Sous Vide cooking

[gt6267a]

We have had great success with steaks @ 129F for 1hr and finishing on the bge + hickory. Seeing as how coppercook is setting to 125, I will try that next time.

Chicken is proving a little more controversial due to texture. I like the 145-150F chicken. The wife does not. She knows its done from a bacteria perspective but the texture doesn't work for her at all. I've had to move up to 155 and she would probably prefer 160. Any sous vide chicken recipes are definitely welcome.

We're absolutely interested in what others are doing with the sous vide. CopperCook, teach us something new!

For those concerned about killing bacteria, scroll down to page 4 red meat and pages 5+ for white.

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/co...df?MOD=AJPERES

[woodworker]

My wife got one as a gift around a year ago. She already was an excellent cook, but this provides her with greater flexibility in terms of timing meals for different people, and there are certain meats that are always hard to get right--pork chops, for example. Since she's been using the sous vide, they come out perfect. Really easy--setting the temperature and sufficient time (but can be much longer), then braise each side and done.

[COVRTDESIGN]

A good majority of the info on the first page is just a bit incorrect.

Sous vide is not cooking under pressure, that is a pressure cooer. You are cooking with water.

You do not need to vac seal most of the food that you place into the water bath during sous vide. You can simply use a gallon zip lock bag and use the air evacuation method by placing an open bag into the water with the food inside, (don't let the water inside) and then clip the open bag to the side of the container. This method saves quite a lot of money and mess.

For non meats, you can easily place more than one item in the container during cooking, just vary the time with the temp of the "main" ingredient.

6 minute soft poached eggs: Set sous vide circulator at 145*f Place eggs in water bath and run for 45 minutes. At this time the eggs can be held at 130*f until time to serve. I have held these at 130*f for an entire service of 6+ hours.

Have a second pot of water at a very light boil, (ust a few bubbles) ready to go.

Crack the top of the egg and peel off the upper portion. Pour the egg gently into the water and cook for 45 seconds. You can discard the shell with the small layer of white inside.

Serve egg immediately after 45 seconds. Any longer and the yolk will start to set more.

I have been a sous vide trained executive chef for the last 6 years and have run all different types of machines in my kitchens both professionally and at home.

Please feel free to ask any questions that you would like. Sous Vide is my passion in the professional kitchen.

[gt6267a]

rufus, I am interested to hear what you do with chicken in the sous vide and a maybe a favorite recipe or two.

[COVRTDESIGN]

rufus, I am interested to hear what you do with chicken in the sous vide and a maybe a favorite recipe or two.

I like to do a sous vide chicken breast at 149*F (65*C) for 55 minutes.
-Place the breasts in a bag with a little bit of olive oil, salt, and butter. Feel free to add any aromatics that you would like as well.
-Remove from bag and pat dry.
-Heat a cast iron skillet or pan to high heat with a little bit of oil and sear both sides of the chicken.

I tend to serve this at this time of year with an apple fennel salad and a root vegetable puree.

1 Apple, Granny Smith
1 Fennel, bulb reserve fennel tops for presentation
30 g Walnuts
25 g Olive oil
25 g Apple cider vinegar
16 g Honey
2 g Salt

Slice apples and fennel bulb with a mandolin to about a 2mm thickness, or very thinly slice with a knife. Rough chop the walnuts and add to the fennel and apple. Make a quick dressing with the remaining ingredients and toss to coat.

For the thighs, do the same sous vide cooking and pat dry.
-In a cast iron pan or regular pan, on high heat, add 2 tbsp oil and sear both sides of thighs, roughly 1-2 minutes per side.
-Remove and reserve. In the same pan on medium heat, add 4tbsp of butter to the chicken bits in the pan and cook until a brown butter is starting, should start browning and start smelling nutty. make sure to stir constantly as this happens fast. ---Roughly 30 seconds to 1 1/2 minutes.
-Add 2 tbsp of capers, 2 tbsp red wine vinegar, and 2 tbsp of water.
-Pour brown butter sauce over thighs.

I like to serve this with roasted winter root vegetables.


You can also use this method and then instead of searing, you can fry in 400*F oil. Some of the best and juiciest fried chicken that you can get.

[dgaddis]

Looking to get a sous vide cooker soon (hoping for a Black Friday deal).

