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

[ChrisTaylor]

I wonder if I'm better off making some kind of honey 'glass' using spray-dried honey? Or, you know, just cooking conventionally ... which I'd hoped to avoid.

[KennethT]

I wonder if I'm better off making some kind of honey 'glass' using spray-dried honey? Or, you know, just cooking conventionally ... which I'd hoped to avoid.

I haven't seen the recipe you're talking about, but I have made something that seems similar - trying to copy a squab dish I had at a 3* Mich in Paris. The squab crown was seemingly roasted and then had some kind of sugar shell molded to the top. At tableside, the captain removed the shell, cracked it in half, carved the breasts off the crown, re-applied each half-shell to each breast and plated. I do it based on the El-Bulli sugar shell technique - which is basically fondant, sugar and isomalt melted and caramelized (adding spices (star anise, coriander, cinnamon, cardomom, clove, and cocoa nibs) near the end so they don't burn) then pour onto a silpat and cool. Once cool, break into chunks and powder in a spicegrinder. Then sift into thin rounds on a silpat and stick in a hot oven until just remelted. Remove, and cool again. Just before service, place the sugar disk on the breast and lightly torch so that the disk conforms to the meat underneath. Wow... rereading this, it does seem like a lot of work!

[Okanagancook]

A bit of a "wintery" looking plate last night.

Rib eye, grass fed, 16 mm thick, 129 F for 70 minutes then dusted with the magic browning powder.  Some nice braised red cabbage, Jacques Pepin mushrooms and a hasselback potato finished with a bit of cheddar cheese.  The steak was medium rare and quite delicious.  We were only supposed to eat half of the 8 oz chunk of meat but it was so good there isn't much left for my salad at lunch today.

[rotuts]

what are Jacques Pepin mushrooms?

 

many thanks

[Okanagancook]

A very simple recipe.  Put whole mushrooms in a cast iron pan with a bit of olive oil and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes/side.  They stay nice and juicy and can cook away without much attention.

[ElsieD]

It's pretty safe to sear things by eye. IME, there are too many variables (temperatures of the pan, of the food, dryness of the food, proteins and sugars available on the surface etc.) to be able to pinpoint a time that will always give the results you want.

 

One thing that can help is to prepare a concoction that accelerates the Maillard reactions. I used to make a solution in water, but find it's easier and probably better to just use dry powders. Mix 2:3 (by weight) baking soda and dextrose. Sprinkle a dusting onto the surfaces you'll sear. you can do this along with salting. Browning will take off much faster than without.

 

If you have a very high output range, and are able to sear with your pans at restaurant temperatures, this may lead to charred pan drippings. But I find it helpful most of the time on my typical home stove.

Pardon my ignorance but does the baking powder affect the taste of the meat? I have some beef short ribs on the go right now and wouldn't mind trying this but I worry about my having the ability to not be heavy handed with the baking powder/dextrose mixture.

[Okanagancook]

We couldn't detect the baking soda.  One doesn't need much.  I used maybe 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon for each 8 oz steak.  I spooned the powder into a small sieve and gently sprinkled the powder over the surface of the meat on both sides.

[Okanagancook]

Correction:  the steaks were 30 mm thick, done at 129F for 70 minutes.  Sorry.

[lordratner]

Following Modernist Cuisine, I just did a 72 hour short rib at 141F. Came out dry!! Anyone else have experience with this?

When I test sous vide meats, I don't like to use any marinade or sauce. This way I can really see if the meat is dry or juicy and not confuse the "juiciness" from a sauce.

I pan seared for about 30 seconds on each side after I sous vided the short rib and then added a little salt.

This short rib cost me $14 a pound from the "Best" butcher in Boston! It is from a local cow and pasture raised.

If you look at the pic, you can see the meat is dry. I chopped off the middle fat part before I ate it so I don't confuse juiciness with that large piece of fat.

Were these boneless short ribs? If so, you didn't have the right cut.

It's a different muscle group, and I've had terrible results from it every time. It works fine in ground beef for burgers, but long sous vide cooks are out.

If the rib bones are in, you should get great results, as you have the right cut most likely.

[weedy]

Were these boneless short ribs? If so, you didn't have the right cut.

It's a different muscle group, and I've had terrible results from it every time. It works fine in ground beef for burgers, but long sous vide cooks are out.

If the rib bones are in, you should get great results, as you have the right cut most likely.

 

I don't agree.

