Sous-vide cooking and vacuum sealing
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I spoke with him this morning and he says it's "complicated".
He confirmed that Americans refer to 'Top Round' or 'Top Butt' when they talk about a steak that would more or less be considered the equivalent of our Rump, but was a bit baffled by suggestions of its toughness and suggests that might be due to a number of factors, but most probably the location the steak was butchered from and how it has been cut.
He's pretty sure that a decent quality Rump steak would be cut from closer to the hip of the cow and that an average quality Top Butt would be from somewhere on the the rump of the animal, but admitted this is all down to the butcher in question and a lot still depends on the quality of the beef.
As far as a definitive answer goes, I got: "It's a steak. not a joint. Cook it like a steak".
I don't think there's anything in there about steak.
There's a fair size section, and I think he mentions something about it in the first couple of pages. However, I can't be 100%. It wasn't a section I paid much attention to to be honest.
I'll probably be home around half 8, so will look then.
Thanks for all the input guys.
After 32 hours (lol) it's time to take the plunge!
To be honest, I was expecting a trainwreck, but I was semi-pleasantly surprised!
When I cut open the bag, I was half expecting a rather putrid smell, but instead I was greeted with a nice (albeit "not what you're really aiming for") smell of beef stew! lol
Upon inspection, it doesn't appear to be "that" mullered - it certainly wasn't falling apart (which was most likely due to the temperature being 55C). Although it does have a slight 'braised' vibe going on!
*drum roll*
So I seared it for literally 20 seconds each side in a hot pan and prepared to sink my teeth in!
As you can see, it's pretty dry and overcooked (duh!) but to be honest, it was still very tender, tasted really nice and was actually edible!
I'll certainly stick to 90mins > 8 hours(?) next time! In fact, I might get another steak tomorrow and give it another go
After 32 hours (lol) it's time to take the plunge!
To be honest, I was expecting a trainwreck, but I was semi-pleasantly surprised!
When I cut open the bag, I was half expecting a rather putrid smell, but instead I was greeted with a nice (albeit "not what you're really aiming for") smell of beef stew! lol
Upon inspection, it doesn't appear to be "that" mullered - it certainly wasn't falling apart (which was most likely due to the temperature being 55C). Although it does have a slight 'braised' vibe going on!
*drum roll*
So I seared it for literally 20 seconds each side in a hot pan and prepared to sink my teeth in!
As you can see, it's pretty dry and overcooked (duh!) but to be honest, it was still very tender, tasted really nice and was actually edible!
I'll certainly stick to 90mins > 8 hours(?) next time! In fact, I might get another steak tomorrow and give it another go
OK, Heston's Book.
He doesn't seem to mention steak sous-vide explicitly, though I'll consult the meat section and see if he mentions it in there. However, he does have the following recipes for Sous-Vide in his new book. I'll happily type one up for you if you want:
Rack of Lamb
Cocotte of Pork with Black Pudding Sauce
Chicken with Clams a la Plancha
Cod with Mustard and Caper Vinaigrette
Salmon with Bois Boudran sauce
Scrambled Eggs with Brown Butter
Fennel in Smoked Duck Fat.
The rack of lamb calls for the water bath to be heated to 60c and then the lamb cooked for 1 hour, and then after that you are frying it for 4 minutes. Flipping every 15 second, like you'd do with steak.
The cocotte of pork calls for the pork to be cooked at 60c for 18 hours, then chilled until completely cool and then reheated at 60c for 15-20 minutes.
The salmon calls for 15 minutes.
He doesn't seem to mention steak sous-vide explicitly, though I'll consult the meat section and see if he mentions it in there. However, he does have the following recipes for Sous-Vide in his new book. I'll happily type one up for you if you want:
Rack of Lamb
Cocotte of Pork with Black Pudding Sauce
Chicken with Clams a la Plancha
Cod with Mustard and Caper Vinaigrette
Salmon with Bois Boudran sauce
Scrambled Eggs with Brown Butter
Fennel in Smoked Duck Fat.
The rack of lamb calls for the water bath to be heated to 60c and then the lamb cooked for 1 hour, and then after that you are frying it for 4 minutes. Flipping every 15 second, like you'd do with steak.
The cocotte of pork calls for the pork to be cooked at 60c for 18 hours, then chilled until completely cool and then reheated at 60c for 15-20 minutes.
The salmon calls for 15 minutes.
