Will try..

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...

Please document. I've never done any of the long cooks.

What temp? That looks a little warmer than I was expecting? Looks very good though.

I need to get new plates, but I won't win that argument. Mine are oversized from pottery barn and 11 years old. They'd still be fine but the colors are merlot and navy. They look great on the shelf, but dominate the colors on the plate.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

New cooking methods ... sous vide
 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05...2c773c20b7.jpg

Under 130 is in that danger zone and cannot pasteurize. What are you cooking?

Chuck Roast.

It's running again and will go for another 22 hours or so before I serve it tomorrow. At 132 degrees, that should be plenty of time.

With that big a slab o' meat, I don't expect the internal temp of the meat dropped much at all. At 132 I'm above that pasteurization threshold and it will be in there for enough time (especially after already being in there for about 18 hours at 132) to be clear of any microbial issues.

Yeah, you should be fine.

Those grits look amazing.

Thanks. They were. That was my hope. My wife and I neither one like grits.

Turns out, we don't like bad grits.

Did you cook them with milk? I like to use half milk and half water when making grits.

Butter, caramelized onions, 2 c. milk, 3 c. water, 1 c. Yellow coarse grits. Started in the Dutch oven, then moved to a slow cooker. The low and slow makes them really creamy. Finished with more butter.

Man, I really couldn't have been any happier with how that turned out:

I threw turned the heat up to 135 after I pulled the roast to give it a pat/rub before searing and tossed in a lobster tail with some garlic and butter. Left that in there for 45 minutes.



I made a pretty simple rub of rosemary, thyme, salt, black pepper, garlic powder and minced onions. I put the rosemary, thyme and onions in a mortar and ground the hell out of them before mixing with the rest and applying liberally. Gave it one minute over oak charcoal per side and served it:



I have no earthly idea how to plate, so I apologize for the exceedingly basic layout there. Jalapeno cheddar twice baked and some roasted broccoli with a Thai chili glaze.

I really am amazed by how well that worked. It had the perfect feedback in that it wasn't a mushy mess of beef but was tender enough that a butter knife was more than enough to eat it...from a shitty ol' stringy chuck roast.

Freakin awesome....

Just thought I'd throw this in here. Supposedly a great deal.

Anova Precision Sous Vide Cooker = $129 after promo code LUVDAD

http://store.anovaculinary.com/produ...ecision-cooker

Slickdeals thread about it:

http://slickdeals.net/f/7882261-anov...e-shipping?v=1

New cooking methods ... sous vide
 

This may be the time I get the Anova. Just for clarification, the code should work for the One, which is a better appliance, but doesn't include Bluetooth. The One has a stronger pump. Not sure why anyone would care about connecting a sous vide to their phone.

I am confused...this one looks like it does have the bluetooth...what better appliance are you talking about?

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05...1143b7953d.jpg

I'm confused too lol.

New cooking methods ... sous vide
 

Anova makes two models: The Precision with Bluetooth; and the One, with a stronger water fan. The code works for both models for $50 off; the One is the better sous vide device, and it's only $20 more expensive.

This is the original - http://store.anovaculinary.com/products/anova

No Bluetooth, stronger motor, which means it can move more water. $20 more, code still works for $50 off.

Ahhh...that makes more sense, and thanks for the heads up.

And why do they need Bluetooth on a sous vide? Makes no sense to me.

Because they couldn't figure out a good way to get a helpful interface on the unit itself is my guess. That scroll wheel stuff looked like crap in the video I saw.

Probably. But why did they downgrade the motor? Why not provide an option with Bluetooth AND the original motor? I'd rather have the better motor.

How weak do you figure the downgraded motor could possibly be? You don't need much.

Unless you plan on using one of those 60 gallon coolers to do several dozen steaks, I'd be shocked if that unit didn't have plenty of power for basic home use.

This is from memory, I think capacity of the Precision is 4 gallons; the One is 6. IIRC.

Well hell, those are both pretty shitty motors then.

They both seem to have roughly the same limitations, I would think. You're looking at large stock pots as about their peak capacity. What really falls between the 4 and 6 gallon range? A large stock pot isn't going to be more than 4 gallons and what would you use that's less than 6?

It just seems like the 6 gallon unit is caught in an odd middle ground. The extra power doesn't help you for basic uses and how many times will you actually be using a 6 gallon receptacle as opposed to a 4 and have it matter?

I don't know... but I like the possibility.

This is like something I would use if I buy this: http://www.amazon.com/Cambro-12189CW...nate+container

Anova Sous-Vide Immersion Circulator

$100 off with code ANOVAONE for a grand total of $99

You can use codes for Amazon?

Yep, on the checkout page, in the payment method section.

Wow. GREAT FIND! I just bought one, will rep you when I get to a real computer.

Which did you buy? One of the used ones?

Brand new original Anova, the one that was linked. Sold by Anova.

Looks like the deal is already dead, they were new, listed at $199 but the code took $100 off. Looks like now they are at $144 but the code doesn't work.

Well then, you got me in on a limited time deal. You want whatever casino cash I have?

Nah I'm good, just glad someone was able to get in on it in time.

When does the sale end?

The complete guide to sous vide steaks from Serious Eats: http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/06/f...ide-steak.html

I received my half-price Anova today. I'll cook something this weekend with it. Any suggestions?

Mac N Cheese.

With ketchup

Top with Goldfish crackers to change the texture.

