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?

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by RJ

That's a damn fine looking steak. Did you season it before it went in the bag or when you seared it?

I seasoned immediately before I put them in the vacuum sealer. I think later this week I'm going to try a marinade.

[Extra Point]

Originally Posted by RJ

So you de-glaze the pan with bourbon and water?

Well, the pan is glazed with the bourbon, with the steak on the final side. I cheat, and put a lid on the steak for a couple mins. The water is the de-glazing agent, afterward. That's about it; makes for damn good au jus.

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

Interesting FMB! I'm glad it worked out for you. It looks really good.

I'd love to try one. But I think the probability me giving up fire is pretty low .

Thanks for sharing dude.

Oh, like I said earlier, there's no way I'm giving up fire. The flavor of this steak and one off the charcoal is totally different. I'd say sous vide actually lets the flavor of the meat shine through a little more, whereas grilling is as much about the charcoal and smoke as it is about the meat itself.

This is just another tool in my arsenal.

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by Extra Point

FMB, did the sous vide approach soften the band of grissle on the edge of the strip, well enough? I usually trim it off.

Poor man's sous vide:

Buy the strips in bulk, trim off the grissle and most the fat, throw 2 strips in a food storage bag, pour 1 oz. of teriyaki sauce in each bag, squeeze out the air, throw them in the freezer.

Take out the steaks you want the next day, put them in the fridge section. Noon, the next day, put the steaks in lukewarm tap water, for cooking that night.

For pan searing, Maker's Mark during the cook is good. Makes for a good au jus, with some water after the steak has cooked, that's good in boiled tater chunks or rice.

To each his own.

The gristle won't ever render, if I'm not mistaken. I trimmed some of it off after I cooked it.

I've read that you don't want to use meat that has a lot of fat (marbled is OK; hunks of fat, not OK) because the low temperature doesn't render fat very well. It'll render the collagen in brisket or a roast, but not the other stuff.

[RJ]

Originally Posted by Extra Point

Well, the pan is glazed with the bourbon, with the steak on the final side. I cheat, and put a lid on the steak for a couple mins. The water is the de-glazing agent, afterward. That's about it; makes for damn good au jus.

Thanks for the tip, sounds like a good reason to pick up a bottle of Maker's.

[angelo]

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

These are good steaks, and it's been a while since I had a KC strip, but these seem tenderer than normal. And med rare is significantly rarer than Mrs. FMB! normally likes, but she's wolfing it down, and says it's got got good flavor and not under-done.

The texture seems denser. It's good, but it's slightly different than you'd expect from a steak, I think.

The color in the pics is a little off - yellow kitchen plus fluorescent lighting means bad colors. The color in the last pic is close, but still looks like it's more done than the steak actually is.

FMB

That is a great looking steak!!! Well done (no pun) Sir. Do you get what I was talking about texture wise now. I prefer a good chew to my steaks (not tough) but not mushy like a filet and the texture in sous vide is just different.
You should try a Hanger steak. It seems the tougher steaks do better sous vide. I did do a 24 hour leg of lamb at 142 with preserved lemon, garlic and oregano. It was solid.

Great thread.

Ang

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by angelo

FMB

That is a great looking steak!!! Well done (no pun) Sir. Do you get what I was talking about texture wise now. I prefer a good chew to my steaks (not tough) but not mushy like a filet and the texture in sous vide is just different.
You should try a Hanger steak. It seems the tougher steaks do better sous vide. I did do a 24 hour leg of lamb at 142 with preserved lemon, garlic and oregano. It was solid.

Great thread.

Ang

Yeah, I completely understand what you're talking about with the texture. I'll definitely try some hanger steak. I've got some flat iron steaks in the fridge that I found on sale, may try those. I've got some family in town this week and was thinking about doing some risotto along with something out of the sous vide.

[Dayze]

I just made my first brine on Saturday; put a 5.5lb brisket in to make some corned beef.

hopefully it turns out good; I've got a few tasty recipes picked out for the 'leftovers'
(one of which is like a corned beef hash cake/patty, lightly browned up; and topped with a poached egg...mmmm)

[Dayze]

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

She loves my cooking. It's something I've done for a long time, and our second date was at my house with me cooking dinner for her.

