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  • Sous Vide Questions, Methods, Hacks & Opinions

    Sous Vide has piqued my interest for a while. Like most people, I can't afford one of these units. Much like a deep fryer. Great when you need one, but takes up a lot of space and not used much.

    I vac a lot of leftovers and reheat them in a pot of boiling water, right from the freezer. Often wondered if this could technique could be used with the same results. Keeping proper temps would be difficult and time consuming. On a gas stove it would be a PITA, but an electric stove or hot plate, it might be achievable.

    Then I find this on my homepage this morning:

    http://appetiteforlife.msn.com/recip...wt.mc_id=msnhp

    And a video explaining further:

    http://appetiteforlife.msn.com/home/...ackers/season5

    Haven't dragged out the crock pot, but I will. Need to know what temps it'll run. Won't cook in plastic wrap either. Sealer bags, for sure.

    Any thoughts or opinions?
    S-M Misfit #16

    If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy. ~ Red Green

    It's a shame stupidity isn't painful.

    GOSM Propane
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    New Braunfels Bandera
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    Lil Chief

  • #2
    I do have a sous vide machine and love it. I use it a lot. I know Mark has something that might interest you, I'm sure he'll chime in. There are definitely safety issues when using the method you speak of, but I don't know all the details.

    I have a flank steak in the sous vide right now and I have the temp set for 135. Tomorrow I'll fire up the Primo and sear it well with a bit of hickory smoke. Gonna have fajitas. I know a lot of folks roll their eyes at this method of cooking, but I'm telling ya, the texture of the meat is different in a very good way. The machines are coming down in price too. I paid 500 bucks for mine and don't regret that one bit. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts can be cooked to 150F for several hours and that means juicy, tender meat. There's no blood coming through either. Good luck!!!

    Oh, and I forgot to mention, if you are an egg lover as I am, the sous vide cooks the most perfect soft boiled eggs. I do that a lot, it only takes 15 minutes too.

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    • #3
      RowdyRay posted:

      "----Like most people, I can't afford one of these units. Much like a deep fryer. -----"

      There are several sous vide circulators now under $200.00

      "----Great when you need one, but takes up a lot of space and not used much.---"

      Not really, circulators are not big. You put one in your pot, bucket, beer cooler, etc. you are in business.

      "---I vac a lot of leftovers and reheat them in a pot of boiling water, right from the freezer. ----"

      Exactly, reheat without overcooking is a great use of sous vide.
      Not only that, I have cooked the entire raw 12 lb turkey directly from the freezer, no thawing, to perfection. No need to check temperature either.

      Regarding the video, like Squirrel said, there are safety issues. I would not recommend doing it that way. Sous vide is cooking at low temperature, a real sous vide machine can keep temperature to within one degree or better for the entire piece of meat. The method shown, I see you can get variations of more than 20F. With pork, that is not acceptable.

      dcarch
      Last edited by dcarch; 01-18-2014, 07:54 PM.

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      • #4
        http://anovaculinary.com/

        http://sansaire.com/

        http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/12/s...tml?ref=search

        As Squirrel has suggested, there are safety issues associated with this process. Long periods of time under very low temps. There MUST be a method, on whatever unit you choose to go with, which will alert you to a mechanical or electrical interruption. A period of non-operation can, and will, result in bug growth.

        Thermoworks manufactures a product that will do this very thing when used in concert with a unit that does not have this capability.
        sigpic
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        • #5
          You can get an STC-1000 aquarium thermostat for under $20. Unfortunately it only reads in Celsius. It works up to 99ºC, or 210ºF and the relay can handle 10 amps. So maybe you could put the probe in a pot and plug a $20 electric hotplate into the switched outlet. If you didn't have the other electrical bits lying around, I bet it's still under $50 total.

          Here's a picture of an STC-1000 and a switched outlet in a duplex electrical outlet. Storing it wouldn't take too much space.

          How important is the circulation to the sous vide? Or could you leave a spoon in the pot and stir it the old fashioned way every so often? If it's totally necessary, you'd need a pump or stirring mechanism too.




          The STC does a great job keeping my beer at 40ºF in a chest freezer. And I've never tried this. But I'm thinking it might work.

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          • #6
            An aquarium pump is less than $10.00.

            A circulation pump is a must, IMHO. It allows the heating up of food quickly, and evens out temperature efficiently.

            dcarch

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            • #7
              This wasn't meant for confrontations. Just bouncing ideas around. This is why I threw it at you folks. Been here a long time. Completely understand food safety and temps. Kind of shocked they would put something like that on the internet. At the same time, I want to take my crock out and see what temps it will hold. Might be an interesting experiment.
              S-M Misfit #16

              If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy. ~ Red Green

              It's a shame stupidity isn't painful.

