New cooking methods ... sous vide

[Fire Me Boy!]

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?

[Great Expectations]

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

130, so low end of med rare. Seared for 45 seconds on each side. I took the pic outside, so maybe that washed it out a little.

I bet it was the lighting. That's cooler than I'm cooking.

[Great Expectations]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Just dropped a 2.5 lb chuck roast into the bath; I think I'm gonna give it about 44 hours and have it for dinner on Sunday. If any thoughts, speak now...

This is the wine talking........ But could you forgo the vacuum seal on a roast if you used a bath of beef stock?

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by Great Expectations

This is the wine talking........ But could you forgo the vacuum seal on a roast if you used a bath of beef stock?

You could. I've made stock in my SVS. I wouldn't, though. Might as well braise and be done in less time with some browning.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Great Expectations

This is the wine talking........ But could you forgo the vacuum seal on a roast if you used a bath of beef stock?

A) You'd make an unholy mess of your pump (and possibly inner workings of my homemade immersion circulator.

B) More critically, that would only work if you like pot roast. I pretty much hate everything about pot roast. I'm doing this to try to make a poor man's standing rib roast. I think if I do this, give it a good pat down of garlic, salt, pepper and oregano and then sear the hell out of it, I can serve it with horseradish and probably get a pretty close approximation to a $60 standing rib roast.

[Great Expectations]

If you keep it below boiling and do it for 8 hours it could make a great shredded beef. Kind of like a crock pot roast, but not as hot and a little longer.

[Great Expectations]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

A) You'd make an unholy mess of your pump (and possibly inner workings of my homemade immersion circulator.

B) More critically, that would only work if you like pot roast. I pretty much hate everything about pot roast. I'm doing this to try to make a poor man's standing rib roast. I think if I do this, give it a good pat down of garlic, salt, pepper and oregano and then sear the hell out of it, I can serve it with horseradish and probably get a pretty close approximation to a $60 standing rib roast.

Yes, I'd be trying for a much different cook and using different tools.

[In58men]

So be honest with me. Is a steak prepared sous vide style better than cast iron (finished in oven) style?

[Great Expectations]

Originally Posted by Inmem58

So be honest with me. Is a steak prepared sous vide style better than cast iron (finished in oven) style?

Yes, and the margin for error is larger, but the big difference is the whole steak is perfect instead of just the majority of the middle of the steak.

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by Inmem58

So be honest with me. Is a steak prepared sous vide style better than cast iron (finished in oven) style?

It's different. Really, that's not a cop out. The texture and flavor from sous vide is different than grilling, cast iron, or the oven.

And as GE said earlier in this thread, pork and chicken are better than steak. All things equal, I'd choose grilled or cast ironed steak 7 times out of 10 over sous vide. Swap to pork or chicken, I'd choose those sous vide 6 times out of 10 over some other prep.

[In58men]

Originally Posted by Great Expectations

Yes, and the margin for error is greater, but the big difference is the whole steak is perfect instead of just the majority of the middle of the steak.

You can have a good looking pink steak, but flavor wise? Which is better?

[Great Expectations]

Originally Posted by Inmem58

You can have a good looking pink steak, but flavor wise? Which is better?

I haven't cooked enough sous vide to properly answer your question. The best steak I've eaten that I can remember was the sous vide sirloin from a few weeks ago. It was a prime cut, but sirloin typically isn't in my top 4 cuts.

I've grilled many strip steaks better than the sous vide strip I made. I've also screwed up several strips in that time frame on the grill or iron/oven. I think if the fat content is low sous vide is the best method, but if you have a ribeye you need the constant high heat.

[In58men]

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

It's different. Really, that's not a cop out. The texture and flavor from sous vide is different than grilling, cast iron, or the oven.

And as GE said earlier in this thread, pork and chicken are better than steak. All things equal, I'd choose grilled or cast ironed steak 7 times out of 10 over sous vide. Swap to pork or chicken, I'd choose those sous vide 6 times out of 10 over some other prep.

I really need to try this, but I don't want to buy the expensive sous vide device unless I know for sure I like the food it produces.


What's a good way to cook sous vide, pot of water and thermometer?

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by Inmem58

I really need to try this, but I don't want to buy the expensive sous vide device unless I know for sure I like the food it produces.


What's a good way to cook sous vide, pot of water and thermometer?

You can approximate with other devices, but you will not get close to the consistent, precise temperature control.

[DJ's left nut]

First malfunction.

Hot glue? Y'know how it kinda gets hot and then gets liquidy?

Don't use that to install your immersion heaters because after about 18 hours, it gets soft enough that it releases and your heater coils fall into the bath. Lots of moisture in the housing but I've dried it out and no damage appears to be done. I re-installed the coils using Superglue Gel and went around that with aquarium sealant. I think that should do the job.

In the hour or so I've been working on getting it disassembled, dried, repaired and re-set, I've lost about 12 degrees and my water bath is presently at 120. I don't expect it should be an issue but if anyone has a thought, I'd gladly listen.

[Fire Me Boy!]

Sous vide pork loin, caramelized onion grits with demi glace garnished with toasted bread crumbs, crispy bacon, and parsley.

I packaged the pork with a slice of bacon, which I highly recommend.