View Full Version : Any of you ever cooked "sous vide" style?
Heard good things about it from a couple friends who were at a party where the hosts had done some sort of buffalo chicken that way and it was delicious. I bought an Anova one. It came with a little booklet with basic meat type/doneness/temp/time directions but that's about it.
Anyone have some good ideas they've tried sous vide?
Ohh yeah.
Pretty much everything that goes on the grill can be done sous vide first.
Its great for steaks and such, especially if you're hosting a party when the "eating time" is determined by how everyone is feeling.
The theory is to control the temperature precisely, and then the time is not critical.
1-4 hours for a steak at 132 degrees, for example, produce around the same results, very nice, fully cooked rare.
The level of cooking (rare, medium, well) is almost completely dependent on the set temperature.
When that's all done, you just sear over medium high heat, about 2-3 minutes per side to keep it medium rare inside and crispy outside.
Leave it on a little longer if somebody wants it well done.
Also, grilling with hardwood charcoal on a egg style grill is a another whole dimension of awesome.
Heard good things about it from a couple friends who were at a party where the hosts had done some sort of buffalo chicken that way and it was delicious. I bought an Anova one. It came with a little booklet with basic meat type/doneness/temp/time directions but that's about it.
Anyone have some good ideas they've tried sous vide?
I think Hmac is a big sous vide practicioner/fan.
FromMyColdDeadHand
08-17-18, 21:26
What is the threat of botulism? I was interested in it, but read something about that? Or is that only an issue if you are pre-cooking and freezing or storing?
What is the threat of botulism? I was interested in it, but read something about that? Or is that only an issue if you are pre-cooking and freezing or storing?
It's a non-issue.. Clostridium botulinum dies around 126 F.. so make sure you cook at a minimum of 130 (lowest most sous vide systems go usually). Most other dangerous organisms kick off at around 135F so you could choose that as your personal minimum as well. What you don't want to do is cook it and leave it in the bag for hours after it's done cooking. Either freeze it or eat it.
What is the threat of botulism? I was interested in it, but read something about that? Or is that only an issue if you are pre-cooking and freezing or storing?
I read somewhere on a sous vide support forum that most if not all dishes can be cooked at lower than standard temperatures and be totally safe. For example, chicken, fish and eggs can be safely prepped at a temp that is well below the accepted minimum safe handling temps but be risk free, with the bonus of having very delicate texture due to the low temp/long cooking time.
Not sure how that translates into the pre-cooking and/storage aspect outside of the routine safe handling procedures for sterilzation and proper storage methods.
I'm looking at the Chef Steps device as my entry into the trend, in part because of social media presence they have. Tons of community support and documentation there, so you might find what you are looking for by joining their group.
You can pasteurize with longer times at lower temps. Most sous vide doesn't involve anything this complicated.
Thick steaks is where it really rocks. I prefer a cast iron skillet to finish.
Chicken or turkey breast is great. Throw some herbs and garlic in the bag. Once you make it you will recognize how often you get sous vide chicken at a restaurant.
Carrots are my favorite so far. I was never a big fan of cooked carrots, but now I can cook them with no chance of getting mushy.
I have a $15 temp controller powering a crockpot.
donlapalma
08-18-18, 00:19
I do tons of sous vide cooking. On a weekly basis actually. I use the Joule and mainly do proteins, but have cooked vegetables which come out nicely done too. The Chef Steps app is very easy to use and their times and temps are spot on in my experience. I've only had one sous vide disappointment - ribs. I prefer ribs cooked traditionally on the BBQ.
I'm eager to get a second unit. Just waiting for the next sale.
Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
FromMyColdDeadHand
08-18-18, 06:58
https://polyscienceculinary.com/blogs/news/17215983-food-safety-with-sous-vide-cooking
Anymore data driven discussion of the safety and process pathway.
Are the tech companies trying to passivize us? I’ve been getting sous vide videos in my YouTube suggestions for days now...
You can pasteurize with longer times at lower temps. Most sous vide doesn't involve anything this complicated.
Thick steaks is where it really rocks. I prefer a cast iron skillet to finish.
Chicken or turkey breast is great. Throw some herbs and garlic in the bag. Once you make it you will recognize how often you get sous vide chicken at a restaurant.
Carrots are my favorite so far. I was never a big fan of cooked carrots, but now I can cook them with no chance of getting mushy.
I have a $15 temp controller powering a crockpot.
I found a blog where a guy took a garage sale rice cooker and did something similar. Less than $20 for parts, including the cooker. A bit of know how and the willingness to tinker is all it takes.
https://polyscienceculinary.com/blogs/news/17215983-food-safety-with-sous-vide-cooking
Anymore data driven discussion of the safety and process pathway.
Are the tech companies trying to passivize us? I’ve been getting sous vide videos in my YouTube suggestions for days now...
I think it's more a growing social media presence becoming a peer driven marketing campaign. Everybody tweets, posts on Facebook, uploads their videos. Search engine optimization focuses on top hits for search terms, media content, etc...so it follows that as more people do it, more new people get suggested links to explore.
I just bought one and used it a few times. I like it but you have to plan ahead. Grilling/oven/skillet all take less time to do essentially the same thing. This however gives you a set temp so that the food comes out evenly cooked and the same every time. I know that both my grill and my stove top have cool and hot spots so I have to constantly rotate and even then you loose track of time for just a second and end result is one piece is more well done then another.
It's almost like a slow cooker with the time frame it takes but meat comes out tastyhttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180818/81f1a6eaf1b749be6666d8c59c29f1e9.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180818/faa8f4b0e211c2d5d7c8622ca3ea66de.jpg
Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
Yeah I've heard steaks can be tweaked consistently to rare/medium rare/medium/medium well etc.
Can you cook veggies in the same ziplock as the meat or are they cooked separately?
They get cooked at much different temperatures, so separate.
donlapalma
08-18-18, 10:13
One of the best things about sous vide is you can take a cheap piece of meat and make it amazing. I love to do chuck roast when I'm cooking for a lot of people. It's a 24 hour cook and when it is done you would swear it was a higher quality piece of meat. Very tender. Also, I find sous vide great for leaner meats like pork chops and chicken breasts. I also like to brine first so that elevates those cuts as well.
I've also made yogurt, flan, cheesecake, egg bites and have used sous vide to infuse olive oil with garlic and herbs. All with great results.
Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
FromMyColdDeadHand
08-18-18, 14:05
Would you have brine in the cooking bag, or just prior? That is a pretty long time frame to plan ahead. I think I might try pork tenderloin or chicken.
Saw an interesting thing on eggs and pasturizing, but not cooking them.
donlapalma
08-18-18, 14:48
Would you have brine in the cooking bag, or just prior? That is a pretty long time frame to plan ahead. I think I might try pork tenderloin or chicken.
I equilibrium brine before.
Typically, I'll buy meat in bulk at Costco or if there is a sale at the local grocery. I'll prep all at once (portion, season, etc.), then package (vacuum seal would be best, but freezer bags are just fine) in quantities of 1-4. Cook some and then freeze the rest. Then I can pull out the serving size needed right from the freezer directly into the sous vide bath. Great for quick week night meals.
So, yes, there is some planning needed, but it can also be very quick and convenient. Just depends.
I think Hmac is a big sous vide practicioner/fan.
