Sous vide fish

[TdeV]

Baldwin says to cook my fish for 15-20 mins (for med rare) at 122F. Problem is that I put in the cold fish and now the bath is at 89F. Do I wait for it to return to 122F before I start counting the cooking time?

 

It's grouper, btw.

 

Thanks.

[scubadoo97]

How fast did it recover? I would not cook grouper too rare

[TdeV]

It ended up taking all 20 minutes to get the water back to temperature. Then I cooked 20 minutes and checked--the fish was a little rare, so I cooked 5 more minutes. It was edible. It could have taken more, was raw-ish but I could cut through the fish and the edges were beginning to flake.

 

We ate it with some hot teriyaki sauce which was absolutely the right thing.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Baldwin says to cook my fish for 15-20 mins (for med rare) at 122F. Problem is that I put in the cold fish and now the bath is at 89F. Do I wait for it to return to 122F before I start counting the cooking time?

 

It's grouper, btw.

 

Thanks.

 

That much of a temperature drop is not normal.  I think you need a larger heater.

 

What type of heater are you using now?

[dcarch]

Is it safe to sous vide freshwater fish at low temperature?

 

dcarch

[daveb]

It ended up taking all 20 minutes to get the water back to temperature. Then I cooked 20 minutes and checked--the fish was a little rare, so I cooked 5 more minutes. It was edible. It could have taken more, was raw-ish but I could cut through the fish and the edges were beginning to flake.

 

We ate it with some hot teriyaki sauce which was absolutely the right thing.

Can't speak to the temp drop without knowing more about your setup.

 

But in my experience with fish and meat the "doneness" is a function of bath temperature.  The texture is a function of time in the bath.  I enjoy more success with fish in the 130F range.  And as noted by Scuby I would cook grouper at a higher temp than most fish.  (Think worms)

[TdeV]

I have a 7 quart slow cooker to which is plugged into a PID Temperature Controller from Auber Instruments. I have been using this setup for more than three years.

 

Per Douglas Baldwin's instructions, I gave the fish a salt bath in the fridge before putting in the cooker. Maybe next time I should start with the water at a higher temp (140?) before adding the fish.

 

We'll see about the side effects. I'll let you know.

[PedroG]

Baldwin says to cook my fish for 15-20 mins (for med rare) at 122F. Problem is that I put in the cold fish and now the bath is at 89F. Do I wait for it to return to 122F before I start counting the cooking time?

 

It's grouper, btw.

 

Thanks.

 

 

It ended up taking all 20 minutes to get the water back to temperature. Then I cooked 20 minutes and checked--the fish was a little rare, so I cooked 5 more minutes. It was edible. It could have taken more, was raw-ish but I could cut through the fish and the edges were beginning to flake.

 

We ate it with some hot teriyaki sauce which was absolutely the right thing.

A temperature drop from 44°C to 32°C by adding some fish that's not even frozen is a strong indicator that your SV bath is way too small! A recovery time of 20 minutes means your heater is way too weak or your PID-tuning is not adequate. I never had such a problem with a 16-liter bath and a 2000W heater (SVM/FMM). What is your SV setup? If you are not obliged to pasteurize your fish, I would recommend something like 46-47°C core temperature for an optimal organoleptic outcome.

[TdeV]

Pedro, this is a much larger setup than mine. My pot is 7.5 liters (7.5 quarts) with a 380 watt heater.