Sous Vide Appreciation Thread!

unixadm said:
I also got almost $22 back from Amazon tonight since I complained the unit wasn't new. So for around $85, I think this is a steal! :)
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Man, I love Amazon.



As an Aside I have a couple chucks that I've had rolling for almost 48 hours in a cooler using the Precision cooker. I plan on pulling one out today and searing with the weber chimney. The other I plan on giving another 24 hours and try tomorrow to see the difference in texture. They are set at 130.5 and have a very light coat of SPOG on one side and a touch of rosemary, thyme, garlic and salt on the other. I wanted to add some ghee but figured I'd messed with the flavor enough, but the next steaks I use will be low fat so I'll use it there. I'll post pics of each in this thread instead of starting ones.
 
Please forgive my ignorance but what is the reason for a 48 or 72 hr cook at that low of a temp. How thick is the meat ? I do have the precision arriving next week and I admit to second thoughts about it...maybe the old dog new tricks thing :oops: Is there a good sou vide for dummies book you all could recommend ? Thanks .
 
lantern said:
Man, I love Amazon.



As an Aside I have a couple chucks that I've had rolling for almost 48 hours in a cooler using the Precision cooker. I plan on pulling one out today and searing with the weber chimney. The other I plan on giving another 24 hours and try tomorrow to see the difference in texture. They are set at 130.5 and have a very light coat of SPOG on one side and a touch of rosemary, thyme, garlic and salt on the other. I wanted to add some ghee but figured I'd messed with the flavor enough, but the next steaks I use will be low fat so I'll use it there. I'll post pics of each in this thread instead of starting ones.
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Nice, I've never gone over 48 for a chuckie. I've never salted anything in my long cooks due to people saying it will toughen the meat. Be sure to post your results.

Also I haven't seen butter+beef SV much. Read it dilutes the beef flavor somehow but it does work great with chicken!
 
I put butter with my filets last night and they tasted fantastic. A little goes a long way - I also had olive oil in the bag. Many times you see steaks basted with butter, so I noticed no such side effects other than it tasting really good.

Put it to you this way - I've never cooked a more tender steak than last night on my first attempt with Sous Vide.
 
jakel said:
Please forgive my ignorance but what is the reason for a 48 or 72 hr cook at that low of a temp. How thick is the meat ? I do have the precision arriving next week and I admit to second thoughts about it...maybe the old dog new tricks thing :oops: Is there a good sou vide for dummies book you all could recommend ? Thanks .
Click to expand...

The longer cook will tenderize cuts like short ribs, brisket, etc. but still let them be cooked to Med rare.

I haven't looked at books, but the Serious Eats web site has a bunch of good info on sous vide, plus I received an e-mail that they are teaming up with Anova for recipes and tip to be included in the Anova app.
 
Thanks Ron that helps a lot and I'll do some more checking online. I'm just having a problem wrapping my head around the concept :oops:
 
Ron_L said:
I haven't looked at books, but the Serious Eats web site has a bunch of good info on sous vide, plus I received an e-mail that they are teaming up with Anova for recipes and tip to be included in the Anova app.
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Maybe that's they're featuring such a glowing product review from Kenji on their website!

I have every reason to think that a Precision will be mine on Fathers Day. My wife had no idea what it was when I sent her the link but she LOVES her filet mignon and I've assured her that this will allow us to nail it exactly the way she wants it.
 
CakeM1x said:
Nice, I've never gone over 48 for a chuckie. I've never salted anything in my long cooks due to people saying it will toughen the meat. Be sure to post your results.

Also I haven't seen butter+beef SV much. Read it dilutes the beef flavor somehow but it does work great with chicken!
Click to expand...


Yes, yes! As I go through the learning phase on this I definitely noticed that the salt caused a LARGE loss of water. Luckily this was a well marbled chuck or it WOULD have been dry. However this was very tender and tasty.


I am a little worried about the second one that's set to be cooked tomorrow. I should have went without any salt on at least one. But, we shall see. It was pretty well marbled also.

