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

[jmasur]

Apologies in advance for hitting a topic that's been done a lot, but what's the new PID controller that has an LCD touchscreen control?

I left my DSV outside, upside down, during a rainstorm. That bricked it. Trying to figure out what to replace it with.

[rotuts]

jmasur

if you are looking for the 'all-in-one' SV controller/heater its here:

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/145431-anova-sous-vide-circulator-available-anyone-try-it/page-17

[jmasur]

No, I know about the Anova and Sansaire. I'm talking about a standalone controller for a heat source.

Thanks.

[jmasur]

Apologies in advance for hitting a topic that's been done a lot, but what's the new PID controller that has an LCD touchscreen control?

I left my DSV outside, upside down, during a rainstorm. That bricked it. Trying to figure out what to replace it with.

Found it -- the Codlo. Unfortunately, they're in the UK, projected ship date is five months out, and it's nearly as expensive as the Sansaire and Anova. Can't tell whether shipping is included, which would probably absorb any savings. I think I'll pass.

[rotuts]

Soooo

this might work better for you than the Anova?

Id like to hear about this.

[Martin Fisher]

No, I know about the Anova and Sansaire. I'm talking about a standalone controller for a heat source.

Thanks.

SousVideMagic

[scubadoo97]

Apologies in advance for hitting a topic that's been done a lot, but what's the new PID controller that has an LCD touchscreen control?

I left my DSV outside, upside down, during a rainstorm. That bricked it. Trying to figure out what to replace it with.

Found it -- the Codlo. Unfortunately, they're in the UK, projected ship date is five months out, and it's nearly as expensive as the Sansaire and Anova. Can't tell whether shipping is included, which would probably absorb any savings. I think I'll pass.

Looks like one of my dive comupters

[Kerry Beal]

The SVM that Digging Dog linked to above will certainly do the trick with a heat source. I used one with a crock pot for the first 5 or 6 years of sous vide cooking that I did. Anna N and I beta tested the units way back when and were always happy with them.

[jmasur]

Yes, I'm familiar with it. But at $170, vs $199 for the Anova or Sansaire, it makes no sense to continue replacing aquarium pumps as they burn out.

[rotuts]

and you need to add a heat source to the Mix. if youre not using the CrockP.

Edited October 18, 2013 by rotuts (log)

[EMG]

Question about sous-vide food prep:

If I ad salt (and pepper) to a raw steak or chicken breast and vac-seal it and then put it in the freezer for a few weeks, would the salt "damage" the meat under this condition?

I'm planning to vac-seal, season and freeze a bunch of meals so when I get back from work, I only need to throw in a frozen bag in the water bath. I know salt has some damaging properties under certain conditions, just wondered if this would ruin the meat.

[nickrey]

The same principle is used to dry-cure meat (add salt cure, vacuum, leave in refrigerator). If you don't oversalt it shouldn't be an issue.

[pbear]

I agree with nickrey. When folks speak of salt being damaging, what they're usually talking about is too much salt, which produces a cured flavor. Of itself, not necessarily a defect, but often not the desired outcome. If one keeps salt to a low level, between 0.5% and 1.0% by weight (e.g., 1/2 tsp finely-ground salt per pound boneless meat), the effect generally will be perceived as seasoned but not cured. At least, that's my experience. YMMV

[ChrisZ]

I'm planning to vac-seal, season and freeze a bunch of meals so when I get back from work, I only need to throw in a frozen bag in the water bath. I know salt has some damaging properties under certain conditions, just wondered if this would ruin the meat.

I do this a lot, it's one of the main advantages to SV - I have a freezer full of bags ready to go. I haven't done a side-by-side comparison, but basically ditto to nickrey and pbear - a little seasoning is fine. You certainly aren't going to damage the meat.

If you're just starting out then my advice is to make sure you label all your bags clearly. I just use a sharpie, but as well as the description of what's in the bag and the date it was bagged, I always note if it's cooked and ready to eat, or if it's raw and ready to cook. When bags have been in the freezer for a few months it's easy to forget, and some braised items like osso bucco are pulled out of a frosty freezer it can be hard to tell (or remember) if they're cooked or not.

[EMG]

Thanks! and also thanks for the tips!

I had my first sous-vide meal yesterday, it was amazing!!!

[jmasur]

So I've now made prawns (10-15ct) twice in the past week, once for 40min at 136F, once for 20min at 125F, both seasoned with salt, pepper, and spices, but without added fat. Both times, the shrimp came out rubbery. Should I give up on avoiding extra fat, or am I doing something else wrong?

