Being forced to try Sous Vide

[sudsandswine]

My opinion of sous vide steaks is that they can produce technically perfect results. And my "technically", I mean exactly the same doneness edge to edge and a great crust is easy to attain in a cast iron pan. You can make a very good steak with the SV method. However, I feel that while they can be technically perfect steaks, they lack some character that a wood or grill fired steak possesses. There are times for me the convenience factor outweighs the result from cooking that steak on a grill, but all else equal I prefer grilled beef over a fire.

I use my SV often, but 4 out of 5 times it's to reheat barbecue that I've previously cooked and vacuum sealed as opposed to cooking a piece of meat with it. It's worth having just for that function alone.

[EdF]

Originally Posted by EricD

There's a large thread about this somewhere, worth a read.
Try a roast beef after a 24 hr bath!

Especially a tough lean cut.

[EricD]

@rockinar If you're interested, there is a FB group called Exploring Sous Vide. (This is not a FB ad, I hate FB) Jason Logsdon does a webinar on sous vide I've read that's pretty good. But today he is doing a live Q&A on the FB page.

[Fatback Joe]

My favorite use for it has been to ferment sausages. It has been great on that front.

[bbqwithsam]

I totally agree with all the praise and criticisms everyone has given so far. I have a few recommendations:

On youtube, Sous Vide Everything is a wonderful experiment sous vide channel. I also really like watching Chef Steps.

In terms of internet content, you need to read up on Serious Eats. They have really wonderful comparisons of done-ness at each temperature for any given meat.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned fish. Salmon comes out more perfectly than anything I've ever had.

If I had to give one piece of advice it would be: don't stop experimenting until you find a killer dish.

There are so many options from breakfast food, to sides, to meat, to desserts that all come out great with enough experimentation.

[Jason TQ]

You can send it my way and force me to use it

[BBQ_MAFIA]

We have an Anova and love it.

A big inexpensive Bottom Round is amazing after a long bath
and quick sear.

[BillN]

Love my Anova, my favorite cook is boneless skinless chicken breast with salt and pepper and a cold pat of butter then vac seal and into 145 degree bath for 2 hours, no need to sear is tender juicy and the flavor is amazing, it's what chicken breast should be.

[abracc]

Quick question...I know I'm getting one for xmas (I ordered it)...when vacuum sealing, you don't really need to take all the air out of the bag, do you? Since if you have potential liquid in the bag, it would get sucked up into the sealer itself. I know you'd want to get as much air out so it doesn't float, but do you need to completely evacuate the air? Thanks!!

[Bacchus2b]

You don't need to vacuum seal, just get a heavy duty freezer bag, add your protein, seasonings and fat/marinade then slowly lower the bag into your water sealing after your protein goes under water and it will squeeze out 99% of the air. I would vacuum seal if you were going to bag your protein and freeze for use later.

Another tip - You can start with hot water in your pot, container, cooler, etc. I can't believe how many people bitch about their wand not getting up to temp quickly, just start with hot water! The water is just a medium for heat.

Common sense...…...where have you gone....

[Rockinar]

Tried some top sirloins for the family. It was a total failure. I went to put some crust on them on the grill and burned the total s**t out of them, My bad. First time I ever hear "I dont like the steak", and I agreed.

I'll keep trying.

[TravelingJ]

I like mine. It's a useful tool. I don't use it as much as I'd like to...but I'm only home to cook for 2 days most weeks. If I had more room, I'd keep a station setup with it all the time-because of all of the leftover comments.

I did buy a second cheap sous vide this weekend, since I needed to reheat 60lbs of pulled pork. The cheap one had a bigger motor and was much faster at getting up to temp than my Anova-but it was LOUD. I returned it as fast as I possibly could. Anova might be a bit slower, but 5 more minutes of pre-heat time isn't that big of a deal to me.

[Demosthenes9]

Originally Posted by sudsandswine

My opinion of sous vide steaks is that they can produce technically perfect results. And my "technically", I mean exactly the same doneness edge to edge and a great crust is easy to attain in a cast iron pan. You can make a very good steak with the SV method. However, I feel that while they can be technically perfect steaks, they lack some character that a wood or grill fired steak possesses. There are times for me the convenience factor outweighs the result from cooking that steak on a grill, but all else equal I prefer grilled beef over a fire.

I use my SV often, but 4 out of 5 times it's to reheat barbecue that I've previously cooked and vacuum sealed as opposed to cooking a piece of meat with it. It's worth having just for that function alone.

That problem is simple enough to solve. Fire up a Weber or grill of choice and have it ready to sear when it's time for the steak to come out of the bag.



Couple of weeks ago, my brother stopped by and asked me if I'd cook lunch for people in his office the next day. It was 23 1.5in NY Strips. I vac packed them all and they went in the fridge. Next morning, I pulled out a big tote, filled it 3/4 full of water and then started up both of my Anova's. Grabbed all 23 strips and dropped them in. Then I kicked back and diddled around. After the steaks had been in for about 1 1/2 hours, I filled up and started 2 chimneys. When they were ready, I dumped them in one of my Ranch Kettles. Pulled all the bags and put them in a buss tub. Sliced them open, laid the steaks on half pans, seasoned then onto the grill for 2-3 mins per side.



It was more "work" to be sure, bagging, unbagging, moving in and out of the water, but it was a much easier overall. All the steaks came out perfectly cooked as well with a nice, consistent edge to edge color.

[Craigw99]

Originally Posted by Rockinar

I'm against the idea of pre boiling my meat,

Then don't turn it up over 212F

Boom, problem solved.

[sudsandswine]

Originally Posted by Demosthenes9

That problem is simple enough to solve. Fire up a Weber or grill of choice and have it ready to sear when it's time for the steak to come out of the bag.

If I'm going to the trouble of firing up a grill then that's where the steak is getting cooked. I've grilled enough steaks that I can usually get about as technically correct results on the grill as SV + cast iron. SV is a good alternative when firing up the grill is not feasible for whatever reason but I dont enjoy the results quite as much as a grilled over fire steak.