Sous Vide cooking

[quadrafire]

For those of you that cook with this method. I thought this would be a good place to put recipes you want to share. I am thinking about immersing myself (haha/play on words) in this activity in the near future.
So post em up.
Piano's last post got me thinking pretty seriously about it.
Tips and techniques, hints, equipment etc.

[Shaqdiesel]

I have the anova precision and so far I have just been googling recipes, I really like it for taking stuff straight from the freezer and cooking it and you just have to add some time to the cook but so far it has served me well and I actually use it, unlike most other dumb kitchen gadgets.

[Angry Perch]

Soft boiled eggs. 40 minutes at 145 degrees. Crack them open on a piece of buttered toast. Yum!
I put them in small Pyrex bowls to keep them from rolling around in the pot and possibly cracking.
Also, it's amazing how much difference 1 or 2 degrees makes. You can dial it in for the perfect consistency.

I was also inspired by the Starbucks sous vide egg bites. Whisk eggs and some cream, add salt & pepper, and your choice of cheese, bacon, spinach, or??? I put them in greased 4oz canning jars, and they worked great.

[merkaba93]

Here are a few examples of what I've done in the last few months. Holding temp while making cheese is a pain so using the sous vide to hold the temp makes life a lot easier. So I made some cheddar cheese curds and then poutine. The other is a pork tenderloin over some butternut squash and ricotta chive gnocchi and sage brown butter.

[pianoman9701]

Here are a few examples of what I've done in the last few months. Holding temp while making cheese is a pain so using the sous vide to hold the temp makes life a lot easier. So I made some cheddar cheese curds and then poutine. The other is a pork tenderloin over some butternut squash and ricotta chive gnocchi and sage brown butter.

How long did you cook the pork and at what temp?

[NRA4LIFE]

Moose sirloin with a bit of olive oil, Johnny's and pepper.  4 hours at 131 degrees and into a very hot cast iron pan for a quick sear on each side.  Absolutely outstanding.

[quadrafire]

How do you know how long to cook different foods?
example 40 min for an egg, 4 hrs for a sirloin
Is it trial and error?

[pianoman9701]

There are sous vide instructions not only at the website for the product you buy, but all over the web. Cooking time has a minimum and a maximum (ex. 1.5 to 4 hours). The lower end of the scale is the minimum to achieve the desired doneness. The upper end of the scale is to ensure that you don't create a bacteria problem with extended time below 135 degrees. Anything over that mark can cook for a very long time, up to 24 hours or more. Longer cooking times mean more of an opportunity for meat broths, seasonings, herbs, oil and butter (always use some extra, flavorful oil or butter), to infuse flavors into the meat. It also changes the texture of meats like pork.

One of the other benefits of the flexible time thing is that you can plan your plating perfectly - everything done at the same time. It also gives you time to relax before dinner with a cigar and copious quantities of your favorite beverage.

[Angry Perch]

There are sous vide instructions not only at the website for the product you buy, but all over the web. Cooking time has a minimum and a maximum (ex. 1.5 to 4 hours). The lower end of the scale is the minimum to achieve the desired doneness. The upper end of the scale is to ensure that you don't create a bacteria problem with extended time below 135 degrees. Anything over that mark can cook for a very long time, up to 24 hours or more. Longer cooking times mean more of an opportunity for meat broths, seasonings, herbs, oil and butter (always use some extra, flavorful oil or butter), to infuse flavors into the meat. It also changes the texture of meats like pork.

One of the other benefits of the flexible time thing is that you can plan your plating perfectly - everything done at the same time. It also gives you time to relax before dinner with a cigar and copious quantities of your favorite beverage.

And if you pass out on the couch, you won't burn the house down!

[NRA4LIFE]

It's been trial and error for us.  Depends on the cut of meat largely.  We did some elk loin from a small cow for 4 hours and it just about melted. It was so good. 

[Caseknife]

So I just dove into sous vide and my first try was elk round.  I cooked at 140 for 4 hours, should have stayed at 135 or below, it was a bit too done, but good flavor.

[quadrafire]

ThAnks all for the tips. Keep em
Coming. I think I'll do this at some
Point

[Miss Muzzleloader]

I prepared thick sliced bacon for ten hours at 147*, followed by a very quick fry at high heat.  I set it up Friday night for a great Saturday morning breakfast.  Who would have thought you can improve upon bacon??!!

