Sous Vide Cooking

[spiceplace]

Anyone done any Sous vide cooking?

It's a water oven. You seal, say, a steak, in a foodsaver bag. Then cook it in, say, 140 deg F water for 8 hours. It's safe because you get the food to an internal temperature high enough to kill the bad things. And yet, the temperatures are low enough to not destroy the flavor by heating too high.

I read about this in the book Cooking for Geeks last year. It's widely used in France for the last 30 years.

Last month I bought a set up. I've cooked with it several times with mixed success. Last weekend I had my best success by cooking two New York Strip steaks for 7 hours, and then browning them over high heat, to get caramelization. Tremendous. It had the flavor and texture of Prime Rib.

I'm looking for a cookbook or guidance on cooking times. Any thoughts?

 

[ChileFarmer]

I vac bag most everything, but have never done that with meat. I have cooked veggies in the boiling water. Interesting!! CF
I will be checking it out.

 

[spiceplace]

Yeah. The trick with Sous Vide is supposed to be in the chemistry of when proteins denature (I think it means start to be break down but don't know what a protein is exactly so don't know what breaking down really means other than it tastes good). I do know that rare steaks taste best but there is a risk of bugs in the rare steak and the Sous Vide method kills them. Supposedly 135 to 140 is best for steaks, and when conventionally cooking , over 140 some bad tasting things start and since you're cooking at 200-300 degrees it's guaranteed to happen. So with Sous Vide you cook upto but not over the temperature where foods taste best. It just takes a long time. And I need a cookbook too

With Sous Vide, there is some science to how long to cook for each thickness as it takes some time for the steaks to get to 140, and then there is a hold time. To kill the bugs, it takes a long time at 140, thus the reason for cooking for 7 hours. But you can't overcook and it won't burn. Carmelization matters to flavor, so you have to brown before serving.

I have a pork loin in my water oven now. First I grilled it on low for 45 minutes, then sealed it in the foodsaver gallon bag and am cooking at 160 F for 24 hours. Will brown again after that. I have this from a recipe but need more recipes from a legit source.

Matt

 

[Mama Mangia]

I don't know - that cooking scares me. They say that bacteria sets in between the temps of 41 and 140* F. And regardless of the plastic - foods should not be cooked in plastic bags because of the chemicals leaching into the foods.

I'm just an old fart - if I am going to cook meat that long - I will do it the way my ancestors did - in the oven on low or use the crockpot.

Most meats should be cooked to at least 160* F. - I'm an old timer - so I'll just stick to my ways.

 

[spiceplace]

Hi Mama!
I understand the concern. Keep food below 40 or above 140 is the rule.

The bad stuff dies at 132 so you need accurate instruments and time.

 

[SilverSage]

I'm fascinated by sous-vide. Unfortunately, the set up is still very expensive. I've been following a few forums where people are doing it, and everyone swears it's better than all the old techniques. Maybe I can get the equipment for xmas or my birthday and give it a try.

In the meantime, I am enjoying it vicariously through those of you lucky enough to be able to do it.

I like my beef , lamb, duck, and fish rare, my pork medium rare, so sous-vide would be the perfect way to always have it done precisely to my taste.

 

[ChileFarmer]

After doing some research on the internet, I am thinking it is more involved than I want to get at this point in my life. So that being said I still find it interesting, but I think I will just keep firing up my smoker for now. CF

 

[spiceplace]

I bought mine at FreshMealsSolutions.com from Canada. Free shipping for the temp controller and plate to hold sensor, so I think it was like $160.00. I planned to use my slow cooker, but when the controller arrived I found crockpot was only 180 watt and ceramic and thought best to get something else. So instead of experimenting and perhaps buying something I couldn't use, I decided to get the Magical 9L modified rice cooker and they threw in a bubbler setup to keep the water temp even. With those two items I'm at about $340.00. They have combos of this setup for less. Or you can use a 330+ watt slow cooker.

I had good experience buying from them and have no affiliation. Just passing on my experience.