Sous-vide cooking and vacuum sealing

OCdude said:
glitch - looks like my results are similar to yours.
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Thanks for doing that; seems like these machines all have their little niggles. I'm now on my third unit and planning on doing a proper 'unboxing' for the benefit of anyone interested in seeing what you get for your money.

f00b4r said:
Got a SVS last month myself.
Apparently there are a few that are off calibration, although they are meant to be few and far between.
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Is that official or just something you've heard?
 
Okay time to resurrect the thread :D

I have been messing about with my SVS for the last couple of weeks, mainly with some of the cheaper but more flavoursome steak cuts.
Last week i did feather steak from Waitrose (£3 for 2); you can also get this as flat iron steak (which is probably a better cut as it does not have the bit running through the middle).
I cooked at 55C for 28 hours and then seared in a screaming hot cast iron pan and the result was an amazing tasty steak but with the texture of fillet.

Unfortunately i forgot to take pictures that time so made sure i did this Sunday when i tried skirt steak (2 for £1.80 - the butcher basically gives this away!) for 30 hours at 55C and then put it with a Thai curry sauce (ignore the fact that i cheated with the rice - which was very disappointing).
This was slightly chewier, but to be expected given the cut but was amazing taste (it is a very intense flavour so may not suit everyone but the other half loved it as did i).

Pics can be seen at:
http://imgur.com/a/KHxVN

Going to try pork tenderloin tonight and then rhubarb in vanilla syrup in the next few days.

One of my favourite dishes though in the SVS has been Chicken Dockside (http://svkitchen.com/?p=156). I don't have any pictures of that but the link shows you how to make and how it turns out.
I prepped about 12 of them and froze the rest so will be dipping into the freezer for the rest of them.


EDIT: NB make sure with steak you cut it against the grain and this will also make a real difference for the more flavorsome cuts.
 
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Oh am also going to try pinhead porridge this week as it takes a lot longer than normal porridge and i love in this recipe that the raisins leech so much sweetness into it naturally:

http://svkitchen.com/?p=4476

Pinhead oats were a pain to find though (luckily Fenwicks in Newcastle had them).
 
f00b4r said:
Okay time to resurrect the thread :D

I have been messing about with my SVS for the last couple of weeks, mainly with some of the cheaper but more flavoursome steak cuts.
Last week i did feather steak from Waitrose (£3 for 2); you can also get this as flat iron steak (which is probably a better cut as it does not have the bit running through the middle).
I cooked at 55C for 28 hours and then seared in a screaming hot cast iron pan and the result was an amazing tasty steak but with the texture of fillet.

Unfortunately i forgot to take pictures that time so made sure i did this Sunday when i tried skirt steak (2 for £1.80 - the butcher basically gives this away!) for 30 hours at 55C and then put it with a Thai curry sauce (ignore the fact that i cheated with the rice - which was very disappointing).
This was slightly chewier, but to be expected given the cut but was amazing taste (it is a very intense flavour so may not suit everyone but the other half loved it as did i).

Pics can be seen at:
http://imgur.com/a/KHxVN

Going to try pork tenderloin tonight and then rhubarb in vanilla syrup in the next few days.

One of my favourite dishes though in the SVS has been Chicken Dockside (http://svkitchen.com/?p=156). I don't have any pictures of that but the link shows you how to make and how it turns out.
I prepped about 12 of them and froze the rest so will be dipping into the freezer for the rest of them.


EDIT: NB make sure with steak you cut it against the grain and this will also make a real difference for the more flavorsome cuts.
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I think i've mentioned it a few times in this thread before, but if you really want the benefit of sous-vide for long-cooking times, you really want braising cuts like short-rib, shin, pork belly etc. There's not going to be the same kind of benefit in cooking a steak for that long IMO
 
oli collett said:
I think i've mentioned it a few times in this thread before, but if you really want the benefit of sous-vide for long-cooking times, you really want braising cuts like short-rib, shin, pork belly etc. There's not going to be the same kind of benefit in cooking a steak for that long IMO
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Isn't that pretty much what he is saying when he talks about cooking the tougher and less expensive cuts of meat?
 
FrenchTart said:
Isn't that pretty much what he is saying when he talks about cooking the tougher and less expensive cuts of meat?
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Steak cuts aren't really going to be that tough though, stuff like skirt doesn't have that much connective tissue which is what you are trying to break down in those kind of cooking times - even so, at 55C it's going to be a struggle to get what connective tissue there is to break down, you'd need to push up towards 58+, probably for ~48hrs, but then that temperature is probably going to spoil the rest of the texture.

Anyway, my point is, if you're doing anything that can be cooked to a decent level on a grill SV, just bring them up to 55C and serve, perfect!
 
<BUMP>

So, I recently purchased an immersion circulator and am planning to cook a roast this weekend. I've seen several recipes that call for browning the meat prior to it being sous vide and several that call for browning after being sous vide.

Anyone know if theres a difference or if one method is better than the other?

TIA!
 
Personally I always sear afterwards, if you only do before you'll lose the crust and flavour during the sous vide process.
Some benefits to doing both before and after as it'll take less time to brown afterwards and less risk of overcooking as a result.
Again if it's a big cut probably not a big deal anyway.

A great reference for sous vide is serious eats websites, a lot of good research into cooking techniques and recipes on there
 
Doesn't it depend on the meat? I would probably sear a steak or shortrib over charcoal after the sous vide, but would have thought skin on chicken would probably work better browned first.
 
You also managed to find the oldest sous vide thread...

https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/t...ker-cook-sous-vide-with-your-iphone.18597902/

That's the big one.

Anyway... I prefer searing afterwards. I tend to sous vide with fresh herbs and have found the flavour penetrates the meat better when completely raw compared to searing before sticking it in the sous vide.

Seasoning also penetrates better too.

Imo. Just try 2 pieces of meat at the same done. One pre sear and one post and go with what you think is best.

Don't forget to check out Sous Vide Everything on YouTube too. They do a lot of experiments. Fat, butter, seasoning, herbs and weirder stuff too.
 
Flibster said:
You also managed to find the oldest sous vide thread...

https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/t...ker-cook-sous-vide-with-your-iphone.18597902/
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Huh... a bit surprised considering how good the search function is on this ver. of VB. :p

Flibster said:
That's the big one.

Anyway... I prefer searing afterwards. I tend to sous vide with fresh herbs and have found the flavour penetrates the meat better when completely raw compared to searing before sticking it in the sous vide.

Seasoning also penetrates better too.

Imo. Just try 2 pieces of meat at the same done. One pre sear and one post and go with what you think is best.

Don't forget to check out Sous Vide Everything on YouTube too. They do a lot of experiments. Fat, butter, seasoning, herbs and weirder stuff too.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. Good stuff there.
 
So, last Sunday I SV'd a 3.5 lb rump roast (bottom round). That is typically one of the toughest, and hardest to cook properly, roasts. And the cheapest. 10 hours at 135F (57.2C).

Freakin' Amazing!

Served it with oven roasted potatoes and asparagus with the natural au jus!

Mmmm Mmmm Good. :D

I'm sold on this SV thing.
 
Brought this beautiful 1kg side of pork belly to make 24hr Chashu with. Completely forgot to cover it up before going to bed and half the pot had evaporated before the notifications on my phone managed to wake me up. Water was completely cold for god knows how long :(:(:(

I imagine the meat had been pasteurized as it was at 138 for almost 6 hours but still not worth the risk. Was so hard throwing it away...
 
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