What Are You Cooking Sous Vide Today? (Part 3)

[boilsover]

6 hours ago, weedy said:

It’s argued, not “debunked”... re induction

 

Well, if DOE and the folks who've  measured the actual efficiency change their minds, I'm all ears.

 

6 hours ago, weedy said:

Who says the luddite is well schooled but the modernist is not?

that tends to be the opposite. 

 

Not in my experience.  Luddites come in critical and unthinking flavors.  But considering the huge ## of circulators going into the aspirational market/wired set right now, I wouldn't bet on a high % of them being "well-schooled".  $600 in bookshelf candy (and a tub of meat glue) does not make a cook "Modernist".

 

6 hours ago, weedy said:

It’s one thing to prefer a steak cooked with a gradient.

 

Thing is, if it's subjected to any external heat at all after it towels off from the bath (assuming it was bathed to equilibrium in the first place), it's got a gradient and isn't completely "consistent".  We can quibble over how to best minimize that gradient, but it's there, guaranteed.  Whether it's finished under the SV Everything guys' flamethrower or in a Bessemer oven.

 

6 hours ago, weedy said:

Otoh, anyone who dismisses the preference for the result cooked SV as “fanboy” ( also sexist by the way) Or “fashionista” is just being foolish. 

 

Oh, please.  'Luddite' is what, a laudatory term?  In all honesty, there are plenty of fanboys (and -girls and -fluid) who buy these sub-$100 things simply because it's fashionable or believed to be a shortcut to becoming an accomplished cook.  To pretend otherwise is indeed foolish.

 

I really don't have a dog in this fight.  If SV--or Sue Veed--improves my cooking, I'm all for it.  But it better make sense, and be a qualitative improvement.  Otherwise it's just fashion, gear worship and funiculation.  What I'm finding is that the avenue of improvement is a lot narrower than the hype.  If this is unsurprising to some, shame on me, the slow learner.

 

Where do you (or anyone else) consider that SV gives you the most bang for the buck/hour spent?  Please don't say green vegetables...

 

Thanks.

 

 

Edited November 21, 2017 by boilsover (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, boilsover said:

Where do you (or anyone else) consider that SV gives you the most bang for the buck/hour spent?  Please don't say green vegetables...

 

Thanks.

 

I'd say sous vide most shines for tough meats like chuck, some beef steaks, poached chicken breast, pasteurized eggs, and corn.  On the cob.

 

[weedy]

Any protein that you like cooked edge to edge to a specific "doneness" (most often rare to  med-rare, because well-done is easy in any method), will benefit greatly.

 

I like ALL of the steak or the duck breast or the chicken or the pork cooked to med-rare.

And to the exact same degree every time.

Then I can treat the outside as I like according to mood.

 

 

[weedy]

the gradient, such as it is, in sous vide cooking is generally tiny.

 

The edge of my duck breast might be 134F and the inside 133F (if it's even that much different) after a few hours.

It's negligible.

 

does searing create another 'gradient"? certainly!

But one only has to LOOK at the result to see that it's a tiny band of maillard reaction on the edge (which is what we like) rather than a continuous black, to dark grey, to grey, to pinkish, to pink, that broiling or roasting gives you.

 

 

[weedy]

This is lamb after a quick sear. 

It’s still pink nearly ALL the way through. 

 

you’d need a micrometer to spot a gradient. 

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, weedy said:

This is lamb after a quick sear. 

It’s still pink nearly ALL the way through. 

 

you’d need a micrometer to spot a gradient. 

 

 

 

Do you have a picture after it was cooked?

 

[boilsover]

10 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

corn.  On the cob.

 

This sounds interesting--the good stuff being on the outside and close to the heat source.  How would you describe the difference in result from boiling/simmering for 10 min?

 

What time and temp do you recommend?  And do you butter/season a bag or are the cobs swimming free?

 

Thanks

Edited November 21, 2017 by boilsover (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

13 hours ago, boilsover said:

 

This sounds interesting--the good stuff being on the outside and close to the heat source.  How would you describe the difference in result from boiling/simmering for 10 min?

