First Sous Vide

[Ripple]

Just had my first go at Sous Vide using a slow cooker and plug in temperature controller, this was just a trial to see if the controller worked ok, I was worried that the temperature control would be too coarse but it held the temperature to less than 1ºC. 

Did a 1kg topside joint so not too much to lose if it all went wrong

Seasoned with pepper and then vacuum sealed with some fresh herbs and a slosh of olive oil and cooked for 13 hours at 54ºC and then seared in a pan, it was delicious and melted in the mouth.

Definitely hooked on Sous Vide! Chicken curry next on the list.

Martin

[Icefever]

Brilliant....we do a fair amount of sous vide cooking,  it fits in well with bbq'ing and turns out some great meals.

 

Ice.

[smash]

Looks lovely, is there a decent guide to follow?

[Ripple]

9 hours ago, smash said:

Looks lovely, is there a decent guide to follow?

Hi Smash,

Cheers, it was fantastic, we had the last of it in a stir fry last night.

I read a website by Douglas Baldwin and downloaded an article of his, see attached file and link to website.

I read so much conflicting advice about cooking times and temps that I didn't know which way to turn, as an engineer, I like to understand the science behind what I am doing and his articles were the first I found that did that.  It is well worth reading both the website and the article.

https://www.douglasbaldwin.com/sous-vide.html#Preface

Martin

Sous Vide guide.pdf

[smash]

2 hours ago, Ripple said:

Hi Smash,

Cheers, it was fantastic, we had the last of it in a stir fry last night.

I read a website by Douglas Baldwin and downloaded an article of his, see attached file and link to website.

I read so much conflicting advice about cooking times and temps that I didn't know which way to turn, as an engineer, I like to understand the science behind what I am doing and his articles were the first I found that did that.  It is well worth reading both the website and the article.

https://www.douglasbaldwin.com/sous-vide.html#Preface

Martin

Sous Vide guide.pdf 989.85 kB · 0 downloads

Thank you that’s brilliant.

[Mick]

On 1/10/2021 at 7:35 PM, Ripple said:

Just had my first go at Sous Vide using a slow cooker and plug in temperature controller, this was just a trial to see if the controller worked ok, I was worried that the temperature control would be too coarse but it held the temperature to less than 1ºC. 

Did a 1kg topside joint so not too much to lose if it all went wrong

Seasoned with pepper and then vacuum sealed with some fresh herbs and a slosh of olive oil and cooked for 13 hours at 54ºC and then seared in a pan, it was delicious and melted in the mouth.

Definitely hooked on Sous Vide! Chicken curry next on the list.

Martin

Great idea and lovely finish, I love my sous vide, especially when I can sear on charcoal after

[Ripple]

4 hours ago, Mick said:

Great idea and lovely finish, I love my sous vide, especially when I can sear on charcoal after

My charcoal BBQ rotted out so I need to get another because I am really looking forward to doing the same

[Wade]

There is also a good guide to Sous Vide temperatures and timings at Chefsteps

https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/sous-vide-time-and-temperature-guide

 

[Wade]

Sous Vide is a very good way to cook meats. Take care not to cook them too long though as some meats (especially fish and chicken) can lose their texture quite quickly. @Smokin Monkey used Sous Vide extensively for his Hog Roast business. He would sous vide the pork in sections overnight in his giant sous vide water baths and then when he arrived at the event they effectively only needed warming through and searing.

[Smokin Monkey]

That’s correct @Wade only took it to 67’C they blow torch out side to give a bit of char!

[Justin]

Exactly what i do on pork chops for instance when I sous vide them. I put them in the skillet and blow torch the fat cap for a min. comes out lively tender tasty pork

[Ripple]

.

