What Are You Cooking Sous Vide Today? (Part 1)

[Bakkone]

Meat cooked SV is awesome, but for a rookie I can understand if the 72 hour recipies you find will give you a bit of a scare. I find fish to be really rewarding since it doesn't take that long. 20 minutes for a piece of cod is fast and easy.

[rotuts]

what temp are you going for ?  that will effect the time.

[Okanagancook]

very nice

 

I have yet to use meat-glue

 

which version of the MG did you use ?

 

hope to see the final pics p cook !

It is the RM Transglutaminase.  It is fun to work with, you should get some to play with.  Pics will be forth coming when they are eaten....not sure when at the moment.  I plan on freezing some of them a la Rotuts' SV Freezer.

[paulraphael]

I just did scallops yesterday for the first time ... just about the best I've ever had.

 

There's some controversy about whether or not s.v. is worth it; I think it makes sense if you it as three stage process, with brining, cooking s.v. (rolled into a tube in plastic wrap; not vacuum packed), chilling, and then searing.

 

It's pretty involved, but all of it's easy, and the first two steps can be done well ahead of time. Searing takes seconds and can be done right before serving.

 

The brining process is like what you'd do for s.v. salmon; it firms the flesh. The chill step after cooking also firms it, and helps keep you from overcooking during the sear. Rolling the scallops into a tube in plastic wrap for the cook increases the cooking time, but it results in perfectly shaped scallops that trivially easy to sear and to present nicely.

[Okanagancook]

I just did scallops yesterday for the first time ... just about the best I've ever had.

 

There's some controversy about whether or not s.v. is worth it; I think it makes sense if you it as three stage process, with brining, cooking s.v. (rolled into a tube in plastic wrap; not vacuum packed), chilling, and then searing.

 

It's pretty involved, but all of it's easy, and the first two steps can be done well ahead of time. Searing takes seconds and can be done right before serving.

 

The brining process is like what you'd do for s.v. salmon; it firms the flesh. The chill step after cooking also firms it, and helps keep you from overcooking during the sear. Rolling the scallops into a tube in plastic wrap for the cook increases the cooking time, but it results in perfectly shaped scallops that trivially easy to sear and to present nicely.

Care to share your brine method and s.v. temps and times?  This sounds like a good recipe when guests are here and one doesn't want to fuss too much.

[paulraphael]

Brine
(will firm up the texture and reduce moisture loss)

Water 100%
ice 20%
salt 6% (will be 5% after ice melts)
sugar 4.2% (will be 3.5% after ice melts)
-disolve sugar and salt into room temperature water in a plastic container
-add ice and scallops
-cover and hold in refrigerator for 30 minutes

-drain and replace brine with plain icewater
-soak for 10 minutes

 

Cook
-wrap in a cylinder in 2 layers of plastic wrap (to help hold shape)*

-cook in 50°C / 122°C water bath (to bring scallops to 49°C / 120°F)

1” diameter: 40 minutes
1.5” diameter: 80 minutes
2” diameter:  120 minutes
2.5” diameter: 40 minutes (don’t roll. bag in ziploc, no vacuum, with space between scallops)

-chill in ice water bath (sets a firmer texture)

 you can hold chilled for several hours

-unbag. dry and lightly salt.

-sear in neutral oil on hot pan. will go fast—just a few seconds per side
(optional, for faster sear:
   -dust with maillard enhancer (1:1.5 baking soda / glucose)
   -immediately before searing dust with wondra flour)

 

This is a combination of ideas from Modernist Cuisine, Ideas in Food, Cookingissues, and some original research.

 

*for rolling technique check out cookingissues (near bottom of page)

Edited May 23, 2015 by paulraphael (log)

[Okanagancook]

Thank you for the wonderfully detailed notes! This is a recipe I am going to make.

Thanks again for your effort.

[rotuts]

a quality, efficient freezer is your SV'd best friend

 

just remember to defrost from time to time and eat

 

why ?  

 

more room for the Next Batch(es)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

a quality, efficient freezer is your SV'd best friend

 

just remember to defrost from time to time and eat

 

why ?  

 

more room for the Next Batch(es)

 

In all seriousness I don't believe I have ever put food prepared sous vide into the freezer.  Except for one time a sous vide ice cream base after it was spun.

[gfweb]

I freeze SVd stuff a good deal because I sometimes make stuff in big batches. Smoked turkey breast or pork tenderloin...corned beef and pastrami.