 

I've had excellent results with 60-70 hour cooks at 134F with grassfed, boneless short ribs

[lordratner]

I don't agree.

I've had excellent results with 60-70 hour cooks at 134F with grassfed, boneless short ribs

Were they actually short ribs that had the bones taken out, or the cut above the ribs that don't actually have ribs attached?

[rotuts]

""  grassfed ""

 

that adds a completely, and properly dealt with, different dimension.

[ElsieD]

We couldn't detect the baking soda.  One doesn't need much.  I used maybe 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon for each 8 oz steak.  I spooned the powder into a small sieve and gently sprinkled the powder over the surface of the meat on both sides.

What kind of a store sells dextrose? I went to a health food store and they do not carry it. She suggested a drug store so I went to Shopper's, a large drug store chain. All they had was fruit flavoured dextrose. I'm doing these ribs at 132 F for 72 hours and they still have 48 hours to go so I have lots of time to get some.

[Anna N]

What kind of a store sells dextrose? I went to a health food store and they do not carry it. She suggested a drug store so I went to Shopper's, a large drug store chain. All they had was fruit flavoured dextrose. I'm doing these ribs at 132 F for 72 hours and they still have 48 hours to go so I have lots of time to get some.

Try a brew your own beer place, Elsie. And do make sure you use baking soda not baking powder!

[ElsieD]

Try a brew your own beer place, Elsie. And do make sure you use baking soda not baking powder!

Well, dang! I was just in one yesterday. Thanks, Anna, I will check them out.

[paulraphael]

Try a brew your own beer place, Elsie. And do make sure you use baking soda not baking powder!

 

yes, baking soda.

 

I got my dextrose on amazon. You might also find it at a baking supply store. Baking stores often also have a product called "atomized glucose," which for this purpose will be interchangeable—but it's not interchangeable in other more precise uses, including pastry and ice cream. Atomized glucose is glucose syrup that's been dehydrated, but it still has significant water content. Dextrose powder is just pure glucose.

 

For goosing maillard reactions, precision is unimportant, and you can use any reducing sugar. Some other possibilities include glucose syrup, corn syrup, hfcs, fructose, trimoline, and honey. You just can't use table sugar (fructose).

[weedy]

Were they actually short ribs that had the bones taken out, or the cut above the ribs that don't actually have ribs attached?

 

they are what one generally gets when asking a butcher for "boneless short ribs", which is the latter

 

 

grassfed is just what I always prefer

[ElsieD]

Thanks for the advice re: dextrose. I will look for it tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I just tossed my bone-in beef short ribs as I found them floating around in my pot. Extreme sadness as they were really nice ones I bought at While Foods and they had been happily bathing in their 132F water bath for the last 44 hours. But somewhere in those 44 hours the seal broke and I have no idea when so it was bye bye ribs. I come from the better safe than sorry school.

I now have sirloin pork chops marinating and plan on cooking those sous vide tomorrow. I know that sirloin is not a particularly good cut and that loin or centre chops would have been better, but I wanted to do sirloin chops sous vide to see what they are like. In checking various sources, I see that the recommended time is anywhere from 2 to 24 hours, and nowhere have I seen sirloin chops specifically mentioned. I plan on doing these at 140F but for how long? Any advice is appreciated. Thank you.

[Okanagancook]

1 1/2 to 2 hours, although I usually cook mine at a lower temperature..more like 135F 'cause we like them a little pinker.

[ElsieD]

1 1/2 to 2 hours, although I usually cook mine at a lower temperature..more like 135F 'cause we like them a little pinker.

Thank you. Is that for a sirloin pork chop?

[Okanagancook]

Douglas Baldwin's recipe is for a loin or sirloin chop...on the longer side for the sirloin.

[Steve Irby]

Not today but over the weekend.  A home butchery pork sirloin that had a really nice fat cap.  Butterflied with fresh sage, oregano, rosemary, garlic and S&P for a porchetta style seasoning.  Cooked at 144 F for 20 hours and flash fried to finish.  It was pretty damn close to perfect and the credit goes to Carl Stewart who raised the hog.  I thru in a littlle SV chicken finished on the grill.   

 

 

 

 

 

[weedy]

that's beautiful looking!

[scubadoo97]

Dueling circulators

Oxtails going at 140f x 100 hrs and chicken thighs at 160f x 20 hr.

[rotuts]

love to see both  Sur la Plate

 

esp. the Ox.T