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

[ElsieD]

1 hour ago, rotuts said:

@ElsieD 

 

how thick is it ?

 

Ive done ST flat cut  @ 131 F for 6 hours and its delicious .

 

is it , 2 " thick ?  do you want the final result to look like a roast ?

 

if over 3 " thick , Id cut in 1/2 , with the grain and make two steaks

 

but it depends on the thickness .  

 

picture ' as is ? ' for comparison to flap meat ?

 

It is 4" thick, and tapers slightly towards the back.  As you can see from the look of it, I  already have it in the bath.

[rotuts]

6 - 8 hours

 

due to thickness 

 

134 F

[rotuts]

I think Joule does not take tenderness

 

into consideration based on those times.

 

and tenderness is what SV is all about 

 

sometimes.

[lemniscate]

I missed the part that this was a roast and not a steak.   I think @rotuts recommendation is the most correct.

[TdeV]

Although searching on eGullet about lamb, sous vide and Paula Wolfert turns up several of my own posts, I've never tried this recipe before and I'd like some advice about converting this to sous vide.

 

It's from THE FOOD OF MOROCCO and is titled "Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder with Browned Almonds" p.350 and uses

a 4.5 - 5 lb bone-in lamb shoulder described thusly

"Ask your butcher for the 'square-shaped cut,' bone-in, which should contain some of the blade, arm, and ribs. Ask him or her to halve it, then trim off all the external fat."

 

First a marinade (spices#1): a paste of butter, garlic, cumin seeds, and salt are mashed to a paste and slathered on the meat. Rested 30 minutes minimum (Can I leave marinade on overnight?)

 

The meat is boiled in half-pot of water with spices#2 added (garlic, onion, cinnamon, cilantro), then meat is covered with a wet, crumpled up sheet of parchment paper, heat is reduced, and the meat is basted every half hour for 3 hours. The meat is cleaned of detrius (not bones), wrapped tightly in tin foil, and refrigerated. The cooking sauce is strained and refrigerated.

 

An hour before presentation, sauce is defatted and put to simmer. Almonds are toasted in veg oil. Butter is heated in a straight sided skillet and then pieces of meat (with bones) are browned in it, adding some simmering sauce in between in order to scrape up the deep brown bits and glaze the meat; then again and again. Meat plate is put into a cool oven to keep warm.

 

Remaining sauce is then reduced.

 

Meat is removed from oven, bones pulled out, then laid on a bed of couscous. Sauce dribbled on top. Fried almonds scattered on top. Voilà!

 

In order to convert this to sous vide,

- do I boil meat before the sous vide begins?  I could put meat etc. in a bag, vacuum seal it, and boil it. How long should the bag be boiled? If I don't boil the bag, then how will l reduce the sharpness of raw spices#1?

- do I add any water to the sous vide bag?

- should I cook spices#2 before adding to sous vide bag?

 

I have notes for temp for lamb shoulder between 138-141°F (59-61°C) for 2-3 days. Recommendations?

[Bernie]

I have tried a couple of recipes for lamb shanks converted to SV. One was a "Morrocon" spice blend. One was a "Rogan josh"

What I found was the lower heat does not convert the spices correctly. Perhaps the proportions needed to be changed.

What I ended up doing was to cook the spices  separately and then add them to the SV bag along with the lamb. The end result was only just OK but not what I was aiming for.

In normal cooking I think the lamb liquid and fats are combined in the sauce and the sauce is reduced in the process.

With SV the temperatures are such that that doesn't happen and although I could reduce the sauce afterward it means the lamb has not been cooked in the final sauce.

Perhaps if i was to long cook the spices separately but adding something like fatty lamb cutlets and then remove the meat/bone then use the resultant sauce to SV the lamb.

 

For normal lamb roast I now just slow cook (2.5 hrs) in a sealed  oven bag with rosemary sprigs at lowish temperature (140c) in the oven and open the bag for the last 15 minutes and  increase temp to about 170c to harden/dry the outside (not crisp)  have found this to be excellent.

 

Depending on the lamb 2~3 days may well be too long; you may get too much rendering of the fats and juices and the meat itself may be a little dry. If its a young tender lamb then it will not need the time but a old worn out sheep may need the brick treatment (brick treatment: cook the meat with a brick. When the brick is tender, throw the meat away and eat the brick 😀)

 

[ElsieD]

@rotuts  I took your advice and did t g e roast at 134F for 7 hours.  We were very happy with the result.

[rotuts]

@ElsieD 

 

Nice !

 

you are going to have some spectacular sandwiches

 

the next day ++  

 

if there is any left !

