Sous Vide: Recipes, Techniques & Equipment (Part 9)

[gfweb]

I will, at times, use top round for corned beef if i want it lean. Cook 60 deg C for 48 hours, tender, moist and not a bit fatty.

[DanMLondon]

Cheers guys all duly noted.

I have it in the tank at 65c for 36hrs. Lets see how we go and judging by what you are all saying I think it'll be great, if not I'll regroup!

Pics to follow..

[pbear]

Fair point. I'll probably try both.

[DanMLondon]

Did brisket at 65c/36hrs - was by far the most inedible brisket I've ever made. The connective tissue/collagen and fats were absolutely nowhere near broken down enough, it was like an old boot. There was no moisture coming out when you pressed the meat and the fat was still in a hard state. You couldn't eat this unless sliced super thin. I use typically pretty lean briskets and when done right it literally cuts like butter and stays moist and tender even when refrigerated.

We must be using completely different cuts of meat (including the actual type of meat or the size/shape/width/depth etc) if you got tender results using 65/36 or maybe you don't understand the type of result I'm looking for.

I can see 65c working if it were in for 72hours but at 36 it barely touched the edges. The result I get form 76c/45hrs is so far and beyond this that I think I am going to revert back to this and hope the cuts I used were bad in the couple of times its gone wrong. Now that I've done it lower I don't understand what I was thinking lowering both the temp and the time, surely you lower one increase the other or vice versa.

No big deal its only an experiment and I appreciate all the input but the results I got were so bad that I can't imagine this would ever work. Back to the drawing board.

[rotuts]

do it 48, and if not perfect, 50 etc. its a much better temp for all the reasons states.

tastes to differ. mine are cut thin for sandwiches. etc

[Shalmanese]

Have you calibrated your thermostat? It might be that your readings are several degrees too high and what you think is 76C is actually a lot lower. Throw an egg in at 63C for an hour and report back on what the texture is.

[gfweb]

I agree. Something is weird here with the temperature.

[DanMLondon]

I'm using a Vacstar SCII which has been used maybe 10 times max for long durations. I dont know how to calibrate and would I really need to considering I'm only getting a couple of odd results?

[nickrey]

Check the temperature with a thermometer rather than using eggs or some analogue. Even with a somewhat inaccurate thermometer you will see if you are in the ballpark.

[Anna N]

Just had to share this. Beef short ribs done at 62C for 24 hours. My knife practically fell through! I am aiming for 72 hours but have packaged them separately so I can pull one at 24 and another at 48 hours so I can remind myself of the differing textures.

[rotuts]

very interested in your final results. i havent tried S.R.'s yet, as Im pretty happy with sirloin tips.

would you have been happy to stop the SR Ex at 24 for eating?

have you done lower temps for long periods, say 55 for the rare-est effect?

thanks

[Anna N]

very interested in your final results. i havent tried S.R.'s yet, as Im pretty happy with sirloin tips.

would you have been happy to stop the SR Ex at 24 for eating?

have you done lower temps for long periods, say 55 for the rare-est effect?

thanks

Would have ABSOLUTELY been happy to stop at 24 hours! Asked myself why I was continuing the cooking. But I set out to learn something about time and texture and I intend to complete my "experiment". I have done them at 55 and they were also amazing but I really like that extra level of safety at higher temps so I want to know about the trade-off. I am admittedly a food safety wimp.

[Anna N]

After 48 hours. The meat is succulent and you can see how it falls off the bone.

These were the two smallest and least meaty of this package of ribs.

[gfweb]

I coincidentally did the experiment of short ribs at 24 vs 48h at 141F. 48 H is far superior. better gelatinization, more tender, tastier. I think I'd do 143F next time though

[Anna N]

I coincidentally did the experiment of short ribs at 24 vs 48h at 141F. 48 H is far superior. better gelatinization, more tender, tastier. I think I'd do 143F next time though

What difference do you expect from the higher temperauture? Did you ever go to 72 hours? Just curious.

[Okanagancook]

Chefsteps.com has a full report on short ribs. Checkout beef short ribs time and temperatures.

[Anna N]

Chefsteps.com has a full report on short ribs. Checkout beef short ribs time and temperatures.

Thanks. That's where the idea arose. I need to see and taste for myself. It sticks with me if I go through the exercise much more so than if I just read about it.

[gfweb]

I coincidentally did the experiment of short ribs at 24 vs 48h at 141F. 48 H is far superior. better gelatinization, more tender, tastier. I think I'd do 143F next time though

What difference do you expect from the higher temperauture? Did you ever go to 72 hours? Just curious.

I would like a little more doneness. I like the rich flavor of traditionally braised ribs. Never done 72 hrs but I think I'd goose up the temp before the time.

[rotuts]

I have yet to find "meaty" S.R.'s, so have not ventured in this area.

AnnaN: of the two so far, which do you prefer?

thanks

[Anna N]

I have yet to find "meaty" S.R.'s, so have not ventured in this area.

AnnaN: of the two so far, which do you prefer?

thanks

So far the 24 hour version. Guess I fall on the steak texture side versus the braise texture. But the final use would also influence me.

[rotuts]

good points, all

thanks

personally i hope to find some 'meaty' SR someday and get them to 'steak-like' but very tender.

"Filet w max flavor"

Edited November 19, 2013 by rotuts (log)

[Anna N]

Finally, 72 hours. Incredibly moist and flavourful. No knife needed. Got me thinking about making a stew where everything except the meat is cooked conventionally and the meat sous vide. Or making a conventional stew, removing the meat, feeding it to the dog, and replacing it with sous vide meat. OK there must be better ways to take advantage of this long slow cooking.

[FeChef]

good points, all

thanks

personally i hope to find some 'meaty' SR someday and get them to 'steak-like' but very tender.

"Filet w max flavor"

I would try 135F-140F for 36 hours for a steak-like filet. My last stint was 135F for 24-26 hours and it was tender but still had alittle bit too much chew for my likeing. Ironically we had some leftovers the next day and a quick 1 min in the microwave seemed to give it a better texture with less chew..lol

[rotuts]

""" stew where everything except the meat is cooked conventionally and the meat sous vide ""

Ill add a snapshot of this to my

Beef Bourguignon

folder. Im wondering if taking a leaf from TestKitchen re quick Ck. Stock where they saute ground chicken, to get the browned flavor, simmer to get 'stock' the discard the meat ( Im not a fan of discarding food ... ) would work for the 'stew portion?"

[alanz]

I've been quite happy using an Iwatani butane torch head to brown steaks after sous vide cooking.

However, I'm always experimenting and would like to try a quick deep fry for the browning step to see how that works out.

Unlike the modernist kitchen, I don't have access to liquid nitrogen, so I won't be doing the cryo-frying route.

So my thoughts/questions

I have tried heating 1/2 gallon of peanut oil in an all clad stock pot atop an Avantco 1800 watt induction burner.

Unfortunately, the high temperature shutoff switch kicks in before the oil gets to 380 degrees.

I've only tried this once today, but I've had similar shutoff happen when trying to use a cast iron grill pan... evidently a common thing with induction burners when the cooking vehicle retains a lot of hear.

I've used dedicated tabletop deep fryers before (not for steak), and mine is currently dead. However it never reached 375 degrees, so I was never really happy with it. I've looked at getting another unit, but I'd rather explore the induction unit / pot approach before going for a dedicated fryer, especially considering that I'm not sure that I'll like the deep fried results compared to a flame based browning.

• So, for those of you who have tried browning with a quick deep fry... what temperature did you find worked best?
• Are any of you using induction? I'd rather not have the oil over an open flame if I can help it.