Sous vide

[picote]

So DH bought me a sous vide cooker thing for Xmas. Has anyone used one? Any amazing recipes I have to try?

I generally go for some sort of sear on pretty much everything I cook, so the idea of poaching feels foreign to me!

[glwestcott]

Nothing is poached as the food doesn’t touch the water since you vacuum pack it before it goes into the sous vide bath. You open and sear after. There is a learning curve and it isn’t great for everything, but is a really excellent way to cook a number of things. We love to cook salmon sous vide.  Once I did a large number of sausages for a pool party sous vide. Got them perfectly to the correct internal temp and held them there. Then just had to very briefly brown them on the grill. Easy and perfectly done - juicy yet seared. I also buy boneless chicken breasts and sous vide them to 140 degrees (held there long enough to make them safe). I then slice or dice them and use them right away or freeze them for later. They make wonderfully juicy chicken sandwiches or chicken salad or for when I make chicken soup. Another nice deal is the ability to just put food in that is already vacuum packed and frozen. There’s no need to thaw first. Did frozen pork chops recently by vacuum packing them with fresh herbs and seasonings. Just left them in an extra hour because they went straight from the freezer. Seared them in my cast iron for a minute on each side when they came out. They were delicious. I also do other things like pasteurize eggs using my sous vide cooker for real Caesar salad or so we can safely eat cookie dough. You will need to learn how long to cook various foods at different temperatures to insure safety, but the Internet will be your friend for that. Have fun playing with it!


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[ihop]

So fun!

We only doe steaks this way - sous vide and then seared on the grill.  We have also done chicken - color can be weird but fine if you use it as an ingredient.  I used it last week for beef bulgogi - flank steak, it was excellent.

[DocBuzzkill]

So DH bought me a sous vide cooker thing for Xmas. Has anyone used one? Any amazing recipes I have to try?

I generally go for some sort of sear on pretty much everything I cook, so the idea of poaching feels foreign to me!

Yep.  DH gave me an Anova sous vide for Xmas last year.  He uses it more than I do! 

glwestcott has a lot of good suggestions.  We don't have a vacuum sealer, so we just use Ziplocs and water displacement to get out the excess air.  Chicken breasts in the sous vide followed by grilling are excellent.  Sous vide eggs cooked until the yolk is still liquid but thickened are great.

I highly recommend the sous vide for shrimp!  We almost always cook shrimp in the sous vide first (with some sliced garlic, butter) then add at the very last step to shrimp and grits or garlic shrimp risotto.

[ihop]

Ours is Anova too.  It is really great!

We do have the vacuum seal thingy and it is very easy to use.

[Magic Microbe]

I dont know how anyone who has ever worked in a lab can use one...I cant do it. 

[DocBuzzkill]

I dont know how anyone who has ever worked in a lab can use one...I cant do it. 

Why?  Just because of the whole water bath factor?

[Magic Microbe]

Why?  Just because of the whole water bath factor?

Yep. At least they don't look like water baths anymore.

[radial]

I have the Joule sous vide device and use it a lot.  Ziplock bags work great to contain the food.  I was prepared to get a vacuum sealer, but it's completely unnecessary for my purposes.  For the water bath container, I just use the Instant Pot stainless pot for most things.  I did invest in a large poly tub for big things like a whole chicken, small turkey, brisket, or any time I want to cook in bulk like 4 or 5 boneless ribeye steaks at once.  There's a bit of a learning curve, but once you dial in the timing to produce your preferred degree of doneness, it's an infallibly repeatable process. 

[picote]

Ok, this is all awesome! He got the Anova one, so glad to hear that’s a popular version. I clearly need to start doing some research. Chicken sounds like a good place to start, because I’m always stressed I’m going to under cook it on the grill. Or maybe pork chops, which seem to always end up dry. I usually do a rub or seasoning, so need to figure out how to incorporate that.

Looking forward to experimenting!

And yes, MM, I think the lab is where my ‘poaching’ comment came from. And I’ve cleaned out way too many gross water baths to not have a little ick factor when I think too much about it.

[DocBuzzkill]

Huh.  My Anova doesn't remind me remotely of any water heater/circulation pump I ever used in the lab, but then I'm old.  Furthermore, I poach eggs, I poach fish, but I have never poached media with engineered E. coli.

I find the idea of the sous vide process really interesting from a physical biochem. perspective.

[BonitaApplebum]

I’ve never seen one of these contraptions, and am having a hard time imagining how it all works. Anyone want to explain it?

[radial]

I’ve never seen one of these contraptions, and am having a hard time imagining how it all works. Anyone want to explain it?

Mine is a cylindrical object that hangs off the rim of whatever container you are using for the water bath.  It's basically a pump and a heater.  The heater brings the water to temperature and the pump keeps it circulating during the cooking process.  You stick the food you want to cook in a ziplock bag and dunk it in the water bath for whatever time period is required.  My model is linked to an app on the phone that steps you through a dialog about most foods you are likely to be cooking.  The app does all the temp/time calculations and controls the device during the cooking process.  You get an alert on the phone when it's done so no need to hover.  In fact, you don't even need to be home to operate it since it's an internet-enabled device. 

[DocBuzzkill]

Serious Eats has some good articles on sous vide cooking that explain the pasteurization process among other things.

How to Cook Sous Vide Chicken

This article about sous vide eggs has some good photos that illustrate how the protein in an egg is denatured over time during the sous vide process.

Guide to Sous Vide Eggs

[ihop]

We also found it was easier for us to purchase a tub for it - and we store it, the food sealer, the bags, the rack, etc on it.  That tub sits in the pantry and we pull it out when we needed it.  And we use it weekly!

Sort of like this one:
https://www.amazon.com/GEESTA-Crystal-Clear-Container-Lid-12qt-Cookers/dp/B07LGXLDMC/ref=sr_1_15?dchild=1&keywords=sous+vide+tub&qid=1609341737&sr=8-15

And something like this rack:
https://www.amazon.com/LIPAVI-Rack-Model-Steel-Square-Inch-Adjustable-Collapsible/dp/B00PKGBMBA/ref=sr_1_10?dchild=1&keywords=sous+vide+rack&qid=1609341794&sr=8-10

[radial]

And something like this rack:
https://www.amazon.com/LIPAVI-Rack-Model-Steel-Square-Inch-Adjustable-Collapsible/dp/B00PKGBMBA/ref=sr_1_10?dchild=1&keywords=sous+vide+rack&qid=1609341794&sr=8-10

Nice rack! 

But, seriously, I've been on the lookout for something like this.  Thanks for the link!

[diablita]

This fascinates me from a cooking science standpoint - and it's great to hear that I could cook the types of foods I eat with it - but I just don't need one more contraption.  For now.

[ihop]

Nice rack! 

But, seriously, I've been on the lookout for something like this.  Thanks for the link!

We have this brand but slightly different.  It really helps the water circulate all around the bags.

[BonitaApplebum]

This fascinates me from a cooking science standpoint - and it's great to hear that I could cook the types of foods I eat with it - but I just don't need one more contraption.  For now.

I agree, I think. I’ve heard good stuff about steaks, but if you’re going to finish them on the grill anyway, I’m just gonna grill.

[DocBuzzkill]

I agree, I think. I’ve heard good stuff about steaks, but if you’re going to finish them on the grill anyway, I’m just gonna grill.

I'm not wild about the sous vide with beef steaks.   If I have a nice sirloin/NY strip, Porterhouse, or t-bone, I do not use the sous vide.  Goes right to the grill.  The denaturation of protein texture of the beef is more palatable.