-kitchen?ref=live

What do you think?

[nickrey]

So have you all seen this? Nomiku:

It is going to retail at $359. It is the cheapest circulator yet...really going to make it accessible to home cooks on a small budget

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nomiku/nomiku-bring-sous-vide-into-your-kitchen?ref=live

What do you think?

There's a discussion of it on this link.