Sous Vide Cooking

#1

volinbham

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#1
Anybody do sous vide cooking? You basically seal food in a bag and cook it in water to the desired internal temp.

I've been doing steaks this way - basically it's a reverse sear method where you get the steak close to the internal temp you are seeking (say 130) then finish it on a hot grill with a minute or two per side.

It's a great way to get a steak that is consistently medium rare from edge to edge along with a great sear.

The other nice thing is you can't overcook stuff so you can put a steak in the tank and leave it for hours until you are ready to finish it on the grill.

I have a redneck sous vide machine. Basically it's a thermostat/temp controller that you plug a crock pot into. Cost me under a 100 bucks while sous vide machines can cost thousands.
 
#2
#2
my BIL makes them this way and I was impressed. Of course when I looked into what he spent on the setup I figured it was way out of my range. Some of those things get really pricey
 
#6
#6
That's intriguing. I'm actually a fan of cast iron pan seared steaks myself but that's an interesting idea.
 
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#7
#7
That's intriguing. I'm actually a fan of cast iron pan seared steaks myself but that's an interesting idea.

works well with that method - sous vide it to the temp you want (technically to the doneness you want) then sear it for 1 minute a side and it will be exactly like you want it every time.

works great with thick steaks
 
#8
#8
I posted that I ordered this on a black friday sale in another thread for $99 and a few people asked me to make a thread about it, so here it is. Before buying it I read a lot of positive reviews so I wanted to give it a shot. Tonight was my first attempt. I had no clue what I was doing except for reading a few blogs for some tips/tricks and reading the instructions manual but it is ridiculously easy to use. First thing I'll say is the device itself is built really sturdy. Using it for the first time was really wierd and will take some getting used to because cooking this way really goes against everything I've ever learned about cooking. Usually you have to tend to your food. With this device you literally take a pot fill it with water, place the device in the water and set it to your desired temperature and walk away. My first attempt was steaks. I read that putting a little olive oil on the steaks and then seasoning them helps make them juicier, so that's what I did. I then sealed the bags and when the water hit the temperature (about 10 mins or so because it was a pretty big pot) I placed the steaks in the water, set the timer for an hour, walked away and an hour later took them out, seared them on the grill for about a minute on each side and that was it. I love to cook and grill, but I've never in my entire life have been able to get a steak cooked perfectly throughout- not until using this device. The color of the steaks were absolutely perfect throughout. I was really impressed. The steaks tasted great and were really juicy. The only thing I would change is next time I may cook them for an hour and a half to two hours to make them a little more tender because they did seem a little chewier than normal. The book said to cook it anywhere from 1-4 hours, so it was my fault for not cooking them longer on a first trial run. The other thing I will say is the steaks looked really wierd coming out of the pot, so you need to sear them after. I used my grill to sear them, but next time I'm going to try a cast iron pan because I don't feel like my grill got hot enough to give it that nice sear I was looking for because I was worried about keeping them on there too long and overcooking them. Overall I was really impressed. I'll definitely be using it a lot more and as a first attempt I was really happy. Let me know if anyone else has tried it and their experience.
https://anovaculinary.com/anova-precision-cooker/
 
#10
#10
Thanks for posting. Yes, I would cook them longer. Keep in mind whatever you're cooking will not get above the temp of your water. So cook them longer and they'll still be the same temp. Glad you like it.
 
#13
#13
#15
#15
Dang 1-2 hours to cook a steak is quite a long time. Sear it in a hot skillet two minutes each side and 8-9 minutes in a 450 oven will get you medium rare.
 
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#16
#16
I did a couple of ribeyes via stove top sous vide. They were literally the best steaks I've ever had. Only problem with doing it on the stove is that you have to babysit it to make sure your temperature stays relatively stable. But man was it worth it.
 
#17
#17
I did a couple of ribeyes via stove top sous vide. They were literally the best steaks I've ever had. Only problem with doing it on the stove is that you have to babysit it to make sure your temperature stays relatively stable. But man was it worth it.