I apologize for the shoddy pics. I'm in a rush to get to my brother's birthday party......this is a diet dish compared to what will be served there.:heh:





 
Decided to try some chicken breast Sous Vide style. 139 degrees for about 90 minutes. I seasoned with a little salt and pepper, plus a pad of unsalted butter and a little Hoisin. When it came out of the bag, I heated a skillet on medium/high heat, put some butter flavored oil in the pan and seared one side of the breast for about 90 seconds. Afterwards I seasoned with fresh ground pepper and some Lawry's seasoned salt. I served it with some pasta roni (I know) and man, it was tasty. Juicy and tender with all the right flavors.

Pretty sold on this new style of cooking. I can make a number of things early in the week and drop stuff in as I want it. Piece of cake.

IMG_2560.JPG

IMG_2561.JPG
 
Yesterday was my first time out - 2 hour hanger steak @ 131. Nice and tender, but wasn't crazy using the mapp torch for a crust.

I've got a 48 hour chuck roast @ 140 that will be ready for dinner tomorrow. I'll try the chimney method for a crust.

I like the idea and am just starting out, but the cooks themselves are very boring.
 
Yeah - I'm not a big fan of the torch either. I'm making another filet tonight and am going to cook it at 131 and then sear on each side in a cast iron pan for one minute before serving.

The cooks are boring but might I suggest spending more times on sides and getting creative there? If you're already doing that then maybe this will help. :rofl:

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Just figured I'd add that tomorrow I'll be adding two more things to my sous vide adventure. Harris Teeter has swordfish steaks on sale for 6.99/lb so THAT'S happening and I picked up some boneless skinless chicken thighs that I think I may just sous vide and pan fry as well. Fingers crossed that these go as well as I have envisioned.:laugh:
 
I did steaks and carrots and fingerling potatoes. I did the steaks at 135 for the missus, but next time, i'll probably opt for about 120 and just cook hers longer on the cast iron.

 
Nice steak!!


My fried chicken turned out tasty, but nothing rocked as much as the swordfish I made today. Into the sous vide bath at 128 for 30 minutes with a pat of butter with each steak. Took the steaks out of the bags and patted dry, sprinkled with salt and pepper and into a medium hot pan with coconut oil and butter to sear each side. Served with mushrooms sauteed in garlic infused olive oil, butter and spiked with lemon juice to help it work with the fish.

Without doubt one of the best swordfish dishes I've done. In fact I MAY become a fan of the dang stuff if Harris Teeter keeps selling swordfish at 6.99/lb!!:clap2:


Sorry for no pics, but I hadn't eaten all day and neither had she.:redface:
 
My 2lb. chuck roast sous vide for 48 hours at 140 (seared on a chimney) was ok, not great. It tasted like... pot roast. The meat was tender, but almost/not quite dry and under-seasoned (ie salt).

So, 2 cooks with kind of "meh" results. I still believe the process has potential... just need to learn what works and what doesn't.

This might be a bigger learning curve than I had imagined.
 
Wampus
I too am a skeptic. I have had sous vide flank steak and hangar cooked by a friend and eaten by my family. It was done properly and did taste good, not great and it lacked the texture that I am used to. I really want to try sous vide but I'm just not convinced yet that it is better than cooking over lump or charcoal.

Wampus said:
Sure I would.
It looks great! I've seen that photo before and it look as good now as it did then.

But looks don't account for taste.
I just love a charcoal cooked steak. How does the taste of that compare to one cooked entirely over charcoal?


Not trying to dog sous vide cooking at all.
I know all about restaurants using it to hold steaks at various "doneness" and then grilling them off for color.


.....then again, there aren't many restaurant steaks I care for anymore. :becky:
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I used to have issues with the texture - I love the internal texture of the meat, but I missed the char from the grill.

...Then I bought a vortex. About 90 seconds total over what looks like a rocket engine firing and I got the best of both worlds.
 
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