:facepalm:

Ketchup dawg


http://media2.giphy.com/media/13hFrGPgj8Y0lG/giphy.gif

So did a couple sirloin steaks last night, put them in at 130 for about 6 hours, finished them in a cast iron skillet with some butter for a nice sear. The came out delicious.

I've got a couple tuna steaks in the freezer, I don't really think they would benefit much since I just get a sear on the outside with most of the steak being rare. So far all I've done is steaks, I may start playing with other things in the near future.

Pork and chicken. Best applications, IMO.

Salmon is delicious, too.

Did the same (130 for 4 hours) and found a favorite way to finish them - I put the cast iron skillet on the grill.

It's the best of both worlds that way. You get that great surface contact that creates an outstanding crust but you also get the skillet rocket hot that way and avoid that massive smoke-off that you get in your house. You also get a little of that charcoal flavor that you wouldn't normally get from a cast iron.

I think that's how I'll finish all my sous vide steaks from now on. It was perfect.

I actually put it on the side burner on my grill for that very reason.

I've fallen in love with short ribs cooked for 72 hours at 134 degrees.

I love chicken/poor along with the beef cuts (flank, skirt, sirloin, tri tip, tenderloin Sears in bacon fat), but the short ribs blow people away.

Sous vide is very simple and easy to use, it's virtually mistake proof. I think the name is too intimidating for amateur cooks. Otherwise it'd be huge everywhere.

Man, how did you finish them?

I just did them last weekend and didn't care for them at all. Just fatty messes that were damn near impossible to get meat out of and nowhere near worth the effort. I'll just stick with the chuck roast.

If you have some tips that may convince me to try again I'll give them another shot but I did 72 hours at 131 degrees and was damn disappointed.

131 might be just a little low, but the main thing is the quality of the short ribs. I've made this three times. Twice I bought the ribs from a local butcher shop and they were the best thing ever. Once I bought them from the super market and they came out closer to what your are describing.

Try and purchase them with little to no fat on the outside of them. If they are very fatty on the outside there is little meat on the bone.



I also made salmon for the first time yesterday. It is very, very good. I put it on at 130 for 35 minutes. I like my steaks medium rare. I find that I like my food a degree or two higher than what is suggested on the food sites. Chicken at 135 isn't appealing to me, but I can eat it at 147-150 which is still less than what I'd grill it to.

Sirloin Tip Roast - 48 hours at 130 is too long. I think 24 would have been the way to go there.

Did some strip steaks for 4 hours at 131; just about perfect but I was doing it at a buddy's house, didn't want to smoke his house up and all he had outside was a gas grill that hadn't been cleaned up for a long time and wasn't up for the task. I'd individually wrapped 8 of them and was serving for 6 but it was just too much mass and not a hot enough grill so I couldn't get nearly the sear on the outside I wanted.

I kept trying to talk him into letting me use his blow torch to save them but he wasn't up for it. The sear makes the steaks with these things.

Anyone have any experience on one of these?

Anova Culinary Precision Cooker/Immersion Circulator

http://www.amazon.com/Anova-Culinary.../dp/B00UKPBXM4

Just ordered over the weekend. Will let you know how it is when it comes in. I've heard good reviews. You'll need a vacuum sealer too but I already have one.

I can't remember if it was this one or another thread, but Baby Lee posted a pretty comprehensive review (done by a magazine).

From baby lee, post #255

http://gizmodo.com/anova-precision-c...eve-1693499013

Here is a great deal on the one I own. It works very well.

http://www.sousvidesupreme.com/SousV...mited+Quantity

Saw this video today to make smoked brisket using sous vide.

I'll definitely have to try that.

I get small briskets from my annual cow and any brisket under 6 lbs is going to dry out. I was trying to figure out a way to do it Sous Vide and my thought was that I'd cook it for about 24 hours at 130 degrees to tenderize it. Then I'd refrigerate it to drop the internal temperature down low again to give it plenty of time to accept smoke.

After chilling overnight, I'd drop it on the smoker for about 8 hours. It shouldn't have a stall period in it because some of the fat will have already rendered out during the sous vide cook. All I need is to get it to about 180 degrees, probably over a slightly hotter smoke (maybe 325 degrees rather than 250) to get myself a nice bark on it.

The liquid smoke marinade thing makes me cringe, as does the fake smoke ring. I'm not sure I can talk myself into doing that, but I am happy to see that they've experimented with briskets in a water bath.

Burgers are a hit with it as well. I'm using my machine multiple times a week now.

Every once and a while I'll see trimmed flats on sale at the grocery store, I wouldn't normally buy one since they cut off the entire cap but I'm wondering if I used the sous vide how it would come out. Smoke it first, pull it and cook in sous vide then maybe high temp to do the bark. I do prime rib at a low temp then pull and rest while I crank oven to 550 and put it back in for about 7 minutes, I figure a similar approach could work.

That may also be a good order for things. If you just take the internal temp to 145 or so over smoke, you should definitely be able to avoid dry out. I wonder if you then let it cook at about 155 for awhile and finished it over a hotter fire for an hour or two for bark if you'd still be in good shape.

My major point of curiosity there would just be where the 'sweet spot' is for the Sous Vide temp. Your order would likely yield less risk of drying out, but I wonder if you'd get quite as much 'barbecue' flavor from it after smoking, then sous vide, then back to high heat.

I've got a cold smoke attachment for my cheater rig. That would probably work with the sous vide.

Yeah this has me curious as to what a medium rare smoked brisket would be like, I mean if you let it go for a while in the sous vide it should get tender. Googling for sous vide brisket it seems that most recommendations are 135 for 48 hours. Might be something worth trying.