 

What time and temp do you recommend?  And do you butter/season a bag or are the cobs swimming free?

 

Thanks

 

 

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/144300-sous-vide-recipes-techniques-equipment-2011/?do=findComment&comment=1810427

 

Though I usually go 60 deg C. for 15 minutes, not 30.  I don't put anything else in the bag.  Be sure to pull a high vacuum or the bags will float.  They will probably float anyhow so weight the bags down as necessary.

 

As to the difference, I have never boiled an ear of corn anywhere near 10 minutes in my life so I couldn't tell.  Possibly if you enjoy corn boiled for 10 minutes this recipe is not for you.

 

[Martin Fisher]

On 8/15/2017 at 3:03 AM, rotuts said:

YouTube   "  sousvide everything "

 

Have you tried a 'flamethrower?'

I still have some birthday money left so I ordered one. 

[rotuts]

no I haven't.   

 

you have to do it outside

 

I have a torch that plumber's use that the head twists up w the bottle in any position

 

it works fine  I did think about the searzall , but I think the high heat damages the screen and fuses the screws you need to remove to

 

change it and I didn't want to go through with it

 

BTW   when not Searing , you can burn up some weeds !

 

if you get it

 

https://www.harborfreight.com/propane-torch-with-push-button-igniter-61595.html

 

let us know what you think.

 

thyere is a HF very near me

 

and I always use one of their 20 %off coupons

 

right next to 

 

TotalWine

 

http://www.totalwine.com

 

very convenient 

 

Happy Thanksgiving !

 

[Martin Fisher]

36 minutes ago, rotuts said:

HF

 

Yeah, I ordered it from Harbor Freight and used the 20% off code. 

[Martin Fisher]

42 minutes ago, rotuts said:

Happy Thanksgiving !

 

Happy Thanksgiving to you, too! 

[weedy]

I know I said (and still think) that I don't generally like SV fish...

 

but today I'm making a Mexican smoked swordfish 'dip' that I decided to do the fish SV at 130 for an hour.

It came out perfectly moist and nicely cooked through, and fall apart soft. Soft enough to mash with a spoon, which was the goal (and why I wouldn't do it for service as a whole piece).

 

Now, after cooling, I'm doing several rounds of smoking in a sealed cambro with cherry wood and the Smoking Gun™.

I'll mix the result with Mexican cream, pickled jalapeños, and diced red onion, coriander and roasted red peppers.

 

[boilsover]

Well, to my in-laws' hosted Thanksgiving, I contributed some glazed carrots.  Kenji's SV glazed baby carrots to be precise. http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/06/sous-vide-glazed-carrots-recipe.html 

 

I wanted to stick to the prep (183F for "about" an hour).  But I especially wanted to try carrots because Kenji has written:

 

"... there are some vegetables for which sous-vide cooking can't be beat. For me, carrots top that list. When cooked in a sealed bag with a little bit of butter, sugar, and salt, the natural flavor of the carrot intensifies into a sweeter, stronger, and downright tastier version of itself. It's one of the few cooking methods where the end result is a vegetable that tastes more like itself than when you started." (emphasis in original)

 

And considering my poor experience with cooking SV soft-boiled eggs, I wanted to minimize any "outside in" texture issues by using carrots no larger in diameter than 5/8".

 

I tasted the carrots at the hour mark, and Kenji is right about the flavor.  But there was a definite texture difference twixt the root and top ends.  Since the roots were done fairly far up, and I knew I would later saute them, off to the in-laws I went.

 

What I found was that there was little carryover to the carrots' top ends, and not quite enough heat added by the saute to get those ends past a crunchy state (our dinner knives were breaking, not cutting, at the cores).  But the saute was enough to make the root ends slightly too soft for my liking.  Carrots were eaten, but there were many cleared plates that held the top 1/4s uneaten.

 

So, what have we learned, Palmer?