It's virtually the only way I cook serious meat. The advantages are many, but chief among them are timing of bringing the meal to table, and accommodating different levels of done-ness for steaks and roasts. I use an Anova device and typically cook in Rubbermaid containers of varying sizes. I leave them all in the sous vide bath and when ready to serve I sear them at 90 seconds per side on the Big Green Egg at 700 degrees over lump charcoal with Applewood chunks. Typically, I'll hit Costco for most meat, take it home, vacuum-seal the individual steaks and pop them in the freezer. At any given time we have eight or ten 2-inch thick ribeyes in the freezer. I usually get tenderloins at the butcher. They work great in sous vide but it can take awhile from frozen. I have a buddy that uses his Anova to cook multiple big roasts like that in a Yeti cooler.
The only cut of meat I don't sous vide is filet mignon. I like to marinate those for a few hours before grilling them...the low fat content limits the flavor, which the marinade provides.
Yeah I've heard steaks can be tweaked consistently to rare/medium rare/medium/medium well etc.
You can dial the done-ness to the 1/10th of a degree. It took each of us awhile to tweak the cooking temps and figure out each of us likes their steaks cooked. I will typically cook my wife's steak to 134, mine and my daughter's to 139, my son's 145, etc. I have the preferred temps of just about everyone I likely cook for. There are many in my circle of likely dinner companions that use sous vide. That's convenient because they can just tell me the cooking temp that they prefer. The accuracy and consistency is entirely related to the cooker itself, which is calibrated to some scientific standard (not consumer/commercial) and is accurate to 0.1 degree C.
When cooking to different temps/done-ness, I cook the most done first, leave it in the bath and dial the temp down to the next steak, same for additional steaks working from most-done to least-done. I keep them all in the bath at the last temp when finished until everyone feels like they're ready to eat or when the sides/veggies are done, then sear them on the BGE.
on a rib eye from frozen vs fresh using this method (been wanting to try this for years now) how much dif in taste ? I know I have tried to freeze (vacum) rib eye but the break down of the meat when thawing is always horrid compared ? looses moisture texture etc... after thawing etc...
tend to use grill or steel for cooking meat finding I prefer good french steel pans over cast iron these days
cheap cuts we often do in slow cooker such as roasts etc..
You can dial the done-ness to the 1/10th of a degree. It took each of us awhile to tweak the cooking temps and figure out each of us likes their steaks cooked. I will typically cook my wife's steak to 134, mine and my daughter's to 139, my son's 145, etc. I have the preferred temps of just about everyone I likely cook for. There are many in my circle of likely dinner companions that use sous vide. That's convenient because they can just tell me the cooking temp that they prefer. The accuracy and consistency is entirely related to the cooker itself, which is calibrated to some scientific standard (not consumer/commercial) and is accurate to 0.1 degree C.
When cooking to different temps/done-ness, I cook the most done first, leave it in the bath and dial the temp down to the next steak, same for additional steaks working from most-done to least-done. I keep them all in the bath at the last temp when finished until everyone feels like they're ready to eat or when the sides/veggies are done, then sear them on the BGE.
Do you keep the steak in longer for your wife at 139° vs your son's at 145° or is it all the same time
Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
on a rib eye from frozen vs fresh using this method (been wanting to try this for years now) how much dif in taste ? I know I have tried to freeze (vacum) rib eye but the break down of the meat when thawing is always horrid compared ? looses moisture texture etc... after thawing etc...
tend to use grill or steel for cooking meat finding I prefer good french steel pans over cast iron these days.
Absolutely no difference in taste than I can perceive. I put the vacuum sealed steak right from the freezer into the water bath, add an extra 30 minutes for the thawing. The steak will be fine anywhere from 2 hours to 4 hours in the water bath. If I know we're cooking steaks the next day, I usually will pull them from the freezer and put them in the refrigerator the night before...let them thaw slowly in the fridge. But I never hesitate to cook from frozen.
Do you keep the steak in longer for your wife at 139° vs your son's at 145° or is it all the same time
All the same. It takes about 1.5 hours to cook to any given temp, an additional 30 minutes if the steak was frozen. If the temp on the cooker is set to a water temp of 134 degrees, the steak will cook to that medium-rare temp, then stops cooking. It can sit at that temp for 4 hours. It won't cook any more than that medium rare temp. After about 4 hours, you might start getting some protein breakdown and it can change the texture of the meat. I've never noticed but have only very rarely gone that long with meat in the water.
donlapalma
08-18-18, 21:53
I'll second no difference in taste or texture going right from freezer to sous vide bath.
As we speak, I have some chicken breasts brining in the fridge waiting for a swim tomorrow afternoon.
Also, note with the Joule that you can have it plugged in and ready to go when you leave for the day. When you're ready to head home after work you can turn it on from the app on your phone so it is heated up when you arrive. Can't speak for the Anova so maybe somebody who has one can chime in. Generally speaking, it takes 15-45 minutes to preheat depending on your temp and size of your pot.
Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
oh new toys :) thanks all for the response
I'll second no difference in taste or texture going right from freezer to sous vide bath.
As we speak, I have some chicken breasts brining in the fridge waiting for a swim tomorrow afternoon.
Also, note with the Joule that you can have it plugged in and ready to go when you leave for the day. When you're ready to head home after work you can turn it on from the app on your phone so it is heated up when you arrive. Can't speak for the Anova so maybe somebody who has one can chime in. Generally speaking, it takes 15-45 minutes to preheat depending on your temp and size of your pot.
Sent from my SM-G950U using TapatalkHas same option however I chose the one without the WiFi. Cheaper, plus I don't trust that stuff if im not home to make sure nothing happens. If I'm using that or the slow cooker I'm staying home and awake
Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
Has same option however I chose the one without the WiFi. Cheaper, plus I don't trust that stuff if im not home to make sure nothing happens. If I'm using that or the slow cooker I'm staying home and awake
Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
My original-version Anova has both Bluetooth and wi-fi. I can monitor the cooking on my phone, even from across town. I’ve never really figured out a reason why I’d want told do that, however. I remember trying it a couple of years ago and thinking it was an interesting technology application, but when you’re cooking something with a 3-4 hour margin of error and an ordinary timer is you primary tool, I don’t really see the utility of monitoring it that closely. If I was to buy another one, I’d certainly skip the wi-fi
My original-version Anova has both Bluetooth and wi-fi. I can monitor the cooking on my phone, even from across town. I’ve never really figured out a reason why I’d want told do that, however. I remember trying it a couple of years ago and thinking it was an interesting technology application, but when you’re cooking something with a 3-4 hour margin of error and an ordinary timer is you primary tool, I don’t really see the utility of monitoring it that closely. If I was to buy another one, I’d certainly skip the wi-fiI'm not monitoring the cooking. I'm making sure nothing happens. Last thing I want is to have a malfunctioning unit when im not home
Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
You can dial the done-ness to the 1/10th of a degree. It took each of us awhile to tweak the cooking temps and figure out each of us likes their steaks cooked. I will typically cook my wife's steak to 134, mine and my daughter's to 139, my son's 145, etc. I have the preferred temps of just about everyone I likely cook for. There are many in my circle of likely dinner companions that use sous vide. That's convenient because they can just tell me the cooking temp that they prefer. The accuracy and consistency is entirely related to the cooker itself, which is calibrated to some scientific standard (not consumer/commercial) and is accurate to 0.1 degree C.
