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

[JoNorvelleWalker]

4 hours ago, btbyrd said:

I also don't particularly care for SV steak. It is liable to develop a grainy texture that I don't care for and don't experience with other cooking methods. Also mushy. Chipotle's steak got markedly worse in texture when they made the switch over to SV. Perhaps we should start a "what are you NOT cooking sous vide today" thread where we air our grievances with the technology. SV egg whites anyone?

 

Once I learned not to SV steaks very long my results improved.

 

[Anna N]

1 minute ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Once I learned not to SV steaks very long my results improved.

 

Many a tender steak destined for immediate consumption is lucky to get 45 minutes at 54.5°C in my house. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

10 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Many a tender steak destined for immediate consumption is lucky to get 45 minutes at 54.5°C in my house. 

 

Yes, my last two steaks were cooked for about 40 minutes.  A fillet I cooked at 51C.  Fattier cuts I've been doing 55C.

 

[Okanagancook]

9 hours ago, btbyrd said:

I also don't particularly care for SV steak. It is liable to develop a grainy texture that I don't care for and don't experience with other cooking methods. Also mushy. Chipotle's steak got markedly worse in texture when they made the switch over to SV. Perhaps we should start a "what are you NOT cooking sous vide today" thread where we air our grievances with the technology. SV egg whites anyone?

I agree.  It's the texture.  However, it is convenient for a dinner party when everyone likes the same doneness and you want to drink wine over fussing over steaks😳.  And what's wrong with this done conventionally?

[haresfur]

On 7/23/2018 at 3:38 AM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Maybe it's just me but I don't care for SV chicken breast.

 

Probably just you. Do you care for chicken breast prepared other ways? What don't you like about SV?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

49 minutes ago, haresfur said:

Probably just you. Do you care for chicken breast prepared other ways? What don't you like about SV?

 

Yes, I love chicken breast steam baked in the CSO.

 

Two of the things I don't like about chicken breast prepared SV are the taste and texture.  Seriously, I even tried shredding SV chicken breast for making chicken Tetrazzini.  The taste and texture were still gross in the finished dish.

 

Your mileage may vary.

 

[MetsFan5]

Burgers, steak and whole chickens are things my husband likes to cook on the BGE. 

  So I’d probably not test them out SV. 

   I’m ‘nervous’ about cooking seafood such as shrimp and scallops, although scallops do need a sear. 

    I’ve even gotten frustrated with vegetables— I was stupid and had pre- cut zucchini sticks delivered and when I roasted them they turned into a mushy liquid. That really pissed me off. 

 

  What other proteins  can benefit from sv? Ham? Pork chops/ loin, I assume are a given. 

  Proteins are the biggest challenge for me in terms of not over cooking and maintaining tenderness. 

 

  Thanks for all the advice. I think I’d probably benefit from a vacuum sealer anyway and I don’t have any appropriate sized container to sv in so if amazon has a deal I’ll look into that. 

Edited July 24, 2018 by MetsFan5 (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, MetsFan5 said:

Burgers, steak and whole chickens are things my husband likes to cook on the BGE. 

  So I’d probably not test them out SV. 

   I’m ‘nervous’ about cooking seafood such as shrimp and scallops, although scallops do need a sear. 

    I’ve even gotten frustrated with vegetables— I was stupid and had pre- cut zucchini sticks delivered and when I roasted them they turned into a mushy liquid. That really pissed me off. 

 

  What other proteins  can benefit from sv? Ham? Pork chops/ loin, I assume are a given. 

  Proteins are the biggest challenge for me in terms of not over cooking and maintaining tenderness. 

 

  Thanks for all the advice. I think I’d probably benefit from a vacuum sealer anyway and I don’t have any appropriate sized container to sv in so if amazon has a deal I’ll look into that. 

 

 

I find my 9 quart stock pot works great for SV.  I have an 18 quart stock pot but I've never found a SV need to use it.  The pot just needs to be deep enough to accommodate the anova or other SV device.

 

I love sous vide corn on the cob 30 minutes or a bit more at 60 deg C, a la @nathanm

 

I can't imagine making kombu stock without sous vide.

 

Pasteurizing eggs is another great use for sous vide.

 

Remember a vacuum sealer can be used for a whole lot more than just SV.

 

Cook the steaks sous vide and finish in the BGE!

 

 

 

[rotuts]

re: CkBr :   

 

the issue might be the temp selected .

 

CkBr SV varies tremendously based on bath temp alone.

 

although this is about TurkeyBr :

 

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/11/sous-vide-turkey-breast-crispy-skin-recipe-thanksgiving.html

 

results are similar w the same variations for CrBr.

 

140 is too underdone for me , and 145  leave the CkBr thinking about being dry

 

wo 142.5 works for me 

 

and works very very well

[gfweb]

RE SV steak.I agree with @btbyrd, the texture can be off. I like a little bite to my steak.

 

I've found that the solution is to have them cooked to a higher temp than I would if using traditional methods.  Traditional methods overcook the outside to get the inside to the right doneness. This results in a red center but a chewy-er outside.

 

Cooked SV., there is no overcooked layer to supply texture and the thing tastes mushy.

 

So if I like MR I'll SV a steak to a higher temp...135 or so ...to get more texture.

[weedy]

I like chicken breast at 140/145 because I love that texture and juiciness. If you want it to shred like a more traditionally cooked breast then you can cook it at higher temp. If I’m doing chicken for tacos I’ll up the temp a bit. 

