"Sous Vide" Discussion

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Hi all, regarding cooking times etc, this is a useful app that I use,

Its called SousVide Dash, it can be downloaded from the App Store, not sure if their is an Android version.

Chose what meat it is, choses thickness or circumference, Cook and Pasturize to Centre, Cook to Temperature or Cook and Paturize Surface.

Chose cooking temperature, it will guide you, if you want Rare, Medium Rear etc.

It tells you the cooking time, and a step by step visual on when E.Coli, Salmonella and Listeria are killed.

Smokin Monkey :38:
 
I'm thinking of getting a brisket also..... Slice it up, season it, vac bag it.... In the freezer for later sous vide.... I might add about 1 hours smoke to some to see how that works.... I know when canning salmon, 1 hours smoke tastes like 6 hours.... don't know why the smoke intensifies when canning but.... I'm thinking it might do the same in a sous vide pouch.....
Dave heres a post from my web site on that subject, although I have only done this once, YMMV

Cold smoked for an hour, seared, placed in freezer to firm up then sealed and into the bath.
 
Heres a post from my website on a London Broill and Chuck


Flavor profile of the Chuck
The chucks had a fairly decent flavor profile, not as good as the LB's but OK.
The smoked Chuck flavor was a bit more odd, not bad but did not taste like it had a smoky flavor, it was definitely a different flavor than the non smoked chuck, which I preferred, but you could not tell that it was smoked, but rather different. The Teriyaki flavor never came through, I found this odd.


Texture
the Chuck was tender to the point of bordering mushy when served immediately, I am not a big fan of chuck but this chuck is far superior than any chuck I have done by other methods.


The chuck was incredible cold sliced the next day, the meat firmed up and my oldest daughter loved it cold.
I have heard folks refer to Sous Vide Chuck as very similar to Prime Rib , I don't care what you do to this piece of meat, Its never going to be a prime rib equivalent in taste or texture.


However the meat was fork tender and the flavor profile was great for a chuck. This may have even pulled fairly easy, you can notice the grain in the meat in several pictures screaming to be pulled. I will definitely be doing a pulled chuck in the near future, now whether or not I smoke it, still remains to be seen.

    How was the London Broil?

Flavor Profile
The flavor was awesome and the smoke flavor came through nicely on the smoked LB and the smoked is the one I preferred.
The Teriyaki flavor never came through on the Smoke LB either, I understand that when using a bath, some ingredients can have a negative impact on the flavor profile, but still thought it odd that there was no flavor from the Teriyaki.


Texture
The LB was just plain awesome, far superior than any LB's I have done in the past.  What I would do in the past is I would jaccard the meat for a so called tender meat but sometimes I would over do it, and although it was "CHEW-Friendly", it lost its body and was borderline burger meat.
Cooking in the bath, the meat retains its body somewhat but is an easier chew, I don't want to say more tender because it's still dense, but its different, and has a much more pleasant texture, Its hard to describe.


Overall I preferred this cut over the Chuck.

I have done  Brisket (Corned Beef) that was the best Corned beef I have ever tried, and I honestly mean that.

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I done a pastrami (smoked on frank)

The Pastrami was OK, however, I would never smoke my corned beef again, the sous vide corned beef was far superior in every way.

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  • Very tender
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Cold Smoking after it has come out of the bath may impart a better flavor... maybe someone that has tried both ways can verify this as I have only smoked prior, not post.
 
That slicer is impressive. I dont get that consistent of a cut. Is it commercial? 
 
I purchased the highly recommended "Chef's Choice 615" and it has been disappointing. I suspect it would be appropriate for a 1 lbs chunk of bologna but the output from a day of smoking is a chore x 10. 
 
 
Bump this thread for a cool machine I just cam across. http://cookmellow.com/meet-mellow/

It can do many of the things I felt were short comings with current machines.
Not commenting on this machine, but in general. Maintenance and cleanup are the keys to a cool machine becoming one you will use. If either of those two are a pain, you will not use the machine. My wife would add "and some place to store it". 
 
 
 My wife would add "and some place to store it". 
I have the same problem. I keep an extra crock pot around to use with my home made sous vide controller so it takes up a lot of room (but in my opinion it is worth the space)
 
It's really interesting to me to have a sous vide machine that can hold things at fridge temperatures and then heat up and cook at a pre determined time.  That said I'm not sure that this unit would be the one for me ... it seems a bit gimmicky.  I love my immersion circulator in terms of how well it cooks things and how accurate it is -- which can be really important when cooking certain types of stuff!
 
