Living la sous-vide loca!
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With the popularity of the meh sous-vide precision cooker, and the ongoing conversations happening on the product thread, it is apparent this product deserves it’s own thread.
Share your tips, tricks, successes, failures, and recipes. Bon Appetit!
Let’s just hope…
- 15 comments, 19 replies
- Comment
One of the first and easiest things I did is still one of my favorites–Eggs. 145°F for 40 minutes. Serve on toast or a toasted English muffin with salt and pepper.
There are actually several sous vide egg calculators online that let you dial in the whites and yolks exactly how you would like them.
@djslack I’ll never boil eggs on the stovetop again. They come out so perfect using my Joule.
@Pony yep, I have the Joule too and couldn’t agree more.
I think the app for the Joule is great too and I would recommend it to anyone even if they have another brand of circulator. You can use it to get ideas for what temp/time to cook food to get the right doneness.
@Ignorant @Pony Fellow Joule owner here, just giving the secret handshake.
Also, that gif at the top looks a lot like the Chefsteps folks.
@Ignorant Yes. The app makes it sooo easy. I have never had anything come out anything but awesome using it. My hubby makes creme brulee with it that’s to die for.
Egg Calculator (mentioned by @djslack)
My biggest tip I have found since getting mine was not to use butter in the bag with a nice steak. I always saw people putting butter in with the herbs and salt into the vacuum bag but all I have found it to do is cut back on the nice beefy flavor with any nicer cuts I have made. My favorite way to do it currently is to take a nice T-bone or Porterhouse and dry it off with a few paper towels until it stops feeling too wet to the touch and hit it with a pinch of salt on each side the into a foodsaver bag with a sprig of rosemary/thyme. in for 2-3 hours @135F then finish in a super hot cast iron.
@nigglez Thoughts about butter in the bag with the less pricey cuts? I have really been into taking the lesser cuts of late and working with them. I made some great flat iron steaks recently, and tonight I am trying chuck steak. Long marinade times and keeping the cuts at med. rare have been the key with these. I have read sous-vide can really bring these cuts into their own glory.
@mfladd @nigglez I’ve read a lot that putting something like butter in with the meat actually just ends up leaching flavor from the meat to the butter and never really works the other way.
I’ve only thrown rosemary in with my steaks once (in the bag and then adjacent in the pan while searing) and I didn’t think it would do much, but holy cow.
@mfladd @Moose I’d only do butter in bag for a really lean piece of meat and only a little, but best way to tell is to try it out side by side. Really if you want to use butter, the best time to use it is while you are finishing the steaks. Then you can use what’s left in the pan for a pan sauce.
One thing I have had some luck with was using some MSG crystals along with the salt at the start. It seems to make the tougher cuts more juicy. You can get it at pretty much any Asian market in a big bag or you can find Accent in a little red and white shaker at most grocery stores but it is more expensive per oz for the same thing.
@nigglez Off topic but any other tips on MSG? I bought a big bag of it a few months ago and have been disappointed in it. I was expecting something more noticeable (like how you can add salt to something and you don’t taste salt, but the flavor definitely changes for the better). The only thing I’ve noticed it being a gamechanger with is popcorn.
@Moose Yeah I know what you mean, the biggest thing I use it for is in sauces and stews. I aim for ~1/2tsp per pound of meat I’m using, less if it is seasoned already like sausage. it is good at bringing out flavor in tomatoes/salsa too. Really anything that is naturally savory I’ll use it to boost that flavor up.
p.s. if you want a popcorn gamechanger head to a Gordon Food Service supply store and grab a carton of Flavacol. It is the butter seasoning they use in movie theaters
@nigglez after many tests I just put the meat in the bag these days, I season after the sous vide and before the sear.
@nigglez yeah I’ve heard about flavacol, I have high blood pressure already so I think that level of sodium would kill me just by being in my house
I mentioned heating bottles of sake in the sous vide (screw James Bond*, buy cheap gekkeikan and heat it up to up to 110 or so) but I’ve also had luck with speed-chilling cold drinks in the sous vide. Fill the container with ice and water and turn the temperature to the lowest setting; the circulator will move the cold water around your beer/wine/whatever and chill it faster than the fridge and without any danger of exploding in the freezer
*
@Moose nice hack
https://www.seriouseats.com/2015/06/food-lab-complete-guide-to-sous-vide-steak.html
Following (is that how this works?)
@bigk251 If you want an email each time someone posts, I think you click on the letter symbol under the top post.
In your account, you can set if you want an email when you are @ mentioned.
@bigk251
@speediedelivery awesome, thanks. I read forums pretty regularly, but usually don’t follow them.
My revelation was 130 degree chuck roast for 24 hours, although maybe 18 would be enough.
The cook time is long enough to denature the collagen but not hot enough to break the sheathes around the muscle fibers and make the meat fall apart.
It ends up looking like a steak when you slice it, but it’s not quite as firm (probably because of all the gelatin). It needs to be cut with a knife and it puts up resistance when you bite it.
The flavor is hard to describe. It’s a little beefier than a ribeye or sirloin, more like an eye of round or something.
It gives off a good bit of liquid, which I use for making a pan sauce (with cream and maybe a bit of cognac or bourbon).
I have no recipes yet but I’m looking forward to breaking free of my Starbucks egg bites addiction!
I like suvee and stuff – but an hour to cook eggs, come on man
/giphy egg slut
Holy Sous-Vide Batman, this thing is huge!
o.k. mine came today. I’m gonna save this thread for the ideas…but let’s get me started. I bought, (for 50% off!), from aldi’s tonight a skirt steak, and a lamb shoulder blade. Both are about 3/4 pound. I’ve never cooked either before. Can I sous vide these in their original vacuum packs, and also, is one preferred over another for this process?
I’m not gonna be a pest about this, and it might take me a few days to post the results, but I’m looking for some generalized,(or specific, heck I don’t care), replies.
I know misteaks are gonna be made-I’m on meh, after all.
…
yes, pun intended.
@wew Looking forward to hearing the results from your first attempts. Still patiently waiting for mine to show up. Also, love the meme.
@wew So glad I’m not the only one who expected it to be much smaller.
@wew you probably don’t want to cook them in the original packaging if there’s anything else in there (net around a roast, for example). If it’s just the meat it should be ok but you’re missing the chance to season it first. Ziploc bags are fine if you don’t have/want to fuss with a food saver.
(edit. the interwebs has informed me, as far as original packaging, the answer is ‘it depends’, and probably not the best idea’).
I wanted to say this before. This thing is beautifully packaged and maybe i shoulda bought a few for presents. Beautiful.
I’m interested in a few good egg recipes, and other breakfast items. Super healthy, no sugar. A friend and I take turns hosting a playdate for our dogs and we’ve gotten in the habit of making a nice breakfast. But she’s crazy healthy, no sugar, no bread, low fat. I can do that with other meals but breakfast is the most indulgent meal of the day for me. I don’t like eggs, eat them because they are healthy but I have to veg them up like crazy to make them edible.
@moondrake these are hot right now:
https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/your-favorite-sous-vide-egg-bites-at-home
https://recipes.anovaculinary.com/recipe/sous-vide-egg-bites-bacon-gruyere
They do have fat in them, though.
Also, those two websites are consistently good sources of sv recipes and knowledge (they both make sv devices).
A dog playdate. Can life get any better?
not to me.
@moondrake, you’re pretty neat.
I got a good bit out of this.