Sous Vide cooking

Sous vide cooking is cooing under pressure. There are tons of books that explain how to do it, but I thought I would give a quick explanation. You need a water circulator, this is important because it keeps the water at .1 degree Celsius. You also need a vacuum pack machine.
So the principle is cook the product to its done stage in the water bath. For instance you have a tenderloin and you want it to be medium rare you would set the water bath to 51.66C or 125F. You would place the tenderloin in a bag and suck all the air out so its tight. you would then place the tenderloin in the water bath and cook for 2-3 hours. Remove the tenderloin and sear and serve it. The meat will be a perfect medium rare.

It works well with potatoes as well. We put salt and potatoes in a bag and vacuum pack them and cook them at 89.9C and cook for 1 to 1.5 hours. The beauty of them is that they take on no mositure so you can add more cream and butter and they will still be super stiff.

So that's a quick explanation. I have sous vide lots of stuff form cream angalise to artichokes. Lamb, chicken baby back ribs. The baby back ribs we did for 24 hours and they came out awesome. The meat was still pink but fell off the bone.
I'll try to answer any questions.

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3909/...d5371323_b.jpg
the home version is 399
any vacuum pack machine will work but try and use food grade bags

You can also go renegade hacker style...

I breadboarded a temp probe, arduino, power mosfet and plugged a crockpot into it. Arduino would announce when the correct temp was reached and then switch on and off the crockpot power to keep it steady. Used a submersible pump to keep the water moving.

But seriously, it's probably better to get a proper circulator. They are so cheap now, and you haven't tasted lobster until you've had it sous vide. Any shellfish for that matter. It just comes out so perfect.

PS. Coppercook: I've gotta make it out to stockton, man. Where are you slinging pans? (although from the looks of some pictures, you might be catering...)

Sounds awesome but I just have to ask. BPA free plastic bags?

yes on bags

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Originally Posted by spopepro

You can also go renegade hacker style...

I breadboarded a temp probe, arduino, power mosfet and plugged a crockpot into it. Arduino would announce when the correct temp was reached and then switch on and off the crockpot power to keep it steady. Used a submersible pump to keep the water moving.

But seriously, it's probably better to get a proper circulator. They are so cheap now, and you haven't tasted lobster until you've had it sous vide. Any shellfish for that matter. It just comes out so perfect.

PS. Coppercook: I've gotta make it out to stockton, man. Where are you slinging pans? (although from the looks of some pictures, you might be catering...)

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I work in Lodi

I'm full of... questions.

How reusable are the bags? I like to minimize garbage.

How tolerant of timing is it? As in, if I start potatoes too late and the steak is ready to add the grill marks, can one be sped up or slowed down or held w/o disaster?

How many baths does one need to make a meat+potato+green beans, e.g.? Does the home cook generally pick the one centerpiece dish to sous vide and do the rest conventionally?

I hear that the vacuum packing lets flavors infuse much better from herbs and sauces. What about flavor that comes from the grill -- does that need all the time char-grilling takes, or is it something that occurs in a very short time, or is it actually a very small part of what counts as good taste?

Do you ever give away barely used equipment? ;)

The good thing about any cooking method that happens at a low delta-T (the difference between the cook temp and the finishing temp) is that a few minutes on either side of "done" is insignificant. So in this case you could just hold the steak in the vacuum bag until the potatoes are ready.

One of my favorite methods of finishing a steak is to sear a cold steak at absurdly high heat and finish for a long time in a 250 degree oven. Up to an hour for a thick bone-in ribeye. It ends up medium all the way through with a thin crust of char on the outside. Perfect.

The sous vide method is the real version of the halfway method I use. The science of what happens to food at these temperatures is pretty fascinating. Especially with stuff everyone has expectations of based on years of traditional cooking methods, like eggs.

question 1 the bags are not reusable. but you can order a vary of sizes.
question 2 it is very forgiving in timing. because the item is at a set temperature it doesn't really hurt it to go to long. I wouldn't go to long maybe a hour at the most. There is a great iphone app that gives you times and temperatures. I use it as a resource.
question 3 you 1 bath per item but that's not to say you could make your completed potatoes in a warm water bath then cook your meat. I would make the protein if I had to choose one item.
question 4 This is the beauty of sous vide you actually cook your protein in marinade. We made tacos al pastor. We cooked the pork tenderloin in its maranide came out tasty. Artichokes we cooked in a cusion, which is a flavorful broth.

no I have 4 units and its not that rare we have them all going at once.

a side note we put our potatoes in one of these
Attachment 69725
it adds a really crazy texture by injecting co2
we hold the canister in a water bath at 60c

Hope that helps

Copper cook, thanks for this thread. Got me thinking about trying this method -- and then I remembered reading this Sous Vide Awesomeness | DC Rainmaker. Think I'll get my engineer/foodie son to help me play with building something....

glad I could help

Thank you for the thread. When I get a kitchen makeover and have more space this is going to happen. In the meantime I'm dying to try some fish that will take on fresh aromatic nuances. Would you use a saschet (bag) of aromatics inside the plastic?

