Re: Sous vide
 

Do not put plastic wrap over the top of the sous vide device. Wrap it around the step where it comes out of the water.

There is a company that makes "sous vide balls" that will control the condensation. I've also heard of people using ping pong balls. Here is a link to one on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Sous-Vide-Wate.../dp/B013NYKAU4

My Inova says to not submerge the control unit when cleaning but I do get condensation on the unit when cooking. If it were to fail for that reason, I'd demand a replacement and report them if they didn't come through (selling a defective product will get you kicked off of Amazon in a hurry).

Re: Sous vide
 

Right, the plastic wrap only went around the Anova. It was the gaps around it that allowed the vapor to condensate on part of it. I figured, like Adam mentioned, that the unit would be designed to deal with some water. It was just an observation after my first overnight cook.

Re: Sous vide
 

I think that your observation is important not only to how to use the machine but also what to consider if something goes wrong. Condensation on the unit when used how you use it is not your fault and should be accounted for by the manufacturer.

Re: Sous vide
 

Just finished my dinner of sous vide venison shanks. Didn't realize they weren't bone-in. Turned out good. Served with mashed sweet potatoes, with a red wine reduction over the top. Had a salad of fennel, green apple and toasted walnuts along side.

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Wow, that sounds tasty...how did it turn out? :D:tu :r

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It turned out good, not great, though none of the guests seemed to mind.
I thought the flavor was spot on, and it was a perfect medium rare.
For me, the issue was the texture. The 33 hour cook made the roastbeef mushy.
There were some positives to the longer cook. I sliced it with a knife, so, the slices weren't paper thin, but you were still able to bite through the meat effortlessly.
Absolutely no pull or tug. I also think the longer cook helped the garlic and onion flavors intensify in the meat.
I know I'm probably my biggest critic, but I just couldn't get past the mouthfeel of the roastbeef.

The pork was a different story; I hit that out of the park.
Perfectly cooked, moist, tender, and flavorful.

Maybe Vin, Keith, or Christos can comment more on the cooks?

Re: Sous vide
 

hahaha....agree with the above!...We are all our own worst critics...The beef tasted great, the "mouth-feel" was fine for a sandwich but would have been "weird" for a plated dinner...the longer cooks like these with a top round (or eye roast like I did awhile back) for me are perfect for a paper-thin deli slice....you don't get the "mushiness" but get the flavor and moistness...that being said, Dom made a fantastic roast beef sandwich (of course a homemade horseradish spread woulda gone a long way....as others had stated :D)...I mean who could complain with mouths stuffed with all that beefy goodness....the pork, was like a David Ortiz 12th inning walk-off in game 4 of the 2004 ALCS....deep to right and OUTTA HERE!!!!...:tu:tu

Re: Sous vide
 

Keith, when you did the eye roast for 30 hours, did you slice it hot and serve warm, or was it all done cold?

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Sliced hot and served warm....made an "au jus" with the juice from the bags, supplemented with onions, garlic and beef stock

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Thanks.

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Going to do a rib eye today. Plan to use a very good (commercial) rub which I will remove before the sear. I plan to sear in cast iron with a minimal amount of oil to keep the mess as small as I can.

Re: Sous vide
 

The Searzall is available on Amazon again for $75, and the TS8000 torch is down to about $40 right now.

http://www.amazon.com/Searzall-Torch...words=searzall

Re: Sous vide
 

ordered.

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Why remove the rub?...not sure you'll get much "penetration" into the meat flavor wise with a pre-bath rub...curious as to your thoughts?

Re: Sous vide
 

When I sear, the rub tends to burn.

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Yea, figured that...maybe a post-sear sprinkle for flavor...

Re: Sous vide
 

Watch the video when you get the searzall for first use or you will destroy the grates

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What grates?

Re: Sous vide
 

Received an email from Anova that the wifi version of the app is now available for Android.

Re: Sous vide
 

Since everyone else is doing it, I decided to try some SV roast beef too. My experience in the past with 30-ish hour cooks on other meats seems to show the same issues as what Keith and Dom described, and that is the meat takes on a mushy texture, so this time I went for 18 hours at 130F on another one of the tougher cuts of meat, this one being a small (~2 lb) sirloin tip roast. Seared on cast iron and with a searzall. Still want to tweak things a bit, but came out pretty good overall. The cut meat in the 3rd photo is the larger muscle of the group, the one on the left in the top photo and the upper chunk in the middle photo, I thought I was cutting against the grain, but for some reason it came out odd looking, like it was either twisted up or somehow I got it slightly off when loading it on the slicer. :sh

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/attach...1&d=1452968430

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/attach...1&d=1452968438

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/attach...1&d=1452968442

Re: Sous vide
 

How was the texture after 18 hrs, Adam?
Was 18 hrs enough to make the roast tender?

Re: Sous vide
 

It depended on the muscle, there are a couple muscles that all come together in the tip and, the larger one in the roast I had, the one I might have cut wrong, came out more tender than the smaller one in the photos. The larger one was soft with just enough firmness to still let you know it was there (unlike the mushy 32-hour pork that I did previously), but some of the edges got really tough and chewy, not sure if that was because of the sear or something else.