When cooking to different temps/done-ness, I cook the most done first, leave it in the bath and dial the temp down to the next steak, same for additional steaks working from most-done to least-done. I keep them all in the bath at the last temp when finished until everyone feels like they're ready to eat or when the sides/veggies are done, then sear them on the BGE.
Okay, I'm new at this so bear with me...….the temps for ribeyes (for example) on the Anova website recipe section are around 130F for an hour. Is there a reason you use higher temps? My understanding is that even a few degrees can affect doneness to a large extent.
FWIW I like my steaks somewhere between medium-rare and medium.
If any of you buy an Anova from Amazon(or anywhere I guess) get an extended warranty.
I bought one on prime day last year(so basically a year old plus a few months) and it quit heating after I had only used it 3-4 times. Still turns on and the circulator works, but the heating does not work. Anova was basically no help since it was out of warranty... "un plug it for 15 minutes" uh no help... "hold down this button for 10 seconds, wait for it to turn off, unplug for 15 minutes"... uh no help "well thats all we got"...
I read on a lot of forums that its a common problem for them. They get moisture from steam into the top half of the unit where the "guts" are and they quit working.
Besides that, I like cooking with them and the method turns out fantastic food once you figure it out.
I've had the Anova WiFi/Bluetooth precision cooker (sous vide is the cooking method, not the device that does the cooking) for years now. Love it.
Much like my garage, I've got several tools and choosing the right tool for the job is important and makes the work go better.
One of my favorite things to do is hit up the local store when they have ribeye steak on sale in the multi-packs. I bring them home, vacuum seal them individually and toss them in the freezer after labeling them good (make sure you date your bags and put what it is too even if you know you'll remember what they are... you'll forget eventually) and keep them stocked and rotated. I had a couple of old coolers we don't use anymore so I used a hole saw to saw a hole in the corner of the lid of both of them just barely big enough for the precision cooker and then cut the lid in half so that I can lift half of the lid off. The day we want steak for dinner I get up about 5min early and before I head out the door I grab two steaks out of the freezer, throw them in the cooler and then fill with ice. I top off with water, replace the other half of the lid, make sure it's on my WiFi and then head out the door. I've monitored the temps for over 10hrs and it stays solid at ~32deg with minimal melting. About 2hrs before we're going to eat, no matter where in the world I am, I open the app on my smartphone and start the cook. By the time I get home the ice has long since melted and the steaks are perfectly medium rare in the bath. At this point I can sear them up, cook up some sides, do some chores, shower... whatever. They will remain perfectly cooked and ready for sear as long as I want them to. Moments before we eat I get the grill up to 550deg, heat a cast iron skillet on high on the stove, get out the searzall, the options are numerous for finishing. The continuing theme here is flexibility while maintaining perfection. That's where precision cooking shines IMO.
My absolute favorite way to cook a steak is from fresh, in the smoker at 150 deg for a couple of hours and then on the grill next to it to sear at 550deg for a few minutes. The flavor is absolutely epic. I use the pellet smoker which doesn't impart as much smoke flavor to overpower the flavor of the meat but it kisses it slightly and makes for a right mahogany color. They're epic. The problem is that that process is hours of commitment. Not something I always have. When we want steak but have a busy/full day the previously mentioned cooking method is 90% as delicious with about 2% of the effort & time invested.
You can use the Sous Vide method for cooking all sorts of things and it's quite fun to experiment. There's tons of videos on YouTube for inspiration and direction. You'll make some of the best food you've ever made with limited effort and knowledge with this gizmo. If it's in the budget don't overthink it just get one and start making stuff.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_5Tt0PC6G9CB851uQbKcjpM5UBL8zeLEq6qcwbJ5KFs8S-QnQ6sfbrUYUlVfGjnARjkeyk81QW3K9u7SFadoVgKCE9ZgjyNbaGURNwQGsim4d-vV3-z9tzR-WiA9osBEEvizw2SgppQ=w2400
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/eS64GMW4WLjpktIsZgV-5yTBB8BKXUpSKFeaiHMBFbjMrmyEBQZCdIFOlZ8Xvi8jYufOYv9ABcqGmNv81x6pblWPAp9llV3A9PCimzcFDR7ILlx1PK-woeMxWh4gk8gOaG_xoFBQJds=w2400
I'm not monitoring the cooking. I'm making sure nothing happens. Last thing I want is to have a malfunctioning unit when im not home
Each to their own. I never cook sous vide when I'm not home, so the wi-fi is pointless for me.
Okay, I'm new at this so bear with me...….the temps for ribeyes (for example) on the Anova website recipe section are around 130F for an hour. Is there a reason you use higher temps? My understanding is that even a few degrees can affect doneness to a large extent.
FWIW I like my steaks somewhere between medium-rare and medium.
Steak done-ness is a continuum. A temp of 130 is appropriate for the rare side of medium-rare. The temperature of the water bath is what will determine the degree of done-ness and I set the temp for each steak depending on how my diners like their steaks. It's about water temp...the time isn't critical....somewhere between 1-4 hours. It just has to be in long enough to make sure the entire steak got to the temp that the water bath was set to. For a 1.5 inch ribeye, that's about an hour. For a tenderloin or other roast, it's going to be a lot longer. If the steak is frozen, I add about 30 minutes for the thawing.
My wife prefers her steaks somewhere between medium-rare and medium. That's somewhere between 130 and 140. She found that 130 is too rare for her, so next time we went to 132. That was still just a little too rare, so next time we tried 134. That turned out to be the temp where the steak was done to suit her preference.
I start out cooking the medium steaks for an hour first, then drop the temp and put in the medium-medium rare steaks for an hour, then drop the temp again and put in the medium rare steaks for an hour (assuming that they're thawed). If we're eating right then, then I apply a heavy rub to each and take them out to the BGE and sear them. If we're eating later, I turn the cooker temp down to around 110 and leave the steaks in so they stay warm while I'm waiting for the veggies, table setting, salads, beer, etc. When all that stuff is almost ready, the steaks get rubbed and go on the grill, and they're on the counter after about 90 seconds per side. Resting the steaks is relatively pointless if they're cooked sous vide....the juices are already optimally distributed.
Each to their own. I never cook sous vide when I'm not home, so the wi-fi is pointless for me.
Steak done-ness is a continuum. A temp of 130 is appropriate for the rare side of medium-rare. The temperature of the water bath is what will determine the degree of done-ness and I set the temp for each steak depending on how my diners like their steaks. It's about water temp...the time isn't critical....somewhere between 1-4 hours. It just has to be in long enough to make sure the entire steak got to the temp that the water bath was set to. For a 1.5 inch ribeye, that's about an hour. For a tenderloin or other roast, it's going to be a lot longer. If the steak is frozen, I add about 30 minutes for the thawing.
My wife prefers her steaks somewhere between medium-rare and medium. That's somewhere between 130 and 140. She found that 130 is too rare for her, so next time we went to 132. That was still just a little too rare, so next time we tried 134. That turned out to be the temp where the steak was done to suit her preference.
