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?

[aturnis]

Too late, you already updated. Thanks!

[Just Passin' By]

How's the juice content?

Looks delicious. Your pictures are making me want to put my butcher block countertop in.

[cdcox]

Did you put liquid smoke in the baggie?

[ExtremeChief]

Originally Posted by Phobia

Looks delicious. Your pictures are making me want to put my butcher block countertop in.

I've got some I'd sell you... I'd like to update my kitchen from the late 70's!

[Dave Lane]

So this takes 2-3 hours plus finish time? I think it would be easier to throw it on the grill for 8 minutes and be done.

Just me though

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.

Originally Posted by ExtremeChief

I've got some I'd sell you... I'd like to update my kitchen from the late 70's!

You have actual maple butcher-block or some laminate crap? I have a nice slab but I'd actually prefer to repurpose something for my kitchen and sell the new slab for some cash.

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

How's the juice content?

It's very juicy. Very, very juicy. Gonna try chicken soon. I've also read that salmon is unique in sous vide, in that the final texture is very similar to sushi.

Originally Posted by cdcox

Did you put liquid smoke in the baggie?

Oh, you know it.

Originally Posted by Dave Lane

So this takes 2-3 hours plus finish time? I think it would be easier to throw it on the grill for 8 minutes and be done.

Just me though

It actually only takes about 1.5 hours for these steaks (cut 1.5 inch thick), but because you're cooking at exactly the temperature you at which you want to serve, you can actually hold the steaks in the sous vide for a long time. According to research, that's not indefinitely, but enzymes in the steak don't start breaking down the protein for 8-10 hours. So I just left these in the bath until Mrs. FMB! got home.

The taste and flavor is different than you'd get from "throwing it on the grill for 8 minutes."

And you can do a lot more in sous vide than steak, that's just what I wanted to do first.

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by Phobia

Looks delicious. Your pictures are making me want to put my butcher block countertop in.

Thanks. It was quite tasty. I bought that walnut (I think, it's been a while) end grain cutting board - it's 3 inches thick and 18 inches in diameter - off eBay. I love that thing. It went basically unused for several years because I never had a place in my kitchen to keep it. Now that we bought this house here in AL, I have more room and it found a permanent place on the counter.

[WV]

Looks great and definitely something I'd like to try....now to convince the wife to let me drop $300 on another kitchen appliance! Just bought a nice electric pressure cooker recently (only about $90 though).

[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.

[Baby Lee]

Heating, Circulation, and Temperature Control for $75.

http://seattlefoodgeek.com/2010/02/d...-for-about-75/

[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.

[RJ]

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.

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

[RJ]

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.

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