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

[rotuts]

CkBr and TurkBr SV , w reasonable seasoning , is a different sort of animal than reg. CkBr etc

 

worth a try , then decide for yourself.

[gfweb]

28 minutes ago, rotuts said:

CkBr and TurkBr SV , w reasonable seasoning , is a different sort of animal than reg. CkBr etc

 

worth a try , then decide for yourself.

 

Indeed. Turkey breast SV, esp if smoked, is delicious and juicy.

[Smithy]

14 hours ago, rotuts said:

CkBr and TurkBr SV , w reasonable seasoning , is a different sort of animal than reg. CkBr etc

 

worth a try , then decide for yourself.

 

I agree, and that's why I've taken to sous vide chicken breast. It's good: juicy, tender, perfect for sandwiches and for making chicken salad. I haven't gotten around yet to trying turkey breast, but I believe @gfweb's approach sounds like a good one.

 

That said, @lemniscate's terrine looks fabulous. I'm going to have to try that!

Edited August 22, 2019 by Smithy
spelling: "juicy" rather than "juice" (log)

[rotuts]

@Smithy

 

nice.  fine start 

 

in my area . from time to time , there are Fz whole turkey br's  on sale

 

I get those

 

why pay more ?

 

then i take off the TB , and then tease out the two tendons , two each side 

 

its been doc's here .  tendons do not do well @ perfect SV tens for the meatg

 

if you have an iPot

 

you save the carcas , chop it up and make some nice turkey stock

 

its all on eG.

[haresfur]

Made some sv egg bites 78C for 1 hour. A few random thoughts:

 

Sprayed the jars with olive oil spray. Can't get the bite to hold together releasing it. Haven't tried cold out of the fridge though. No big deal - I'll probably just eat them out of the jars

 

I'll cut back on the dairy next time. I used 1/2 cream and 1/2 low-fat cream cheese

 

I've been reheating at work in a 1200 ml measuring cup filled with hot water from the tea-water thing. When it's cool enough to reach into, the bite is warmed through

 

Tried to pretty them up wrapping serano around the outside of some but it didn't stay in place. Also the flavour was extracted from the meat leaving something that tastes like cardboard behind

 

Feta and charred peppers were nice additions

 

Maybe I should invest in a torch for the office so I can brown the top and freak out my coworkers

[TdeV]

On 8/20/2019 at 4:49 PM, lemniscate said:

65C for 3-4 hours ( I lost track) per info from other internet searches

 

@lemniscate, could you please give a few more instructions about the source of your searches. Also, could you discuss the texture of the "other" items which could go in the terrine. I'm thinking in addition to chile peppers and asparagus, perhaps celery, carrots (do they need pre-cooking?). I've been dreaming of chicken breast terrine on freshly made bread!

[lemniscate]

37 minutes ago, TdeV said:

 

@lemniscate, could you please give a few more instructions about the source of your searches. Also, could you discuss the texture of the "other" items which could go in the terrine. I'm thinking in addition to chile peppers and asparagus, perhaps celery, carrots (do they need pre-cooking?). I've been dreaming of chicken breast terrine on freshly made bread!

 

Well, the searches were just "chicken terrine"  and "sous vide terrine".  Standard Google search, nothing special and just sifted through the results.

 

The asparagus was already cooked and frozen, so it was pretty mushy to start.  It essentially disappeared into a green layer.  I would think starting out with fresh blanched stalks would give the pretty green circles instead of my results.  The peppers were pre-roasted, so they were tender to begin with.   The terrine ingredients for mine were kind of a "clean out the fridge/freezer" of bits and bots waiting for a use.   That's also where the ham and sausage layers came from.

 

The fresh basil just disappeared into the terrine, I really can't tell where it was.

 

65C is probably not enough to cook carrots to a texture that would be good for a terrine.  Sous vide carrots are cooked at 90C.  So if you want to add carrots, I would advise pre-cooked.   I would think the same with celery.

 

I would add more pistachios to the next version for mine because I think that really went well with the chicken, and add cracked black pepper into the layers.   I just added it on top and it did nothing flavor-wise.

 

I think these layers terrines are license to get creative and use up some stuff too good to trash.

 

Here's a picture of more of the slices. (some of them look like faces to me 😀)

 

EDIT:  I did pound the chicken breasts flat to help getting a consistent thickness.

 

 

Edited August 23, 2019 by lemniscate (log)

[rotuts]

times and temps for Tilapia ?

 

thank you.  I know its been mentioned  but I can't find it

[rotuts]

I plunged ahead w my experiment.

 

the web has all sorts of time and temps.   I chose 130 F for 30 min.

 

I got a Fz bag from TJ, and I made sure the bag had a tight seal.

 

sometimes the Fz fish at TJ's has bag damage during shipment , and you don't want a bag

 

that does not have a tight seal.

