Re: Sous vide
 

I thought it was great, I was just curious if it was possible for it to break down further, more-so a question on fat/meat in general. I still have another ~2LB chunk that I'll eventually cook the same way, but probably with different seasoning

Re: Sous vide
 

Cooked a tri-tip yesterday, this was one of the pre-rubbed/marinated steakhouse ones from costco, had it grilled at a herf a couple weeks ago and thought the seasoning was good. I picked up a chunk around 3LB, cut it in half and vac sealed then put in the SV (the other half is vac sealed in the freezer waiting to be used soon). 6 hours at 130* then finished on a grill on high about 3 minutes per side, probably could have used about 2 minutes less overall on the grill as it ended a touch over medium but damn was it tender, significantly better than when I had the same thing just cooked on the grill.

Also on Friday cooked some chicken for a chopped salad, 150* for 2 hours, no pan searing after since I was going to cube it to put in the salad, cooked perfectly. I used to use a rotisserie chicken for this, but I'm gonna switch over to using SV, I might try altering the temp a little to see if there is a noticeable difference. Really liking using the sous vide, finally starting to get Sarah on board from it being just another kitchen gadget to something that has a real benefit :tu

Re: Sous vide
 

Looks like Monoprice has jumped on the bandwagon with what appears to be a $69 clone of the Anova PC minus the wi-fi and BT connectivity

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=21594



Anova also has a new one coming out later this year, the Nano. It's a smaller unit, about $90 IIRC. Has a bunch of whiz-bang app software if you're into that.

https://anovaculinary.com/nano/

Re: Sous vide
 

Looks almost identical to the Anova.

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Yup. It really looks like they copied the design with just enough changes to avoid a lawsuit.

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"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery".

Did two more porchettas for the 4th. Due to a menu change, these went for almost 40 hours instead of the planned 36.
I wish I had stuck with 36.
The extra time made it difficult to slice. The longer cook made it even more tender and it kind of fell apart as I was cutting it.
The extra time didn't do anything to the texture, and the flavor was still spot on, I just preferred the first one I made. :2

Re: Sous vide
 

Just ordered an Echo Dot (for a great discount) today and I'm very excited to be able to turn on my sous vide from work, and maybe check the temp while away (not sure if I can do that just yet)

Question for yall, what are you using for vacuum sealing?

Re: Sous vide
 

Not sure how the dot plays in, but from my experience using the app mobily is that it doesn't always connect, and once it does it regularly disconnects and reconnects. This is not a problem for starting the water (I've done it from work a few times before heading home) as once it starts it doesn't turn off when disconnected from the app, but checking the temp regularly can't really be relied upon. I've also never had an issue with the temp not being correct, so whenever I tried to check the temp from the app it was moreso to say "cool it's still the right level" but I don't think it's necessary. Maybe I've just been lucky by not having any malfunctions

Re: Sous vide
 

I have a pair of foodsaver 2400 series machines. I buy bags from either "commercial bargains" or "food vac bags" on amazon. I go through a couple hundred bags a year, hardly a failure or problem with either vendor.

Re: Sous vide
 

I use an old Seal-a-Meal that I picked up from Costco years ago. They sell Food Saver now, I believe.

I use bags from Food Saver (they ciome in a bundle when I buy rolls for sealing my beads), and I also get bags from Amazon. I use both the small (1qt) and large (2qt, I believe) bags.

Re: Sous vide
 

Buy vacuum rolls on Amazon or EBay. I have a Wesco sealer that takes up to 18" wide bags! Super cheap online and as nice quality as any you can think of.

Re: Sous vide
 

I recently bought a costco pack of food saver bags because I was out and wanted to use on that night, might not have been cheaper than the stuff from the internet but it was $40 for 3 big rolls (11x50?), one small roll (8x50?) and like 40 medium sized individual bags. That's enough to last me a very long time, so I didn't mind paying. It was on sale for $32 the month before, but I put off buying because I wasn't out yet :sl

Re: Sous vide
 

Put some pork country ribs in the jacuzzi this morning, gonna go for about 12 hrs at 156* just rubbed with a little salt and pepper, not sure how I'm gonna finish them (maybe season up my cast iron grill pan) but they're gonna end up soaked in some of my new batch of bbq sauce I made on Tuesday, looking forward to trying it/them out :dr

Re: Sous vide
 

That's the same bundle that I get from Costco. I usually get 2 or 3 at a time :)

Re: Sous vide
 

Gave pork belly another shot yesterday, this time 24 hrs at 154*, took it out, drained and put in the fridge until I was ready to finish it up. I recently had belly at an asian restaurant that was amazing so I tried to mimic the style, cut into cubes and put under the broiler. Took the leftover sauce bag sauce and added some apple juice and cherries, reduced it down to a little looser than a syrup and put a spoonful of the good juice on top of each broiled cube along with a cherry half. Served that with a little seaweed salad and an Avery Ginger Sour (perfect pairing), overall delicious.

https://d1h6bqmdexfe1t.cloudfront.ne...lGlass-WEB.png

I think I preferred the higher temp/lower time from my last attempt more (170* 10 hrs), both were great but the texture of the higher temp was more "fall apart" than this one, which is what I expected just thought that I would like the lower temp version more. Guess I need more experimenting :dr

Re: Sous vide
 

Also made mango chutney chicken ahead of time to eat for dinner Thursday, getting home on the late side from a trip and wanted something easy to make, just a little store bought chutney and some chicken breasts cut into strips, SV fat 147* for 2 hours and straight into the freezer. Gonna have it taken out Wednesday night to thaw and throw on a hot pan when I get back from the airport, if this is really as easy as it seems I'll be pre-making a bunch more meals in the future for similar situations, way better than pre-boxed heat up meals

Re: Sous vide
 

Definitely let us know how that works out.

