SV Question

[Johnny Ray]

I put a chuck roast in my sous vide and checked on it several hours later. The vac sealed bag was tight when I put it in but when I checked on it the bag had floated up due to air in the bag. The bag has not leaked because the is no meat juice in the water. I weighted it down and continued the cook.

My question is whether the meat is ok due to the bag floating up. I don’t know exactly how long it floated.
My sous vide pan is fairly small and covered. I have not had to add any water during the cook.
It seems to me that even if the top of the bag was out of the water for a while the temp inside of the bag would still have been somewhere around the 132* set point.

Sorry for such a long question to ask a simple question.

Thanks,
Johnny Ray

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Good question. It is probably fine. Not knowing how long it's been floating or what the IT of the meat is makes it hard to say for sure. Next time if it happens probe the meat for an IT and if its okay re-pack and keep going.

 

[SmokyMose]

Not sure how there could be air in the bag with a good vac seal but things happen. I think you'll be OK.

 

[thirdeye]

Maybe you didn't get as much air as possible out, or there were some air bubbles trapped around the meat. Since you caught this after 3 hours, and because your container was covered it wasn't like the bag was bobbing around. How long is your overall cook time 24 to 30 hours?

 

[daveomak]

In one corner of the bag, poke a VERY small hole using a needle.... That will let air out as it expands from the heat... Clip the corner to the edge of the container or tape it, above the water line....

 

[Johnny Ray]

Maybe you didn't get as much air as possible out, or there were some air bubbles trapped around the meat. Since you caught this after 3 hours, and because your container was covered it wasn't like the bag was bobbing around. How long is your overall cook time 24 to 30 hours?

The bag was a pre made bag that came with my vac sealer. It was larger than I really needed and I should have cut the length down a bit.
It could have floated longer than 3 hours. Not sure. I put it in on Sunday afternoon at 5 pm and noticed it first thing Monday morning.
At 5 pm today it will have cooked 48 hours.
I was basing my cook time on Bear’s post where he cooked a chuck for 50 hours.

Thanks,
Johnny

 

[Johnny Ray]

In one corner of the bag, poke a VERY small hole using a needle.... That will let air out as it expands from the heat... Clip the corner to the edge of the container or tape it, above the water line....

Great tip. I will keep this in mind for my next SV cook.

Thanks,
Johnny

 

[Johnny Ray]

I ended up tossing it. Epic fail. The bag blew up like a ballon and after 50 hours in the bath the meat was not tender at all.

My third sous vide attempt (ribeye, filet, chuck) and neither turned what I would consider great. Maybe sous vide cooking is not for me.

Thanks for your help!
Johnny

 

[thirdeye]

I ended up tossing it. Epic fail. The bag blew up like a ballon and after 50 hours in the bath the meat was not tender at all.

My third sous vide attempt (ribeye, filet, chuck) and neither turned what I would consider great. Maybe sous vide cooking is not for me.

Thanks for your help!
Johnny

Too bad, something is amiss. Maybe focus on something like chicken breasts, a 1/2" pork chop, a beef fillet etc., because these are all fast cooks (in the sous vide world) and the results are fabulous. One thing to check after your 50 hour cook is to check your circulator for any hard water build-up on the heating coils. It's easily cleaned with a 50:50 vinegar water bath in a quart Mason jar running at 140° for 20 or 30 minutes.

 

[cooperman]

It sounds to me like you have a problem with Your sealer? When I seal for sous vide I always double seal my bags. Also some sealers have a switch to select a longer seal time, set to for longer. Don’t give up on the sous vide, it’s a great cooking method.

 

[Johnny Ray]

It sounds to me like you have a problem with Your sealer? When I seal for sous vide I always double seal my bags. Also some sealers have a switch to select a longer seal time, set to for longer. Don’t give up on the sous vide, it’s a great cooking method.

Thanks for tip on double sealing. I’ll certainly do that on my next SV cook.
My sealer is not the best but I’ve never had this problem before. I’m guessing it was the pre made bag I used.

Thanks,
Johnny

 

[dr k]

Alcohol will change phase from a liquid to a gas and inflate the bag so you have to weigh it down. The dollar tree has ornamental glass beads that I vac seal in a small pouch to make a weight.

