Sous Vide Cooking

#26
#26
SamRebel35 said:
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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Want, .. bad..thought I was getting for X-mas .. I covet your property ..

So anyway, any need to get a whole kit or just the water heater? Can a large crock pot be used as the tub? What would you say is minimum water depth and quart size based on how you guys have been cooking? Any special tools? How about a big soup pot? Would a square pot be better to hang the bags? Are we there yet? I gotta pee.
 
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#27
#27
Orangedogsrule said:
Want, .. bad..thought I was getting for X-mas .. I covet your property ..

So anyway, any need to get a whole kit or just the water heater? Can a large crock pot be used as the tub? What would you say is minimum water depth and quart size based on how you guys have been cooking? Any special tools? How about a big soup pot? Would a square pot be better to hang the bags? Are we there yet? I gotta pee.
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Crock pot could work, but you would want to be careful with the mounting of the sous vide wand because it uses a screw to clamp the wand to the pot (so brittle porcelain might be a little sketchy). The size of the pot just depends on the size of whatever you're cooking. I've got a 6 gallon pot that I do the big pork shoulders and big roasts in (and hopefully ribs soon). For chicken breasts, steaks, and smaller cuts I use a 2 gallon pot. The mounting system for the anova is very forgiving, so it doesn't need to be a perfect mounting surface. One of the smaller pots I use is kind of bulb shaped like a cauldron. It mounts up and sits in the pot a little bit crooked, but it works just fine.
 
#28
#28
Was Anova your 1st choice? I was looking at the heaters and a torch to sear. Seems most of the chefs torches have either striker problems or the butane leaks or weak plastic parts that break almost out of the box.

Anybody know of a heavy duty chef's torch? I would think a one time purchase should last a lifetime.
 
#29
#29
I suggest using either a Iwatani trigger head on a butane canister (the inexpensive option), or a Searzall attachment rigged to a Bernzomatic trigger-start torch head on a propane cylinder.
 
#30
#30
Orangedogsrule said:
Was Anova your 1st choice? I was looking at the heaters and a torch to sear. Seems most of the chefs torches have either striker problems or the butane leaks or weak plastic parts that break almost out of the box.

Anybody know of a heavy duty chef's torch? I would think a one time purchase should last a lifetime.
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I like the anova because it is relatively small and is relatively inexpensive for a sous vide cooker.

No clue about the torches. I've thought about getting one, but so far I've either used the broiler to sear or just pan seared in butter. Honestly, I prefer the broiler route.
 
#31
#31
ninerplaya57 said:
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.
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It either could have been the cut of meat or the sous vide cooker wasn't hot enough to render the fat in the steak. Just two guesses.

Orangedogsrule said:
Was Anova your 1st choice? I was looking at the heaters and a torch to sear. Seems most of the chefs torches have either striker problems or the butane leaks or weak plastic parts that break almost out of the box.

Anybody know of a heavy duty chef's torch? I would think a one time purchase should last a lifetime.
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Don't bother with a chef's torch. Go with the Bernzomatic trigger on a propane tank. While I haven't used this to actually cook anything I use this every year as my fireworks lighter. :)

Alton Brown says go with the propane also.

Culinary Torch Song Video : Food Network
 
#34
#34
I buy prime meat at Costco and freeze individual steaks. The redneck sous vide I have is also a great way to thaw them out. I usually set it for about 105 or so and in an hour I have a thawed and partially cooked steak - a couple minutes on the grill to finish and add the sear works great.

Also, I use the Grill Grates to get a better sear
 
#35
#35
I have an Anova (bluetooth version, although I've never used the bluetooth) sous vide cooker that I use a good bit.

So far I've done steaks, pork loins, chicken breasts, chicken thighs, even corn.

Steaks seem to be the real selling point, but it works really well on anything if you have the time.

I like being able to get it going when I get home from work, do whatever around the house, then when I'm ready for dinner I can start on a side or something and never worry about overcooking the meat. (I mean, if you leave something on for hours it can start to break down, but I'm usually in the 1-2 hour range.)

My boss borrowed mine to try it out and then bought his own, he swears by cooking burgers with the sous vide, and then using a searzall torch attachment for the char on the outside.
 
#37
#37
I just got one for my birthday. Super pumped to get going.

Can I use regular zip locks and suck the air out? Or do I need the “special” bags?
 
#38
#38
I use zip-lock regular freezer bags. You can get most of the air out when you slowly put it in the hot water. Then close seal.

Delicious.
 
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#39
#39
How much does air in the bag matter? I was thinking I could it carefully with a straw.

Do you preheat the water? Or do I turn on my Anova and drop the beef in.

Thinking about doing some steaks tonight.
 
#40
#40
doozer said:
How much does air in the bag matter? I was thinking I could it carefully with a straw.

Do you preheat the water? Or do I turn on my Anova and drop the beef in.

Thinking about doing some steaks tonight.
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Preheat the water to the desired temp first. Then put the meat in.

It doesn’t have to be vacuumed out. You can get rid of most of the air if you slowly put the meat in with the bag open ( you’ll see) then close off the bag. I finish it on a skillet. A minute each side then the sides. Mmm
 
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#41
#41
I’ve done flat iron steak, chicken breast, ribeyes, and burgers. First two were fabulous. Not sure ribeyes turned out any better than just grilling to medium rare. Burgers were good, but a little undercooked for many people’s likings, and I will finish in skillet next time, as my grill doesn’t get hot enough for a quick strong sear. Doing beef tenderloin at in-laws tomorrow. Any advice?
 
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#42
#42
MIL bought us a food vac, randomly, without knowing anything about my Anova, so I’m in business now.
 
#45
#45
VolLee said:
Burgers were good, but a little undercooked for many people’s likings, and I will finish in skillet next time, as my grill doesn’t get hot enough for a quick strong sear.
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My boss is obsessed with sous vide burgers, I'll have to ask him what temperature/time he puts them in for.
 
#47
#47
He recommends using 75/25 or 80/20 beef, sous vide at 133 for 1.25 hours, and use a ziplock rather than a vacuum seal so the patty stays uncompressed.

Pretty sure he uses a searzall, but I'm sure a cast iron sear would work.
 
#48
#48
BRTiger said:
He recommends using 75/25 or 80/20 beef, sous vide at 133 for 1.25 hours, and use a ziplock rather than a vacuum seal so the patty stays uncompressed.

Pretty sure he uses a searzall, but I'm sure a cast iron sear would work.
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I’ll remember this. And the last part is what I did wrong. Thanks!
 
#49
#49
I got a Sous Vide Power Precision cooker from my sister for Christmas. It's like entry level but has gotten great reviews. Some guy cooked a 21lb turkey with it successfully.
 
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