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Prime day deal on the latest Anova device.

https://smile.amazon.com/Anova-Sous-...QZCTY0TJ182W73

Re: Sous vide
 

Yeah, $99 for the 800W Blue-Tooth is a great deal. Just bear in mind that the new multi-cook (multiple unit control) and multi-step (programmable automatic temp changes of the bath) app features might not be implemented for the BT 800W units. Only for the Wi-Fi and the Nano.

Now, if you don't care about the wireless whiz-bang stuff and just want a solid cooker and are ok running the temps with a more basic BT app or just the dial, then it's a great deal.

(I like reliability, so I don't use the app, I use the temp dial and an external timer.)

Re: Sous vide
 

As a low-tech guy I love the BT. That's a nice price.

Re: Sous vide
 

Trying my first long sous vide cook.

London Broil w/s&p and Kona Coffee BBQ rub. Just spent 60 minutes on the smoker. About to be bagged for sous vide - 133 for 7-8 hours.

https://s3.postimg.org/is231vgyr/521...334_C417_A.jpg

Plan to finish with butter in a cast iron skillet.

I’ll try and remember to take pics when served.

Re: Sous vide
 

That looks great, love a coffee rubbed steak but never actually done it myself, do you just do a fine grind and mix with s&p? I wish I had a smoker for things like this, I have a smoking gun that maybe I can play around with, but that will take a little experimentation :D

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It was a premix my son brought back from Hawaii

https://s13.postimg.org/s6feo1drr/52...3_F408_A77.jpg

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Nice :tu

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Hey fellas. Things are looking mighty tasty in this thread. It's real early, but I sent a link to my wife for the Annova wifi as an idea for birthday or Christmas. I'm particularly interested in how smoking a brisket for a few hours and then throwing it in the Annova would turn out.

Re: Sous vide
 

Tristan - I don't think the WiFi is worth the extra dough. YMMV.

While not a brisket, I did a London Broil on the smoker this morning for 1 hour. It is in the sous vide now and will be pulled at around the 7.5 hour mark. Finishing in cast iron with butter. Hopefully more pics to follow.

Re: Sous vide
 

OMG. Beef was outstanding.

https://s26.postimg.org/4vv7h0is9/IMG_3154.jpg

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:dr

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Damn, that looks delicious. How well did the smoke taste come through?

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Extremely well. Even with just an hour on the smoke.


A repeat of this effort is definitely in the cards.

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That looks awesome, Peter!

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Yep...preceded by a "few olives" I bet that didn't suck!...Nicely done!! Was the timing of 7.5 spot on, or more/less time, next "time"?

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No olives. A couple of Manhattans, though.

7.5 hours at 133 was perfect, IMO.

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Man, when I grow up...:D

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Who the hell said I grew up?!?!?!?!

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Peter, that looks so great I wanna use swear words! Nicely done.:dr

Re: Sous vide
 

A+, will be doing again soon. Thawed in the fridge, took them out of the bag, let them drip off most of the juices and put on the cast iron grill pan. These turned out amazing, they looked great and tasted on-point, made a little sauce with some leftover mango chutney and sriracha to complete it. I first did this because one of our go-to quick meals is the frozen mango chutney chicken skewers from trader joes, but they were out last time so I just bought the sauce and did them myself (no skewer), I won't be buying the frozen version again.

In fact, I might pre-cook another one or two just to keep in the freezer. Does anybody know if there's an "expiration" or an amount of time cooked chicken like this could stay in the freezer before reducing in quality? I would think no if it stays frozen, but I've been wrong about things before :D

Re: Sous vide
 

If it's cooked and in the still sealed vacuum bag, I would guess that it's probably good for at least 3-6 months.

Re: Sous vide
 

So I have a couple of unrelated questions for the vets/experts here.

I always preheat the water to the desired temp. And then add my food.
I saw this pic from a website and wondered if it is advisable to put food in room temp water and bring food and water up to temp.
https://s26.postimg.org/vk5hyv5ll/20...3-576x1024.jpg




The other question I had was about multiple packages contacting one another. I know a rack is preferable. But could I place another package directly on top of the one shown here? Or would it be better to rotate them 90 degrees with some space in between?
https://s26.postimg.org/gcpieidqx/52...850_BA7_F6.jpg

Re: Sous vide
 

I don't know about starting with room temp water -- i always wait until the water is at temperature before putting in my food.

