Sous Vide (1 Viewer)

Yeti

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Has anyone here tried it out? I just took the plunge and tried it tonight with some steaks.

What a disaster. Cooked the steaks at 133 for an hour. Seared it at 600° on my Kamado Joe. Worst steak I've EVER had. The texture was horrible. Felt like I was eating a sponge.

So far in my one experience I would not recommend this to anyone. I'm willing to give it another try. But if its still absolutely disgusting, it's going right back to Amazon.
 
It should be pretty failsafe. How did you vacuum the steak before putting it water? Was the seal good?

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
 
Foodsaver vacuum sealed. Seal was excellent. The texture of food coming out of sous vide is a common complaint per my research before buying.

However, I did not now it was that bad. A person with no teeth would have been able to eat it. Was not firm at all.
 
If I had to bet, I'd lay 5-2 odds that Buzd is about to come in here and tell you you're doing it wrong.
 
I have been using sous vide daily for almost 10 years at this point (I cook professionally).

Your methodology sounds correct, but your results sound atypical. What cut of beef were you cooking and how thick was it? I will say that cooking steaks is not where I find sous vide shines, although generally it does a pretty good job.

Before you give up on it as a cooking method, try one of the long cook recipes and if you have bad results there it may not be for you (but I pretty much guarantee you will be amazed).

Try some beef short ribs at 135 for 60 houra or a brisket at 140 for 48 hours. Taking really tough cuts of meat and cooking them at low temp for a long time is where sous vide performs miracles. Its also really great on fish.

All proteins that come out of a sous vide bag will need a really hard sear to get some crust for texture and maillard reaction for flavor. Sear after cooking, not before. When doing long cooks don't salt your protein until after it comes out of the bag.
 
I have been using sous vide daily for almost 10 years at this point (I cook professionally).

Your methodology sounds correct, but your results sound atypical. What cut of beef were you cooking and how thick was it? I will say that cooking steaks is not where I find sous vide shines, although generally it does a pretty good job.

Before you give up on it as a cooking method, try one of the long cook recipes and if you have bad results there it may not be for you (but I pretty much guarantee you will be amazed).

Try some beef short ribs at 135 for 60 houra or a brisket at 140 for 48 hours. Taking really tough cuts of meat and cooking them at low temp for a long time is where sous vide performs miracles. Its also really great on fish.

All proteins that come out of a sous vide bag will need a really hard sear to get some crust for texture and maillard reaction for flavor. Sear after cooking, not before. When doing long cooks don't salt your protein until after it comes out of the bag.
I want to go eat at Twyst's house.
 
I am not a pro like Twyst, but I, too, have been using it regularly for at least 10 years and the textural issue being described is not my experience.

When I have a crowd of folks for steaks, they're done in the ** at 127 and I vary doneness to order by length of time on a very hot egg just like you intended.

I suspect you may have started with filet to begin with given the results and I find filet to be mushy no matter how it's cooked.

My good friend and cooking partner likes to pre-sear and then sous vide and finish with a searing torch. Me, I typically make what I think you'd call a monte beurre and add a tiny bit of my butter to each bag and then seal.

Instead of trying to figure out what you did wrong, I'd suggest you try again with 1.25" NY Strips. set your strips out on a cooling rack and rub with kosher salt. Let them sit for at least 15 minutes and then bag with butter and in the ** for half an hour.

If you have time to waste, then toss them in an ice bath and the fridge to grill later. If not, then put them on a burning hot grill or griddle to sear off and serve.

I think it's important to make sure when you grill or sear them that you make sure the surface is completely dry. I dry mine with paper towels to make sure I get all the crust I can as quickly as possible since your steaks are already cooked.

No need to rest an ** steak.



As Twyst instructed, I think the ** is best used on other cuts of meat like briskets and short ribs. You can do med rare short ribs for 48-72 hours and turn cheap meat into gold. It's a nearly fool proof way to get delicious brisket and you can even duplicate the pink ring if you read up. I did a porchetta ** last year for christmas and then finished it in an oilless fryer and it turned out awesome. A tiny bit of sugar water in a bag of carrots at 190 for half an hour can be delightful. The best thing I've ever done was the Domenica cauliflower which you cook in a bag and then broil to brown the top.
 
I have a Dorkfood DSV device that turns my crock pot into a sous vide machine. I cook pork tenderloin with it pretty often and it always comes out great. It's super convenient because I can vacuum seal a bunch of them individually with butter and herbs and throw them in the chest freezer for later. No prep needed after I thaw one overnight.
 
The best thing I've ever done was the Domenica cauliflower which you cook in a bag and then broil to brown the top.

What time and temp did you use on the head of cauliflower? Been wanting to make this for a bit, but it always slips my mind.
 
What time and temp did you use on the head of cauliflower? Been wanting to make this for a bit, but it always slips my mind.

It's at 195 and not long. Maybe half an hour. You make your butter emulsion with red pepper flakes and white wine.

People will tell you that you don't need the chamber vac to successfully **, but in this case I think it's imperative. You have to break down the cellular structure to get the wine in and make it tender.

PM me if you want the recipe. I have it at the office
 
How am I to read **? Sous vide?
I've wondered what the M F in parentheses by a lot of Sous vide recipes is myself. I've never figured it out. See it a lot on starchy or dessert recipes, like cheesecakes or breads.
 
Why would you slow cook steaks? Unless maybe a chuckie ... but other than that, a total waste. Take and Twyst's advice and stick with tougher/fattier cuts of meat that benefit from a slow cook
 
Why would you slow cook steaks? Unless maybe a chuckie ... but other than that, a total waste. Take and Twyst's advice and stick with tougher/fattier cuts of meat that benefit from a slow cook

It's not really slow cooking, but a way to get precisely the right temp from top to bottom with very little risk of over-cooking.

For instance, you can ** a NY Strip at 127 for half an hour or 2 hours or 4 and nobody could tell the time you cooked them. Toss them on the roaring grill for 30 seconds per side and you have pink and warm from an 1/8th of an inch of both sides and a nice seared crust.

I may cook one tonight just to show the picture.
 
If I had to bet, I'd lay 5-2 odds that Buzd is about to come in here and tell you you're doing it wrong.

The Buzd signal must be broken


Heh, had to attend to some other things this weekend.

I think most of the replies so far are pretty much correct. Of all things sous vide, I think steaks benefit the least. I like my steak to have a little smoke, and if you reverse sear, you can get a pretty even cook any way.

As mentioned, fattier cuts (like short ribs), vegetables, starches, and fish all benefit much more from sous vide than steaks. You can also do some amazing things with eggs.
 

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