 

I think I've learned that the outside-in phenomenon happens with everything, and that it's a potential problem that needs to be solved with something other than SV.

 

My giant mistake so far with SV is expecting that if only the ideal temp/time direction is followed, the food will be uniformly cooked.  For example, I believed, perhaps foolishly, that 183F for an hour on these skinniest of carrots would break down the pectins throughout each carrot.  It did not--IMO it would have taken longer, by which time those pointy root ends would have been so soft as to risk breaking off in the finish and plating.

 

I'm also getting the sense that reheating is just reaheating--the same outside-in issue happens again.

 

So...  Forget binary things like eggs in shells.  In you experts' opinions, is there anything that can be SVd at X degrees for Y minutes (or held at that same X degrees indefinitely)  that will be of desirable, consistent texture?  I thought these skinny carrots might be that...

 

Thanks.     

 

 

[rotuts]

I thought Id post this here , its SV steaks from SousVideEverything

 

but they first used a dry age bag for 28 days :

 

 

 

 

↵ Use original player

How to DRY AGE STEAKS AT HOME for Sous Vide - DIY Dry Aged

By Sous Vide Everything

YouTube

• 720p
• 360p

← Replay

X

i

 

 

 

they are using UMAi dry aging bags

 

I plan to do this at some point , but Id like to eat down my freezer first.

 

and store the cut steaks fz in a SV bag.

 

there is an old thread on UMAi :

 

 

 

but I could not find anything more recent 

UMAi Dry Ribeye/Striploin Packet

 

Id like to know if these bags work in a chamber vacuum sealer 

 

or do you have to use a vacuum sealer like the FoodSaver or the Weston

 

https://www.westonsupply.com/Weston-Vacuum-Sealer-PRO-2100-White-p/65-0101.htm

 

similar to the Cabelas

 

http://www.cabelas.com/product/home-cabin/kitchen-dining/vacuum-sealers/pc/104798880/c/104739480/sc/104668380/cabelas-commercial-grade-vacuum-sealer-black/1861234.uts?slotId=0

 

of course , on the non-chamber you use the textured piece of plastic to get the final bit of air out of the ban.

Edited December 4, 2017 by Smithy
Added Amazon links (log)

[Okanagancook]

@boilsover, I am cooking some homemade Italian sausages tonight.  On previous posts, somewhere, there was a discussion about how good SV is for them.  I am going in at 155f for an hour or so then putting them in a hot oven with some fat to evenly brown the outside.  I am sure they would be fine if they swam around for a couple of hours.

[rotuts]

@Okanagancook

 

SV sausages are fantastic.

 

they stay juicy .

 

Ive torched mine after The Bath.

 

Id use the same temp you might use for meat for the doneness you prefer.

 

Id make sure you time in the bath gets the pasteurized.

[Okanagancook]

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2016/02/sous-vide-beer-brat-recipe-food-lab.html

 

good info here.

[Martin Fisher]

I've been gifted a Joule! 

First up—chicken leg confit. 

 

[Anna N]

21 minutes ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

 

I've been gifted a Joule! 

First up—chicken leg confit. 

 

Nice!   Congratulations!   How was the chicken-leg confit?

[Martin Fisher]

5 hours ago, Anna N said:

Nice!   Congratulations!   How was the chicken-leg confit?

 

It was quite good. 

 

[MelissaH]

On 12/8/2017 at 6:48 PM, DiggingDogFarm said:

 

It was quite good. 

 

What fat did you use?

[Anna N]

 I was given a gift of three lovely chuck eye steaks/roasts. Two of them are swimming in 56°C water until this time tomorrow. At that time I will remove these two and put in the third. Why not all three at once? Because I’m too lazy to get the bigger pan out of the bottom cupboard. 

Edited December 14, 2017 by Anna N
Typos (log)

[rotuts]

@Anna N

 

nice

 

pics are nice too

 

who is The Black Pearl ?

 

not the ship BTW

[Anna N]

 

Hmmm.  Not much excitement in the photo. I am not familiar with the black pearl.