Sous vide
 

Anybody else cooking this way?
Any pics, tips, or recipes?
Let's share them here!

Keith (Bigash) turned me on to the Anova Precision Cooker.
I pre-ordered it and waited about 8 weeks for it to come
Since it has gotten here, I've done my best to put it through the paces.
It's a little larger than a stick blender, and you can use it with any pot.
I bought a 4.75 gallon Cambro container to use with mine.

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As soon as it came I couldn't wait to try it.
I always take baby steps first, :rolleyes: so I went out and grabbed a couple of 24-26oz prime ribeye steaks.
Seasoned with salt & pepper
Cook time and temp was 1.5 hours @132°
Finished in a cast iron skillet

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The steaks came out great and I felt 132° was the perfect temp for me.
If there was something I didn't like it was the sear I got on the steak.
It was my first attempt at it so I had a hard time judging.
I wanted a good sear, but I didn't want to leave it in the pan too long and have it overcook.
I definitely could've let it sear longer without worry.

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Next up I tried a rack of lamb.
Seasoned with salt & pepper. I also through in a couple sprigs of Rosemary
Cooked at 130° for 2.5 hours

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Second try, still not the greatest sear.
I was even more apprehensive with the more delicate lamb than with the steaks.
Again, I think I could've seared longer without jeopardizing the interior.

Next up some eggs for breakfast.
Cooked in their shells @ 167° for 14 min.
Served over some Pulled Pork Hash I made with some leftovers.
The yolk had custard like consistency. I prefer it more runny.
After some more reading I'm going to try 163° next time.

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...psjdn045s2.jpg

Sous vide shrimp was the next attempt.
Seasoned with smoked sea salt, pepper and cooked with EVOO in the bag.
14 minutes @ 149°
Finished in a cast iron skillet with butter and a dash of Cajun seasoning for about 1 min.
Served over yellow corn grits.
Everything came out perfect on this one!

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...psouedaozc.jpg

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Same day, this time for dinner, I took a shot at Beef Tenderloin.
Seasoned with salt, pepper, and sprigs of thyme.
Cooked @ 130° for 90 min
Finished in cast iron skillet

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Better sear this time, but still not perfect.
The carrots here were also cooked sous vide.
Tried to cook them in bourbon and maple syrup.
They were a fail. Cooked to perfection but the bourbon maple sauce was really bitter.
I need to work on the ratios for that one.

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I finally moved on to some white meat
Pork Chops seasoned with salt, pepper, fresh peeled garlic and Rosemary.
Served over sauteed cabbage and some sauteed apples on the side.
140° for 45 minutes. Finished, also, in cast iron.

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These were the perfect pork chops!
Wonderfully moist and tender.
I was finally 100% happy with the sear I got, too!

Lastly I moved onto a 50oz ribeye steak.
I don't think the pics do it justice. This was a massive hunk of a steak!
Simple salt & pepper seasoning.
Again, 132° for 90 min. This time I finished over charcoal.

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Just amazing!
I would've never been able to cook a steak like this, this well, without the sous vide method.

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Awesome job on the cooking Dom. I have the same IC. So far I've only done a few items, eggs, steak and a boned out turkey breast. The turkey was amazingly good. 145F for 4 hours. Juicy, tender, just perfect.

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Been watching your posts on instagram, and pulled the trigger on an Innova.

Does the Cambro container add anything besides a coolness factor and the ability to see the bag of meat?

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My guess would be size of items you could put into it. I use a 12qt stock pot right now. I didn't have any issues with space when doing the turkey breast, but that's about as large of an item I'd want to put in there.

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Hey Dom, I'm thinking of picking up one of these for the searing process.

http://www.amazon.com/Searzall-Torch...keywords=anova

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My friend is a master at this method and has been doing it almost a decade. He'll keep the meat in there much longer than you do, but does the same basic method.

Maybe your pan is not hot enough for the sear? The charcoal worked, so maybe it's temp related

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I believe I will have to get me one of them there devices.:tu

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The size of the piece of meat is one reason.
Another was the lid.
I modified the lid to fit the Anova.
The lid will help reduce evaporation on really long cooks.
I did some beef ribs for 53hrs and didn't have to add any water to the container.

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This is already on my list for Santa! :D

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A puddle of drool, right here in front of me. This stuff looks amazing Dom, as soon as I find myself with enough time to properly go down the sous vide rabbit hole I'm gonna pick up a system like this, right now I think I would only use it a few times before it becomes an expensive toy in the cabinet

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Very cool, Dom!