It's in a similar price point to other "water oven" type machines, like the Sous Vide Supreme (which I think is also over-priced).  I owned one and was pretty disappointed with it, especially the value for what you got.  It wasn't really much more than a pretty box with a PID controller in it to be honest.  It felt pretty cheap and the temperature fluctuations were pretty terrible (like a 1-2 degree difference in the top of the water to the bottom of the water).

At least for $500 this gives you some abilities that nothing else on the market does yet.  That said I'm still not buying one ;)
 
 
It's in a similar price point to other "water oven" type machines, like the Sous Vide Supreme (which I think is also over-priced).  I owned one and was pretty disappointed with it, especially the value for what you got.  It wasn't really much more than a pretty box with a PID controller in it to be honest.  It felt pretty cheap and the temperature fluctuations were pretty terrible (like a 1-2 degree difference in the top of the water to the bottom of the water).

At least for $500 this gives you some abilities that nothing else on the market does yet.  That said I'm still not buying one ;)
You make a valid point. My abstraction was as a barrier to entering Sous Vide, the primary step. 

I built my first unit for 15% of that and while it doesn't chill my wine or chat up my iPhone, the PID does everything I require perfectly.

I scored an eBay lab circulator with an insulated stainless steel tank for about 20%, so I have 65% left for stuff to put in the Sous Vide before I spend $500. To me that is value. I like toys - it is easy for me to get enamored with the process and miss the fact I started this to enjoy the product. 
 
Time, it is always a challenge on weekday cooks.  By the time I get home, everyone is already hungry; they aren't in the mood to wait a couple of hours for a meal.  Certainly burgers and dogs can be whipped up quickly, but for anything more imaginative, a bit more preparation is required.  This dish has the advantage of being prepped in advance, and can be stored for weeks before final sear and serving. 

 It involves vacuum sealing bags with the uncooked meatloaf inside.  Then the bags are put into a circulating bath of water at 160 degrees for an hour.  At this point, the meat has reached an internal temperature of 160, and is well-done.  The inside of the package is pasteurized by the heat, and is safe for extended storage in the refrigerator.  When the family wants a meal with near zero prep time, start your Kamado up for searing.  Open a few packages, and throw them on the Kamado Joe for a quick sear.  Because the meat is already fully cooked, you are just shooting for the color and amount of sear you want the Meatloaf burgers to have.  A note on the pictures, I also made classical meatloaf on the Big Joe, the Joe Junior was used for searing the patty (pictured).

The recipe for the meatloaf can be found in my "meatloaf again" posting a few weeks back. 






 
January 17th - 18th 2015

Chicken Thighs and Chicken Breasts Sous Vide


Friday I was off to the store to pick up some Sick supplies, I had to call out of work, my oldest daughter, Son and Wife have the Flu, Sam and Myself are still OK so far.

I figured that we would all be shut in this weekend so to avoid going stir crazy I decided to pick up some meat for some serious weekend cooking, after looking at the price of a pork loin @ $3.98 a pound I said No way and hit the chicken section. I had two chickens in the refrigerator already to spatchcock and grill.

After "oogling" at the Thighs and Breasts lol. I figured I would do some Sous Vide cooking. After making the decision that I would Sous Vide all weekend, I also picked up a few chuck Roasts to make some Bee Stroganoff.
 
  • I set up my Sous Vide station then hit a snag, apparently the Immersion Circulator had ceased up so out come the tools, problem fixed but its a bit noisier than before, I'm going to have to look into replacing the motor bearings.

 


I got the bath up to about 140° or so then fired up the immersion circulator, it will take a couple hours sometimes to settle down and will hold 2/10 of a degree, but adding hot water or ice just takes longer, it works much better to give it a two hour prime, especially if holding a degree is important. By adding Ice and hot water the PID controller gets confused.

 
  • First up I prepped the boneless thighs, no trimming or rinsing.

 
  • Sage, Basil, Parsley and Sundried tomatoes

 


  • Plain


 
  • Philly Style Rub

  • Franks Red hot and Blue Cheese Dressing

 


  • Chubb


  • Next up Bone in thighs with skin, I was trying a recipe Laura's Mom used to make, After I made it I found out she wasn't too big on this recipe, I always thought it was one of her favorites oh well. Thighs were not rinsed or trimmed, If I do these thighs again I would trim the excess fat along the sides to allow for complete browning of the skin.
 

 
  • I took three and spiced with some Basil, Parsley and a pinch of sage.

  • Everything is Vac Sealed and ready for the bath, the bath is set to 147°F and the boneless thighs will cook three hours, the bone in thighs will cook 4 hours.
    The two spatchcocked birds on the right are for the grill.


  • The necks and trimmings from the spatchcocked birds are browned for a gravy that will be used on the bone in thighs recipe.


