Re: Sous vide
 

Interesting, thanks for taking one for the team, Dom.

I've been having good results with chuck for roast beef. I've been buying cross rib chuck point / tip roast and cooking it about the same as I do the tri-tip a few posts back - with the addition of sprigs of fresh oregano and thyme (and I usually remember to put in some hot peppers :bh). Just cooked at a bit higher temp, like 133-4 but about the same amount of time, 4-6 hours. Sear it then refrigerate it overnight and a quick 45 min freeze right before running it on the meat slicer. The hardest part is finding the point / tip cuts, which are necessary because otherwise I can't fit it in the slicer in a way to cut across the grain.

Re: Sous vide
 

12 hours into a planned 32 hour cook of a bone in lamb shoulder. Seasoned with Indian flavors. Plan to shred and add to a spicy tomato sauce for dinner tomorrow. Thinking of maybe serving over some roasted cauliflower.

Re: Sous vide
 

Lamb shoulder came out perfect. 32.5 hours at 133F. Cut off the bone, cubed and added to a nice tomato curry sauce. A bit of garlic naan. :dr

Re: Sous vide
 

I am in the midst of cooking a brisket and had a weird thing happen with my Anova -- the unit stopped heating but it reported the correct temperature, both on the unit itself and via Bluetooth.

I power cycled the Anova and it started working again, but the temperature dropped significantly, so I don't know how my brisket is going to turn out...

I contacted Anova, but they had little to offer other than to watch for the problem and if it occurs again I should contact them for repair/replacement.

Re: Sous vide
 

Cooked a couple strip steaks to near perfection at 139.5* for about two hours

Re: Sous vide
 

I called Anova last night and left a message on their support line (it was after hours). They called me back this morning and are going to exchange my unit for a new one.

The only drag here is that I use my Anova a lot -- 2 or 3 times per week, and it will take up to 10 days to get my replacement unit...

Overall, I am impressed with the customer service.

Re: Sous vide
 

34 hour chuck roast at 130...salt, pepper,garlic, rosemary and thyme...out of the bath then onto a rack to "dry" a bit while I prepped other things...re-seasoned with salt and pepper then seared in very hot pan with some bacon grease...served with sweet potato fries and roasted spaghetti squash with caramelized onions and bacon...thought it came out great...texture was "primerib-ish" though I wouldn't pass up a prime rib for it...but at $3.50 /lb I make it again...

Pre-sear "ugly"
http://i313.photobucket.com/albums/l...psleuvzwyr.jpg

Post-sear yummy
http://i313.photobucket.com/albums/l...psulll3ohm.jpghttp://i313.photobucket.com/albums/l...pslxasq0ns.jpg

Plated...
http://i313.photobucket.com/albums/l...psjghoz90c.jpg

Re: Sous vide
 

Looks great, Keith! Did you also give it a sear before the bath?

Re: Sous vide
 

Very nice, Keith! Haven't done chuck roast yet as I'm still stuck on tri-tip. :tu

Re: Sous vide
 

I did not...Haven't found pre-sear to have any appreciable effect, other than an extra step...

Not a bad resting stop!

Re: Sous vide
 

A friend of mine is making yogurt with her sous vide. Seems really easy. Im going to give it a try once I'm back from my work trip.

Re: Sous vide
 

Making some infused garlic oil now, I'll know in a few hours if it works.

Basically, I took the garlic confit idea, reduced the garlic and upped the oil. One bulb of very coarsely chopped garlic, a handful of coarsely ripped up dried peppers, a teaspoon or two of dried oregano, a tablespoon of kosher salt (diamond krystal) and one 500 ml bottle of bold flavored olive oil. Split evenly into two quart vacuum bags, and going in the bath for 4 hours or so at 190. Should get a decent extraction and hopefully shouldn't cook the oil. If it works, I figure the oil should be good for finishing or dipping bread.

Thinking I'll strain it when done, save the garlic cloves and some of the peppers for grinding into a sauce at a later date.

Re: Sous vide
 

So I ended up with an infused oil, but not with the flavor profile I had intended / hoped for.

I probably used too many peppers, this should be a real shocker for anyone who knows my cooking :rolleyes:, and they overpowered the garlic. Or I didn't use enough garlic. Or I needed to cook it longer to extract the garlic flavors. Or a combination of a few things. Whatever, there's not any garlic flavor to this. Dammit.

Didn't need the salt. AT. ALL. It sat like a lump in the bottom of the bag. In retrospect, there was no way it was ever going to do anything since it's not oil soluble and there isn't enough garlic to provide adequate moisture to dissolve it. I should have known better.

The good... I have almost a full bottle of some absolute kick-ass chili infused (with hints of garlic) extra virgin olive oil.

I'll come back to this idea and work on it some more once this bottle is done. Maybe I'll even try sciencing it next time.

Re: Sous vide
 

Sounds really good, Adam!

Re: Sous vide
 

Interesting idea.

Re: Sous vide
 

Adam, I've been using a baña calda recipe that uses anchovies for the salt. But I'm not using the anova just the toaster oven.

Re: Sous vide
 

Greg, I wouldn't mind seeing that recipe if you have a link for it.

