Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => The Mess Hall => Topic started by: MillCreek on November 28, 2017, 10:10:17 PM
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I took advantage of an Amazon sale and bought an Anova Bluetooth/WiFi sous vide device. We have a couple of friends who have been raving about theirs and have gone to their house and eaten some good meals cooked this way: halibut, a pot roast and a leg of lamb. I had some excellent two inch thick pork chops cooked this way at a local restaurant. I bought a pot roast on the way home from work tonight, and I am going to give the sous vide a try on this weekend.
https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-sous-vide-gear/
https://www.cooksillustrated.com/articles/546-sous-vide-guide-what-is-sous-vide-and-how-to-use-it
https://www.cooksillustrated.com/articles/545-testing-sous-vide-machines-immersion-circulators
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A friend of mine is a professional chef, and if I tried to take away his sous vide cooker, he'd probably fillet me.
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Did you get the Anova one that is always popping up on sale this time of year? I have been thinking of getting one for a while now so hurry up and use it so we can get a review before the sale ends. ;)
bob
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^^^Yes, from Amazon. $ 111 for the Anova with Bluetooth and WiFi. I will report back this weekend.
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Shouldn't this be in the Mess Hall?
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Shouldn't this be in the Mess Hall?
Oops, you are right. Can a mod please move it?
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I've thought about going sous vide, but I just keep asking myself... why?
I'd rather go more sous Weber kettle grill.
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I've thought about going sous vide, but I just keep asking myself... why?
For me it's how little attention it needs. Things can cook totally unattended while I do other stuff.
I can perfectly cook a pork tenderloin while I'm at work all day. Get home, put it in the cast iron for 5 minutes to brown the outside and I have dinner ready almost immediately. No need to time anything exactly, try to take temperature readings, or worry about overcooking it.
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"I can perfectly cook a pork tenderloin while I'm at work all day."
That's why I have a crockpot.
But, yeah, I can see its attractiveness from that aspect.
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Difference between it and the crock being the precision you can achieve, and do so fairly easily.
It's one of those things that yeah, no one really needs. But you can play and have all manner of fun with it.
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Difference between it and the crock being the precision you can achieve, and do so fairly easily.
Exactly. If it's a big tough cut of meat I just want to cook to bits then the crockpot is usually my choice but with a nice cut that I don't want overcooked I don't trust the crock pot. Sous vide let's me hit a perfect 140 degrees through the entire tenderloin and it won't go over that no matter when I get home.
This is my go to 'recipe', although I don't bother with the caramel sauce.
http://www.amazingfoodmadeeasy.com/info/modernist-recipes/more/pork-with-rosemary-caramel-sauce-recipe
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So for those of you who use sous vide for a piece of meat, do you brown the meat before or after the sous vide process? I am seeing recipes that go both ways.
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I have only done it after. Doing so before, I would be worried about the texture of the browned outside being a bit too soggy/slimy. Flavorwise it might do good things though.
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I have only done it after. Doing so before, I would be worried about the texture of the browned outside being a bit too soggy/slimy. Flavorwise it might do good things though.
This is a very good point, if you want a relatively crisp crust or want to put any rubs or herbs/spices on the meat for serving. I think this might be the way to go.
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Another method I've seen is to do the sous ahead and then it can be held in the fridge and then into a hot over just enough to brown and bring it up to a desired serving temperature.
I also have a friend who swears by the thing as the only way she'll make boiled eggs now.
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I steamed my last batch of "boiled" eggs in my pressure cooker, they came out great.
Boiled potatoes the same way, they came out great.
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I have taken to doing eggs in the top of my rice cooker. Much better than boiled, no grey yolk, no overcooking, texture better. Peels easy too.
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I have taken to doing eggs in the top of my rice cooker. Much better than boiled, no grey yolk, no overcooking, texture better. Peels easy too.
what kind of rice cooker? The one I have is actually a mild pressure cooker. Thing works great.
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I have taken to doing eggs in the top of my rice cooker. Much better than boiled, no grey yolk, no overcooking, texture better. Peels easy too.
Are you using the steamer basket? How long do you cook them for?
bob
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We have an earlier Anova we've been happy with. For red meat and pork, after taking it out of the bath I hit the outside briefly with a MAPP torch to sear and get the Maillard reaction, no issues with slimy exterior with that approach. You could also do a fast sear in a pan, but the torch means no pan to clean.