I start out cooking the medium steaks for an hour first, then drop the temp and put in the medium-medium rare steaks for an hour, then drop the temp again and put in the medium rare steaks for an hour (assuming that they're thawed). If we're eating right then, then I apply a heavy rub to each and take them out to the BGE and sear them. If we're eating later, I turn the cooker temp down to around 110 and leave the steaks in so they stay warm while I'm waiting for the veggies, table setting, salads, beer, etc. When all that stuff is almost ready, the steaks get rubbed and go on the grill, and they're on the counter after about 90 seconds per side. Resting the steaks is relatively pointless if they're cooked sous vide....the juices are already optimally distributed.That's what I'm saying. I don't leave the house when I'm using that or the slow cooker
Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
I do it occasionally. I love doing big thick bone in rib eye steaks. Do them rare and then take my torch to them to finish them quickly just before serving. Sometimes I'll finish them over lump coal and smoke them, typically with a mixture of peach wood and hickory.
I need to try out more stuff.
Anyone got a good recipe for a suos vide pork tenderloin? Nothing too sweet, I prefer spicy.
Thanks!
FromMyColdDeadHand
08-19-18, 13:51
On thicker cuts of meat, how do you determine the internal temp? Is time not that critical, like regular cooking, so leaving a thicker steak/roast is OK? There is a max thickness, so you'd have to cut up a Boston Butt to do pulled pork?
This has Pork Tenderloin written all over it for me. My wife is deathly afraid of undercooked pork, so being able to ensure doneness, and then put a nice char/finish on it would be awesome.
The most ideal be afraid of is undercooked poultry. Beef/pork/lamb/...etc... Isnt as big a deal. Since I just got mine all I do is follow recipes. I did those streaks pictured at 132 for 3hrs or so. The instructions tell you size of meat and time.
Recipes for 2 - 3lbs pork tenderloin are around 135 - 140 for 2 - 3 hours
Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
On thicker cuts of meat, how do you determine the internal temp? Is time not that critical, like regular cooking, so leaving a thicker steak/roast is OK? There is a max thickness, so you'd have to cut up a Boston Butt to do pulled pork?
This has Pork Tenderloin written all over it for me. My wife is deathly afraid of undercooked pork, so being able to ensure doneness, and then put a nice char/finish on it would be awesome.
There are currently about 10-12 cases of trichinellosis reported in the US annually and the majority of those are from undercooked wild game, not commercially-raised pork. It's a very rare disease and not worth worrying about. I typically cook a pork tenderloin to about 135.
Time has little to do with it and is not a variable that you need to consider, other than the fact that the meat has to be in the bath long enough for the entire cut to get to the set temperature. You don't check the internal temp (you can, but it would break the seal and you'd have to re-seal if you're putting it back in). You rely on the time charts that are all over the internet to determine how long a given cut of meat ought to be in the sous vide bath. I cook roasts in one piece. If in doubt, err on the side of longer. Time isn't critical...you have about a four-hour window. As a final check, you could stick your instant-read thermo-pen into the thing when you pull it out of the bath. I've never done that for steaks but I have for roasts. I've never had one that ended up under-temp.
For a 1 lb pork tenderloin, I'd cook it at about 135 for an hour. For a 5 lb pork butt that I was going to shred, I'd go 165 for 20-24 hours.
Does anyone have any knowledge of larger, higher volume, restaurants using this technique?
Does anyone have any knowledge of larger, higher volume, restaurants using this technique?
No high volume restaurant that I am aware of would cook this way. It's to labor intensive and IMO the potential for a lot of waste is there. Lets say a restaurant goes through 200 steaks in a busy night. So they put 200 steaks in sous vide yet only sell 100 steaks that night. 100 steaks, potentially, have to be thrown away as you cant really save this stuff in that environment. All the restaurants I ever cooked at, if a food item was an item that had to be kept hot all night, it generally got tossed at the end of the night. So most restaurants do not pre-cook anything. The other problem in a restaurant environment with sous vide is the 40-140 for 4 hours rule of thumb that A LOT of health departments rely on. Holding sous vide steaks at 110 for hours on end is a HUGE no-no in the eyes of the health department.
I know of A LOT of small restaurants that cook certain items via sous vide.
No high volume restaurant that I am aware of would cook this way. It's to labor intensive and IMO the potential for a lot of waste is there. Lets say a restaurant goes through 200 steaks in a busy night. So they put 200 steaks in sous vide yet only sell 100 steaks that night. 100 steaks, potentially, have to be thrown away as you cant really save this stuff in that environment. All the restaurants I ever cooked at, if a food item was an item that had to be kept hot all night, it generally got tossed at the end of the night. So most restaurants do not pre-cook anything. The other problem in a restaurant environment with sous vide is the 40-140 for 4 hours rule of thumb that A LOT of health departments rely on. Holding sous vide steaks at 110 for hours on end is a HUGE no-no in the eyes of the health department.
I know of A LOT of small restaurants that cook certain items via sous vide.
Thanks for that reply. Makes sense.
No high volume restaurant that I am aware of would cook this way. It's to labor intensive and IMO the potential for a lot of waste is there. Lets say a restaurant goes through 200 steaks in a busy night. So they put 200 steaks in sous vide yet only sell 100 steaks that night. 100 steaks, potentially, have to be thrown away as you cant really save this stuff in that environment. All the restaurants I ever cooked at, if a food item was an item that had to be kept hot all night, it generally got tossed at the end of the night. So most restaurants do not pre-cook anything. The other problem in a restaurant environment with sous vide is the 40-140 for 4 hours rule of thumb that A LOT of health departments rely on. Holding sous vide steaks at 110 for hours on end is a HUGE no-no in the eyes of the health department.
I know of A LOT of small restaurants that cook certain items via sous vide.
I think the mistake here is stating that "no high volume restaurants" cook this way because, by nature, high-end steak houses aren't high-volume. They charge more because they do less volume, have slower turn-over and produce better quality food. That last part is key. You simply can NOT cook a steak with the same consistent quality through the entire cut grilling or even reverse-searing that you can via the sous vide method. We're talking edge to edge medium rare with no gradient changes in temperature other than the thinnest (1/16th inch?) layer that is gray around the very outside of a thick steak. The results are something some are willing to pay and wait for and, based on your post, you'd likely be surprised how many high-end steak houses have been using this method for years and years now.
It should also be noted that even low-end restaurants rely HEAVILY on prep that requires educated and experienced guesses of the night's required service to prepare enough food w/o preparing too much food. Within that window relies profit and loss margins for food service. This is no different in an establishment that uses the sous vide method to prepare food.
By your logic, every single BBQ joint on the face of the earth would be out of business within a month based on the food needing upwards of 24hrs in some cases to cook.
I think the mistake here is stating that "no high volume restaurants" cook this way because, by nature, high-end steak houses aren't high-volume. They charge more because they do less volume, have slower turn-over and produce better quality food. That last part is key. You simply can NOT cook a steak with the same consistent quality through the entire cut grilling or even reverse-searing that you can via the sous vide method. We're talking edge to edge medium rare with no gradient changes in temperature other than the thinnest (1/16th inch?) layer that is gray around the very outside of a thick steak. The results are something some are willing to pay and wait for and, based on your post, you'd likely be surprised how many high-end steak houses have been using this method for years and years now.
It should also be noted that even low-end restaurants rely HEAVILY on prep that requires educated and experienced guesses of the night's required service to prepare enough food w/o preparing too much food. Within that window relies profit and loss margins for food service. This is no different in an establishment that uses the sous vide method to prepare food.
By your logic, every single BBQ joint on the face of the earth would be out of business within a month based on the food needing upwards of 24hrs in some cases to cook.