Also, would you mind giving a quick primer for the potatoes? I've been having fun with espuma for a few years and that sounds like a winner.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Coppercook62

question 1 the bags are not reusable. but you can order a vary of sizes.
question 2 it is very forgiving in timing. because the item is at a set temperature it doesn't really hurt it to go to long. I wouldn't go to long maybe a hour at the most. There is a great iphone app that gives you times and temperatures. I use it as a resource.
question 3 you 1 bath per item but that's not to say you could make your completed potatoes in a warm water bath then cook your meat. I would make the protein if I had to choose one item.
question 4 This is the beauty of sous vide you actually cook your protein in marinade. We made tacos al pastor. We cooked the pork tenderloin in its maranide came out tasty. Artichokes we cooked in a cusion, which is a flavorful broth.

no I have 4 units and its not that rare we have them all going at once.

a side note we put our potatoes in one of these
Attachment 69725
it adds a really crazy texture by injecting co2
we hold the canister in a water bath at 60c

Hope that helps

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Coppercook62

a side note we put our potatoes in one of these
Attachment 69725
it adds a really crazy texture by injecting co2

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A sealant and an inflator all in one. I love it.

I will post technique about potato espuma when I get home

Sous vide espuma potatoes
4 each large Yukon gold potatoes
1 tablespoon salt

1 pounds European butter
1 pint cream
melted

place in ingredients in bag and vacuum pack
cook at 90 degrees C for 1 to 1.5 hours or until soft
run through a ricer or food mill
add some cream and butter mixture like a cup
mix
run through a flat food sieve or tamie
add more butter and cream should be pretty runny but still have consistency
taste for salt
fill pastry bag
place to fill line in canister
add 1 co2
tap the top of the whipper to get potaotes to top
release it might sputter at first if gas just comes out you need to tap a little longer
thinner will let run smoother but thicker is more dense kind of like eating butter

we found its really hard to write a consistent recipe for this and its a lot by sight and feel I think its worth the extra effort. We get about 5 servings (5 cups) per fill
we load pastry bags with potatoes so we can reload fast when we are really busy
hope that helps

My interest in sous vide would be in the perfect egg. could i plop a fresh as can be egg in the immersion circulator and get the perfect most delicate extra soft boiled egg?

I do this egg on the stove top and it only succeeds about 1 in 10 tries where the white is just done enough that with extra care the entire egg can be peeled and plated say on a bed of greens or a buttered baguette but one wrong move and the whole thing just falls apart. I think +/- .1*c and knowing the T&T could do this. Anyone?

Nic,
have you tried gently cracking a egg into barely simmering water? The result may be exactly what you are looking for. When I say barely simmering it means little bubbles. You need a good fire to do that. They cook so nice, you have to try it. Use a slotted spoon to retrieve them. There is a cool trick to get the poached eggs to "form" into nice compact shapes. Just stir the water so that it circulates and pour the egg (one at a time) into the swirling water from a small saucer....takes a few tries to get it right.

If I'm making shell on hard boiled eggs I use the old school method...get water to just barely boiling lower eggs into water cover and turn off the heat and set a timer for 4 or ++ mins. to your liking.

Alton Brown has a method worth reading....but it takes too long for me. He's rarely wrong when it comes to food science and heck you are a mad scientist ;)

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Originally Posted by crumpton

My interest in sous vide would be in the perfect egg. could i plop a fresh as can be egg in the immersion circulator and get the perfect most delicate extra soft boiled egg? I do this egg on the stove top and it only succeeds about 1 in 10 tries where the white is just done enough that with extra care the entire egg can be peeled and plated say on a bed of greens or a buttered baguette but one wrong move and the whole thing just falls apart. I think +/- .1*c and knowing the T&T could do this. Anyone?

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Yes, but the results might not be what you think. It turns out that the whites solidify at a higher temperature than yolks. Yolks stay runny because of being insulated by whites and short cook times. A 68 degree (c) egg (45min about) will resemble a loose custard with a bright, firm yolk. See onsen tamago for more details.