[Dave W]

Sous vide -> freezer -> beyond is a naturally symbiotic process; it's almost too perfect.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Pasteurized sous vide bags keep fine for me in the refrigerator.  Freezer space is not something I surrender lightly.

[glepore]

If you work long hours, it's nice to know you're coming home to something that'd ordinarily take a while--e.g. short ribs, pork belly. Duck confit is nice, too, although I think the killer app is octopus. .

Octopus? Do tell...

[Tri2Cook]

Nothing fancy or challenging going in the tank today, doing a sirloin roast at 60 C/140 F for 6 hours or so. Serving it with crushed roasted potatoes (thanks Anna N), pickled roasted mushrooms, creamed fiddleheads and Yorkshires.

[daveb]

I came across a whole pork loin in original cryro bag, priced to sell.  Portioned it into thick chops, seasoned about half of them for future SV, bagged em and tagged em all and into the freezer.  Did reserve 2, and seasoned and bagged them.  As described above they went into the bath at 140F for an hour (+ a few minutes).  Seared them on the grill.  Very nice, moist, a light pink,

 

The only thing I'll do different next time will be to sear first and then SV.   Would like to coax a little more flavor out of the grocery store pork.

 

Nuked some leftover pasta to go with, active time for this quick and dirty meal was maybe 10 min.

Edited May 24, 2015 by daveb (log)

[gfweb]

Pulled pork coming out soon.

[nickrey]

Is it just me or does anyone else wonder if lindag has cooked anything sous vide since she started this thread?

 

<crickets>

[lindag]

Erk.  No, I have not yet cooked anything sous vide since I first posted.  Still standing at the precipice.

[Syzygies]

A circulator is a tool, nothing more, and one that we use all the time.

 

One needs to unlearn the idea that sous vide is the centerpiece technique for fou fou skyscraper food at home. Remember the ancient idea that cookbooks were to help out for that rare "dinner party"? No such book gets opened, and no such device gets used.

 

Identify technical flaws in conventional cooking, and swap in sous vide as a fix, but still remain in control of the outcome, actively intervening as one would in more familiar ground. These flaws are everywhere, not where one would expect from the prevailing association between sous vide and fancy food. A better association would be to see sous vide as originating as an unseen labor-saving device in restaurants, limiting the damage that less-skilled or less attentive cooks can do.

 

Serious Eats tackled apple pie. All of the pitfalls of apple pie can be traced to the use of raw apples, and not everyone wants to saute the apples first as for galette. Sous vide is a great prep step here.

 

By far, our most frequent use of sous vide is to prep vegetables, at 85 C or above for around an hour. Beet salad. Pan-fried potatoes is a great side. Better to get that twice-cooked thing going, like in french fries, but conventional approaches are unpredictable and often add water. Dice, sous vide, then chill the package (in an ice-water bath if you're rushed) as an ideal start.

 

Set the circulator to 0 C to defrost freezer packages as fast as possible without cooking or entering the danger zone. (I wish that circulators had temperature alarms; one would be useful here.)

 

[Franci]

I don't use it much anymore. Last time to make lemon curd, 3-4 days ago.  I am using it for things that I'm cooking and eating rather than chilling. Because I am lazy and prefer a ziploc rather than sealing my pouches and I don't always have enough ice around. In winter, when there is tons of snow in the backyard it's easier.

I find it convenient for some dishes: duck legs confit for example and it's really good if you like chicken breast. But we don't like meat cooked sous vide.

It's ok for some vegetables but most of the times it's really quicker and easier for me to use other tools.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I realize one can cook "sous vide" without a vacuum sealer -- but on reflection, if I did not have a chamber vacuum sealer in the kitchen I would not be cooking much in a water bath.

[Anna N]

I realize one can cook "sous vide" without a vacuum sealer -- but on reflection, if I did not have a chamber vacuum sealer in the kitchen I would not be cooking much in a water bath.

I'm curious as to why this would be.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I'm curious as to why this would be.

 

The ease of preparation and the convenience of being able to store pasteurized bags in the refrigerator.

[FeChef]

About to start my maiden venture with brisket. Six pound point cut, grass-fed. Hoping 48 hours will be enough.

What are you shooting for? Tender sliced, or fall apart shredded? I have had good results smoking till 155F then SV for 24 hours at 155F. It slices good and has a slight pull before it gives. Still tender and moist. My only complaint is the smoke smell that permeates through the bags no matter how many you use. I have to do it outside on my porch or i will end up sick of smoke smell before i even get to taste it.

[Anna N]

The ease of preparation and the convenience of being able to store pasteurized bags in the refrigerator.

Fair enough. Thank you.