EVERY high end steak house I have eaten in(including Peter Lugers) uses broiler drawers at ~1500 degrees. And MOST high end steak houses push the volume out, im talking 500-700 steaks a night(and my estimate might be low actually). All prime grade, dry aged. There is simply no way you could cook that volume using sous vide. It would be a nightmare.
Again, im not claiming NO restaurants use Sous Vide. My buddy has a fine dining restaurant and he uses Sous Vide quite regularly, but he only does a max of ~20-30 portions, and its usually his chef's special of the night. I dont think he has any regular menu items that are cooked Sous Vide.
Im guessing you have never cooked low and slow BBQ before because the amount if time it sits at 40-140 is pretty short, most definitely under 4 hours. It rockets to around 155-160 then hits the stall and can take 8-10 hours to go from 160-185, then accelerates again. HOWEVER this is a reason I wont cook whole poultry in my smoker since the temp limit is like 250...the bird will sit in the danger zone of 40-140 for to long. I only cook poultry pieces like chicken breasts, thighs or wings, no whole birds and no turkeys.
And the 40-140 in 4 hours or less is not "my logic". Thats a huge health department saying all over the country, backed by research on foodborne illness. Hot food must be held hot above 140, cold food below 40. Health inspector will check those things. Every restaurant I worked in we always had insta-read thermo's to check our items we kept hot once per hour and all the refrigerators(reach in, walk in, etc...) had thermo's in them and were constantly checked.
Im guessing you have never cooked low and slow BBQ before....
I own an off-set smoker, two electric smokers, a cold smoker and my go-to the past few years is a Green Mountain Grills Danielle Boone WiFi pellet smoker with all the bells & whistles so... yeah, you could say I smoke some. (I even referenced that earlier in describing me favorite method to prepare steak, time permitting)
Based on a few posts here you seem to draw a lot of solid conclusions on limited experience or information. You say a steak restaurant would guess that they need 200 steaks and throw 100 out.... seriously? No restaurant would stay in business with anywhere near the waste you describe sous vide or not. You then go on to mention they're going to leave the steak at 110 degrees for 5 or 6 hours.... again, this goes against simple food prep strategy so nobody would do this either. It's important for a kitchen manager to not only guess with great deal of accuracy as to the types and amounts of ingredients that will be used for that evening's dinner but also the approximate times that the need for this items will peak and slow down in order to properly run & staff. If a kitchen manager at ANY restaurant can't accurately predict the amount of food they will need along with when they will need it consistently they won't be a kitchen manager for long... sous vide or no sous vide.
Basically your reasons that "nobody would use sous vide" would also put restaurants out of business who didn't use sous vide so... I'm failing to see your point.
Not trying to start an argument here just trying to avoid misinformation about a cook method that some reading don't know much about. It's actually quite effective for lots of uses under a wide variety of conditions but... like any cook method... isn't the best for everything all the time and all conditions. I think the topic here is if anyone has used this method for personal/residential use and the quality of food produced. What restaurants use isn't as important for this conversation anyway. There's lots of methods deployed by high-volume restaurants out of necessity that wouldn't yield the best results for smaller preps anyway. This doesn't prove that they're the best methods for home use even if true.
donlapalma
08-20-18, 11:09
It is important to note that the sous-vide method of cooking has been used in commercial kitchens since the 1970s. This isn't a "new" cooking technique. It is just now gaining popularity in the home kitchen due to advancement in technology. So uses, techniques, safety issues, etc. have been vetted out over decades and related information can be found easily out there on the good ole internet. It is very likely that you have eaten something in a restaurant that was cooked sous-vide and you just didn't realize it.
So, I'm curious, I noted earlier that I do NOT prefer ribs cooked sous-vide. Anybody else have sous-vide fails? If so, what was it that you cooked that you did not like (not because of error, but because it was genuinely not better than a more traditional technique)?
so if you own "several" smokers you would KNOW that anything you smoke doesnt sit in the temp "danger zone" very long... so your earlier comment to me about "every bbq place being shut down because of cooking food for 24 hours" doesnt make any sense... unless you have never used a thermometer while cooking your bbq...
And you completely read my earlier comment about quantity wrong. My earlier example was something like lets say, based on the chef/managers best/educated guess they will go through 200...so they prep 200 steaks in sous vide...oh some shit happens and they only sell 100 steaks that night. What do they do with the rest? Hopefully can find a use for them because you cant really chill said pre-cooked steak down and use it another night. Better make soup with it or something else, otherwise trash.
And how do you prep possibly several hundred sous vide steaks and NOT hold them at a low temp for a long time? If you adhere to the 140 degree rule(which MOST health inspectors are adamant about), you could only serve medium+ steaks. If I go into a restaurant and you tell me "oh it will take 1.5-2 hours for your rare steak" im going somewhere else. So said Sous Vide items MUST be pre-prepared and ready to finalize and send out, you cant start a Sous Vide steak(or any other item) in a restaurant when somebody orders it... You also cant hold said rare steak at 140 degrees in the Sous Vide either because it wont be rare anymore. NOW talk about other food items but steak that ARENT as temp sensitive and you can hold them at 140+ and they are ok, yea I could see that being in use in restaurants.
Sous Vide is GREAT, im not against it, I use it. It doesnt work in high volume restaurants IMO, except for small volume specialty items. Ive worked in enough to know it. Most restaurants(even crazy high end 150-200 bucks a person) require table turn over. Now that might only be 2 groups per table per night, but I dont know of a single restaurant that will survive if not turning tables. You cant take 1.5-2 hours to cook each steak(since IMO holding large quantities of sous vide meats is difficult to do) because your guests will not tolerate that and you will have zero table turn over.
holding temps/times are not mis-information... at your house you can hold all you want in the 40-140 degree window, but in a restaurant the Health Department will be ALL OVER THAT.
And I 100% agree that there are methods used in restaurants that you cant replicate at home, at least not easily. The 1500+ degree broiler drawers that a lot of high end steak houses use is one of those things. The new IR grills that can do 1000+ degrees are attempting to replicate that, but they arent quite there yet.
RetroRevolver77
08-20-18, 12:06
I have friend that does boiled steak in a bag thing and then he darkens it by placing it onto a slab of salt that is on the grill.
Seems like a bunch of fancy work to cook a steak that should only take a few minutes.
so if you own "several" smokers you would KNOW that anything you smoke doesnt sit in the temp "danger zone" very long... so your earlier comment to me about "every bbq place being shut down because of cooking food for 24 hours" doesnt make any sense... unless you have never used a thermometer while cooking your bbq...
And you completely read my earlier comment about quantity wrong. My earlier example was something like lets say, based on the chef/managers best/educated guess they will go through 200...so they prep 200 steaks in sous vide...oh some shit happens and they only sell 100 steaks that night. What do they do with the rest? Hopefully can find a use for them because you cant really chill said pre-cooked steak down and use it another night. Better make soup with it or something else, otherwise trash.
And how do you prep possibly several hundred sous vide steaks and NOT hold them at a low temp for a long time? If you adhere to the 140 degree rule(which MOST health inspectors are adamant about), you could only serve medium+ steaks. If I go into a restaurant and you tell me "oh it will take 1.5-2 hours for your rare steak" im going somewhere else. So said Sous Vide items MUST be pre-prepared and ready to finalize and send out, you cant start a Sous Vide steak(or any other item) in a restaurant when somebody orders it... You also cant hold said rare steak at 140 degrees in the Sous Vide either because it wont be rare anymore. NOW talk about other food items but steak that ARENT as temp sensitive and you can hold them at 140+ and they are ok, yea I could see that being in use in restaurants.