On 1/19/2021 at 8:28 AM, Wade said:

There is also a good guide to Sous Vide temperatures and timings at Chefsteps

https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/sous-vide-time-and-temperature-guide

 

Yep, downloaded a while ago after seeing it on here

On 1/19/2021 at 8:37 AM, Wade said:

Sous Vide is a very good way to cook meats. Take care not to cook them too long though as some meats (especially fish and chicken) can lose their texture quite quickly. @Smokin Monkey used Sous Vide extensively for his Hog Roast business. He would sous vide the pork in sections overnight in his giant sous vide water baths and then when he arrived at the event they effectively only needed warming through and searing.

I tried a Sous Vide chicken curry last week which ended up in the water for 2.5 hours and found the meat had insufficient texture, the curry also tasted terrible!

We cook curry once a week but won't be using the Sous Vide again, but I guess that is part of the fun, finding out what works for you.

Did steak tonight, 2 hours at 64ºC, was a bit medium for my liking so shall try 62ºC next time but was delicious.

9 hours ago, Justin said:

Exactly what i do on pork chops for instance when I sous vide them. I put them in the skillet and blow torch the fat cap for a min. comes out lively tender tasty pork

I am struggling with the searing, we both agreed that the steak needs better searing, I shall have to get the blowtorch out but would prefer to try charcoal, once I get a bbq

[Wade]

14 hours ago, Ripple said:

I tried a Sous Vide chicken curry last week which ended up in the water for 2.5 hours and found the meat had insufficient texture, the curry also tasted terrible!

We cook curry once a week but won't be using the Sous Vide again, but I guess that is part of the fun, finding out what works for you.

The sweet spot for chicken is about 60 minutes and, like you, I find it starts to lose texture if you leave it in for much longer than that. I am not sure what ingredients you use in your currys but you may also find that some of your ingredients were also powerful meat tenderisers which would have made this loss of texture even more pronounced to the point where it goes mushy. Good examples of these sometimes used in currys are fresh ginger, pineapple and Papaya. 

Fresh ginger contains an enzyme called zingibain which is a powerful meat tenderiser. When using it in a standard curry cook, it is usually first fried along with onions etc. to release its flavour before the meat gets added - and this initial high heating destroys the enzyme activity and preserves the meat texture, This is very different in Sous Vide cooking though as zingibain is unfortunately at its maximum activity at ~60C and is still active between 70-80C. This would likely have a dramatic effect on the texture of your chicken after 180 minutes in the Sous Vide bath.

Yes, with experience you will find out what works well and also does not work so well with Sous Vide. It is not always about the Sous Vide process though but is also about the ingredients that you use.

[Mick]

18 hours ago, Ripple said:

On 21/01/2021 at 10:38 AM, Justin said:

 

I am struggling with the searing, we both agreed that the steak needs better searing, I shall have to get the blowtorch out but would prefer to try charcoal, once I get a bbq

Drying it first with paper towel is a must

[Ripple]

On 1/22/2021 at 10:17 AM, Wade said:

The sweet spot for chicken is about 60 minutes and, like you, I find it starts to lose texture if you leave it in for much longer than that. I am not sure what ingredients you use in your currys but you may also find that some of your ingredients were also powerful meat tenderisers which would have made this loss of texture even more pronounced to the point where it goes mushy. Good examples of these sometimes used in currys are fresh ginger, pineapple and Papaya. 

Fresh ginger contains an enzyme called zingibain which is a powerful meat tenderiser. When using it in a standard curry cook, it is usually first fried along with onions etc. to release its flavour before the meat gets added - and this initial high heating destroys the enzyme activity and preserves the meat texture, This is very different in Sous Vide cooking though as zingibain is unfortunately at its maximum activity at ~60C and is still active between 70-80C. This would likely have a dramatic effect on the texture of your chicken after 180 minutes in the Sous Vide bath.

Yes, with experience you will find out what works well and also does not work so well with Sous Vide. It is not always about the Sous Vide process though but is also about the ingredients that you use.

Did some chicken wings yesterday at 64ºC for 60minutes and then on the bbq, much better texture and tasted great