Any reason I shouldn't get the Anova Nano vs some of the more expensive units, like the Joule or larger Anova?

I don't think I need the wifi version.

I'm not cooking for a huge crowd or anything.

I like than the Nano has an app, but it's not required to use the unit since it has a touch screen to operate it. I always worry about companies going out of business or something and eventually you've got a still-functioning piece of hardware but no app to work it.

I also like the small size vs the bigger Anova. We've got very little storage space in our kitchen.

[giordana93]

can't help with last question but have to admit I'm interested in the answer, especially after dinner at a new joint in New Orleans where the chef does some neat variations on traditional New Orleans fare. Ever had chicken gizzards in a fine restaurant? He used sous vide for like a day and a half and instead of chewy gizzards they were super tender, with deep flavor, served with carmelized onions and peppers, a grit cake and demi glace. wicked. as good as, if not better than the oyster blt with bourbon cured/smoked pork belly..damn. place is called gris gris if anyone is interested. highly recommended if you're in town (though a bit off the tourist beaten track)

[mnoble485]

can't help with last question but have to admit I'm interested in the answer, especially after dinner at a new joint in New Orleans where the chef does some neat variations on traditional New Orleans fare. Ever had chicken gizzards in a fine restaurant? He used sous vide for like a day and a half and instead of chewy gizzards they were super tender, with deep flavor, served with carmelized onions and peppers, a grit cake and demi glace. wicked. as good as, if not better than the oyster blt with bourbon cured/smoked pork belly..damn. place is called gris gris if anyone is interested. highly recommended if you're in town (though a bit off the tourist beaten track)

Not too far off the beaten path, this reminds me I haven't been to NOLA in over a year. This will go on the places to go to list.

Mike

[giordana93]

so, repeating the question Dustin asked: are the Arnova (and similar) models priced around $100 on sale for 75 or so reasonably good enough for home cooks to get started with?

[dgaddis]

so, repeating the question Dustin asked: are the Arnova (and similar) models priced around $100 on sale for 75 or so reasonably good enough for home cooks to get started with?

I'm taking the gamble, we've got an Anova Nano on order. It's a Christmas gift tho, so it'll be a little while before I can actually use it haha.

[giordana93]

pretty sure I'll be following suit

[dgaddis]

Got the Nano for Christmas, cooked a tri-tip with it last night. Turned out great. Let it cook for 2hrs in the bag with the temp set at 120*F, then seared it on the grill. Can't say it was really any better (or worse) than doing a reverse sear on the Kettle, but it was really easy. It's easy because your timing isn't dependent on the internal temp of the meat climbing towards and past your target - with sous vide, you won't overshoot your target. So if the side dishes aren't ready yet, or the baby takes a big dump and gets poop up her back...no worries, leave it in the bath a little longer while handling other business.

Also, super happy my unit isn't app dependent. This is how the Anova app looked all day yesterday, their site crashed, and so did the app. I could still connect to the cooker and adjust the temp, but I couldn't look up recipes or recommended cook times or anything else. Anyhow, I like that it can be used without the app.

[Bobonli]

Dustin that Anova app is the biggest piece of.......
I love the cooker but for all practical purposes it’s a manual device. When it works, I use the app to look up suggested cooking times and then set it manually using the timer on my phone. I actually corresponded with them the day after receiving it and their response was to buy the WiFi upgrade. They know it doesn’t work.

[dgaddis]

Cooked a tri-tip last night. 2.5hrs or so in the water, then seared in the fire on the kettle. It was good, and again, the convience of sous vide is GREAT. That said...I got a bit more temp gradient around the edge than I do when cooking exclusively on the kettle with a reverse sear. I sous vide it at 130, maybe I should have done 125 instead. Maybe I just put it on the kettle too soon, before the fire was really raging. But again, it certainly wasn't bad, and the convenience factor for busy week night cooking is GREAT.

Out of the bath and onto the kettle.


FIRE


Sliced


And here's one from a while back, cooked entirely on the kettle reverse sear style. Also seared in the flames just like the sous-vide cook.


Seems like a bit less grey between the surface and the medium-well interior.


EDIT :: actually looking at both pics together, there's really not much difference. Maybe a little, but not much. Next time I'll make sure the fire is going full blast before tossing the meat on the kettle.