Nick I did some research and this is what I came up with
Over Easy 142-146 F for 45-60 minutes (62.8C)
Poached 142F for 45-60 minutes (64.4C)
Perfect 148F for 45-60 minutes (65.6C)
Hard Boiled 149-152F for 45-60 Minutes (65.6C)

Id play around with it until you found what you like.

As a gift from left field I bought the wife a Sous Vide for Christmas, she wasn't as excited about it at first, did some reading and used it a couple of times and now she's jazzes about it. stupid easy and super tasty... we've only dipped our toe in the usage but I'm looking forward to what we can do. My sister kept talking about cucumber infused vodka over the holidays so maybe I'll try that out...

We have had great success with steaks @ 129F for 1hr and finishing on the bge + hickory. Seeing as how coppercook is setting to 125, I will try that next time.

Chicken is proving a little more controversial due to texture. I like the 145-150F chicken. The wife does not. She knows its done from a bacteria perspective but the texture doesn't work for her at all. I've had to move up to 155 and she would probably prefer 160. Any sous vide chicken recipes are definitely welcome.

We're absolutely interested in what others are doing with the sous vide. CopperCook, teach us something new!

For those concerned about killing bacteria, scroll down to page 4 red meat and pages 5+ for white.

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/co...df?MOD=AJPERES

My wife got one as a gift around a year ago. She already was an excellent cook, but this provides her with greater flexibility in terms of timing meals for different people, and there are certain meats that are always hard to get right--pork chops, for example. Since she's been using the sous vide, they come out perfect. Really easy--setting the temperature and sufficient time (but can be much longer), then braise each side and done.

A good majority of the info on the first page is just a bit incorrect.

Sous vide is not cooking under pressure, that is a pressure cooer. You are cooking with water.

You do not need to vac seal most of the food that you place into the water bath during sous vide. You can simply use a gallon zip lock bag and use the air evacuation method by placing an open bag into the water with the food inside, (don't let the water inside) and then clip the open bag to the side of the container. This method saves quite a lot of money and mess.

For non meats, you can easily place more than one item in the container during cooking, just vary the time with the temp of the "main" ingredient.

6 minute soft poached eggs: Set sous vide circulator at 145*f Place eggs in water bath and run for 45 minutes. At this time the eggs can be held at 130*f until time to serve. I have held these at 130*f for an entire service of 6+ hours.

Have a second pot of water at a very light boil, (ust a few bubbles) ready to go.

Crack the top of the egg and peel off the upper portion. Pour the egg gently into the water and cook for 45 seconds. You can discard the shell with the small layer of white inside.

Serve egg immediately after 45 seconds. Any longer and the yolk will start to set more.

I have been a sous vide trained executive chef for the last 6 years and have run all different types of machines in my kitchens both professionally and at home.

Please feel free to ask any questions that you would like. Sous Vide is my passion in the professional kitchen.

rufus, I am interested to hear what you do with chicken in the sous vide and a maybe a favorite recipe or two.

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Originally Posted by gt6267a

rufus, I am interested to hear what you do with chicken in the sous vide and a maybe a favorite recipe or two.

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I like to do a sous vide chicken breast at 149*F (65*C) for 55 minutes.
-Place the breasts in a bag with a little bit of olive oil, salt, and butter. Feel free to add any aromatics that you would like as well.
-Remove from bag and pat dry.
-Heat a cast iron skillet or pan to high heat with a little bit of oil and sear both sides of the chicken.

I tend to serve this at this time of year with an apple fennel salad and a root vegetable puree.

1 Apple, Granny Smith
1 Fennel, bulb reserve fennel tops for presentation
30 g Walnuts
25 g Olive oil
25 g Apple cider vinegar
16 g Honey
2 g Salt

Slice apples and fennel bulb with a mandolin to about a 2mm thickness, or very thinly slice with a knife. Rough chop the walnuts and add to the fennel and apple. Make a quick dressing with the remaining ingredients and toss to coat.

For the thighs, do the same sous vide cooking and pat dry.
-In a cast iron pan or regular pan, on high heat, add 2 tbsp oil and sear both sides of thighs, roughly 1-2 minutes per side.
-Remove and reserve. In the same pan on medium heat, add 4tbsp of butter to the chicken bits in the pan and cook until a brown butter is starting, should start browning and start smelling nutty. make sure to stir constantly as this happens fast. ---Roughly 30 seconds to 1 1/2 minutes.
-Add 2 tbsp of capers, 2 tbsp red wine vinegar, and 2 tbsp of water.
-Pour brown butter sauce over thighs.

I like to serve this with roasted winter root vegetables.


You can also use this method and then instead of searing, you can fry in 400*F oil. Some of the best and juiciest fried chicken that you can get.

