Sous Vide

[wooflepoof]

WTF is Sous Vide?

Sous-vide ( /su??vi?d/; French for "under vacuum")[1] is a method of cooking food sealed in airtight plastic bags in a water bath for longer than normal cooking times?72 hours in some cases?at an accurately regulated temperature much lower than normally used for cooking, typically around 55 ?C (131 ?F) to 60 ?C (140 ?F) for meats and higher for vegetables. The intention is to cook the item evenly, and to not overcook the outside while still keeping the inside at the same "doneness", keeping the food juicier.

From Wikipedia

My New Setup:

Compressed Melons: (watermelon, cantaloupe, and...the other melon packed under full vacuum. Makes them translucent and the texture more dense and meaty)

My First Experiment (With Chicken)

Step 1: Brine

Pic to come

Step 2: Pack and Refrigerate (12 Hours)

Step 3: Rinse and Dry

Step 4: Repack and Submerge (1 Hour)

Step 5: Remove and Sear (3-5 Minutes)

Step 6: Pan Sauce (5 Minutes)

Step 7: Eat

This is the juiciest, most flavorful chicken I've ever eaten...no need for any sauce whatsoever. I'm being short with the descriptors because I'm still eating and its too good to waste time here!

If you've got a sous vide setup post your recipes and pix...if you want me to try any sous vide recipes you find in one of your cookbooks or the internet or an (inexpensive) culinary experiment you'd like me to try... I'm currently looking for suggestions!

 

[Twerp128]

In the past couple months I've had Pintado sous-vide and wagyu beef short-rib sous-vide and both were out of this world! I could probably dig up pics of the pintado!

 

[The_Finn]

At this point i really don't have the resources* to get into proper sous vide. I was hoping to get in on the Nomiku but sadly didn't have the disposable income before the time ran out. however the people doing the Nomiku also sell DIY kits i might have to look into

I have also been meaning to try Sous Vide in a Beer Cooler but have not had a chance nor will i likely have a chance now that the temps are dropping.

All of the occasions where i have had food cooked sous vide it has been wonderful and i really want to get into it but i just haven't had a chance

TLR i am super into it and have always been impressed with the results but time and money have resulted in me not having a home setup as of yet


*in the intrest of fairness i did most of my home sous vide research like 2 years ago and everyything was $500 for entry level stuff

 

[laxmax613]

This looks not terribly hard. I wonder if this would make me cook at school.

 

[rickhamilton620]

Re: Sous Vide

This looks not terribly hard. I wonder if this would make me cook at school.

I was going to say "they actually have stoves?" but then I realized that even my shitty school has a "community" kitchen in each dorm building that we can use. I've just been too cheap to pay the 5 bucks for a residence hall association sticker/membership.

 

[bone]

those vaccuum machines are great for going on holiday!
put all your underwear etc in bags, and pull them vaccuum, you've never been able to get that much stuff in your trolley!

 

[sifu]

sous vide underpants!

 

[Redliner]

I am very curious to try it, but never had the chance.

Ever tried cooking fish or any kind of seafood with this method?

 

[ScarFace88]

It's a very interesting idea, but I lack the attention span for it.

 

[Twerp128]

Pintado sous-vide, seared with a propane torch.

 

[The_Finn]

It's a very interesting idea, but I lack the attention span for it.

well if you get a good setup the whole idea is that the sous vide will keep the food at the exact temp you want for as long as you like.

 

[ahpadt]

Who did you bribe in order to get a $1000+ chamber vacuum sealer?

I am very curious to try it, but never had the chance.

Ever tried cooking fish or any kind of seafood with this method?

Some chefs do salmon sous vide to give it a gelantinous texture, but in general fish will get a kinda mushy texture if you sv it.


Also, brining a chicken breast for 12 hours sounds awfully long, even with a weak brine (1-5%). The meat must get quite salty.. The books I have (f.ex Heston at Home) recommend about 4 hours max for something the size of a chicken breast.

 

[wooflepoof]

^ It was only $959

It wasn't too salty at all, I got slight hints of the chicken stock I used in it but that certainly wasn't a bad thing. 4 hours or so would have been ideal but I put it in in the morning and then went to work Like I said this is all experimental right now.

 

[ahpadt]

Buying a $1000 chamber vacuum machine as your first one is very excessive. Heck, you can do most SV without a vacuum machine at all - especially if you're new to SV and dunno exactly what to do with it.

In Modernist Cuisine at Home they talk about regular zip-lock bags being a nice alternative if you wanna do SV on budget. Even on nerdy foodie forums you'll almost never see someone who have a chamber vacuumer.

 

[wooflepoof]

But I have disposable income and a culinary degree.

 

[rickhamilton620]

Re: Sous Vide

But I have disposable income and a culinary degree.

Party at Wooflepoof's house?

 

[equiraptor]

Party at Wooflepoof's house?

More like, "Someone just volunteered to cook for TexasMeet!"

 

[ninjacoco]

More like, "Someone just volunteered to cook for TexasMeet!"

This.

'poof, these vacuumed melons take your "Watermelon Connoisseur" title to a while 'nother level.

 

[Hemihead]

This.

'poof, these vacuumed melons take your "Watermelon Connoisseur" title to a while 'nother level.

I am terribly sorry, but the line "vacuumed melons" give me all sorts of weird mental images...

 

[ahpadt]

Gonna (hopefully) be doing some sous vide turkey and pork belly this Christmas.

Thinking turkey breasts at 60-62c for a couple of hours (just untill they pasturise) and deboned thighs at 70c for 8 hours.

Belly probably at 70c for 12-16 hours. Haven't decided on it yet.