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?

[Chief Pagan]

I have the Anova and like it a lot. I'm not familiar with the Joule, but the comment about the size seems a little odd. The Anova fits easily in a kitchen drawer.

I thought I remembered paying about $80 bucks for it and it looks like it is ~$150 now? Maybe I don't remember that well.

I just clip it to the side of a large round, metal pot. I rarely do anything longer than 5 hours or hotter than 155 so having a lid on top to slow evaporation isn't really a big deal. But I could see it being nice if you did do things longer.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by Chief Pagan

I have the Anova and like it a lot. I'm not familiar with the Joule, but the comment about the size seems a little odd. The Anova fits easily in a kitchen drawer.

I thought I remembered paying about $80 bucks for it and it looks like it is ~$150 now? Maybe I don't remember that well.

I just clip it to the side of a large round, metal pot. I rarely do anything longer than 5 hours or hotter than 155 so having a lid on top to slow evaporation isn't really a big deal. But I could see it being nice if you did do things longer.

Do you have the Nano?

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Chief Pagan

I have the Anova and like it a lot. I'm not familiar with the Joule, but the comment about the size seems a little odd. The Anova fits easily in a kitchen drawer.

I thought I remembered paying about $80 bucks for it and it looks like it is ~$150 now? Maybe I don't remember that well.

I just clip it to the side of a large round, metal pot. I rarely do anything longer than 5 hours or hotter than 155 so having a lid on top to slow evaporation isn't really a big deal. But I could see it being nice if you did do things longer.

The top is just a tick oversized so it doesn’t fit as cleanly into short drawers or anything with an organizer.

My dad likes his well enough. We got him the slightly smaller one (at $80 that may be the one you have as well).

[Chief Pagan]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

So I’m ready to jump in I think.


What kind of container do I need to procure?


Has anyone ever done this? Any tips?

I would start with just the sous vide and not buy a special container if you already have a pot that works. And for when I do larger things, I have even just used a plastic box.

You can start out just using freezer bag and squeezing the air out by carefully holding most of the bag underwater. This will let you know how well you like sous vide but it is hard to get all the air out (without accidentally risking submerging the bag and filling it with water).

If there is air left in the bag, it tends to float. Then you are stuck trying to figure out how to weight it down so it stays submerged. Metal spatulas, clipping on fishing weights, etc.

If you do sous vide long enough and like, it is worth getting a vacuum bag set up. But wait until you know you will actually do enough sous vide first.

[Chief Pagan]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

Do you have the Nano?

I double checked. Mine is a bit old, but it looks more like the precision, than the nano, but whatever.

[Chief Pagan]

So my brother is trying to talk me into getting an Anova ($600) precision oven. [Since he can't afford one but he knows I can. He actually grills/cooks at my house somewhat regularly.] This is the style of what restaurants have switched to instead of sous vide. The Anova is a home version. It has precision temperature control and you can set the humidity up to 100% for temperatures from room temperature up to boiling point.

So you could, for instance, set the oven at 135 and 100% humidity to "sous vide" a steak for 90 minutes without having to use a sous vide bag and immerse it in water.

It also works as a convection oven/air fryer/toaster, although unfortunately it does not have a built in microwave. (Although that seems to be common in units marketed in Asia.)

And then, at least according to the hype, it is supposed to be great for breads (makes for a better crust). And also for reheating foods because you can add/control hummidity at the higher temperatures and it doesn't dry out like it would in a conventional oven but for some foods will give better results than just microwaving.

So um, yeah.


https://anovaculinary.com/anova-prec...0aAv01EALw_wcB

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by Chief Pagan

I would start with just the sous vide and not buy a special container if you already have a pot that works. And for when I do larger things, I have even just used a plastic box.

You can start out just using freezer bag and squeezing the air out by carefully holding most of the bag underwater. This will let you know how well you like sous vide but it is hard to get all the air out (without accidentally risking submerging the bag and filling it with water).

If there is air left in the bag, it tends to float. Then you are stuck trying to figure out how to weight it down so it stays submerged. Metal spatulas, clipping on fishing weights, etc.

