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

[nickrey]

Dinner for 67. Duck three ways: Confit (82C for eight hours) on put lentils with a red wine and duck jelly jus, Duck spring roll (confit plus carrot, green onion, enoki mushrooms, and peking duck sauce), and duck egg (62.5 for two hours) used as the fat component on a side salad that had been lightly sprayed with balsamic vinegar. Photo Credit: Paul Irwin. 

[ElsieD]

I called and what I have is an outside skirt steak.  Do I even need to sous vide this or can I simply sear it?

[rotuts]

@ElsieD 

 

would you say that its ' thin-ish ? '

 

then Id pull off some of the fat , lightly season 

 

roll up  tie or skewer it , then cut if half , and grill hot

 

to rare .  pinwheels at their best 

 

if it looks thicker , the SV

 

you can tell the difference just by looking .

 

https://www.grillseeker.com/whats-the-difference-between-inside-and-outside-skirt-steak/

 

https://substitutecooking.com/inside-vs-outside-skirt-steak/

 

 

Edited June 27, 2022 by rotuts (log)

[Duvel]

10 hours ago, nickrey said:

Dinner for 67.

67 Persons ?!

[rotuts]

if wish every one that enjoys beef

 

because it beef 

 

would bee able to try both the thinner skin and the thicker.

 

I learned w the thinner , and it came off a ' Prime " side of beef

 

and was not avaiable all the time.

 

the butcher had sides of beef in the refrigerator behind the counter

 

w a  glass ' window ' you could see in while selecting your cots

 

or they would cut to order.

 

that actual skirt might be much harder to find these days.

 

pinwheels pinwheels pinwheels    

 

very hot grill , perfectly dark browned on the outside

 

and rare in the middle .

[rotuts]

RTW

 

Ive been watching a 

 

BBQ completion series

 

and presto :

 

skirts :

 

 

these are right out of the CryoVac , untrimmed 

 

these are the Thicker Skirts 

 

Inside ? Upside ? Downside ?  Outside ?

 

Its difficult for me to remember :

 

Thick ?  Thin ?

 

right in front of me .

 

P.S.:  later in that same show

 

for review purposes 

 

this is how they are cooking them

 

hope theyndowell

Edited June 27, 2022 by rotuts (log)

[nickrey]

On 6/28/2022 at 3:03 AM, Duvel said:

67 Persons ?!

Yes.

 

[gfweb]

1 hour ago, nickrey said:

Yes.

 

 

Tell us more!

[Duvel]

3 hours ago, nickrey said:

Yes.

 

Very cool !

 

1 hour ago, gfweb said:

Tell us more!

Yes, you definitely need to tell us more  🤗

[nickrey]

2 hours ago, Duvel said:

Very cool !

 

Yes, you definitely need to tell us more  🤗

I have just recently finished my term as President of the Wine and Food Society of New South Wales, which was formed in 1939 as a vehicle to encourage and facilitate the association of people interested in fine wine and food. It is a male-only member club at which each week a different member cooks for his fellow members, with numbers of diners ranging from 25 to 50. I was also formerly Foodmaster.

 

Each year the Foodmaster chooses six to eight main courses that he considers to be the best meals of the year and we hold a cook off with members rating each of the competing meals. From this, the chef cooking the top meal wins the Chef of the Year Award. We also have an award for the top seafood dish as well and, from this year, an award for the best cheese accompaniment.

 

Winning the award is an honour, but it also brings the task of cooking at the next year's Chef of the Year Award evening. This time with appetisers, entree, main, cheese, and a dessert course. The function is mixed and this year had 67 attendees. Unusually this year, we also had three chefs as with COVID lockdowns, we have not been able to hold the function for a number of years.

 

I cooked the main course, while my colleagues cooked the appetisers, entree, and dessert.

 

The appetisers were:

 

Three cheese Gougères.