One of the reasons I made this though was that I wanted a shelf stable infused oil I could just pour back into bottle after straining. I can always sprinkle some salt into the oil once it's served on a small platter.

BTW, now that the oil has cooled off, the garlic flavor is coming though much better. Could have also just needed some aeration time.

Re: Sous vide
 

Sorrry spelled it wrong. Bana cauda

http://www.food.com/recipe/bagna-cau...y-sauce-114729

Re: Sous vide
 

Adam, does the time/temp make this shelf stable? I know it's not recommended to store garlic in olive oil, the risk of botulism being an anaerobic environment.

Re: Sous vide
 

Thanks Greg.

You bring up an interesting point, one I don't have a complete answer for at the moment.

One point to make is that I'm not storing the garlic cloves in the oil, they are being strained out. The cook temp of 190 will break down the toxin if present, but won't kill any spores.

That leaves me some options:
1) Keep the oil in the refrigerator to retard growth if present and count on that botulism from garlic is pretty rare.

2) Acidify the oil - In theory it's easy to do since I keep a few different powdered cooking acids on hand and I would just have to figure out the needed concentration. Unfortunately, bringing it down to about pH 4 where botulism would be prevented could change the flavor. Another complication here is that taking pH readings of oil is a special lab process since there is no water involved, you can't just jab a pH meter probe in there and get a reading to see what my starting point is, since it might not be the same as the listed pH of the oil due to the cooking and ingredients. In short, I'd be guessing on how much acid to add.

3) I could pack the oil into a mason jar and give it a 5-6 minute process in my pressure canner. USDA says 3 minutes at 250F will kill botulism, I always figure an increased margin is needed for home equipment. This temp is well below the smoke point, so the oil should be ok. Not sure what will happen to the flavor here though.

Other treatments like irradiation aren't going to be achievable in a home setting.


So right now, I'm going with #1 on this test batch. If people have been making garlic confit in their SV setups for years and safely storing the cooked cloves submerged in oil in the refrigerator and they haven't died yet, I figure my odds of not having a problem are pretty good. And you are correct, I should have said "refrigerator stable" and not "shelf stable".

I probably will test out #3 soon enough though. Would definitely do it if I were going to ship a bottle.

I'll get back to you on the flavors once I've pressure processed a batch.

Re: Sous vide
 

I do believe that you are making excuses. :sl

I have friends in Livermore and I suspect that you do as well... -(P

Re: Sous vide
 

Thanks for the reply. It's a topic I have to keep in mind when making dry cured sausages.

Re: Sous vide
 

LOL. I actually do know someone at Los Alamos.

I've never made dry cured sausage. I do have a contact at the UC who teaches the meat processing program if you have any questions you want forwarded, PM them to me, it's no problem at all for me to pass them on.

Re: Sous vide
 

Tried slow cooked egg today - 4 large eggs - 65C for 60 mins in the sous vide supreme.

Failed - the yolk was firm and white still loose.

Conflicting info out there - lower temp for longer?

http://i1369.photobucket.com/albums/...sqlp4jxua.jpeg

Re: Sous vide
 

Kinda surprising Neil, that the whites wouldn't set at that temp. You will always have some runny whites when doing sv eggs, in less you run a lot higher temp. Here's a great article that explains all the different times/temps for different consistencies.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/10/s...bout-eggs.html

Me, I do 145°f for 50 mins.

Re: Sous vide
 

Did a test run of tri tip at 16 hour @ 132.5F sous vide, finished on the santa maria grill. Came out at the upper half of medium when sliced, but super tender, almost too tender, if I had run this on the meat slicer rather than hand cut, I think it might have been too soft.

Happy with the results overall, but thinking that I might drop the temp a degree for next time.

Re: Sous vide
 

Got an Anova about a month and a half ago, just saw this thread. Love it so far but can't wait to read through this and get some ideas/tips.

Re: Sous vide
 

Anyone else with a searzall starting to see deterioration of the outer screen? I haven't even finished going through the first tank of propane and the outer screen already has a hole forming in it.

Re: Sous vide
 

Wow!

I will have o check when I get home.

Re: Sous vide
 

How to crank out 20lbs of tri-tip in less than 30 minutes on a grill that barely holds two at a time.

Not my preferred way to cook tri-tip, but hey, everyone there loved it, so whatever.

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/attach...1&d=1461767411
http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/attach...1&d=1461767430
http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/attach...1&d=1461767435
http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/attach...1&d=1461768718
http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/attach...1&d=1461767729

Re: Sous vide
 

What seasonings/veggies did you include in the bags, Adam?

Re: Sous vide
 

Oh, and the MAPP gas torch wasn't mine, I just grabbed it from the tool bench. The searzall that failed on me a week or two ago was only being run with propane.

Re: Sous vide
 

Per bag:
A handful of coarse chopped peeled garlic (about 1/3 cup I would guess)
about half an onion, sliced
1/3 of a head of cilantro, whole, stems and all
2 serrano peppers, sliced
4 fresh bay leaves*
2 tiny sprigs of rosemary (about 1" long each - don't overdo, this stuff will take over)

Divide the materials evenly across both sides of the tri-tip roast.