Hmm thanks for the info Ahelckz, i'll hold off on those recipes for the time being and I think i'll experiment some more with the basics first
Think im going to get another steak tomorrow and give it another bash.
Also very tempted to do some pulled pork with a shoulder joint and some pork belly as well
Think im going to get another steak tomorrow and give it another bash.
Also very tempted to do some pulled pork with a shoulder joint and some pork belly as well
If you want his views on sous-vide, I can type up what he says about it in the opening section.
Likewise, I'll scan some pictures in if you really want to see how his food ends up looking.
I'm only being helpful because I'm really intrigued by sous-vide but I have no way of doing it myself. My coolbox currently has a large hole drilled into the side of it so I can't even try that method!
Likewise, I'll scan some pictures in if you really want to see how his food ends up looking.
I'm only being helpful because I'm really intrigued by sous-vide but I have no way of doing it myself. My coolbox currently has a large hole drilled into the side of it so I can't even try that method!
Soldato
Bung up the hole!
Best parts to make your own with the coolbox type method? I would just buy the SVS but I think the Mrs would kick me in the face. Oh, it's fine for you to buy 3 dresses though love. Christ.
Best parts to make your own with the coolbox type method? I would just buy the SVS but I think the Mrs would kick me in the face. Oh, it's fine for you to buy 3 dresses though love. Christ.
Haha unlucky
Being a bachelor means I can get away with lots of excessive spending! Huzzah!
I think i'll trundle down to Sainbury's this lunch time and get me another steak and possibly some pork belly (QuickLink you are to blame for this)
Being a bachelor means I can get away with lots of excessive spending! Huzzah!
I think i'll trundle down to Sainbury's this lunch time and get me another steak and possibly some pork belly (QuickLink you are to blame for this)
Soldato
Bugger me he had hair!
http://www1.nespresso.com/precom/nmag/4/pdfs/en/nm4i_0046_0051_en.pdf
I was looking for the 36hr recipe (that someone else posted yesterday, their fault... not mine ) and found that.
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/...-all-belly-porchetta.html?ref=box_topfeatured
That's the other one
http://www1.nespresso.com/precom/nmag/4/pdfs/en/nm4i_0046_0051_en.pdf
I was looking for the 36hr recipe (that someone else posted yesterday, their fault... not mine
) and found that.http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/...-all-belly-porchetta.html?ref=box_topfeatured
That's the other one
Ohhh, they both look awesome. Not sure I can be bothered with brining though.... I wonder how it'll affect the finished dish.. hmmm
That deep fried one looks delicious, although the deep frying part looks a bit scary haha!
Thinking about it, I should probably sort the beef joint out first! Think i'm going to joint it up and bung a bit in the water bath today, along with my steak
That deep fried one looks delicious, although the deep frying part looks a bit scary haha!
Thinking about it, I should probably sort the beef joint out first! Think i'm going to joint it up and bung a bit in the water bath today, along with my steak
Soldato
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKdDfunjYio
http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/03/how-to-sous-vide-steak.html
I should really work. Anyone would think I have one of these new fangled pieces with the amount of bookmarks I now have
http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/03/how-to-sous-vide-steak.html
I should really work. Anyone would think I have one of these new fangled pieces with the amount of bookmarks I now have
Ah I've already had a looksie at those, but good bookmarks nonetheless
Time for less reading, more action!
I think I'll cut a ~1KG joint off the top rump I have and I'll cook that at 55C for about 12 hours. As for the steak, I think I'll do that for around 2 hours tomorrow.
Will post the (hopefully more visually appealing) results as they happen
Time for less reading, more action!
I think I'll cut a ~1KG joint off the top rump I have and I'll cook that at 55C for about 12 hours. As for the steak, I think I'll do that for around 2 hours tomorrow.
Will post the (hopefully more visually appealing) results as they happen
Soldato
Friggin awesome!
Would you be able to do me a favour, as and when you have time?
Do you have a temperature probe (Thermapen or otherwise) in the house that you could use to test the temperature of the water? Mine is reporting one thing but my probes say it's +/- 2º of what the readout on the front says - methinks the thermostat isn't working properly as Mr Blumenthal says his SVS is accurate to 0.1º.
And can you also time how long yours takes to get to temperature? I'm finding this one takes anywhere from 30 to 50-minutes to get from 20º to 60º and 'sticks' on a temperature around 3º from the target for at least five minutes before racing to its goal.