 

 

Prawn Cocktail on a rice cracker:

Chèvre and Tartufata Tartlets:

Entreé (this is not a main course in Australia) was Confit Salmon (also cooked sous vide) with a herb beurre blanc sauce:

The main was duck three ways:

 

the cheese was Beaufort (no picture)

The dessert was Lemon Tart with Lemon and Basil Sherbet and Cointreau marinated blueberries:

 

 

The accompanying wines were from the Society's cellar (which is around 9,000 bottles) and were served in the following sequence:

 

 

Photo Credit: Paul Irwin.

 

I also won the Chef of the Year and Seafood dish of the year with this seafood sausage dish (not cooked sous vide) so I will be cooking again next year for this function. The dish was a homemade seafood sausage made from hand diced salmon and ocean trout, smoked trout, egg white, cream, and pork back fat.  Served on a Mooloolaba jumbo prawn with a tarragon beurre Blanc sauce.  There was also a mango salsa, Canadian scallop, butter-glazed snow peas, and deep-fried forty-layer potato pavé with crème fraîche and Beluga caviar.

 

 

Edited June 29, 2022 by nickrey (log)

[Duvel]

Simply fantastic, @nickrey ! What a great spread, a great wine selection and a great society. Congratulations to you win as well - very well deserved 🤗

[gfweb]

Wow, @nickrey!  Each week!  20 to 50!

 

Where are  these held? The average home kitchen would be strained.

 

Must cost a considerable amount.

Edited June 29, 2022 by gfweb (log)

[nickrey]

2 hours ago, gfweb said:

Wow, @nickrey!  Each week!  20 to 50!

 

Where are  these held? The average home kitchen would be strained.

 

Must cost a considerable amount.

At a club. We use their commercial kitchen. The dinner above cost $120 per head, including the wine. Needless to say we’re not paid to cook. 

[lemniscate]

Costco has a "Hot Buy" on pork shoulder for a few days.   Picked up a pack.  Each pack has 2 shoulders.

One is cooking as char siu using Noh Chinese BBq powder recommended by @mgaretz multiple times  It's shockingly pink.

One is cooking in a pepperoncini based marinade, dried shallot, shredded carrot, granulated garlic.  I picture an Italian beef but with pork for slicing for sandwiches.

 

 

[streem26]

A couple of days ago, I got a venison shoulder from a friend, and rubbed it down with garlic, rosemary, and salt, and put it in a Foodsaver bag, and let it marinate 6 hours, before setting it in my sous vide for 12 hours at 135°, before smoking it for 4 hours. I took it to my friend's house yesterday, and everyone loved it, though it could have stayed in there longer - some sites had it being in the sous vide for 24 hours, so I'll try that next time. The very center, while it was fairly tender, it could have used more cooking, or cut thinner.

My friend made a batch of dal as a filler - his Mom is Indian, so he's half Indian, and likes to cook. I made a sauce that I took over - a simple tomatillo sauce, which is just a small clove of garlic (I almost never say that!) to 2 c grilled tomatillos, plus toasted chile de árbols to taste (the original recipe called for 9, but I only put 4 Thai peppers, which was still quite hot. 

Edited August 14, 2022 by streem26 (log)

[TdeV]

I bought turkey thighs today and in preparation for sous vide, ran across a slow cooker recipe for 2 thighs calling for 1/3 cup mustard, 1/4 cup maple syrup and 1 tablespoon quick tapioca. Most of the thighs went into vacuum sealed bags without spice*, but I added mustard and maple syrup** to one bag. All of the bags are at 140°F and will stay for 24 hours.

 

Do you think I should have seasoned all the bags?

 

* Just told an eG newcomer to avoid spices in a long cook, so thought maybe I should listen to my own advice?