Sous Vide is GREAT, im not against it, I use it. It doesnt work in high volume restaurants IMO, except for small volume specialty items. Ive worked in enough to know it. Most restaurants(even crazy high end 150-200 bucks a person) require table turn over. Now that might only be 2 groups per table per night, but I dont know of a single restaurant that will survive if not turning tables. You cant take 1.5-2 hours to cook each steak(since IMO holding large quantities of sous vide meats is difficult to do) because your guests will not tolerate that and you will have zero table turn over.
holding temps/times are not mis-information... at your house you can hold all you want in the 40-140 degree window, but in a restaurant the Health Department will be ALL OVER THAT.
And I 100% agree that there are methods used in restaurants that you cant replicate at home, at least not easily. The 1500+ degree broiler drawers that a lot of high end steak houses use is one of those things. The new IR grills that can do 1000+ degrees are attempting to replicate that, but they arent quite there yet.
Yeah, I don't use a thermometer. ROFL You keep making these silly ASSumptions in an effort to discredit me to somehow bolster your stance and I'm not sure how it's beneficial to the conversation at all.
The comment was made that if a restaurant took an hour or more to prepare a steak it would go under because no restaurant could handle that sort of time to serve. My example was BBQ joints take hours and hours to prepare a single dish and they manage that time and do just fine and find success. It's entirely possible and comes down to proper management. The statement in this context had nothing to do with the 40-140-4 guideline.
Sous vide for a typical steak can be done in 45-60 minutes. Once complete, it can sit in that bath for hours w/o a noticeable change in consistency. As a kitchen manager, if you can't manage when those steaks need to be ready to serve within a VERY generous 2 hour window you shouldn't be a kitchen manager. If you know your orders will start coming in to the tune of 20 orders or so about 5:00pm how difficult is it to start them at 3:00pm knowing they'll be done at 4:00pm and can be held at that temp another 2-3 hours without issue? One can then simply predict an hour in advance how many more need to be added to the bath and can gauge how it will wind down in a similar manner. Again, this isn't rocket science in terms of logistics for a kitchen manager and the ridiculously wide "ready window" of 1-3 hours allows for a LOT of fudge factor for kitchen prep. Like anything else you label, track & manage. If something approaches 4 hours you simply throw it out, note that it was food waste and use that data point in your algorithm to better prevent future food loss. You can cook every steak exactly to temp and the results are 100% repeatable every time. You talk of food waste as a negative to sous vide and not once did you mention how many steaks are thrown out due to coming back for being incorrect temp using traditional methods. Not a very neutral comparison if what you desire is to really prove out which is the best tool for the job.
In theory, you could actually serve steak faster & better quality than traditional methods so saying a guest needs to wait 2 hours is just silly. You keep inserting hyperbole as fact in an effort to discredit the things I'm saying which is why I don't think you're serious about an open and non-confrontational knowledge transfer which is what I believe this thread was about.
You keep bringing up the 40-140-4 guideline so let's take a quick peak at this first. This guideline for safe food handling states that a whole-muscle meat needs to have it's surface reach a temperature of over 140 degrees in under 4 hours to prevent excessive bacteria growth that could be dangerous to humans. The surface. Not the entirety of the meat. If you grind up the meat or puncture it with a temperature probe or injection needle that all goes out the window and now you need to make sure the entirety of the meat doesn't sit in what could be a dangerous window.
This discussion has been largely steak.
When I smoke a Boston Butt, I rinse the outside thoroughly, apply dry rub and plop in a smoker at 225deg for several hours. This gives the surface a good amount of time exposed to 225deg in order to kill any bacteria remaining from processing & handling (which there should be very little of if any in the first place) since there won't be any present inside a whole cut of meat. Only at this point do I then place a probe so I don't puncture the surface and push any surface bacteria into the center of the meat where the temperature could potentially be in that window of danger the guideline warns against. With something like steak that you sous vide and then sear the outside prior to serving... this is a non-issue assuming you don't grind it up or probe it. You're going to cook the surface at the end with temps somewhere in the range of 500+ degrees which none of the potentially harmful bacteria will survive. The USDA also agrees that the danger of bacteria at say 80 degrees is MUCH more of a danger than the same bacteria at 120 degrees. If the topic is steak or tri-tip specifically this doesn't apply being as they're whole-muscle cuts of meat.
Summary: If you're trying to tell me that leaving a steak in a 125 degree bath for 5 hours is dangerous you're wrong. There's no other way to put that. Personally, I wouldn't do that as the texture will begin to change after a few hours but even if you did... it's not dangerous.
I get the vibe that you don't want to participate in a transfer of knowledge to learn & instead just want to argue to be right and read into stuff I never said so I'm not going to address this conversation anymore.
I have friend that does boiled steak in a bag thing and then he darkens it by placing it onto a slab of salt that is on the grill.
Seems like a bunch of fancy work to cook a steak that should only take a few minutes.
Sounds similar to sous vide if the "steak in a bag" has all of the air removed but the important missing aspect would be the precision control of the cooking bath temperature. This perfect control of the temperature while cooking under vacuum is basically what we're discussing in this thread. You can also use an oven for this reverse-sear method but not quite the same thing in either case. There are some pros to using something like a precision cooker to prepare items sous vide. Pretty interesting stuff and you can achieve some amazing cooks if done properly or just give yourself more wiggle room for that "perfect" cook. Now, if all he's doing is boiling the water as you stated than that's a bit different. Water boils at 212 degrees at sea-level (less at elevation, for me it's more like 202.5 degrees) so you're still trying to "guess" as to when the internal temperature will reach the desired outcome which would be similar to grilling or reverse searing. You're basically trying to get a small portion of the meat to a specific temperature sacrificing the rest of the meat to a temperature that may not be ideally what you're looking for. You also don't get the full sous vide advantage of having a perfectly cooked steak edge to edge. In his method only a small portion of the center would be pink whereas sous vide, if done properly, will cook the ENTIRE steak at your desired temperature with only the very surface being above that temp due to searing for flavor and appearance through caramelization. The end result is a steak that can take longer to prepare (actually less if you do something like I mentioned earlier with proper planning) but opens a world of flexibility on the window in which it's done and a perfectly cooked edge-to-edge steak that can't be attained through traditional forms of cooking.
If none of that matters to you then this method of cooking probably wouldn't matter to you.
Cooked up two New York Strips today. Marinated them overnight and cooked them sous vide (Anova) for 90 minutes at 134F. Finished them with a 60-second sear on the George Foreman Grill. Awesome! One of the best steaks I've ever made. The input from you guys has been much appreciated, especially Hmac's detailed breakdown.
hotrodder636
08-20-18, 13:22
I pretty much only use my Anova for steaks. I have tried chicken breasts and chicken thighs before. The thighs were amazing, the breasts were just okay.
I buy bulk ribeyes then vacuum seal and put in freezer with date. Oull them out and cook to 134*. Nothing special.
Mashed potatoes can be good; load the bag woth sliced potatoes, butter, cream cheese and a bit of sour cream and cook for an hour. When done cooking, mash the contents and serve like a pastry bag.
I must’ve missed something, where were all the questions of botulism and food borne illnesses coming from?