What did you finally work out a for good sear?

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The pan was plenty hot. I think it was more about being gun shy.
The charcoal worked, but it was extremely hot.
Rather than light the grill to sear off one steak, I lit a charcoal chimney and placed a grill grate on top.
When I was finally ready to put the stake on the grates were glowing red.

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps3idj2ss5.jpg

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I really like to sear my steaks in cast iron by first heating up a bit of olive oil starting the sear and then dumping in a couple tablespoons of butter to baste and finish the sear. Has never failed me and you get that little bit of caramelization to the meat. That being said I'm pretty sure everyone does it the same way. -P

The steaks look fantastic by the way.

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Wow............

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Good thing with Sous Vide, is you can put even the steaks in there way ahead of time, so all there is to do is just finish the meat. That and sous vide allows for long time to render and break down collagen than normal oven cooking.

Not sure how much Dom's unit was, but the one my friend uses was about 1K.

That being said, I am in no rush to buy one.

You'll need a vacuum tumbler next!

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The Anova immersion circulator is $180 on Amazon.

The only downside I have found with it is the bluetooth range sucks. But don't let that stop you from getting one. I though i heard a wifi version was coming out soon.

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Food looks awesome in the photos, Dom.

This is a process I've never experimented with; so the main thing about the finished product with the sous vide method is no loss of moisture in the food, an extreme tenderness from the long low temp cook where you let enzymes do what they are supposed to do and then combining that with a maillard reaction for the outside texture that normally wouldn't be possible to combine with that level of moisture, doneness or rarity of the meat?

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Hey Dom, wanna take that steak up a notch? http://youtu.be/jftmzZMtcOc

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I've been eyeing these things for a couple of years, since the first reasonably priced ones came out, it's on the christmas list now.

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Hey Dom, do you have any recommendations for a Sous Vide cookbook?

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I've just been using google. If you can think it up, likely it's been done. SeriousEats.com also teamed up with Anova and has a nice guide/app that you can download to your phone.

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Exactly, Adam.
There are certain things that I wouldn't know how to achieve if it weren't for the sous vide method.
Brisket, cooked medium rare, yet as tender as if it was cooked to an internal temp of 200, with less loss of moisture, is one example.
The main draw for me was the red meat, and the edge to edge level of doneness.

Michael, sorry, I don't.
I don't have one and have never even looked at one
I mainly use a time and temp guide to figure out how long to cook things and then pair it with things I know how to make.
I also have used the Anova app on my phone for inspiration, but haven't tried any of their exact recipes.

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Thanks Dom, that gives me some things to think about. Much appreciated for the explanation.

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Now I'm hungry . . .

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Looking good my brother...glad you're enjoying...I'm still having a blast with mine!...I'll be doing a tenderloin roast on Saturday, yours looked "inspirational"! :tu...when I sear I find a little butter goes a long way in "crust" development...and, most importantly, you've upped your garnish game big time...sale on rosemary? :D

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Amazing Dom. And is all looks small enough so that you can put it and you on a plane and come out here to smoke my cigars for a bit.

Just a suggestion.

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Try using lard or duck fat, both are actually "healthy" choices and have a higher flash point than butter.

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The Bluetooth only one is on sale at the anova site for $129. The BT and Wifi one is $199. There's no wifi capability on the app side yet, but if you're going to be in the house while cooking, BT only is sufficient.

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bishes :dr

Saved to my wish list. Thanks Dom, like I need another rabbit hole to dive into.

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The Anova is on sale right now from the manufacturer for $129 with free domestic shipping.

http://anovaculinary.com/2015-holida...holiday%20sale

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First shot at sous vide. Really happy with the color of the tenderloin. Need to practice my searing technique a bit, but overall: pleased with the result.

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What did you use for the sear, Vin? I hear that cast iron is preferred.

Also, did you put any butter in the cooking bag? Seems to be the thing for steaks but am not really certain what it can really do for larger cuts.

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I was reading up on the add fats to the bag and found this

Interestingly I have also read that you might not get the sear you want from just a cast iron and a popular finish after the cast iron is to touch it up with a torch.

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Cast iron skillet for the sear, but I don't think I got it hot enough

No butter in the bag - the recipe I was following recommended against it. I did use a touch of butter during the sear though.

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I've read the same thing about fats that Adam did, and have never added any to the bag.
I added a few sprigs of Rosemary to the lamb rack, and a few sprigs of thyme to the tenderloin, but honestly, it didn't seem to add any flavor to the larger cuts of meat.
Adding rosemary and garlic to the pork chops made a huge difference.

