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

[Shelby]

We had something profoundly good last night.  We purchased these beef ribs from Whole Foods a couple weeks ago.  I don't remember the price, but it had to have been a decent deal for Ronnie to spring for it lol.  We sawed them to make a little rack of short ribs and were left with these which we cold smoked at 185 F for 4 hours.  

 

 

Then I vac packed them and put them in the water bath on Saturday for 24 hours at 155 F.

 

Ohhhhhh they were melty and tender, but not totally falling apart.  Perfect.

 

 

[ElsieD]

I have a small sirloin roast I would like to cook sous vide at 133F.   It is a AAA grade and measures about 5" in length and about 3" thick and weighs about 2 pounds.  Any idea for how long I should cook this sous vide?  My instinct suggests about 10 hours.  Thanks.

[Okanagancook]

I am thinking about three to four hours....more towards the four.

Edited October 28, 2019 by Okanagancook (log)

[Okanagancook]

Just a couple of boned turkey breasts at 150f for 18 hours....turned out like confit.

[ElsieD]

9 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

I am thinking about three to four hours....more towards the four.

 

I initially thought about 4 then the more I looked, the more varied the times, right up to 29 hours which to my mind is waaaaay too long.  I don't want to eat mush.  I say that from experience.  I'd like to use this meat mainly for sandwiches, like Philly Steak .

[Okanagancook]

Seeing it’s sirloin, ten hours will give you a tender roast for sure.  Four hours would still be steak like.

[ElsieD]

Thanks.  I decided to go with 10 hours.  They are on sale this week for a good price so I may get another one and try 4 hours.  

[rotuts]

for Tb I do 142.5 for 6 h

 

perfect for dinner , perfect for slicing for a sandwish

 

140 was a bit to firm , and 145 a bit too much Jus in the bag.

[nickrey]

On 9/25/2019 at 11:59 PM, Anna N said:

 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.

 

For next time, try bringing some water up to a simmer and drop the partially cooked egg into that. Finish as for a poached egg. The white will set without doing bak things to the yolk. 

[Kim Shook]

I did some huge pork chops that I rubbed with Penzey’s Bavarian spice (brown mustard, rosemary, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, and sage), put in a vacuum bag and froze last month.  I did them at 144F for four hours.  Pork chops out of the bag before searing rival hairless cats for ugliness:

 

They were the right temperature, though:

 

Plated:

I had to apply some heat to the sides with a torch.

 

The chops were incredibly tender and moist:

What sous vide does for regular old supermarket meat is amazing. 

 

 

 

 

[Anna N]

Two duck eggs cooked for two hours at 62.5°C and then chilled. Will break into those at another time. And since the SV set up was ready to go...

 

 

The first two of four packages each containing two loin lamb chops. I will let them go for two hours at 54.5°C.  The plan would be to enjoy two chops this evening seared off on the Phillips Avance grill and then the rest frozen for future meals. Although initially I flinched at the cost, these are thick chops and two are more than adequate for a meal for me. When I consider that I spent $20 for eight of them it is pretty much a bargain.

[Kim Shook]

I need some guidance re: vacuuming my meat.  I tend to season and vacuum them when I get them home from the store before freezing.  Therefore, when I thaw them to sous vide this is what they look like:

 

Lots of liquid in the bags.  Is this ok, or should be taking them out of the bags and drying them off before re-vacuuming them before cooking?  It seems so wasteful, but if it will significantly improve the texture/flavor of my meats, I’ll do it.

[lemniscate]

6 minutes ago, Kim Shook said:

Is this ok, or should be taking them out of the bags and drying them off before re-vacuuming them before cooking? 

I cook mine as is, in fact, I don't even thaw them before sous vide.  I just toss them in the water and add a bit of time to the anticipated cook.   Also, I use the juices for a sauce or dipping jus; or even collect them for a future gravy.  Those bag juices are fantastic.   I don't have any belief drying the meat of all juices before sous vide-ing has any effect to the texture/flavor of the meat.   Are you planning to sear after debagging?  That is when I have seen people dry the meat.   But again, don't fear the bag juices!