That's awesome! Sounds like a huge pain to babysit the temp though. I tried my machine again last night except this time finished them off in cast iron opposed to the grill and they were amazing. My sous vide machine isn't something I''ll use everyday, but I definitely feel like it was worth the $100 I spent on it. My family had a hard time with the concept and didn't understand waiting 2 hours to eat a steak and complained the entire time that there was no way it wouldn't be overcooked, but it was priceless for me watching them cut into their steaks for the first time and it be cooked to perfection and they just kept saying how they couldn't have been more wrong and loved them. The only concern they now have is the cooking in plastic part, because they're convinced it'll eventually get you sick and can't be good for you, but hopefully they'll come around on that. I did some research on that and found conflicting reports so I hope it's ok long term.
 
#18
#18
I use the WiFi version of the Anova cooker. It's fantastic! Steaks cooked this way are the same "doneness" from top to bottom. No more medium-rare just in the center and medium to well-done as you go toward the surface. We do all sorts of proteins with it and love it!
 
#19
#19
I use the WiFi version of the Anova cooker. It's fantastic! Steaks cooked this way are the same "doneness" from top to bottom. No more medium-rare just in the center and medium to well-done as you go toward the surface. We do all sorts of proteins with it and love it!

It's amazing how it just comes out perfectly. The only thing I want to figure out is how to make the steaks more tender. Don't get me wrong they aren't super tough, but for some reason they don't come out as tender doing it sous vide compared to when I marinate them and just put them on the grill. Anyone have any suggestions? Right now I coat them with a little olive oil salt pepper garlic powder and onion powder. When I don't do sous vide and just cook them on the grill I marinate them in worcestershire sauce and seasonings but I read that worcestershire sauce shouldn't be used when doing sous vide.
 
#21
#21
Got an anova sous vide cooker for Christmas. So far I've made a medium rare chuck roast that was so juicy and tender it was like eating prime rib. Next up was a 9 lb pork shoulder. Applied dry rub and some liquid smoke. 24 hours later pulled it out of the bag, saved the drippings, dried the shoulder off, applied more dry rub. Popped in the oven around 200 for a couple of hours. Got a nice bark on it. Pulled the pork apart and made an amazing vinger based BBQ sauce from the ample drippings. The best BBQ pulled pork I've ever had in my life, and I had almost no idea what I was doing. This sous vide thing is a complete game changer.
 
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#22
#22
Use ours all the time, it's great! Thick cut steaks are really amazing. Sous Vide for an hour around 125. Finish with a quick sear on each side and you get the same doneness from top to bottom... Tender and juicy!
 
#23
#23
My son in law does this. The result is tasty and tender but the sizzle is not there even though he uses a blow torch to sear before serving. I've had rib eyes and filets.

To me the juice is not worth the squeeze. My cast iron skillet or my Weber suits my needs.
 
#24
#24
My son in law does this. The result is tasty and tender but the sizzle is not there even though he uses a blow torch to sear before serving. I've had rib eyes and filets.

To me the juice is not worth the squeeze. My cast iron skillet or my Weber suits my needs.

Yeah, I get it. Thick steaks done on my egg are hard to beat. The sous vide makes it even better in my opinion. I have medium rare throughout the cut. Not just in the center.
 
#25
#25
It's amazing how it just comes out perfectly. The only thing I want to figure out is how to make the steaks more tender. Don't get me wrong they aren't super tough, but for some reason they don't come out as tender doing it sous vide compared to when I marinate them and just put them on the grill. Anyone have any suggestions? Right now I coat them with a little olive oil salt pepper garlic powder and onion powder. When I don't do sous vide and just cook them on the grill I marinate them in worcestershire sauce and seasonings but I read that worcestershire sauce shouldn't be used when doing sous vide.
Meat tenderizer ?
 

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