The smaller of the two muscles (the lower one), which I chilled before slicing, came out texture wise more like deli roast beef, but lacked flavor.

There was also a tiny third muscle cut there, you can kind of see it poking out at the bottom of the searing photo, about the size of a carrot. That one came out more like a grilled steak. I think it would have sucked cold.

I think I need to do better job trimming next time, I thought it looked ok going in, but after it came out of the bath, wasn't really happy with how much I left.

I'm going to try this again, but use a specific single muscle and see what I get. While the sirloin tip roast wasn't bad, I think it would have been better suited to being tossed in the pellet grill and treated like pork butt and given an overnight cook and then some at 200 +/- or into either a dutch oven or pressure cooker and turned into ropa vieja.

Re: Sous vide
 

Did chicken last night and was very impressive meal. Tonight trying. 2inch thick New York with coffee rub will be interesting

Re: Sous vide
 

Tenderloin Fillets tonite ...

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1555/...2784be5c_z.jpg

Was gifted an assortment of Wagyu steaks from Snake River Farms in Idaho. Set the water bath for 137.5*, let them do their thing for about an hour, and finished them off with a little salt & pepper rub and a butter-sear on the skillet.

Tremendous flavor, incredibly tender. Sooooooooo good!

Re: Sous vide
 

Thanks, Adam.

Thoughts on the Snake river steaks, Vin?

Re: Sous vide
 

These were gifted so difficult to assess actual value, but I eat at nicer steak houses in Boston often enough to say these compare favorably with the quality of steaks at places like Capitol Grille, Morton's, Abe & Louie's etc. However, the portion size was small - very much a petite fillet.

On the plus side, the steaks come already vacuum sealed - perfect for the Anova.

The Wagyu beef is different from "normal" beef, and I had not experienced it before. The Wagyu is extremely tender -- literally cut it with a fork tender. Lots of fat in the Wagyu steak but in a good way -- not huge chunks of fat, but more distributed throughout the beef. Super flavorful.

I did the sear with just a touch of salt & pepper because I wanted the full on flavor of the beef, and it didn't disappoint.

This rocked as a gift (and there are more in my freezer :dr) but I'd need to research price to know if I'd buy directly. My sense is it is likely to be cost prohibitive for the size steaks I'd like, particularly since you have to factor in shipping.

Glad to have had the opportunity to try these and look forward to cooking up the other cuts in my freezer.

Re: Sous vide
 

EDIT: Curiosity got the better of me, and I looked up pricing. I don't like to do that when I've received something as a gift, but in this case, I'm giving myself a pass for the sake of education. Surprisingly, it looks like these steaks can be had for the price of a typical fillet mignon in a high end restaurant provided you buy them in quantity. Snake Rive Farms sells their 8 oz fillet for $40- if you buy eight or more. Standard shipping is $9.99 bringing the avg cost per steak to a little more than $41. By contrast, a 10 oz a la carte fillet at Capitol Grille in Boston is $47-. So I take back the cost prohibitive statement -- at some point, I'll likely buy some of these, but it's still pretty costly and would be a treat a few times a year.

Re: Sous vide
 

started with 3 ribeyes...applied a commercial rub (Costa Carne, excellent on beef!)...vac sealed and into bath at 130 for an hour...pan seared (not cast iron this time, got lazy and used same pan I sauteed green beans and mushrooms)...decent sear...tasty......
http://i313.photobucket.com/albums/l...pshljxcwcz.jpg

http://i313.photobucket.com/albums/l...pssc7jjz4n.jpg

http://i313.photobucket.com/albums/l...psuohaqcrx.jpg

http://i313.photobucket.com/albums/l...pslm6zawfx.jpg

http://i313.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps2mjlrqe8.jpg

Re: Sous vide
 

Looks great, Keith!

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Inspired by Adam's results, we picked up a 2.5 lb USDA Prime tri-tip from Costco. I marinaded the tri-tip for two hours before cooking and included the marinade in the vacuum bag.

The marinade is pureed onion, garlic, extra light EVOO, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.

I cooked it for 8 hours @ 130* and then seared it for 60 seconds on each side in Duck fat.

I think this is the best tri-tip I have ever made (I usually grill them). The meat was tender, had a great texture and mouth-feel and was very juicy.

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/attach...1&d=1453171563

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/attach...2&d=1453171575

Re: Sous vide
 

That looks :dr

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Nice work Michael!

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you had me at "duck fat"!!...lookin' tasty Michael!

Re: Sous vide
 

Took the garlic confit and a ran with a variety of spices. Not really a new idea by any stretch, but wanted to see where they went individually as a bread topping before making a blend.

L-R: Sundried tomatoes, rosemary, thai basil, red chili pepper flakes, oregano and plain.

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/attach...1&d=1453353594

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/attach...1&d=1453353607

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/attach...1&d=1453353607

Re: Sous vide
 

Yesterday's unofficial taste testing focus group (about 10-15 people down at the brewery tap room) crowned the red pepper as the overall winner, even by people who weren't into the heat.