              GOSM Propane
              CharGriller Kamado Cooker "The Akorn"
              New Braunfels Bandera
              UniFlame Gas Grill
              Lil Chief

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by RowdyRay View Post
                At the same time, I want to take my crock out and see what temps it will hold. Might be an interesting experiment.
                Indeed, be curious what you come up with for temps.
                sigpic

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                • #9
                  I now have three, two immersion circulators and a water bath. They are all commercial units, meant for lab use. They are very accurate. The circulator I have in hand (one hasn't shipped yet) holds temp within .2°C. For my thermometer I use a Thermoworks ChefAlarm (Apx $60), it shows the current temp but also shows what the high and low extremes were for the time it is on. So if I loose power or something I will know if the temp dropped below acceptable levels. Not for how long , but it takes a long while for these insulated baths to cool down. It also has high and low temp alarms and a timer. Did I mention that the temp readout is large....no glasses.
                  I found my units by watching for them (saved search) on ebay. All of the new units are digital but this technology has been around for a while. There are a lot of used analog lab units coming on the market, that's what all of mine are. Yes they all work in °C, not that big a deal. There should be a steady supply of them as labs change to the digital units. You just have to watch for them. Just make sure they have a good sales record and good feedback. I think all of mine came from the same seller.
                  There are a lot of PID control units for crock pots on the market, Auber makes one. The drawback there is that you don't have circulation so your temps can vary from end to end and top to bottom, but they do work. I chose not to go that route, I just didn't trust it but it was tempting. If you go this route I suggest getting a good known product that is intended for Sous Vide.

                  As far as the space, if you just have a clamp on circulator - it's smaller than a bread box. Mine is 7" X 7" X 11", without the bath. You just clamp it on your bowl, pot, cooler etc.

                  Wrapping a piece of meat in plastic wrap, cling wrap and trying to cook it in hot water is stupid at best. The whole point is for the water to cook the product...without touching it! So that nothing is lost or gained.

                  Ray this is perfect for cooking and freezing. Oh when you reheat on the stove don't let the water boil, simmer. Just short of a boil. Too close to seal melting, yes I have.
                  But if you reheat in the circulator, it will never be overcooked. It can only rise to the temp you set it at. And if you cook it Sous Vide to start with, well, same thing - cooked to perfection. And they are already in the bag ready for the freezer.

                  Like Squirrel said the texture of the meat cooked this way is different in a real good way! She's been at this longer than I have, dcharch also.

                  Jezz did I get everything?
                  Mark
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                  "Likes smokey old pool rooms, clear mountain mornins. Little warm puppies, children and girls of the night"?
                  Smoked-Meat Certified Sausage Head!

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                  • #10
                    When you test it out, please post results. My crock pot only has hi, med, and low settings, so I don't think I could use mine without a separate temp control.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by scotth View Post
                      When you test it out, please post results. My crock pot only has hi, med, and low settings, so I don't think I could use mine without a separate temp control.
                      You are correct, you have to have the separate temp control.
                      Mark
                      sigpic


                      "Likes smokey old pool rooms, clear mountain mornins. Little warm puppies, children and girls of the night"?
                      Smoked-Meat Certified Sausage Head!

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by scotth View Post
                        When you test it out, please post results. My crock pot only has hi, med, and low settings, so I don't think I could use mine without a separate temp control.
                        Fill your crock pot with water and set the temp to High. Check with a thermometer on what is the highest temperature the crock pot can get up to.

                        With an external temperature controller, that would be the highest temperature the crock pot can get up to, unless you rewire and bypass the crock pot's thermostat.

                        dcarch

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                        • #13
                          I am very intrigue by this. Like I need another contraption.....

                          Ray this is perfect for cooking and freezing. Oh when you reheat on the stove don't let the water boil, simmer. Just short of a boil. Too close to seal melting, yes I have.
                          But if you reheat in the circulator, it will never be overcooked. It can only rise to the temp you set it at. And if you cook it Sous Vide to start with, well, same thing - cooked to perfection. And they are already in the bag ready for the freezer
                          What is the point of cooking in water then freezing then reheating in the water bath? Why not just cook it straight from the freezer? Guess I need to do some reading and figure out how to add some counter space for another contraption.

                          The thought of a venison cooked to perfection every time is very intriguing. And reheating to the same temp is very interesting.

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by nickelmore View Post
                            I am very intrigue by this. Like I need another contraption.....



                            What is the point of cooking in water then freezing then reheating in the water bath? Why not just cook it straight from the freezer?
                            If you buy a bunch of veggies you can cook them all at once and freeze them, doesn't take as long to reheat. Some veggies turn to mush if you freeze them without cooking.
                            Mark
                            sigpic


                            "Likes smokey old pool rooms, clear mountain mornins. Little warm puppies, children and girls of the night"?
                            Smoked-Meat Certified Sausage Head!

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                            • #15
                              I am on the hunt for one of these... been wanting one for long time.


                              Drinks well with others



                              ~ P4 ~

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