For Thanksgiving this year it was just my family (me, my wife, and 4 little kids that won't eat turkey), my sister and my niece, not enough to bother with a full turkey. So we did a turkey breast sous vide. Skinned it, de-boned it, trussed it into a cylinder with butcher twine, and sous-vided it for 2-1/2 hours at ~140*F. Perfect and juicy. A lot of people will toast the skin separately when sous-viding turkey rather than discarding it so it can still be eaten with the meat, though I haven't tried that yet.
Last week we put a chuck roast in for about 2 days at 136*F, then shredded it. Very tender, though a tad dry, I think I might try closer to 130* next time.
I can also attest to it being an excellent method for perfect "boiled" eggs.
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3.1 pounds of chuck roast, seasoned with salt, pepper, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary and thyme is now sealed into a bag and will sous vide for 30 hours at 132 degrees.
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I had never heard of this cooking method. It sounds great! My wife loves to cook (and i love to eat), so she’s getting the Anova for Christmas.
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3.1 lbs. chuck roast cooked via sous vide at 132 degrees for 29 hours.
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Note the even edge-to-edge cooking.
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Served with a red wine mushroom demi glace, mashed potatoes from scratch and roasted brussel sprouts.
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BobR, based on my first attempt, I say the Anova is worth the money, especially on sale. My wife and I plan to use it again soon, possibly with a leg of lamb or maybe some salmon.
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Hum.... The more I read this thread, the more I think I want to give this kind of cooking a try.
Do you need special bags, or can you use freezer vacuum bags?
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For my first attempt, I used the Great Value gallon freezer bags from Wal-Mart and squeezed the air out of them. Worked like a charm. I also have a vacuum sealer, but I was too lazy to get it out of the pantry.
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If it's something in the lower temp range (meat) I'll just use regular gallon ziplock freezer bags or vacuum bags but some of the veggies I do at 180-190 degrees and then I use bags specifically intended for sous vide. Partially because my wife is really worried about hot plastic leaching bad stuff, and partially because the bags just hold up better if they're meant for that higher temperature.
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^^^Based on my reading to date, if I sous vide anything at 150 degrees or above, I am going to use my vacuum sealer bags. I have read of Ziplock failures at higher temperatures.
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https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/tender-decadent-pork-belly-adobo
This may be my next recipe. There are a ton of Filipinos in the Seattle area, and I have eaten a great deal of Filipino food, and adobo pork, pancit and lumpia are among my favorite foods.
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https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/tender-decadent-pork-belly-adobo
This may be my next recipe. There are a ton of Filipinos in the Seattle area, and I have eaten a great deal of Filipino food, and adobo pork, pancit and lumpia are among my favorite foods.
That sounds REALLY good. I may have to try that one myself. I've had an Anova for about 6 months or so now. Made mostly steaks and pork chops so far, but everything I have made has been excellent.
Here's a good YouTube channel for sous vide fans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpFuaxD-0PKLolFR3gWhrMw
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We've got a (small, 3#) brisket going right now at 135* for 50 hours. Ideally I'd smoke it after but I don't have a smoker so it will go in a 220* oven for 3 hours when it's done to develop some bark.
For anything under 150* I've been going with gallon ziploc freezer bags.
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OK, question....
Why are some of these cuts of meat being held at temperature for 30, 40, 50 hours or even longer?
What's the purpose of having something hang out at 135 deg. F for 2+ days?
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OK, question....
Why are some of these cuts of meat being held at temperature for 30, 40, 50 hours or even longer?
What's the purpose of having something hang out at 135 deg. F for 2+ days?
I'd be worried about it becoming a microbiology dish at those temps and time.
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I never even thought about that. The danger zone is 40 to 140 F.
Anything in between can be really problematic over time.
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OK, this article says that it's actually OK...
https://www.thekitchn.com/how-safe-is-sous-vide-cooking-229843
I still want to know what the advantage of holding a cut of meat at a set temperature for 2 days is...
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What's the purpose of having something hang out at 135 deg. F for 2+ days?
That temperature turns collagen into gelatin, the longer you leave it the more breaks down so it just gets more tender.
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I never even thought about that. The danger zone is 40 to 140 F.
Anything in between can be really problematic over time.
Most food borne human pathogen bacteria quit reproducing at 102F, most are dead by 135F.
Botulism is the one that gives me concerns, especially due to the amount of time the food is cooked.
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OK, I messed up in reading that.
For some reason I thought Marnroot was sous viding a steak. Yeah, I get the desire to do this with a brisket.
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"Botulism is the one that gives me concerns, especially due to the amount of time the food is cooked."
Ah, who gives a *expletive deleted*it about full-body paralysis if you've had a really good meal!