I pretty much only use my Anova for steaks. I have tried chicken breasts and chicken thighs before. The thighs were amazing, the breasts were just okay.
I buy bulk ribeyes then vacuum seal and put in freezer with date. Oull them out and cook to 134*. Nothing special.
Mashed potatoes can be good; load the bag woth sliced potatoes, butter, cream cheese and a bit of sour cream and cook for an hour. When done cooking, mash the contents and serve like a pastry bag.
I must’ve missed something, where were all the questions of botulism and food borne illnesses coming from?
To me at least, dark chicken meat (especially thighs) has more flavor than breasts. How did you do the thighs? i.e. temp and time, maybe sauce if you used one, etc.
donlapalma
08-20-18, 13:55
Mashed potatoes can be good; load the bag woth sliced potatoes, butter, cream cheese and a bit of sour cream and cook for an hour. When done cooking, mash the contents and serve like a pastry bag.
Oh ya. I have to try this.
Sent from my SM-T820 using Tapatalk
Sounds similar to sous vide if the "steak in a bag" has all of the air removed but the important missing aspect would be the precision control of the cooking bath temperature.
I figured "boiled steak" was just a way to disparage sous vide cooking. At least I hope it is...
I figured "boiled steak" was just a way to disparage sous vide cooking. At least I hope it is...
That makes two of us. You'd be surprised though how many people don't realize there's a difference between "boiled meat" and sous vide whenever I try to tell them how well it works. Once I explain that it's not "boiled meat" and why they become more receptive to the idea. I can appreciate that though because if I thought it was just "boiled meat" I would want nothing to do with it either. Blech!
Cooked up two New York Strips today. Marinated them overnight and cooked them sous vide (Anova) for 90 minutes at 134F. Finished them with a 60-second sear on the George Foreman Grill. Awesome! One of the best steaks I've ever made. The input from you guys has been much appreciated, especially Hmac's detailed breakdown.
Tell me about your marinade....
I have friend that does boiled steak in a bag thing and then he darkens it by placing it onto a slab of salt that is on the grill.
Seems like a bunch of fancy work to cook a steak that should only take a few minutes.
It's true...cooking a steak only has to take a few minutes. No question that there are folks that are perfectly happy to pick up a steak at the local 7-11, take it home and toss it in a frying pan for awhile. No need for all that fancy gourmet shit....
Tell me about your marinade....
The Montreal brand liquid one. Yeah, it was the easy way out! However, it was good, no doubt about it. I'm sure I can create my own with a little thought but bought all the stuff to do it yesterday as I wanted to give this thing a whirl today.
One of my favorite marinade "bases" (if you will) I've used in the past is Italian dressing. Then add some minced garlic, and maybe a little Sriracha sauce (the red stuff in the bottle with the Rooster on it). I find Italian dressing tenderizes well being a little acidic.
I tweaked the temp to your wife's preferred 134F and they came out just like my wife and I like them. Hit them with some garlic pepper on each side then onto the George Foreman for one minute (another 30 seconds wouldn't have hurt anything though).
Adrenaline_6
08-20-18, 15:09
Tell me about your marinade....
One marinade that I use that gets positive reviews from everyone that tries it is as simple as it gets. Buy a bottle of oyster sauce (used in Chinese cooking). I put it in a ziploc bag with the steak for a little while and then grill it. No salt, no nothing, other than that. I have never done it sous vide or anything else for that matter, but this sous vide thing has got me interested in buying one and trying it. I know, it sounds weird, it is very good though.
Okay I think I'm going to give this a whirl. I think it should be just the thing for cooking in the trailer.
I noticed that the videos on the Anova site has the cooker attached to a stainless steel stock pot, on Amazon they were selling a Rubbermaid container and lid.
What is actually needed?
The Montreal brand liquid one. Yeah, it was the easy way out! However, it was good, no doubt about it. I'm sure I can create my own with a little thought but bought all the stuff to do it yesterday as I wanted to give this thing a whirl today.
One of my favorite marinade "bases" (if you will) I've used in the past is Italian dressing. Then add some minced garlic, and maybe a little Sriracha sauce (the red stuff in the bottle with the Rooster on it). I find Italian dressing tenderizes well being a little acidic.
I tweaked the temp to your wife's preferred 134F and they came out just like my wife and I like them. Hit them with some garlic pepper on each side then onto the George Foreman for one minute (another 30 seconds wouldn't have hurt anything though).
I like the Montreal seasoning. I'll try the marinade. The marinade that I've always used is pretty good, but always looking for options:
* 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
* 3 tbsp olive oil
* 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
* 2 tbsp steak sauce
* 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
* 1 tbsp soy sauce
* 2 tsp steak seasoning
* 1 tsp Sririacha
* 1 garlic clove minced
I figured "boiled steak" was just a way to disparage sous vide cooking. At least I hope it is...
You've never had a milk steak boiled hard served with raw jelly beans before?!?!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MZfCyTpAlg8
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MZfCyTpAlg8
donlapalma
08-20-18, 16:57
I noticed that the videos on the Anova site has the cooker attached to a stainless steel stock pot, on Amazon they were selling a Rubbermaid container and lid.
What is actually needed?
Any stock pot will do just as long as it is big enough to submerge what you plan to cook in it. Containers with lids, such as modified coolers, are better since they provide insulation and reduce heat loss allowing your circulator to work more efficiently. The lid combats evaporation which really becomes an issue for longer cooks (8 - 48 hours). Saran wrap over the top of a stock pot works just fine as an alternative.
Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
Okay I think I'm going to give this a whirl. I think it should be just the thing for cooking in the trailer.
I noticed that the videos on the Anova site has the cooker attached to a stainless steel stock pot, on Amazon they were selling a Rubbermaid container and lid.
What is actually needed?
I would not recommend using a stainless stock pot as they are designed to conduct heat. When you sous vide you want a container that will NOT conduct heat as that's lost energy that the precision cooker must make up which costs money. It's not going to make you go broke but longer duration or more frequent cooks can add up eventually. Food grade containers are popular and they tend to cost much less which is another bonus. I use the coolers I pictured earlier in the thread because they do a really good job of maintaining the heat. Remember, the key to precision cooking or sous vide is keeping the temperature as consistent as possible.
FYI, when I first got mine and I knew jack about them I too just throw it in a giant pot and it works fine so you can do the same if that's what you have. If you're going to buy something get something plastic as it will hold the temps better and is better for this use. The larger square clear containers used by restaurants for food storage are great. They usually have a lid but if it's additional cost don't spend your money. You can throw a lot of things on the surface to retain heat and lots of people use the bubble wrap that comes with shipment cut to shape. They even make some little ping pong looking balls that float on the top and do something similar. Lots of options but none of which are mission critical.
You've never had a milk steak boiled hard served with raw jelly beans before?!?!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MZfCyTpAlg8
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MZfCyTpAlg8
Bwahaha! Charlie pwns all!
Any stock pot will do just as long as it is big enough to submerge what you plan to cook in it. Containers with lids, such as modified coolers, are better since they provide insulation and reduce heat loss allowing your circulator to work more efficiently. The lid combats evaporation which really becomes an issue for longer cooks (8 - 48 hours). Saran wrap over the top of a stock pot works just fine as an alternative.
There you go!
Okay I think I'm going to give this a whirl. I think it should be just the thing for cooking in the trailer.