If you do sous vide long enough and like, it is worth getting a vacuum bag set up. But wait until you know you will actually do enough sous vide first.

I have been vacuum sealing stuff for freezing for a long time. But that's good to know about the floating.

Originally Posted by Chief Pagan

I double checked. Mine is a bit old, but it looks more like the precision, than the nano, but whatever.

Fair enough. I know nothing.

Originally Posted by Chief Pagan

So my brother is trying to talk me into getting an Anova ($600) precision oven. [Since he can't afford one but he knows I can. He actually grills/cooks at my house somewhat regularly.] This is the style of what restaurants have switched to instead of sous vide. The Anova is a home version. It has precision temperature control and you can set the humidity up to 100% for temperatures from room temperature up to boiling point.

So you could, for instance, set the oven at 135 and 100% humidity to "sous vide" a steak for 90 minutes without having to use a sous vide bag and immerse it in water.

It also works as a convection oven/air fryer/toaster, although unfortunately it does not have a built in microwave. (Although that seems to be common in units marketed in Asia.)

And then, at least according to the hype, it is supposed to be great for breads (makes for a better crust). And also for reheating foods because you can add/control hummidity at the higher temperatures and it doesn't dry out like it would in a conventional oven but for some foods will give better results than just microwaving.

So um, yeah.


https://anovaculinary.com/anova-prec...0aAv01EALw_wcB

I saw ads for that thing and it looks pretty damned neat but I'd need some objective analysis before I'd drop that kind of cash on one.

[lewdog]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Expound.

How does the instant pot circulate the water to ensure uniform temp?

I don't use mine nearly as much as I used to. I've just found enough other uses for meats I would otherwise sous vide. Roasts and such I just boil, shred and fry for thinks like Vaca Frita or Carnitas. Pork chops and good steaks just don't need it and the texture isn't quite perfect. Anything I might braise like short ribs can just be done on the induction top and/or oven in a good dutch oven.

I still use it for fish and occasionally for large batches of stuff like Chicken wings that I want to finish at a tailgate when I have like 10 lbs of them and don't have the space to cook them indirect for as long as it would take.

But I've gotten away from using my Joule as much as I used to.

Well the Instant pot doesn't circulate from my understanding but it seems to work just fine with the sealed bags. Runs a few degrees hotter so I just adjust lower and go from there. I just like it because I don't have to store some other cooking basin or gadget.

[Chief Pagan]

So I watched some YouTube videos from various cooking channels who at least claimed to not be getting paid and I'm pretty convinced the Anova oven works as advertised at least in sous vide mode I which would be most interested in.

If I had it, there would be other things that I'm sure would be convenient. Like you can steam vegetables or partially roast/steam vegetables.

There is nothing particularly hard about the toaster or convection setting. I guess durability and reliability are always a concern.

Mainly just whether the toy is worth the price.

But throwing a steak directly in the oven for an hour (before searing on the grill) would be so much easier than a vacuum bag.

The trade off is I've gotten in the habit of sealing several things at once and freezing some of them. So it would be a change in strategy.

[Colby Juarez]

I completely agree with you.

[Groves]

Took advantage of cheap corned beef after St. Patrick. $1.50/lb




Didn’t even remove them from the package. Sous vide 140F/48H




Dried em off. Then spiced em up.




Then cold-smoked them in my custom toilet box smoker. (The throne Recommended by Phobia at one point…and it’s awesome)






Thin blue smoke is where it’s at.




Then sliced thin and I’m set for several months!




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[allen_kcCard]

That looks freaking good

[ArrowHeader]

That smoker is an interesting set up. How do you not torch the box?

[Groves]

Originally Posted by ArrowHeader

That smoker is an interesting set up. How do you not torch the box?

It’s only cold smoking, so there’s not much heat. Only the smoke tray.


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[Groves]

Cold smoking is generally done below 80F. Very different than hot smoking, which is generally what we think of when “smoking a pork shoulder”, etc.


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