 

I put the bag in cold water to thaw , then I got the SV bath up to temp.

 

I opened the bag and the center of both pieces was still a bit Fz.   I rebaged in a single lawyer 

 

and chose a light dusting of Lawyer's ( reduced salt ) season.  brings back memories.

 

I chose 40 min due to the fact that the fish was not completely thawed.   the fish had no fishy aroma 

 

when I rebaged.

 

right out of the SV cooked bag :

 

 

the jus was tasty , and my goal was achieved  :  I wanted fish that was tender , and not tough as tilapia can easily be if over cooked.

 

on the web tilapia does not get decent flavor profile reviews :  " It tasted like dirt ."   this didn't , but its not Dover sole .  nothing wrong with it.

 

I torched it a bit :

 

 

Im pleased the fish was tender , not tough nor dry.   Ill try a couple of degrees higher next time , as Id like tender w a little more firmness.  133 f ?

 

given the fact that its very difficult to get really fresh fish in my area , even at expensive fish mongers

 

this was not 1/2 bad.   it would be tastier w a littlle Penzey's  Chicago Steak  seasoning   .  you read that correctly. that seasoning is great w fish.  just not too much.  white flat fish and salmon do well with it.

 

and cooked to a little firmer texture , but still tender.

 

TJ Fz salmon always seems to give you a big tail piece and a smaller , if you are lucky , piece from the fish much closer to the head in a single bag.

 

the closer the piece of fish is to the head  w salmon , the more fat and the more flavor , even in farmed fish.

 

they also had some Alaska Cod which I might try SV

 

progress has been made.

Edited August 26, 2019 by rotuts (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

12 hours ago, rotuts said:

times and temps for Tilapia ?

 

thank you.  I know its been mentioned  but I can't find it

 

But why?

 

[rotuts]

Ive mvoed on to Cod at TJ's , Fz  from Alaska

 

tightly vac'd

 

I took apart one pack and re-vac's w a little Penzey;s Chicago Steak seasoning  

 

very nice in a small dose on fish , esp Salmon.

 

I did 133 F for 45 M from Fz :

 

 

no char , and importantly no fishy smell.   this flaked but not all the way.  not too much Jus

 

not as tender as I hoped.  I think that tenderness w fish  might be difficult to achieve , and Im guessing

 

and only guessing that once the fish reaches equilibrium temp ,  its dicey to expect more time = more tenderness

 

granted there are tender type fish   i.e. salmon , very tender as sushi , and tougher fish , i.e. not that tender at all as sushi

 

i.e. Sea Bass , and now I think Cod.

 

I did a second batch from Fz , looked the same as above , @ 135 F  45 min.    more jus.  flakesd , but not completely , and still a bit of dry chew.

 

Ill try again soon w a new Fz pouch  @ 125 F

 

at least this fish was not ' fish-ey "

 

as I keep an eye on that :  jus in the bag might be tasty , but its better kept in the Fish/Meat if you can manage that.

 

 

[Anna N]

 A most unexpected but wildly appreciated gift. This pork chop is currently being gently massaged by my Joule at 60°C. I really debated temperature and did a fair bit of reading around what everyone else was doing. I need to keep better records to know what I like. Anyway I will let my circulator  do its thing for 90 minutes and we will see later today whether I like 60° or not. 

[Kerry Beal]

1 minute ago, Anna N said:

 A most unexpected but wildly appreciated gift. This pork chop is currently being gently massaged by my Joule at 60°C. I really debated temperature and did a fair bit of reading around what everyone else was doing. I need to keep better records to know what I like. Anyway I will let my circulator  do its thing for 90 minutes and we will see later today whether I like 60° or not. 

I like 64 for the pork massage.

[rotuts]

131 / 55 C      Pap dry , very quick sear , and slice thinly.

 

looking forward to a pic of the finished chop.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I suffered a sous vide disappointment.

 

 

 

This was to have been my proud post in the dinner thread last night.  But no.  Let me backup...this boneless ribeye was a failed purchase from amazon.  I ordered dry aged ribeye.  I received a pretty pound of prime; they missed the dry aging part.

 

Now I can't ingurgitate a pound of steak in a single sitting, no matter how much Béarnaise.  I divided the meat into two bags and, consulting Baldwin's tables,  anovaed three and a half hours at 55C.

 

For something new I employed a mayonnaise sear.  Not sure who to credit.  I believe I first heard about the technique from the anova blog.  Coated the dried surface with said mayonnaise; waited till the pan went above 500F;  about a minute on each side.

 

What is not to like?  Crust was lovely.  No gray.  Nothing overdone.  Meat was moist.  But the fat wasn't rendered.  A salient attribute of steak was missing.  In truth it was a little flaccid.  I think my steak requires a stiffer crust that smells like steak.  Back to the Philips grill next time.