However, I read somewhere when I first got my Anova, that it's good to have a little room between the bags; even circulation around the bags promotes more even cooking. Having said that, I am not able to find the source of this info, so take it for what it's worth. :2. :)

Re: Sous vide
 

Neither do I. That's why I'm asking.

Certainly that is ideal. I was wondering if there was a significant negative impact with the bags in contact with one another.

Re: Sous vide
 

Peter, I always bring the water up to temp. I don't see any reason to put the food in before. I'm going with the if it isn't broke theory.
I know Adam has done some stepped temperature cooks. He might have more insight into why or why not.

One reason could be that the size of the roast coupled with the size of the container wouldn't allow for heating the water first.
If you fill up to the min line on the Anova, bring the water up to temp, then add the roast it may bring your water level above the max line, or overflow the pot.
If you fill the pot to the max line, with the roast in the pot, then take it out you might fall below the min line.
The only solution in that case would be to add the roast, fill up the pot, and press start.

Also, the photo may look as though the meat was placed in the water and then the water is being brought up to temp.
It's just as likely that the water was at temp, the meat was added, and the temperature dropped.
I know my water temp drops 4-6° when I place a decent sized steak in it. I'm cooking in a Cambro with close to 5 gallons of water in it.
In fact, my water drops a degree just from opening the lid.
That looks like a pretty big roast in a 10-12 quart stockpot.
That could've easily dropped the temp.


Space in between is better.
I did 2 porchettas for the 4th of July holiday. They pushed the capacity limits of the Cambro.
I had them on a rack in the water, next to each other, but they were pressed up against the sides and were touching.
When I woke up in the morning the sides that were touching the walls were clearly a different color then the tops.
When I opened the lid the sides that were touching each other had the same color variation.
I rotated the roasts, and checked again later. The sides that were now touching had the same different color.
Rotated again, and then the next time I checked the roasts had shrunk enough that I was able to get some wire racks between them.
The water is what cooks the food. You want as much water as possible circulating around the food.
The whole reason for vacuum sealing is to get the water as close to the meat as possible.

I hope this helps.

Re: Sous vide
 

That helps a lot, Dom.
Thanks.

Re: Sous vide
 

For step cooking meats to tenderize them I've always used 103F, then increase to 120F, then finally increase to the desired "Done" temp. I don't know offhand about any particular enzymes at 116F. Based on the set temp, I think the bath was increasing in temp, but from what initial point, I don't know.

You can start from room temp water, but if it doesn't climb at a decent rate, you are risking bacterial contamination / spoilage of the food.

Re: Sous vide
 

My kid wanted hot dogs the other day, so I decided to throw some jumbo all-beef franks in the sous vide for science and because I hadn't had a chance to use it lately. Did one normally, one with some IPA and salt in the bag (I read on Serious Eats that putting salt in there will lead to beer-flavored meat rather than meat-flavored beer), and one with ketchup in the bag all at 155 for about 2.5 hours. Normal one was great, beer one was slightly better if you like beer, and ketchup didn't seem to do anything at all except maybe add a little sweetness. Not the fanciest of cooks, but it was kind of fun and it did lead to a perfectly-cooked hot dog--though I'm not sure it's worth the extra two hours and fifteen minutes ;)

Re: Sous vide
 

Do you do anything to deal with the carbonation in the beer? I know it came up in a discussion here some time ago, but I'm curious, I figure maybe it needs to be shaken up or something.

Traveling this week again so I'm going to do more mango chutney chicken today to make when I get home Thursday night, since I have leftover chutney. Also gonna do some bbq chicken the same way with some of my sauce to put in the freezer after being cooked, I get nervous using my sauce for long cooks because of the high sugar content, it's caused issues with the crock pot before but I think it will be fine with the temperature control here. I currently use it more for a finishing step like I've recently done with SV pork and lamb, but if something goes wrong I'm only out about $3 worth of chicken so it's worth a try :D

Re: Sous vide
 

Borrowed this idea for a lamb sirloin roast over the weekend (the thing being that they are both very lean cuts with little intramuscular fat). Small cut, like 2/3 lb, about 1 hour or so hot smoked at 170F on the pellet grill, then bagged and SV at 134 for 4-5 hours. Same butter/cast iron finish. Came out quite good.

Just now noticing that you also used a coffee rub, FROM HAWAII. Too funny. I used Pele's Smokey Coffee rub from Aloha Seasonings.

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My vac sealer kicked the bucket so I ordered up a food saver from groupon, it was $8 less a few days ago. Don't know how well the moist and dry functions work, but I was having issues sealing when there was anything remotely wet on the old one so hopefully this helps

Re: Sous vide
 

:tu :tu


That's the same sealer that I have been using. I've had it for about 9 years and it's still working great.

Re: Sous vide
 

I have two of the predecessor model to that one, the V24xx's. I run probably about 800-1000 bags a year on them, and I still have not managed to kill them yet.

The "moist" function just runs the sealing strip at a higher temp or longer time (or both). It works (most of the time) to overcome a small amount of non-oily liquids. Any oils and you can just about forget the seal.