After I pulled them from the bags and cleaned up the herbs, I coated them with Pappy's Tri-Tip seasoning and seared over mesquite lump.

*: I have a bay leaf tree, so fresh in unlimited quantities is pretty easy for me. If you're buying bay leaf, you can probably just use one leaf torn in half.

Re: Sous vide
 

Checked my Searzall and there doesn't appear to be any hole forming.
There is a dent right in the center where the flame from the torch is, but it doesn't seem any weaker than the rest of the screen.

Those Tri-tips look fantastic!
Please tell me you seared one off with that weed burner.... You know, in the name of science. :D

I'm getting close to convincing my wife that she needs a Santa Maria grill. When she eventually caves expect a PM, Adam.

Re: Sous vide
 

Thanks for checking the searzall, Dom. Maybe the screen was just defective in the first one, the wires that failed were a distinctly different shade of blue/grey than the rest of the screen. Interesting about the dent, the screens on mine are bulged outward slightly. I've wondered about the tight spacing with the larger TS8000 torch.

I did not use the weed burner on the tri-tip. Too many witnesses.

Cool deal on the Santa Maria, lmk.

Re: Sous vide
 

FYI, Received an email from Anova -- the Precision Cooker is on sale for Mother's Day for $129 -- a $50 savings.

https://store.anovaculinary.com/2827...10a14-99716765

Re: Sous vide
 

Picked one up and used if last night. No pics as I ate everything too fast, but turned out great! Did a NY and some tips. Seasoning wasn't quite what I am used to, but there's nothing left so that's a good sign.

Re: Sous vide
 

Was feeling lazy yesterday, cooked a hanger steak SV. About 8 hours at 130F. Bagged with chopped habaneros, garlic, cilantro, onion, slices of lime and bay leaf. Pappy's santa maria tri-tip seasoning and granulated garlic (about 50-50) before going on the gas grill for a sear. Worked pretty decent for a cut that can be sometimes tricky to not accidentally turn into something with a texture resembling that of chewing on a car tire.

Re: Sous vide
 

I have been doing a sous vide technique on steaks that does not require a sous vide...

Put steak in oven as low as it can go (200 f) for like 30-60 minutes depending on size and when it gets to around 100 or so degrees internal temperature, finish it (sear) as you normally would. Comes out great!

Re: Sous vide
 

Did a cook today for some friends. Small 3lb tri tip at 132 for 6 hours, 3 racks of ribs smoked, grilled asparagus, pineapple, and corn. Tri tip came out excellent! Not sure I'll smoke one again, it was that good.

Re: Sous vide
 

So much good food, I had to order one. Just got it today. Any suggestions on what to start with? I'm thinking a large amount of brisket or pork. What would be easiest?

I'll have to buy a giant plastic container tomorrow and probably one of those Lodge cast iron pans.

Re: Sous vide
 

I am partial to tenderloin
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Re: Sous vide
 

I've found the results to be more impressive with larger, tough roast type cuts. Like chuck roast or the various rounds. They take 18-20 hours to cook (at 131-135F) but they come out so different than how you could get them any other way. There is also something to be said about a 2" thick steak cooked to a perfect medium or medium rare all the way through without the "bullseye" effect. Something that dries out easily like pork chops or boneless chicken breast is also a good demonstration of the process.

That's where I leave off though. I only see this process as another tool, it's certainly not the be-all, end-all.

To me, things like pork butt or brisket, I can get way, way better results with my smokers. Plus, everyone knows that the ONLY true good use of brisket and navel is pastrami. Fish, shellfish, etc. - much better results with my pellet cooker than the whirlpool. Of course, YMMV.

Re: Sous vide
 

I tried a few chicken breasts, absolutely delicious. I need to swing by Costco or Sams and grab some roasts. Steak sounds great too.

Re: Sous vide
 

I put a 4 1/2 lb brisket up this evening for a 48 hour cook @ 133 degrees.

I have pureed onion, avocado oil, pepper, garlic, (lots of) tobasco, and some salt in the bag with the brisket. I have used this marinade on Sous Vide Tri-Tip a few times and they came out great, so I have high hopes for the brisket :)

This will be my longest cook.

Re: Sous vide
 

Tried a grass fed ribeye yesterday. :dr

Perfect rare

Re: Sous vide
 

After I took the brisket out of the bath I let it rest for a bit, lightly seasoned it with Cook Shack dry rub and then seared it on a very hot grill for about 90 seconds on each side.

This turned out to be the best brisket that I have made -- much better than my previous one, which turned out very tough (too much salt in my rub leeched out all the moisture).

It's not near as good as the brisket markem makes on his BGE, but I was very happy with it:

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/attach...1&d=1466133542

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/attach...1&d=1466133542

Re: Sous vide
 

Looks good I might have to try a brisket. Did Italian sausage as well. Good stuff.

Re: Sous vide
 

Doing shredded pork next any advice? Time, temp or cut?

Re: Sous vide
 

Found this interesting video Adam Savage testing different ways to sear steak after Sous Vide
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB1x0O-bhrw