Re: Sous vide
 

I just got a 3.6 pound boneless pork shoulder. I plan to do a 24 hour cook and then make pulled pork.

I've seen recipes that include the sauce while cooking and some that don't. Since I plan to use our favorite commercial sauce, I plan to leave it out and put it in after I sear the pork.

Question: when using the crock pot, I always put in a can of Dr Pepper. We like the flavor. Should I do that with this cook and if so how much do you recommend?

Re: Sous vide
 

Are you still ziplock bagging or have you upgraded to a vacuum sealer, Mark?

I'd be concerned about the residual carbonation in the Dr Pepper blowing a ziplock bag open.

Maybe instead a reduction with the bag juices, Dr. Pepper and the BBQ sauce after it's all done and then mixing that in with the shredded pork. This is how I would do it if it were me cooking it. I'm not finding in-bag marinades to be all that great because of the amount of meat juice that gets trapped in there, further diluting them. I'm finding that dry rubs or fresh herbs to be more effective as they form their own stock as it cooks. :2

Re: Sous vide
 

Are these mainly olive oil, garlic and whatever ingredient, or is there more involved? They sound awesome

Re: Sous vide
 

Other than salt, you hit the nail on the head Ben.

1 cup peeled garlic cloves
1/4 cup olive oil
1 scant tablespoon kosher salt (I use diamond krystal, if you use another brand or table salt, use less as they saltier)
anywhere from 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of whatever herbs/spices you are adding

Vacuum seal and SV for 4 hours at 190F.


For sun dried tomatoes, about 1/3 cup of tomates and a few TBS extra oil.

Re: Sous vide
 

Good point Adam. I'm vac sealing but carbonation would be an issue.

Re: Sous vide
 

Why not just pour the soda into a bowl, let it sit and go flat before putting it into the bag?
I don't know the science behind how long it takes to get a can of soda to lose all of it's carbonation, but with increased surface area, and maybe some periodic gentle stirring, I'd be willing to bet that the soda could go into the bag somewhere between 4-6hrs.
Just a guess on my part and I'm willing to bet if anybody knows how long it would need to go flat, it's Adam, so maybe he could chime in with his thoughts on trying that.

As for the your original question, If using a full can of soda is you'r tried and true method, I would go with that after you get the soda flat. :2

Re: Sous vide
 

LOL. I never even considered making the soda go flat for this. Durr. And, yes, you got me Dom, I do know how to make beer go flat in a hurry for cooking.

Heat it. As the temp goes up, the amount of CO2 that can be held in solution decreases so it's going to come out. Blenders work well too because they agitate it. Even though it has almost double the CO2 volumes as that of beer, I suppose soda isn't that much different, but I don't work with it much to say for certain.

In a bowl, I honestly don't know, but it will be function of the number of nucleation sites for the CO2 to come out of solution on. The greater the number, the faster it come out. Toss a little bit of salt in there, that will help it degass as the salt dissolves.

Re: Sous vide
 

I have to say that the marinade I used most definitely infused the meat with lots of onion flavor -- it probably depends upon the marinade...

Re: Sous vide
 

Yeah, I wasn't thinking about the ones like yours which are mostly oil and pulverized solids, when I said that. I was thinking more about the higher liquid content ones. I should have been more clear.

The high liquid content ones that I messed with, things that had more than just oil, they had stuff like vinegar or other acids, and more volume, they yielded almost kind of a boiled meat end result. Not what I was looking for to say the least.

Re: Sous vide
 

100% right, Michael. It definitely depends on the marinade.
Just to add on to what Adam said, not all marinades work the same way. Looking at your ingredients, they are all flavoring components, aside from the oil and salt. What your marinade doesn't have is a strong tenderizing component, like an acid.
Adding a tenderizing component breaks down the outer layer of the meat.
As that layer breaks down, the meat becomes more tender, and starts to release moisture. The breakdown of surface proteins and the void left by the escaping moisture allows the flavoring elements to penetrate deeper.
Left in a marinade too long, and the meat starts to breakdown too much.
Some acids can actually toughen up the meat if left in too long and some can make meat turn to mush.
You used the Anova, and the 8 hour cook time, to break down the meat. Had there also been a tenderizing component in the marinade, you likely would have ended up with a Tri tip that had an off texture.
You can still use a marinade with an acid component before cooking, but I wouldn't include it in the bag while cooking.

Re: Sous vide
 

Thanks for the info, Dom!

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You know, Dom, if you could learn to say "Bam!" we might be able to get you a gig on the Food Channel.

Re: Sous vide
 

So to recap:

* Surface proteins
* Nucleation sites

Good talk.

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Still messing with the roast beef idea, this time I cooked a bottom round for 19-ish hours at 133.

Flavor is mild, texture is mushy. Possible i overcooked it and that's why it's mushy, but that doesn't account for the lack of flavor. I think I'm done trying to make something edible out of this cut.

Re: Sous vide
 

Did some hanger steaks with fresh rosemary, salt, & pepper. 48 hours. Came out way too tender. The main vein that runs through was completely gone which was nice. But the texture wasn't good. I normally do flank steak for that long and it is much better.

I'm going to try and do some pork like Dom did. I still dream about it :dr