Liquid Smoke with sous vide hamburgers

[weedy]

I'm thinking of experimenting with some Liquid Smoke with my sous vide hamburgers, and I'm wondering if anyone has any opinions as to when makes the most sense...

 

 

1) brush before bagging

2) brush when coming out of the bag after cooking, but before searing

3) brush after searing, when otherwise all 'done'

 

 

any thoughts anyone?

 

my inclination leans toward (2), although I'll probably try all three

Edited August 17, 2014 by weedy (log)

[rotuts]

id also go w 2

 

Ive used this stuff quite a bit for meat loaf etc

 

its very very potent.   if a burger gets more than 1/4 drop, well

 

you will be tasting 'smoke' not burger.

 

like to hear how it turns out.

[FeChef]

skip the liquid and get smoked salt or smoked pepper. Add to the ground beef before making your patties. You can cook right away, but if you want a juicier burger with less shrinkage, freeze then cook from frozen.

Edited August 17, 2014 by FeChef (log)

[lordratner]

How do you plan to sear?

[Shel_B]

I don't do SV, but I have used liquid smoke a lot.  I'd go along with FeChef and try using smoked S&P, smoked paprika (I like some of the Spanish brands), and even a smattering of ground, dried chipotle, depending on the heat and flavor you want. You could even add some of the adobo sauce in which canned chipotles are packed.

[weedy]

If I wanted chipotle burgers, or chipotle ketchup on them, etc., I would have just made that from the beginning.

 

I'm not looking to substantially change the flavour profile here.

just to add some sense of smoke that grilling imparts but sous vide doesn't.

 

I've done them seared with a torch or on a cast iron comal... but my current favourite way is actually quick frying in an inch or so of hot oil.

[weinoo]

I find liquid smoke to be a bit chemical tasting, but that's just me.

 

I think the smoked salt idea is a good one, since you're probably salting the meat already.

 

I have this brand, and it's pretty darn good...

 

Falk Sea Salt

[rotuts]

L.S.  in real moderation is fine  when cooked

 

a bit like Red Boat in that sense only

 

not cooked  ........................

[lesliec]

I agree with Rotuts that moderation is important.  I haven't seen Liquid Smoke (brand) here, but I have a local equivalent that's really powerful (it actually works pretty well - in tiny amounts - sprayed onto a particular cocktail we do sometimes which should have real smoke).

 

My main question about when to apply it for a SV application is whether it would 'wash off' in the bag if applied before cooking.  But maybe that would be a good thing in terms of minimising the amount lingering in the food.

 

Another question is how Liquid Smoke is packaged.  Is it a normal bottle or does it have a spray attachment?  If the latter, a small squirt just before serving would be my suggestion.

[rotuts]

small bottle

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=wright%27s+liquid+smoke&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=sb

 

a spray might be way to much.

[andiesenji]

Let me make a suggestion - something I have been doing for many years, not just with ground meats, with stews, vegetables grilled on an electric grill and with jams, preserves, etc.

I have written about this in other threads when I suggested adding the brewed tea to preserves (I do it routinely with fig, quince and peach) to serve with cheeses, particularly the stronger flavored cheeses.

 

Brew some extra strong Lapsang Souchong tea - use 2 teaspoons of tea leaves to one cup of boiling water and steep for a minimum of 8 minutes.

Drain and cool - this can be refrigerated for at least a week.

 

For each pound of ground meat, sprinkle 1/4 cup of the cold tea over the meat, along with the seasonings and mix well and form into patties.

 

The smokiness is not at all "chemical" and is very tasty. 

 

I also use the dry tea leaves for stove-top smoking of duck, chicken, pork chops, etc., as it is much tastier (to me) than using the various wood chips available for use with the smokers.

[Nowayout]

I know you asked about liquid smoke, but to me nothing tastes like the real thing.  This is why I love to cold smoke the raw hamburgers for a couple of hours before sous vide.

I also like doing this with steaks, wings, pork etc.

 

I use a small under counter refrigerator that I found used for $20.  You want to use a smoke chamber that is cold since you will be smoking raw meat.  I plug it in and get it cold first, then put the raw patties in on a wire rack.  For the smoke I have a homemade cold smoke setup that uses pellets or small wood chunks (the flavor is up to you...apple, peach, mesquite, hickory etc.)  

 

It uses a venturi / injector design to pull the smoke from the can of smoldering pellets/wood and delivers it to the refrigerator through a 1" pipe.  I drilled a hole in the bottom corner of the refrigerator.  Make sure you are VERY careful to miss any lines that are embedded in the walls of the refrigerator.

 

It is very efficient, smoking for hours on a couple cups of pellets.  2 hours seems to be plenty on burgers since they have a lot of surface area to absorb the smoke.  I will do steaks a bit longer (depending on the thickness).  The inside of the refrigerator gets a horrible stained brown color - the color of smoke!  I just wipe it out when done and don't try to clean the smoke stain off it.

 

After smoking I vac seal them for sous viding.  The flavor is very noticeable and very authentic.  Yes it takes a bit of time, but if you are already going to the work of grinding your owne burger, sous viding and then searing, you already know the benefits and readily accept the work!

 

Refrigerator Style: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x7kwe8YWaRU/T1BioqADyfI/AAAAAAAAA8c/thOWiW9Q6as/s1600/RCS-Brand-Refrigerator.jpg

 

Cold smoker setup: http://www.instructables.com/id/Cold-Smoker-from-Cocktail-Shaker/

 

Good Luck!