[rotuts]

@TdeV 

 

I haven't done lamb. so I hesitate

 

to offer ideas.

 

but Id guess it would cook in a similar fashion

 

as beef.

 

I prefer lower temps than ' braise '

 

w SV , as that jus in the bag , came from the meat

 

Id like to keep at least most of it in the meat.

 

w lamb , there is the issue of the fat :

 

some like lamb fat , some do not .

 

if the lamb is young , the fat is less intense 

 

good luck and please post your results w a pic or two.

[kayb]

14 hours ago, ElsieD said:

@rotuts  I took your advice and did t g e roast at 134F for 7 hours.  We were very happy with the result.

That is gorgeous. My mother used to cook rump roast like that, slice thin, then marinate the slices in an oil and vinegar dressing with spices. Took sandwiches to a new level.

[TdeV]

When cooking chicken (thighs) sous vide, do you add any herbs, salt or pepper? I'd like to pre-cook the chicken for future dishes.

I'm planning on 155°F for 3 hours. Then ice for a while, and then freeze.

Thoughts?

[TdeV]

On 3/27/2022 at 9:43 AM, kayb said:

That is gorgeous. My mother used to cook rump roast like that, slice thin, then marinate the slices in an oil and vinegar dressing with spices. Took sandwiches to a new level.

 

Just a bit of salad dressing? Something spicier?

[rotuts]

@TdeV 

 

155 F will get you close to a braise 

 

and quite a bit jus in the bag

 

consider 142 F  less jus in the bag , more jus in the chicken.

 

I use very light seasoning , 

 

or none at all :

 

you can add it later based on the future use.

 

the seasoned bags generally get eaten hot

 

[kayb]

1 hour ago, TdeV said:

 

Just a bit of salad dressing? Something spicier?

 

Besst of my recollection is that she used grocery store Italian dressing.

 

[TdeV]

4 hours ago, rotuts said:

@TdeV 

 

155 F will get you close to a braise 

 

and quite a bit jus in the bag

 

consider 142 F  less jus in the bag , more jus in the chicken.

 

I use very light seasoning , 

 

or none at all :

 

you can add it later based on the future use.

 

the seasoned bags generally get eaten hot

 

 

 

Did 3 hours at 142°F. 5 bags of 2 chicken thighs each. Will let you know how it works out.

[Okanagancook]

I have an octopus that is 750 grams.  I am planning on 180F for 2.5 hours.  Anyone done this?

[TdeV]

No, @Okanagancook, but I'm very interested!

Edited April 17 by TdeV (log)

[rotuts]

@Okanagancook 

 

good for you !

 

Id love to try octopus !

 

there are many suggesting 

 

for time and temp @ the internet

 

Ive done none

 

so Im really looking forward to your

 

take in the and results !

[JoNorvelleWalker]

5 hours ago, TdeV said:

When cooking chicken (thighs) sous vide, do you add any herbs, salt or pepper? I'd like to pre-cook the chicken for future dishes.

I'm planning on 155°F for 3 hours. Then ice for a while, and then freeze.

Thoughts?

 

I do thighs at 70C/158F for about three hours.  I add no salt or spices.  The chicken is pasteurized, it keeps for weeks and weeks in the refrigerator.

 

[Okanagancook]

I am using Chris McDonald’s The Complete Sous Vide Cookbook recommendations.  Other cooks I have done using his book have turned out well.  I usually cook the octopus in the oven at 200f for 4 hours to get something nice and tender.  Then I remembered a local winery chef using sous vide so I thought the method would use a lot less energy.

[ElsieD]

1 hour ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

I do thighs at 70C/158F for about three hours.  I add no salt or spices.  The chicken is pasteurized, it keeps for weeks and weeks in the refrigerator.

 

Interesting.  What is the texture like?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

55 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

Interesting.  What is the texture like?

 

Cooked chicken.

 

[gilbertlevine]

1 hour ago, Okanagancook said:

I am using Chris McDonald’s The Complete Sous Vide Cookbook recommendations.  Other cooks I have done using his book have turned out well.  I usually cook the octopus in the oven at 200f for 4 hours to get something nice and tender.  Then I remembered a local winery chef using sous vide so I thought the method would use a lot less energy.

I have used 180 for 4 hours and been very happy with results

[ElsieD]

24 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Cooked chicken.

 

 

Ha ha.  What I meant was, does the chicken have any texture or is it mushy?

[Okanagancook]

35 minutes ago, gilbertlevine said:

I have used 180 for 4 hours and been very happy with results

Ok.  The cookbook did say 2-3 hours so I will check the doneness after 3 hrs.  Thanks.