But then I love chicken sashimi in Japan as well. 

 

Same with pork. I don’t LIKE it cooked all the way through unless it’s stewed. 

 

A scallop sears and is done, in a hot pan, in a minute or two. So there’s no benefit to SV. 

OTOH lobster poached in herbed butter in the bag at low temp is, again, a texture you don’t get other ways. 

Natirally some people would rather the texture of a boiled lobster. Not me. 

 

 

Edited July 25, 2018 by weedy (log)

[MetsFan5]

@weedy is all the cooking for a lobster tail (it’s the part I cook the most) done cia SV? Or do you broil it a bit? 

 

  I’ve never boiled lobster.  Big surprise since I am a crappy cook. 

[weedy]

If I want to broil it, I don’t SV. 

 

The butter poach is a different, softer, texture. 

I par boil very quickly just to be able to shell them. And then bag with butter and SV cook at low temp... 125 ish for 20 mins. 

 

Edited July 25, 2018 by weedy (log)

[kayb]

Faced with early notice of an unexpected guest tonight, I pulled a pork steak that had been bagged with Vivian Howard's blueberry barbecue sauce and then frozen out and tossed it into the SV. frozen. I think it's been going since about 11 a.m. at 145F.   My plan is to pull it about 6 p.m., then throw it in the smoker for 40 minutes or so. 

 

I've never SV'd pork steak (slices from the shoulder) before. If it were a shoulder or or butt portion roast, I'd want to go at least 12. Think it'll have time to get tender in the time I have for it? It's good home-grown, farm-raised pork from just up the road. and is about 1/2 inch thick.

 

Will have with baked beans and potato salad. Also thinking about tossing some sliced peaches and cubed cantaloupe with a yogurt dressing as a fruit salad.

Edited July 25, 2018 by kayb (log)

[Shelby]

On 7/25/2018 at 3:12 PM, kayb said:

Faced with early notice of an unexpected guest tonight, I pulled a pork steak that had been bagged with Vivian Howard's blueberry barbecue sauce and then frozen out and tossed it into the SV. frozen. I think it's been going since about 11 a.m. at 145F.   My plan is to pull it about 6 p.m., then throw it in the smoker for 40 minutes or so. 

 

I've never SV'd pork steak (slices from the shoulder) before. If it were a shoulder or or butt portion roast, I'd want to go at least 12. Think it'll have time to get tender in the time I have for it? It's good home-grown, farm-raised pork from just up the road. and is about 1/2 inch thick.

 

Will have with baked beans and potato salad. Also thinking about tossing some sliced peaches and cubed cantaloupe with a yogurt dressing as a fruit salad.

 

Missed replying to this. 

 

How did it turn out?

[kayb]

4 hours ago, Shelby said:

Missed replying to this. 

 

How did it turn out?

Wound up maybe 6 1/2 hours at  145, then I tossed it in the smoker. Tenderness was good, but I had my smoker temp too high, and it dried it out.

[DesertTinker]

3 lbs. baby back ribs. 167F for 4 hours, then sear/glaze over charcoal. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

A few days ago I expressed that SV pork was not my friend.  However looking back over this thread I found this:

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/154537-what-are-you-cooking-sous-vide-today-part-3/?do=findComment&comment=2134791

 

Here's the old picture:

 

 

 

This was anovaed at 59C and finished in the CSO.

 

As it happens I came home with a couple of large rib chops.  Now if you will excuse me I have to put a shirt on and go out and pick the sage.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Tonight's dinner:

 

 

This SV chop was finished in the CSO.  Final Thermapen reading was 57C.

 

Normally I am not one to eat raw swine.  Copious amounts of rum enabled this adventure.  The pork was excellent.  Full disclosure:  this is not a dinner plate.  After the picture I returned the chop to the kitchen and sliced it for human sized consumption.

 

 

 

[Kim Shook]

I did chicken breasts the other day:

They turned out tender and juicy.  145F for 2 hours.  With everything going on at the Shooks (have to add that our daughter has gotten completely flooded out of her apartment by a rust out pipe in her ceiling), I haven't had time to read all the prior posts, but I have a question.  Along with the Anova, Mr. Kim got me one of those 18qt. plastic bins and that's what I've been using.  It seems so wasteful, even though I try to use the water for plants and such.  My question is, how does using something smaller work out?  And how small can I go?  I know I need to keep in mind the "minimum" marker on the Anova.  Thanks!!

[Anna N]

3 minutes ago, Kim Shook said:

And how small can I go? 

 You need enough room for the water to fully circulate around all the packages in the container. So it will largely depend on how much you are cooking as to the size of the container you can use still bearing in mind the minimum on the ANOVA. 

[robirdstx]

55 minutes ago, Kim Shook said:

 

My question is, how does using something smaller work out?  And how small can I go?  I know I need to keep in mind the "minimum" marker on the Anova.  Thanks!!

 

I have been using my 8 qt. Stock Pot. I clIp the bags to the side of the pot, making sure the contents of the bags are below the top level of the water.

 

PS: I set the pot on a trivet to keep it up off of the countertop.

 

 

Edited August 1, 2018 by robirdstx (log)

[ElsieD]

I use the pot from my Instanr Pot.

[Anna N]

12 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

I use the pot from my Instanr Pot.

My first choice if I’m only doing a bit of product.

[Kim Shook]

Chicken salad from the breasts I did the other day:

with mayo, apples, celery, and pecans.