[nickrey]

So I've now made prawns (10-15ct) twice in the past week, once for 40min at 136F, once for 20min at 125F, both seasoned with salt, pepper, and spices, but without added fat. Both times, the shrimp came out rubbery. Should I give up on avoiding extra fat, or am I doing something else wrong?

Prawns (shrimp) are something that I'd only do sous vide if I had the best quality available and wasn't worried about pasteurising them (ie. you'd need to be confident eating them raw). Anything nearing pasteurisation is going to make them rubbery. The aim is to get them just cooked through. For sous vide prawns, I wouldn't go over 45C (113F) for 20 minutes.

Over higher heat, this is done by turning them when the white hits just below the middle of the prawns before turning and taking off after less time and letting residual heat cook through. The higher heat hits the outside where many possible contaminants would be found. As a consequence if I was not as confident in my produce, I'd be cooking over a higher heat.

[jmasur]

Interesting, thanks. I've had much better success with scallops, I guess.

[pbear]

It might be the shrimp. I've done large ones (21-25 per lb) 16 min at 130F and they came out very well. That said, I generally cook them conventionally because it's easier and I rarely see shrimp good enough to warrant the extra effort of sous vide.

[EnriqueB]

I think sous-vide makes an excellent job with good prawns / big shrimp, see http://dorarnosella.com/2013/06/10/gamba-roja-sous-vide/ (in Spanish)

This type of crustaceans change completelly around 50-55ºC, the temperature at which their digestive enzymes become most destructive. Sous-vide is great for cooking them below that temperature, so they keep some of their raw qualities (sweetness and tenderness) but do not feel totally raw.

I do it with fresh prawns tails, but if that is too risky (as pasteurization is not achieved) I use good quality prawn fast-frozen at capture. This should disable parasites (prawns do not have anisakis risk but may have other parasites). Then I bag the tails (often with a bit of butter and spices, but no salt) and dip the bag around 15 seconds in boiling water to pasteurize the surface. Remove to very cold water, then cook sous-vide for 15 to 20 minutes (depending on diameter) between 45 and 50ºC (depending on preference).

[Ozcook]

Can anyone suggest a SV recipe for frozen baby octopus?

[KootenayCook]

True, but dark meat is unpleasant at 60C. It still feels a bit raw to the bite. Cook the breasts at 60C, chill and store. Cook the legs at maybe 65C.

Also, with that thickness I'd worry the breast meat--having to sit in the bath so long--would start to take on an unsettling mushiness. Deconstruct the bird. Bar messing around with meat glue, which I know nothing about, sous vide (and even slow and low roasting) makes perfect presentation (ie a whole animal) and perfect doneness a binary choice.

Michael Voltaggio's recipe calls for 150F/65C for all parts, although he does put the thighs in for a half hour longer than the breasts and drumsticks.

I think you'd need some rebar to go with the meat glue.

Anyway, this is probably academic, as I'm quite happy smoking my brined turkey in my Weber Performer with Smokenator 1000 (and probably will be even happier once I get my PartyQ installed).

I should have read this thread before making a sous-vide curry with dark turkey meat. I had it in the sv bath at 133F/56C for 3 hours. The taste was good, but the meat was quite chewy. "Unpleasant" is a good term. Fortunately, I had divided the curry into two bags; so I'll just throw the other one back in the sv bath at 150F/65C. The Voltaggio recipe cited suggests 2.5 hr for thighs, so maybe I'll go with 2 hr., given that mine are already cooked (and cut up).

[rotuts]

if you are looking for 'fork-tender' and juicy dark meat consider:

160 8 - 12 hours. these come from Baldwin.

I do 160 for 8 if the packs are single layer. the meat gives up some Jus, Ive dusted the skinned and boned dark meat with corn flour to make a thicker sauce.

Ive made the above with both Patak 'pastes' and various 'curry' powders from penzies.

they were very tasty.

the post important thing to do with SV is to realize each pack is a personal experiment. There for keep track in a notebook of

sorts. that way you won't make the same mistake twice.

You can make New Mistakes !

[KootenayCook]

Thanks. I've frozen the second pack for the time being. Will try a longer cook time then.

[Truffle Explosion]

Hi All,

I've been playing around with my new Anova and decided to make some cochinita pibil (40 hours @ 60 degrees). I don't have a vacuum sealer so I use the water dispersal method to seal in the chinks of pork. The marinade is lime juice, orange juice, achiote and other spices.

It's been in there for about 16 hours. I'm a little worried because the water in the bath is now slightly orange and there's some weird sediment floating in the bags. Here's a couple of pictures (excuse the quality). Grateful for views on whether it looks fine, or whether there's something exotic growing in there..

Thanks!