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Botulism can't grow at temps over 122* (https://food.unl.edu/clostridium-botulinum). Spores require temps over boiling to kill, yes, but they're not growing and creating toxins over 122*. The danger with botulism is when food is stored in the danger range for long while spores are still viable. 130+ isn't a danger range for botulism growth.
Yeah, steaks I do for a much shorter amount of time.
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Botulism can't grow at temps over 122* (https://food.unl.edu/clostridium-botulinum). Spores require temps over boiling to kill, yes, but they're not growing and creating toxins over 122*. The danger with botulism is when food is stored in the danger range for long while spores are still viable. 130+ isn't a danger range for botulism growth.
Yeah, steaks I do for a much shorter amount of time.
How long does it take for the inside of the meat to get to 122F and since you don't get to boiling temps, how long does take to come down to temps after cooking? That is the worry window of botulism. Luckily it is pretty rare these days, but it can happen.
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How long does it take for the inside of the meat to get to 122F and since you don't get to boiling temps, how long does take to come down to temps after cooking? That is the worry window of botulism. Luckily it is pretty rare these days, but it can happen.
Good questions, I'm not 100% sure. On the cooling-down side, the general wisdom on sous vide is to eat it immediately, or plunge it into an ice bath to cool it down quickly right after taking it out of the hot water if you're not eating it right away. I wouldn't expect botulism to be much of a worry on the cooling-down side once it's out of the bag since botulism is anaerobic. In a an air-evacuated bag, the heating-up side of things has some potential for issues I suppose.
Based on the lack of a botulism epidemic amongst sous vide enthusiasts, my guess is if you keep things at a safe temp before the bath and do a rapid ice-bath cooldown on anything you're not eating immediately, the risk is fairly low, at least in the same neighborhood of risk as any cooking that doesn't involve turning meat into a carbon brick.
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I bought some frozen tilapia filets. Any ideas or good recipes for sous vide tilapia?
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I bought some frozen tilapia filets. Any ideas or good recipes for sous vide tilapia?
Yes! Great recipe...
1. Throw trashlapia in the garbage.
2. Order a pizza.
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Yes! Great recipe...
1. Throw trashlapia in the garbage.
2. Order a pizza.
+1000 and more.
I don't eat a lot of fish and tilapia is one I would never eat. Sous vide or not. ;)
bob
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I don't eat it simply because I don't like the taste. It tastes bitter to me, which is apparently the case for some people. There are compounds in the skin that are extremely bitter, and apparently minute quantities can migrate to the flesh.
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I am going to try a 132 degree cook for 30 minutes and I will report back. The skinless and boned fish filets are in individual cryovac packets, so I will just toss the packets into the bath. I am thinking of finishing them off with some butter and Johnny's seafood seasoning: https://johnnysfinefoods.com/products/master-blends/lemon-dill-seasoning-4-75oz/
This was an experiment, so if it turns out we are not fond of tilapia, no great loss. I bought them at Target.
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I am going to try a 132 degree cook for 30 minutes and I will report back. The skinless and boned fish filets are in individual cryovac packets, so I will just toss the packets into the bath. I am thinking of finishing them off with some butter and Johnny's seafood seasoning: https://johnnysfinefoods.com/products/master-blends/lemon-dill-seasoning-4-75oz/
This was an experiment, so if it turns out we are not fond of tilapia, no great loss. I bought them at Target.
Target sells food?!?!?! I guess I need to get out more. I haven't been in a Target for probably 20 years. Have you done salmon yet, it seems like the perfect fish (that and a nice thick chunk of cod) for the sous vide.
Bob
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Target sells food?!?!?! I guess I need to get out more. I haven't been in a Target for probably 20 years. Have you done salmon yet, it seems like the perfect fish (that and a nice thick chunk of cod) for the sous vide.
Bob
The Targets in our area added a medium-sized grocery section of about six or seven aisles, fridge cases and freezer cases some years ago. Think of it as better than a 7-11 but less than a Safeway. In some areas of the country, there are SuperTargets, which are supposed to have a large grocery section similar to a SuperWalMart. The next time we go to Costco, we are going to pick up some salmon to try; I have not yet decided whether to get a whole side of fresh salmon, or go for the bag of individual cryovac frozen fillets. We are making a concerted effort to stay away from Costco until after Christmas.
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"I haven't been in a Target for probably 20 years."
Well, then, you'll be shocked to know that since your last visit Target has graduated beyond selling rocks, clubs, and animal skins.
They even renamed it Target from the old name, Cavemart.
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So the sous vide tilapia turned out fabulous. 134 degrees for 30 minutes, and I served the filets with a lemon-butter herb sauce (butter, lemon juice, herbs de Provence, Worcestershire and Johnny's Seafood seasoning) with toasted slivered almonds for garnish, and couscous pilaf and roasted carrots with balsamic drizzle. My wife said she would eat this again. The fish was perfectly and evenly cooked throughout to a flake and was very moist.