 

[Johnny Ray]

Alcohol will change phase from a liquid to a gas and inflate the bag so you have to weigh it down. The dollar tree has ornamental glass beads that I vac seal in a small pouch to make a weight.

Where does the alcohol come from? Great idea on the weights. Thanks!

Johnny

 

[dr k]

Where does the alcohol come from? Great idea on the weights. Thanks!

Johnny

When you add it like wine, whisky etc.

A Practical Guide to Sous Vide Cooking

Seasoning can be a little tricky when cooking sous vide: while many herbs and spices act as expected, others are amplified and can easily overpower a dish. Additionally, aromatics (such as carrots, onions, celery, bell peppers, etc.) will not soften or flavor the dish as they do in conventional cooking methods because the temperature is too low to soften the starches and cell walls. Indeed, most vegetables require much higher temperatures than meats and so must be cooked separately. Finally, raw garlic produces very pronounced and unpleasant results and powdered garlic (in very small quantities) should be substituted.

For long cooking times (of more than a couple hours), some people find that using extra virgin olive oil results in an off, metallic, blood taste. (Since the extra virgin oil is unheated and unrefined during production, it is reasonable that some of the oil will breakdown even at a low temperature if give enough time.) A simple solution is to use grape seed or any other processed oil for longer cooking times; extra virgin olive oil can then be used for seasoning after cooking.

Marinating, Tenderizing and Brining
Since todays meat is younger and leaner than the meat of the past, many cooks marinate, tenderize or brine the meat before vacuum packaging.

Most marinades are acidic and contain either vinegar, wine, fruit juice, buttermilk or yogurt. Of these ingredients, only wine presents any significant problems when cooking sous vide. If the alcohol is not cooked off before marinating, some of it will change phase from liquid to vapor while in the bag and cause the meat to cook unevenly. Simply cooking off the alcohol before marinating easily solves this problem.

 

[Johnny Ray]

When you add it like wine, whisky etc.

A Practical Guide to Sous Vide Cooking

Seasoning can be a little tricky when cooking sous vide: while many herbs and spices act as expected, others are amplified and can easily overpower a dish. Additionally, aromatics (such as carrots, onions, celery, bell peppers, etc.) will not soften or flavor the dish as they do in conventional cooking methods because the temperature is too low to soften the starches and cell walls. Indeed, most vegetables require much higher temperatures than meats and so must be cooked separately. Finally, raw garlic produces very pronounced and unpleasant results and powdered garlic (in very small quantities) should be substituted.

For long cooking times (of more than a couple hours), some people find that using extra virgin olive oil results in an off, metallic, blood taste. (Since the extra virgin oil is unheated and unrefined during production, it is reasonable that some of the oil will breakdown even at a low temperature if give enough time.) A simple solution is to use grape seed or any other processed oil for longer cooking times; extra virgin olive oil can then be used for seasoning after cooking.

Marinating, Tenderizing and Brining
Since todays meat is younger and leaner than the meat of the past, many cooks marinate, tenderize or brine the meat before vacuum packaging.

Most marinades are acidic and contain either vinegar, wine, fruit juice, buttermilk or yogurt. Of these ingredients, only wine presents any significant problems when cooking sous vide. If the alcohol is not cooked off before marinating, some of it will change phase from liquid to vapor while in the bag and cause the meat to cook unevenly. Simply cooking off the alcohol before marinating easily solves this problem.

I understand. Thanks!

Johnny

 

[sandyut]

In one corner of the bag, poke a VERY small hole using a needle.... That will let air out as it expands from the heat... Clip the corner to the edge of the container or tape it, above the water line....

daveomak you are the man! I was SVing some beef sausages the inflated the bag a bit and did what you said. worked great. sausages SV are dreamy!

 

[daveomak]

daveomak you are the man! I was SVing some beef sausages the inflated the bag a bit and did what you said. worked great. sausages SV are dreamy!

Sandy, Morning... Glad you saw the remedy for floating bags...
Now my cure is SV in zip bags... Fold the bags over the top of the container and clip with a "binder clip" on the edge... Don't zip the bags closed.... let them breathe...
And I did a bottom round the other day and used @Bearcarvers idea of Beefy Onion dry soup mix in the bag for 48 hours.... awesome for sandwiches... sliced thin on the meat slicer..