Mrs. FMB! doesn't cook. She screws up box dinners, bless her heart. She bakes like a champ, though, which I guess works out well. I ****ing hate baking.

sounds exactly like my wife.
she can bake extremely well, whereas I cannot. She can make Mac n Cheese...and thats about it.

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by Dayze

sounds exactly like my wife.
she can bake extremely well, whereas I cannot. She can make Mac n Cheese...and thats about it.

My wife has managed to burn hot dogs ... that she was BOILING.

[NewChief]

Originally Posted by Dayze

sounds exactly like my wife.
she can bake extremely well, whereas I cannot. She can make Mac n Cheese...and thats about it.

What is it with women and baking/cooking. It's weird, too, because it makes little sense from what we know about genetic proclivities. Women are supposed to be good multi-taskers... and that's what much of cooking is (that's the part that trips my wife up... working on multiple dishes at the same time). Anyway, add my wife to the list of women who can bake but can't cook.

[Dayze]

...and, my wife simply cannot cook a meal (in the very rare instances where she does) without completely destroying the kitchen. she was making baked chicken and rice one day; kitchen was desroyed - as usual - and I sh*t you not...there was flour all over the place.

FLour?
lol

..and, she can't complete the meal on time; certain things will be done (or overdone lol) well beofre other things, resulting in a plate of food at varying temps.
She doesn't understand when I say "Ok, go ahead and get your drink ready; dinner will be ready in 1 minute or so"...then she dorks around doing other stuff while the mashed taters are getting cold, etc. I try to tell her I time everything to be 'done' so she can have a plate of hot food....amazing. She can be watching TV/reading etc all while I'm preparing dinner, then when it's ready....that is apparently the time to go do some laundry.

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by Dayze

...and, my wife simply cannot cook a meal (in the very rare instances where she does) without completely destroying the kitchen. she was making baked chicken and rice one day; kitchen was desroyed - as usual - and I sh*t you not...there was flour all over the place.

FLour?
lol

..and, she can't complete the meal on time; certain things will be done (or overdone lol) well beofre other things, resulting in a plate of food at varying temps.
She doesn't understand when I say "Ok, go ahead and get your drink ready; dinner will be ready in 1 minute or so"...then she dorks around doing other stuff while the mashed taters are getting cold, etc. I try to tell her I time everything to be 'done' so she can have a plate of hot food....amazing. She can be watching TV/reading etc all while I'm preparing dinner, then when it's ready....that is apparently the time to go do some laundry.

Same here with the timing. Apparently, when I say 2 minutes, that's code for sometime in the next 15 minutes.

[NewChief]

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

Same here with the timing. Apparently, when I say 2 minutes, that's code for sometime in the next 15 minutes.

Yeah, it's my wife's job to set the table, get the kids' drinks, and plate the kids' food (the kids often eat slightly different stuff than we do, since I cook spicy a lot). I tell her that I'm ready for her to start plating, but she, evidently, doesn't think plating should start until the whole family sits down at the table and is impatiently waiting to eat.

That brings up another question:
How many of you plate your food in the kitchen and how many of you bring bowls/platters of food to table and eat "family style"?

I think we'll move to family style as the kids get older, but currently we plate everything in the kitchen.

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by NewChief

Yeah, it's my wife's job to set the table, get the kids' drinks, and plate the kids' food (the kids often eat slightly different stuff than we do, since I cook spicy a lot). I tell her that I'm ready for her to start plating, but she, evidently, doesn't think plating should start until the whole family sits down at the table and is impatiently waiting to eat.

That brings up another question:
How many of you plate your food in the kitchen and how many of you bring bowls/platters of food to table and eat "family style"?

I think we'll move to family style as the kids get older, but currently we plate everything in the kitchen.

We plate in the kitchen, but rarely eat at the table. But it's just me and my wife, so we go very casual. Once we have kids, we'll probably move to a table.