Edited December 6, 2019 by lemniscate
grammar? (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I'd put the frozen bags directly in the water bath.  But I am not a fan of bag juices.  For me the best place for bag juices is down the drain.

 

Be sure to carefully dry the cooked meat before searing.

 

[Anna N]

45 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I'd put the frozen bags directly in the water bath.  But I am not a fan of bag juices.  For me the best place for bag juices is down the drain.

 

Be sure to carefully dry the cooked meat before searing.

 

With you. Can’t imagine why one would need to thaw something that is going to be sous vided if it’s already properly sealed etc.  Never had any success with the juices. 

Edited December 6, 2019 by Anna N
To change One to one. It did look a bit pretentious (log)

[lemniscate]

Here is relatively simple idea of what to do with bag juices from steaks.   I've even used beer instead of red wine to make a sauce this way with the bag juices.  Just a thought.

[gfweb]

NY Strip, 128F, 2 hours

[lindag]

As I nearly always do, I caved to the enabling here and ordered the Joule (on sale at Amazon for $159+ change) along with the Everie container.

Delivery comes Monday.  Can't wait to try some beef.

A couple of years ago I tried the Anova and just didn't like the whole process, gave it away.

Now I'm psyched to try again after seeing the photos here and hearing about how well it works.

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, lindag said:

As I nearly always do, I caved to the enabling here and ordered the Joule (on sale at Amazon for $159+ change) along with the Everie container.

Delivery comes Monday.  Can't wait to try some beef.

A couple of years ago I tried the Anova and just didn't like the whole process, gave it away.

Now I'm psyched to try again after seeing the photos here and hearing about how well it works.

I hope you were not going to be disappointed. I have had just about every make and model and configuration of equipment out there starting out with a prototype. All of them cook exactly the same way. Some are more convenient to use than others. Some are more reliable than others.  But there are no other differences that would cause one to make better food than another.

Edited December 7, 2019 by Anna N
Change the position of a modifier. (log)

[Anna N]

Not actually cooking sous vide right now but I am thawing some ground beef. Temperature is set for 20°C (as low as it will go). In about half an hour to 45 minutes I will have some thoroughly thawed ground beef. 

[blue_dolphin]

37 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Not actually cooking sous vide right now but I am thawing some ground beef. Temperature is set for 20°C (as low as it will go). In about half an hour to 45 minutes I will have some thoroughly thawed ground beef. 

 

I might use mine more for thawing than for cooking.  The other day, I put a bag of frozen chicken thighs that I'd bought at the farmers market in to defrost, then cooked them in the CSO.  The best of both worlds!

[DanM]

I have beef ribs cooking away in 62° water for another 24 hoursish... What else can I cook at the same temp to make a nice side? Thank you!

[lindag]

Yesterday I went on the maiden voyage with my new Joule SV.

Her’s my setup.
I poached my Jumbo eggs at 167F for 13 minutes.  That was either not enough time or too low a temp.  The whites were not cohesive enough for my tastes.

Today I have a small piece of brisket (maybe <2 lbs. or so) in the tank.  Set for 24 to 36 hours.

Can/t wait to see how it goes...I want the meat for sandwiches.

 

[haresfur]

On 12/12/2019 at 7:03 PM, DanM said:

I have beef ribs cooking away in 62° water for another 24 hoursish... What else can I cook at the same temp to make a nice side? Thank you!

 

I seldom do anything except meat in the SV. I think most veg are done at a higher temperature, though. 

 

Next time, maybe do up some chicken breast to freeze for later use.

[TdeV]

Hi @lindag and @DanM, Douglas Baldwin has tables for temperatures to cook meats, fish and vegetables. His book is Sous Vide for the Home Cook. You can find information about sous vide, Baldwin's tests for food safety, his education, and his articles and book on his website here.

 

According to Baldwin, vegetables mostly require 185F(85C) except potatoes which require 175F(80C).

 

I reference the tables in his book all the time!

 

Edited December 14, 2019 by TdeV
punctuation (log)