I noticed that the videos on the Anova site has the cooker attached to a stainless steel stock pot, on Amazon they were selling a Rubbermaid container and lid.
What is actually needed?Just some kind of container that holds enough water to submerge your food. I use a 12 quart Rubbermaid plastic container with a lid (hole cut for the Anova) for about 95% of the stuff I cook, but you can use any container, including a stock pot. For longer cooks, some kind of insulated container is probably better and I tend to use coolers of various sizes in those rare circumstances. Any container will do, really, as long as it will stand up to the necessary cooking temps.
You'll also want a vacuum sealer if you don't already have one. I just use a simple Foodsaver FM2000 (https://www.amazon.com/FoodSaver-FM2000-Vacuum-Sealer-Starter/dp/B01D5TMBE0). It works great. Small enough to fit in the cabinet with pots and pans. My wife has declared a moratorium on kitchen tools (one of my great passions that I fear that I've over-indulged), especially kitchen tools that sit on the counter. She's a minimalist, I'm a tool-user. I became depressed when she declared the counters off limits to the bread making machine.
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/qRUAAOSwnK9ZPdk3/s-l300.jpg
Okay I think I'm going to give this a whirl. I think it should be just the thing for cooking in the trailer.
I noticed that the videos on the Anova site has the cooker attached to a stainless steel stock pot, on Amazon they were selling a Rubbermaid container and lid.
What is actually needed?
Go for it! It was $109 shipped from Amazon Prime.
You need a decent-sized pot you can clamp the unit to and some gallon-sized ziplock bags.
Just some kind of container that holds enough water to submerge your food. I use a 12 quart Rubbermaid plastic container with a lid (hole cut for the Anova) for about 95% of the stuff I cook, but you can use any container, including a stock pot. For longer cooks, some kind of insulated container is probably better and I tend to use coolers of various sizes in those rare circumstances. Any container will do, really, as long as it will stand up to the necessary cooking temps.
You'll also want a vacuum sealer if you don't already have one. I just use a simple Foodsaver FM2000 (https://www.amazon.com/FoodSaver-FM2000-Vacuum-Sealer-Starter/dp/B01D5TMBE0). It works great. Small enough to fit in the cabinet with pots and pans. My wife has declared a moratorium on kitchen tools (one of my great passions that I fear that I've over-indulged), especially kitchen tools that sit on the counter. She's a minimalist, I'm a tool-user. I became depressed when she declared the counters off limits to the bread making machine.
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/qRUAAOSwnK9ZPdk3/s-l300.jpg
I'll piggy back off of this post to agree and say that that's the container I was trying to describe earlier. I bought one with the lid (which was fairly expensive compared to the container itself) and after using it once I made the coolers posted in my first post. I was at a garage sale over the weekend and say a cooler just like the smaller one for a buck. Seems a pretty good investment to hit up some garage sales to find something that works better for precision cooking rather than paying nearly $20 for something that would be inferior. Just us a pot in the meantime if you get a precision cooker and are chomping at a bit to get cooking.
I also wanted to say that the vacuum sealer is the same one we use. We got it refurb'd for dirt cheap and it's been flawless since. Deals on the refurb'd units and bags can be had online pretty regularly. In the interim, if all you're doing is sous vide cooking you can simply place your item in a large zip loc bag and slowly lower it into the water until it's near the top. Zip the top and most of the air will be pushed out of the bag. Not perfect but it works pretty well to get you started. If you plan to vacuum and freeze you'll for sure want a vacuum sealer but that's a quick tip to get you going quickly.
I'll piggy back off of this post to agree and say that that's the container I was trying to describe earlier. I bought one with the lid (which was fairly expensive compared to the container itself) and after using it once I made the coolers posted in my first post. I was at a garage sale over the weekend and say a cooler just like the smaller one for a buck. Seems a pretty good investment to hit up some garage sales to find something that works better for precision cooking rather than paying nearly $20 for something that would be inferior. Just us a pot in the meantime if you get a precision cooker and are chomping at a bit to get cooking.
I also wanted to say that the vacuum sealer is the same one we use. We got it refurb'd for dirt cheap and it's been flawless since. Deals on the refurb'd units and bags can be had online pretty regularly. In the interim, if all you're doing is sous vide cooking you can simply place your item in a large zip loc bag and slowly lower it into the water until it's near the top. Zip the top and most of the air will be pushed out of the bag. Not perfect but it works pretty well to get you started. If you plan to vacuum and freeze you'll for sure want a vacuum sealer but that's a quick tip to get you going quickly.
Yes. It seems that every trip my wife or I make to Costco is followed by a vacuum-sealing frenzy for large quantities of meat or fish. I've not had good luck freezing ribeyes or filets in ziploc bags. OTOH, a vacuum-sealed steak/pork chop/lamb will seal and freeze for a long time. It's not really about the cooking, it's about the freezing, although it's undeniably convenient to just grab a couple of vacuum-sealed steaks out of the freezer and plop them in the water bath without worrying about freezer burn.
Thanks, all of you. Wife was raising an eyebrow at me as I hit 'buy now' on Amazon. What happened to '1 Click'?
Go for it! It was $109 shipped from Amazon Prime.
You need a decent-sized pot you can clamp the unit to and some gallon-sized ziplock bags.
Yep, enroute.
Just some kind of container that holds enough water to submerge your food. I use a 12 quart Rubbermaid plastic container with a lid (hole cut for the Anova) for about 95% of the stuff I cook, but you can use any container, including a stock pot. For longer cooks, some kind of insulated container is probably better and I tend to use coolers of various sizes in those rare circumstances. Any container will do, really, as long as it will stand up to the necessary cooking temps.
You'll also want a vacuum sealer if you don't already have one. I just use a simple Foodsaver FM2000 (https://www.amazon.com/FoodSaver-FM2000-Vacuum-Sealer-Starter/dp/B01D5TMBE0). It works great. Small enough to fit in the cabinet with pots and pans. My wife has declared a moratorium on kitchen tools (one of my great passions that I fear that I've over-indulged), especially kitchen tools that sit on the counter. She's a minimalist, I'm a tool-user. I became depressed when she declared the counters off limits to the bread making machine.
She must be related to my wife. She said no to a Instant Pot, so I keep it in a cubby in my reloading room. Since my last moose I killed took over 200 bags just for the burger alone, I invested in a Vacmaster VP 215. My wife about stroked out when I put it on a roller cart and put it in the broom closet along with my 3/4 h.p. meat grinder. It seemed silly to spend $800 on a sealer and bags at the time, but she's been won over. The kids are out of the house now, but it still gets a ton of use during fishing and hunting season around here. Our new house will have storage for my "tools" designed right into the kitchen.
She must be related to my wife. She said no to a Instant Pot, so I keep it in a cubby in my reloading room. Since my last moose I killed took over 200 bags just for the burger alone, I invested in a Vacmaster VP 215. My wife about stroked out when I put it on a roller cart and put it in the broom closet along with my 3/4 h.p. meat grinder. It seemed silly to spend $800 on a sealer and bags at the time, but she's been won over. The kids are out of the house now, but it still gets a ton of use during fishing and hunting season around here. Our new house will have storage for my "tools" designed right into the kitchen.
Hard to imagine a dedicated hunter without a vacuum sealer. The Vacmaster appears to be a truly serious piece of kitchen hardware.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.