New cooking methods ... sous vide

[Fried Meat Ball!]

So I took the plunge (pun not intended) and purchased a personal sous vide machine.

I've made a wonderful roasted garlic and herb compound butter and I'm about to put a couple of thick cut KC strips in the bath, set it for 134 degrees and in a couple hours I should have perfectly medium rare steak to throw in a screaming hot skillet to sear. Then it's eatin' time.

Will post pics.

Anyone worked with sous vide before? Any tips, tasty things to try?

[Fried Meat Ball!]

Originally Posted by KcMizzou

Sounds better to me, honestly.

The theory is that you use the water bath to slowly bring the entire hunk of meat to the exact temperature you want it - 130-140 for medium rare. Once it's done, you take it out and sear it over fire or in a screaming hot skillet. You still get the crust and the tastiness from the maillard reaction, but instead of having a ring of over-done meat and a perfect center that occurs otherwise, you have a perfectly cooked steak.

We'll see soon.

[Bacon Cheeseburger]

So you're just basically simmering a vacuum packed steak in water? Why do you need a $300 machine to do that? Seems to me that you could do it in a pot (cast iron, of course) on the stove.

[Fried Meat Ball!]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

So you're just basically simmering a vacuum packed steak in water? Why do you need a $300 machine to do that? Seems to me that you could do it in a pot (cast iron, of course) on the stove.

In order to do it properly, you have to have very precise control of the water temperature. And most stoves, even on the lowest setting, won't keep a pot of water at only 130 degrees.

By my random measures of the water over the past hour, the sous vide has been within .8 degrees (according to my Thermapen) every time.

[cdcox]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

So you're just basically simmering a vacuum packed steak in water? Why do you need a $300 machine to do that? Seems to me that you could do it in a pot (cast iron, of course) on the stove.

Temperature has to be too precisely controlled to do on a stove.

[Hog Farmer]

Originally Posted by WVChiefFan

That's a big plunge! Sounds cool and I'd love to be able to try your steak!

OMG

[Bacon Cheeseburger]

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

In order to do it properly, you have to have very precise control of the water temperature. And most stoves, even on the lowest setting, won't keep a pot of water at only 130 degrees.

By my random measures of the water over the past hour, the sous vide has been within .8 degrees (according to my Thermapen) every time.

Ah, I see. I've never even heard of this before. I suppose a crock pot runs much higher than that as well.

[luv]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

Ah, I see. I've never even heard of this before. I suppose a crock pot runs much higher than that as well.

Crock pots are definitely NOT precise.

[JASONSAUTO]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

Ah, I see. I've never even heard of this before. I suppose a crock pot runs much higher than that as well.

Lol.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Bacon Cheeseburger]

Originally Posted by luv

Crock pots are definitely NOT precise.

Well yeah, that too. Most kitchen appliances other than an oven aren't thermostatically controlled, and I'm sure those vary quite a bit as well.

[Bacon Cheeseburger]

Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO

Lol.
Posted via Mobile Device

Some of them have a 'keep warm' setting on them, although I have no idea what temp that is but it's lower than the cooking temps.

[crispystl420]

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

Not sure about you, but it's too scientific. I hate measuring. You can just throw stuff together and make an incredible meal, but if you just "throw together" a cake it's gonna suck ass.

Agreed

[Hog Farmer]

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

The theory is that you use the water bath to slowly bring the entire hunk of meat to the exact temperature you want it - 130-140 for medium rare. Once it's done, you take it out and sear it over fire or in a screaming hot skillet. You still get the crust and the tastiness from the maillard reaction, but instead of having a ring of over-done meat and a perfect center that occurs otherwise, you have a perfectly cooked steak.

We'll see soon.

Sounds interesting. It's the exact same concept we use in semen processing, we use a waterbath to bring the semen extender to an exact temp of 102 degrees and then add the boar core and it keeps the sperm cells from being shocked. Then we slowly bring it down to 64 degrees for storage. The only difference is we don't sear it on both sides and then consume it. Well , there was that one time Frazod showed up for a kegger but I'm gonna keep that to myself .

[cdcox]

I enjoy both cooking and baking. Yes, they are definitely different. As a cook, I don't measure anything and as a baker, I measure everything precisely. I am a cook first, but a lot of meals require a combination techniques, such as pizza, pot pies, and biscuits and gravy. I also take pride in doing the whole meal, including dessert. Plus fresh baked goods are delicious. So I bake and cook.

[Baby Lee]

PID

[Dave Lane]

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

Not sure about you, but it's too scientific. I hate measuring. You can just throw stuff together and make an incredible meal, but if you just "throw together" a cake it's gonna suck ass.

Maybe this is why I like it with my chemical engineering background