 

[rotuts]

@JoNorvelleWalker

 

""  it was a little flaccid ""

 

yikes

 

""  a stiffer crust that smells like steak ""

 

well

 

what I see from your post looks delicious

 

I do know that ' crispy and aromatic '

 

is not the SV'ds forte.

 

so cut off a few ' flaccid ' bit 

 

and PG then for aromata and etc.

[gfweb]

2 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I suffered a sous vide disappointment.

 

 

 

This was to have been my proud post in the dinner thread last night.  But no.  Let me backup...this boneless ribeye was a failed purchase from amazon.  I ordered dry aged ribeye.  I received a pretty pound of prime; they missed the dry aging part.

 

Now I can't ingurgitate a pound of steak in a single sitting, no matter how much Béarnaise.  I divided the meat into two bags and, consulting Baldwin's tables,  anovaed three and a half hours at 55C.

 

For something new I employed a mayonnaise sear.  Not sure who to credit.  I believe I first heard about the technique from the anova blog.  Coated the dried surface with said mayonnaise; waited till the pan went above 500F;  about a minute on each side.

 

What is not to like?  Crust was lovely.  No gray.  Nothing overdone.  Meat was moist.  But the fat wasn't rendered.  A salient attribute of steak was missing.  In truth it was a little flaccid.  I think my steak requires a stiffer crust that smells like steak.  Back to the Philips grill next time.

 

YES! To me sv steak seems underdone because there's no chew to it. My solution with thicker steaks is to sv to 129 and then sear enough to have a thin rim of med-well on the surface. You get a little chew and med rare flavor with sear too. 

[Okanagancook]

I want to make some sous vide pearl onions.  My onions vary in size so I will sort them into large, medium and small and bag them separately.

 

Modernist Cuisine says 195F for 2.5 hours.

Another recipe from the internet says 185 for 1.5 hours.

 

 I don't cook veggies much sv so I am not sure which recipe will work.

 

Any ideas???

 

 

[TdeV]

@Okanagancook, Chris McDonald (Canadian) has cup onions at 190F (87.8C) + 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar + salt for 55 or 60 minutes. I found this to be too much liquid. I don't think the size of the onions matter.  He also has a variation using Cipolline onions which he recommends only 50 minutes (because they are less dense than pearl onions). He only says to make sure the onions are in one layer.

 

(Chris McDonald: The Complete Sous Vide Cookbook here)

[Okanagancook]

Thank you...I have that book but the recipe did not come up when I used Eat Your Books.  I’m off to check them in the bath...yes in a single layer.  Will report back.

Edited October 17, 2019 by Okanagancook (log)

[Okanagancook]

After 90 min in the bath at 195F the small onions were very tender but good; the medium ones had a little bit left but perfectly acceptable.  The large onions were a bit too toothsome so they went into the 195F bath for another 30 minutes and now they are the same as the medium onions.  Very tasty indeed.  I am reducing the cooking liquid to see what it tastes like and will probably use some of it to package the onions.  I would do these again for sure.  

 

As for the Chris McDonald 185F bath for 60 minutes...not sure they would be as ready to eat as the onions done at the higher temperature, but would be fine to go in a dish that was to be simmered a bit longer.

 

My opinion.  Others may like them a bit more toothsome.  If you were serving them cold you would probably want them the Chris McDonald method.

 

cheers 

[Okanagancook]

I sautéed the small sv'd onions to serve with steak.  Nice to have on hand and took just a few minutes to be browned, in butter.

[Smithy]

I finally got around to trying egg bites. I very loosely followed this recipe from Anova for bacon and gruyere egg bites...very loosely, considering I used cheddar cheese and heavy cream, and no neufchatel or gruyere. No matter, 172F for 1 hour cooked these beauties to a good consistency.

 

 

By the time I was ready actually to eat one, they had cooled. 45 seconds in the microwave warmed them perfectly. This would be a good make-ahead breakfast for a gang. Said gang will be visiting in a couple of weeks to help with the wood-cutting and stacking, and will need sustenance.

[Anna N]

 Well I thought I would sous vide a duck egg today.   I probably did not do enough due diligence on this one. I did find a recommendation for 63°C for 45 minutes. Nope. Didn’t work for my egg.

 

 

 Not exactly the white I was looking for. 

 

 

 So I popped it into the microwave for one minute after making sure there was sufficient shell peeled off to avoid an explosion.  This alien looking creature was not exactly what I wanted either. The microwave definitely toughened the white most unpleasantly. 

 

 But I was determined.

 

 

 Very unattractive. 

 

I added some salsa closed the sandwich up and called at breakfast.  I was disappointed but at least I’m not hungry.   Not sure if I will try this again.  

[TdeV]

Eggs are such perfect food, it's a shame when they don't work out right.