Looking to get a sous vide cooker soon (hoping for a Black Friday deal).

Any reason I shouldn't get the Anova Nano vs some of the more expensive units, like the Joule or larger Anova?

I don't think I need the wifi version.

I'm not cooking for a huge crowd or anything.

I like than the Nano has an app, but it's not required to use the unit since it has a touch screen to operate it. I always worry about companies going out of business or something and eventually you've got a still-functioning piece of hardware but no app to work it.

I also like the small size vs the bigger Anova. We've got very little storage space in our kitchen.

can't help with last question but have to admit I'm interested in the answer, especially after dinner at a new joint in New Orleans where the chef does some neat variations on traditional New Orleans fare. Ever had chicken gizzards in a fine restaurant? He used sous vide for like a day and a half and instead of chewy gizzards they were super tender, with deep flavor, served with carmelized onions and peppers, a grit cake and demi glace. wicked. as good as, if not better than the oyster blt with bourbon cured/smoked pork belly..damn. place is called gris gris if anyone is interested. highly recommended if you're in town (though a bit off the tourist beaten track)

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Originally Posted by giordana93

can't help with last question but have to admit I'm interested in the answer, especially after dinner at a new joint in New Orleans where the chef does some neat variations on traditional New Orleans fare. Ever had chicken gizzards in a fine restaurant? He used sous vide for like a day and a half and instead of chewy gizzards they were super tender, with deep flavor, served with carmelized onions and peppers, a grit cake and demi glace. wicked. as good as, if not better than the oyster blt with bourbon cured/smoked pork belly..damn. place is called gris gris if anyone is interested. highly recommended if you're in town (though a bit off the tourist beaten track)

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Not too far off the beaten path, this reminds me I haven't been to NOLA in over a year. This will go on the places to go to list.

Mike

so, repeating the question Dustin asked: are the Arnova (and similar) models priced around $100 on sale for 75 or so reasonably good enough for home cooks to get started with?

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Originally Posted by giordana93

so, repeating the question Dustin asked: are the Arnova (and similar) models priced around $100 on sale for 75 or so reasonably good enough for home cooks to get started with?

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I'm taking the gamble, we've got an Anova Nano on order. It's a Christmas gift tho, so it'll be a little while before I can actually use it haha.

pretty sure I'll be following suit

Got the Nano for Christmas, cooked a tri-tip with it last night. Turned out great. Let it cook for 2hrs in the bag with the temp set at 120*F, then seared it on the grill. Can't say it was really any better (or worse) than doing a reverse sear on the Kettle, but it was really easy. It's easy because your timing isn't dependent on the internal temp of the meat climbing towards and past your target - with sous vide, you won't overshoot your target. So if the side dishes aren't ready yet, or the baby takes a big dump and gets poop up her back...no worries, leave it in the bath a little longer while handling other business.

Also, super happy my unit isn't app dependent. This is how the Anova app looked all day yesterday, their site crashed, and so did the app. I could still connect to the cooker and adjust the temp, but I couldn't look up recipes or recommended cook times or anything else. Anyhow, I like that it can be used without the app.

https://i.imgur.com/KvPjNNT.png

Dustin that Anova app is the biggest piece of.......
I love the cooker but for all practical purposes it’s a manual device. When it works, I use the app to look up suggested cooking times and then set it manually using the timer on my phone. I actually corresponded with them the day after receiving it and their response was to buy the WiFi upgrade. They know it doesn’t work.

Cooked a tri-tip last night. 2.5hrs or so in the water, then seared in the fire on the kettle. It was good, and again, the convience of sous vide is GREAT. That said...I got a bit more temp gradient around the edge than I do when cooking exclusively on the kettle with a reverse sear. I sous vide it at 130, maybe I should have done 125 instead. Maybe I just put it on the kettle too soon, before the fire was really raging. But again, it certainly wasn't bad, and the convenience factor for busy week night cooking is GREAT.

Out of the bath and onto the kettle.
https://i.imgur.com/BPMuzHo.jpg

FIRE
https://i.imgur.com/SvYSEl4.jpg

Sliced
https://i.imgur.com/Hf82mIE.jpg

And here's one from a while back, cooked entirely on the kettle reverse sear style. Also seared in the flames just like the sous-vide cook.
https://i.imgur.com/4PTJ7pS.jpg

Seems like a bit less grey between the surface and the medium-well interior.
https://i.imgur.com/XxCJxUQ.jpg

EDIT :: actually looking at both pics together, there's really not much difference. Maybe a little, but not much. Next time I'll make sure the fire is going full blast before tossing the meat on the kettle.