I was a bit concerned about cooking the boneless skinless filets in the individual cryovac packs, as opposed to putting them all in a bag with seasoning added, but the filets turned out just fine with the sauce.
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Good on you, dude.
The more I hear from everyone, the more I want to try it. I'll just have to wait to get myself a unit.
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Good on you, dude.
The more I hear from everyone, the more I want to try it. I'll just have to wait to get myself a unit.
CavemartTarget has them on sale for $80.
As for Tilapia, that's interesting about the bitter taste. I've never noticed it. In fact, I tend to avoid Tilapia because it is just another flavorless whitefish to my palate. I prefer fish to have a stronger flavor.
Chris
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Apparently some people can taste it, some can't.
"Target has them on sale for $80."
At the moment, that's a luxury I can't afford.
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CavemartTarget has them on sale for $80.
As for Tilapia, that's interesting about the bitter taste. I've never noticed it. In fact, I tend to avoid Tilapia because it is just another flavorless whitefish to my palate. I prefer fish to have a stronger flavor.
Chris
I may have to step inside the Target to go look at this, will I need my torch in order to see once I get inside the cave store?
I just know how Tilapia is raised and what they eat and it is a fish that I really don't want to eat. Maybe I am just too sensitive about it, but that is what it is. A fish I really like is Orange Roughy. Another marketing success, its original name was slimehead but who really wants to eat a nice big chunk of slimehead? So the Australians in their marketing wisdom renamed it orange roughy and made it a desirable fish. ;)
bob
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"So the Australians in their marketing wisdom renamed it orange roughy and made it a desirable fish."
Also made it an endangered fish, or at least depleted, for a number of years at the height of the craze.
And I thought the US gov. was responsible for coming up with the name orange roughy?
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Another marketing success, its original name was slimehead but who really wants to eat a nice big chunk of slimehead?
Snakehead is another one that could use a new name. Snakehead is damn good eating, but the name and visuals turn off most folks.
Chris
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"So the Australians in their marketing wisdom renamed it orange roughy and made it a desirable fish."
Also made it an endangered fish, or at least depleted, for a number of years at the height of the craze.
And I thought the US gov. was responsible for coming up with the name orange roughy?
I always thought it was the Aussies, but I could be wrong. Orange Roughy is one of those slow growers, can live to be nearly 150 years old, which didn't help when everyone was making it the fish to eat. From what I understand the Australian fisheries for it has recovered for the most part. Other areas I don't know about.
The amount of overfishing is amazing in many areas. We would often stumble on either a Japanese fishing fleet or a Russian fishing fleet when patrolling the Pacific, the number of boats dragging nets was amazing, they would cover square miles of the ocean.
bob
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So two things. One, I was in Walmart the other day and noticed they too are selling a sous vide unit. It was stocked with the Crock-Pots. Was only 70 bucks and change.
But then, I went to Amazon looking for a temperature controller for use with a crock pot to keep it at a desired temperature range. Little redneck engineering project and I needed higher temps than the ones for use with grow/reptile mats and the like.
I got this- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00V4TJR00?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf
It didn't even dawn on me, even with it being listed as a sous vide item, that I was basically creating a hobo sous vide with a $30 controller and a cheap $20 manual settings crockpot. It lacks water circulation of course, but I've been testing it. And filling the crock with water and moving the probe around seems to yield very even heating throughout the crock without hot or cold spots. So I wonder if the lack of water circulation makes any real difference...
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You'll naturally get water circulation through convection cycles. Not as fast, and probably not as even, but I can't see it being all that less effective given that you're cooking for many hours.
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Target sells food?!?!?!
Target doesn't sell anything. They just gang rape your bank account and give you some relabeled WalMart stuff as a consolation prize.
Last one I was in the clothing was like 5% less than JC Penney regular prices for stuff that was really WalMart grade, and the food section really looked like it was straight from a truck stop grocery section, including the prices and age of the products.
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never saw the attraction. Anyone with a pot, water and time can do the same without the fancy stuff.
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I did a pork tenderloin tonight: sealed into a Ziploc with garlic, rosemary and salt and cooked at 139 degrees for two hours. I made a pan sauce with the juices and some additional red wine and butter. Meltingly tender, evenly cooked to a rosy pink and perfectly seasoned. I served it with fresh green beans with a lemon butter lavender sauce and home made mashed potatoes with Yukon Golds. My wife is still talking about dinner.