**No tapioca on hand

[xDraug]

I sous vide a beef tongue at 150 deg F for 40 hours and finished it on the stove, I used cooked garlic, various peppers (poblano, guajillo, puya, chile pequin) , and other spices. I am by no means a professional, but I thought it came out ok. However, I really would have liked for the peppers to have a stronger flavor. When I sampled it immediately after the sous vide phase, the flavors were a bit mild. I was able to increase the flavors by adding the sous vide juices when pan frying. I don't know what others experiences have been, but I am wondering if it would be worth removing the membrane prior to cooking even if that means losing some meat. Any thoughts? Thanks! 🙂

 

[kayb]

I have found that the same mix of peppers/spices I’d use in a stovetop prep come out a little muted when used sous vide. I compensate by adding additional seasonings when I finish stovetop or in the oven.

 

ETA: I have never cooked, nor have any desire to cook, lengua, so I can’t testify to membrane removal.

Edited October 29, 2022 by kayb (log)

[xDraug]

1 hour ago, kayb said:

I have found that the same mix of peppers/spices I’d use in a stovetop prep come out a little muted when used sous vide. I compensate by adding additional seasonings when I finish stovetop or in the oven.

 

ETA: I have never cooked, nor have any desire to cook, lengua, so I can’t testify to membrane removal.

Yes I also used more seasonings compared to what I might have used if braising. I wonder if braising allows the meat to more easily absorb seasonings because it's not compressed by the vacuum or because of the higher heat involved.

[kayb]

14 minutes ago, xDraug said:

Yes I also used more seasonings compared to what I might have used if braising. I wonder if braising allows the meat to more easily absorb seasonings because it's not compressed by the vacuum or because of the higher heat involved.

FWIW, the seasonings seem to absorb better if sautéed before adding to the bag. So I’m guessing it’s a function of heat.

[TdeV]

9 hours ago, xDraug said:

I sous vide a beef tongue at 150 deg F for 40 hours and finished it on the stove, I used cooked garlic, various peppers (poblano, guajillo, puya, chile pequin) , and other spices. I am by no means a professional, but I thought it came out ok. However, I really would have liked for the peppers to have a stronger flavor. When I sampled it immediately after the sous vide phase, the flavors were a bit mild. I was able to increase the flavors by adding the sous vide juices when pan frying. I don't know what others experiences have been, but I am wondering if it would be worth removing the membrane prior to cooking even if that means losing some meat. Any thoughts? Thanks! 🙂

 

 

How long did you sauté the meat and at what temperature? I ask because, at the finish of the sous vide, the meat is already cooked. When I first began cooking sous vide, with the followup sear, I also "cooked" (overcooked) the meat too long and too low. Now I put a sous vide meat into a medium-hot pan which has a sprinkle of high-smokepoint oil for 15-30 seconds per side, max 60 seconds for the whole piece.

 

For tongue, I don't put it in the frying pan at all; just peel it and slice it. But then I have no experience with traditional Lengua. Once one of my Mexican friends brought a light tomato sauce with golden raisins which was mighty fine accompaniment.

[kayb]

A friend posted on FB yesterday about smoking beef ribs. Which got me to thinking. Would it work if I SV’d the beef short ribs in my freezer, say, 36 hours at 135, and then smoked them for a couple of hours?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

44 minutes ago, kayb said:

A friend posted on FB yesterday about smoking beef ribs. Which got me to thinking. Would it work if I SV’d the beef short ribs in my freezer, say, 36 hours at 135, and then smoked them for a couple of hours?

 

I had to read the method through a couple times.

 

[Smithy]

Along the lines of what @kayb is asking: I have a frozen venison backstrap. Its packaging is not airtight and I really need to do something with it. Earlier this summer I sous vided a tenderloin from frozen, and we were both pleased with the results. (This was especially encouraging because my Other Half professes not to like venison.) The biggest problem is that I can't find my notes on what I did: time, temp, or even whether I seasoned it before sealing. If I could find those notes I'd repeat the experiment with this backstrap...but now I'm back to by-guess-and-by-golly.

 

Suggestions? I'm thinking along the lines of cooking it properly, then slicing thinly for tacos or a dinner salad.

[gfweb]

Sous vide juices have a lot of albumin that coagulates when reduced in a pan.  Might look pretty yucky if you don't reduce to dry and then deglaze