I'm right there with you on the sear, Vin. It's a work in progress.
I always get the pan screaming hot, and I'm still not happy.
I'm starting to wonder if my sear is fine, but it just suffers from comparison to a traditionally cooked steak?
I asked my wife for the searzall for Christmas. I'm hoping it's a game changer.

Tried out my first recipe from the Anova app yesterday; Cream of Celery Soup.
I chose it simply because we had an abundance of celery left over from the holiday.
It was simple enough. Throw all of the ingredients into the bag, cook, and puree.
It was really tasty.

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Great soup idea, Dom!

My friend who has a commercial sous vide machine tells me that something like the searzall is a requirement for a good exterior on steaks. Kinda complicated, if ask me.

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In case anyone is interested in picking up the Anova unit, Amazon has the Bluetooth version for $159 and the Wifi version for $199.

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Actually Anova has $50 off the Bluetooth version and it can be had for $129 here

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Thanks Dom. I wasn't sure if they still had it on sale.

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Took a shot at a boneless pork chop last night. I tend to avoid pork chops because they dry out so easily. Not this one! Really juicy. I put it in the water bath naked - no herbs or seasoning. After it came out of the bath, I rubbed it down with some pork seasoning and seared it on a cast iron skillet with some thinly shaved slices of garlic in canola oil. Good flavor, decent sear. I'm still not wild about pork chops, but if Grace gets a craving, this is how we're doing them.

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Nicely done Vin. I used mine the other night to do a porterhouse steak I had just picked up from my farmer friend. Sous vide is best left to steaks over 1" in thickness. While this steak was still good, even after a quick minute sear on both sides, it was too done for my tastes. I knew that going in, but I hadn't had this beef in a while and it was still frozen. I was under a time constraint and sous vide is great for frozen products.

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My friend who's in SV does not season the meat either before vacuum sealing them.

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I've done two meals now with my Anova.

For the first, I got two free range chicken breasts (on bone, quite large at 1.4 pounds total, onion salt and pepper) and did them at 150 for 2 hours. Ice bath then in the fridge to finish firming up. Rough chopped the chicken and put in to cream of mushroom soup. Mixed salad on the side. Very good - the chicken held its texture and was very moist.

For the second, I got a 1" boneless rib eye. Salt, pepper and garlic powder. Next time I will lower the temp about 3 degrees as it was just bit over what I wanted to doneness (we shoot for just shy of medium). The sear in my Calphalon pan was acceptable but a torch would have been perfect. Best rib eye not cooked over charcoal that I've had in a very long time. The feel on the tooth was near perfect and flavor abounded. May try adding some red wine (maybe 2-4 Tbsp) next time. Salad on the side, but pan seared asparagus is out go-to for steak.

I do not have a vacuum sealer, so have been using the zip-lock immersion technique. I think that both would have been better fully sealed. I'll get a vacuum sealer after the holidays. This is also a good excuse to get some Lodge cast iron that I've been lusting after for use on the Big Green Egg.

I recommend the unit since it has a wide range in which the food is "done". Makes dinners when we both commute less time sensitive and more relaxed in the prep. That alone is worth $129. btw, the bluetooth app sucks as it doesn't appear to alarm, but that's okay since time isn't that important except for the minimum time.

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I cooked two 1" Rib Eyes (from Costco) yesterday using my Anova @ 129 degrees for 40 minutes (recipe on the Anova site) and they came out perfect:

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/attach...9&d=1449680390

I seared the steaks in a very hot (Lodge) cast iron skillet with bacon fat or 1 minute on a side. Next time I might do 1:15 or 1:30.

I had better luck with the iPhone app -- the app alerted me when the water was at temperature and when the timer had run out.

I want to thank Dom for starting this thread! I am not up for using the grill in the pouring rain or freezing cold, and now I can still have a good steak! Going to try some lamb chops next :D

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One of the advantages I see of this cooking method is being able to take something straight from the freezer and put into the water. I have a tendency to forget to thaw items I want for dinner.

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If the food is frozen when it goes in to the water bath, I assume the minimum cook time needs adjusting? Any rule of thumb?

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vin...I usually add an extra hour for anything up to 2 inches thick...then begin my sous vide cook time....the hour in the bath allows for thaw

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You maximum time in the water is so big, that as long as your temp is at low setting, you should be all set. I am pretty sure my friend will leave stuff in there like all day. He did a porchetta that was unreal! The SV really rendered the fat well and when he fried it after the SV, the crackling was great.

Has anyone done a pork belly in the SV? :tu