 

  • The pan is deglazed with a bit of sweet vermouth then tossed in a pot with a few cups of water then placed on the back burner on low covered.


 

  • After three hours at 148°F the boneless thighs are removed from the hot bath and placed in an ice bath for thirty minutes.


  • All but one of the boneless thigh pouches are placed in the freezer to be used at a later date. The sundried Tomato thighs are up for sampling.



 

  • A little air drying then the Thighs are browned in Garlic Olive oil.

 



  • I was hoping to keep all three thighs intact for presentation but they were sticking to the pan a bit. I 'll have to pick up some transglutaminase!



 

How was it? The flavor was good but the texture was tooooo ...dare I say it?... yes I will!! it was too gummy, OMG I HATE THAT WORD! There was definitely too much moisture in the meat for my liking, the mouthfeel was a bit of a turnoff.
I think the thighs will be better done at 155°F - 160°F next time.
I did end up making a dish that was excellent with these thighs, I cut the thigh meat into medallions, pan fried and served... much, much better.

 


The rest of the Sundried Tomato chicken thighs were cut into medallions, browned then vacuum sealed with some Pineapple Habanero sauce and tossed into the freezer for a single meal when I'm eating solo.
 

  • The bone in thighs are removed after 4 hours, I decided to keep these in the bath an hour longer than the boneless but should have bumped the temp up to at least 155°F.



 

Rendered liquid from vac bags are poured into the gravy pot, necks are removed and the gravy is strained with a fine mesh strainer and placed back on the burner.
 

  • Thighs are browned on both sides with a Mushroom Olive oil and placed in a pan.



 

  • A blonde rue is made from the drippings in the pan and poured into the gravy pot, the gravy is tweaked then added to the thighs.

 


 

  • This was pretty good but was actually better the next day reheated in a pan. The texture was much better the next day, the only benefit, for our family, from doing these at 148° is that when they are reheated you don't over cook them too much. Half of the batch was used for dinner and the other half into the freezer in two batches for another day. This should be served on a bed of rice but I didn't feel like making any!


 

Next up Chicken Breasts for chicken salad and the freezer. Breasts were $1.89 a pound

  • I did one Breast with Italian Dressing to sample. These were done two hours at 155°. After the thighs I figured this would be a safe temp for the breast.


 

  • This was extraordinary the wife even like it but she said still a wee bit wet for her, it was absolutely perfect for me and the Italian Dressing flavor was slightly noticeable, I was very happy with this.


 
Two of the breast are placed in an ice bath for thirty minutes and then into the freezer.

Since this was for chicken salad, I did not go crazy on spices, I figured it could be spiced later.

 
  • Two breasts are prepped for Chicken Salad, first I smashed them with my hand.


 

  • Then the breasts are shredded with a fork and nasty bits are removed. Garlic Powder, Onion Powder and salt is added.

 

  • Chicken is then chopped with a knife.


 
  • Shredded, Chopped Chicken is transferred to a bowl and Mayo is added, after mixing and sitting a bit in the refrigerator more mayo will be added. If this was just for me, there would be celery, sundried tomatoes, Minced Onions a pinch of mustard powder, black pepper and crushed red pepper, maybe even sweet relish!


 

I learned a very valuable lesson this weekend or should I say, it final sunk into my thick skull. The most important thing I learned (accepted) is that my family prefers chicken with a greater loss in moisture during the cook. A higher moisture content is usually followed with a statement like, "it's too gummy" and as much as I hate that word, they were dead on with the thighs.

I really wanted this to have awesome results, it has proven to be fruitless for chicken compared to grilling, pan frying, or pit cooking for basic chicken dinner, with the exception of the breast meat. Sous Vide cooking can push the extremes as far as reducing moisture loss, sadly it's not a benefit for my family. However I was floored by the quality, mouthfeel and flavor of the Breast meat. Also on another positive note, it does work well when cooking, freezing and reheating.

I will be trying this again soon but at higher temps, thighs 160°F-165°F and breasts 155°F-160°F, but there comes a time when I have to ask myself, "is it worth all the prep when I can simply toss on the grill"?
 
Well...... I guess you wife won't be getting sick any more if she has to eat that Kr@P you are dishing up.... I'll get sick and drive right over....
 
Have you thought about reverse searing the thighs? A short cook in a hot skillet might get enough moisture out prior to vac sealing to help keep them from getting gummy. Then they could go for a long soak at 145ish in the sous vide to break down all the fat, then back into the skillet to finish cooking to 160. I have sous vide breasts before that I planned on breading. I got them "done" then breaded them and finished them in the pan. They were falling apart they were so tender.
 
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