experiments in sous vide [Cooking]

2015 Aug 14
I have heard alot of ppl talk about the virtues of this method so I borrowed an immersion model for the weekend. Have contemplated trying it for years but I had a hankering for 'BBQ' and the briskets I have made I ended up turning into footware. With that desire for BBQ I did some reading of how to cook them sous vide as a fail safe method.

The brisket went into the smoker yesterday eve and I cold smoked it 18 hours. At supper today it went into the water bath. Smelled really delicious and if it comes out tough I think I may never attempt it again. There seems to be alot of opinion on what temp and duration to sous vide it at so I went for the high end of 85C. Should be ready for slapping on the hot Q for re-krusting tomorrow dinner.

2015 Aug 14
But since the BBQ would not be ready till tomorrow I needed to eat something today :)

Bought 2 steaks from the local butcher. A NY strip and a sirloin steak of sorts. I did not have any of my 'go to' steak spice so it was just salt and pepper and into the water bath at 50C (I think) medium rare anyways.

Out it came after 2.5 hours and onto the Q for 40 seconds a side. It was close to joygasmic. The seasoning could have been better (my fault) and I prefer rare but just might only cook steak this way again!

What blew me away was the texture of the meat. It was not cut with a fork soft, but the grain of meat just came apart with minimal effort. There was no tearing away at the steak to get it apart. If you have ever had a great steak at a resto where the meat just seems to slice with little effort, this was it. I actually preferred the sirloin over the NY by far. Am not a regular beef eater but somehow I need to keep this unit a bit longer than planned!


2015 Aug 15
I do not cook steak, but that seems like a long cooking time.
Could you use a pressure cooker and get the same results?

I was reading of people doing ribs in the pressure cooker and that the meat was "fall off the bone good".

I have an electronic pressure cooker and I'm not sure if it displays the temp-i just got it a week ago,so still figuring it out.
It is a model called Instant Pot.

2015 Aug 15
Pretty tasty reviews, the short answer is no. It is impossible to cook a steak to medium rare in a pressure cooker, although the PC is great at stuff you might like well done such as lamb shanks. I only ever cook my steaks sous vide at 132F as we like them on the rare side. The advantage of sous vide as you can see from Krusty's picture is a steak evenly done throughout. The time thing doesn't really matter as once it is in a water bath you need do nothing further. It needs no watching and you can do other things while it is in there.

2015 Aug 15
Ok,
Thanks for the info.
How did you borrow a sous-vide? or where can I borrow one?

The pressure cooker I bought,the instructions say you can use it like a regular pan, also for steaming, making yogurt and pasteurizing milk.

Also read you can use it for canning and am tempted to try that maybe...

2015 Aug 15
PTR: a friend had one and we barter alot on things. He is a far more serious foodie than I and motivates me to try alot of things. A pressure cooker would not cut it. There are a tonne of articles on the weeb that explain sous vide so I will leave it to you to read up more :)

Tomorrow nite will be pork chops I figure.

I thought about using my small steam table connected to my PID as a sous vide and am sure it would work just fine. Though I do now appreciate these clamp on units as they take minimal space for storage.

2015 Aug 15
You can do sous vide in an instant pot. The keep warm function is around 60C when the lid is off, I think. That's a good temperature for sous vide ribs. You can put the ribs and marinade in ziplock freezer bags, and then immerse them in water to squeeze the air out. You zip up the final corner just before it's submerged. Leave them to cook 48 hours.

Pork tenderloin is already sealed in food grade plastic with marinade. You can just put that in water in the instant pot, lid off, on the keep warm function for 48 hours.

Kirkland salmon is also already sealed in food grade plastic. Try that after cooking sous vide at 60C for 75 min.


2015 Aug 15
You might be able to do it in a deep fryer full of water instead of oil, if the temperature can be set low enough.

2015 Aug 16
Please don't can in an Instant Pot or any other sub-10-quart pressure cooker that isn't designed for it; it's not a pressure canner and botulism is serious business.

2015 Aug 17
and any low slow method of cooking ribs will get them to "fall off the bone" This is known as overcooked, an oven at 225 will do that nicely for you after 6 hours. Ribs do not have the same cooking issues as brisket, given the fat and uniformity.

Can't wait to hear the results of the brisket.

2015 Aug 17
Oh ya....about that BBQ. Pic attached. The texture certainly came out fine. Was not shoe leather at least but I am still far away from being a minion pitmaster. I think I smoked it too long and also did not redevelop the crust that well. Some folks suggest sous vide first then smoking. Though my next attempt will be a hot smoke for a shorter time and then a shorter sous vide. Stay tuned.


2015 Aug 17
For dinner had some pork chops from this recipe:

www.williams-sonoma.com

I did not leave it in long enough but the development of the flavor was by far the best chops I have made. Though I confess I am not a huge pork chop eater :)

This has me thinking otherwise. Here comes Amazon!

Yesterday made some wieners. Was an interesting experience but they turned out delightful. Smoker was set to 150 and smoked for 60 mins and then another 60 mins in the sous vide at 154 to ensure they were cooked. Was effortless. What I appreciate about sausage in it, is the accurate temp. No need to worry if you need to walk away for a beer, you wont get a higher internal temp and render the fat in them.

2015 Aug 17
Krusty - sous vide will never develop the bark that a smoker gives to BBQ. If you want a quicker, more fool proof way of doing a brisket than the conventional way of smoking it for a super long time look up "high heat brisket" on www.tvwbb.com

2015 Aug 24
One good thing to have when you sous vide meat is a cullinary butane torch. It's fun to use too.

2015 Nov 1
Spent this aft doing some construction on the homestead while a sirloin roast was in the bagged pot of water at 60C. Next time will try 58C but this is now going to be a 'go to' meal. Seared it on the BBQ over charcoal. Sorry about my lack of photography skills and poor lighting. Time change and all ;)

But it was delicious!


2015 Nov 1
Love cooking sous vide. Last night we had beef short ribs cooked for 48 hours at 132F then seared. Delicious. Krusty, FWIW, I do pork chops at 140F for an hour. Fish I cook at 122F for 15 to 20 minutes depending on how thick it is. Fish only needs a very short cook and the only reason I bother doing it sous vide is because when I do it on the stove top I tend to over cook it, which is impossible doing it this way.

2015 Nov 2
Oh man....I need to try short ribs next!

2015 Nov 2
Krusty, yes, you do. They are incredible done that way.

2015 Nov 2
FYI, I did 40 steaks this way for a friends wedding rehearsal dinner. (sure I'll cook, what do you want? - steak for 35 people, all done at the same time ...) Worked out fantastic. I did steak in batches up to 135 degrees, then held them in a cooler. When guests arrived and were ready to eat, I finished on griddle, supper hot, fast sear. This was awesome, all the steaks were hot, cooked perfectly and uniform and ready 5 minutes after they were ready to start supper. I was lucky because this was out of town, but a nephew had the setup, so I was good to go.

I'm buying a sous vide settup shortly.

2015 Nov 2
Sourdough, you will be one happy fellow when you do.