[pianoman9701]

Chicken's a tough one. Most of the instructions I read have you cook chicken at 145 or 146 degrees. The breasts come out nice and juicy; no problem. Legs are another story. The meat is unattractive and it feels like you're eating raw chicken. It's tender and everything, but the appearance and texture say raw. I cooked some Buffalo wings two nights ago - same result. So next time I cook legs or thighs, I think I'm going hotter, like at least 155-160. Anyone else have feedback on this?

[Angry Perch]

Chicken's a tough one. Most of the instructions I read have you cook chicken at 145 or 146 degrees. The breasts come out nice and juicy; no problem. Legs are another story. The meat is unattractive and it feels like you're eating raw chicken. It's tender and everything, but the appearance and texture say raw. I cooked some Buffalo wings two nights ago - same result. So next time I cook legs or thighs, I think I'm going hotter, like at least 155-160. Anyone else have feedback on this?

I haven't done chicken, but that's the age old problem with them damn birds. Cook white meat correctly, and dark meat is rare, and vice versa. Someone needs to engineer an all dark meat chicken (and turkey) and put a stop to this nonsense!

[pianoman9701]

Chicken's a tough one. Most of the instructions I read have you cook chicken at 145 or 146 degrees. The breasts come out nice and juicy; no problem. Legs are another story. The meat is unattractive and it feels like you're eating raw chicken. It's tender and everything, but the appearance and texture say raw. I cooked some Buffalo wings two nights ago - same result. So next time I cook legs or thighs, I think I'm going hotter, like at least 155-160. Anyone else have feedback on this?

I haven't done chicken, but that's the age old problem with them damn birds. Cook white meat correctly, and dark meat is rare, and vice versa. Someone needs to engineer an all dark meat chicken (and turkey) and put a stop to this nonsense!

The meat is all cooked and evenly. But the texture suggests it's raw and that's not appetizing. I am going to try the higher temps and see how that works out.

[Angry Perch]

Yes. Flaccid chicken is less than appetizing.

[pianoman9701]

Boneless breasts come out fine at 146. Put in some wine/sherry, a little garlic and thyme or tarragon, salt and pepper. Let it go for 2 hours. Nice!

[merkaba93]

One thing that I've done before.
Brine Chicken Thighs

4 cup Water
3 TBS Kosher Salt
1 onion quartered (ok to leave skin)
1 bulb garlic cut in half
A few sprigs thyme or rosemary
Bayleaf
One lemon halved
5 black peppercorns.

Then sous vide them. I agree they look horrible. Then take them dunk in buttermilk, then seasoned flour (flour, salt, pepper, paprika) then back to buttermilk, then again in flour. Then deep fry at 350 until it's the perfect golden brown. Just pull em when the skin is to your liking, they are already cooked. That few extra degrees makes the meat near the bone look a ton better and the skin won't be overcooked (dark brown) because you had to fry them for too long to get them done.
A lot of work yes. But if you got the time it's worth a go.

[jstamsch]

I love my Anova.  This is the best way I have found to make steaks.


130 for 1-2 hours, nothing but salt, pepper, and thyme
Finish over a charcoal grill chimney for 60 seconds a side:


You end up with a perfect medium rare steak

[quadrafire]

Messing around the other day and tried something that was pretty good. May play around with it a bit.

Buttermilk fried chicken

Sous Vide chicken thighs and legs in buttermilk at 145 for 2 hrs.
drain and dredge in seasoned flour, pan fried in oil until brown and crispy, just a few minutes per side. Could be deep fried and would be even easier i'd imagine.

I thought it turned out pretty danged good.

PS. Chicken looks terrible after the sous vide cooking but once fried you would not know the difference. Meat is cooked through even with short frying time.

[pianoman9701]

Messing around the other day and tried something that was pretty good. May play around with it a bit.

Buttermilk fried chicken

Sous Vide chicken thighs and legs in buttermilk at 145 for 2 hrs.
drain and dredge in seasoned flour, pan fried in oil until brown and crispy, just a few minutes per side. Could be deep fried and would be even easier i'd imagine.

I thought it turned out pretty danged good.

PS. Chicken looks terrible after the sous vide cooking but once fried you would not know the difference. Meat is cooked through even with short frying time.

When cooking chicken at 145F, texture is often a factor, as well. I cook chicken at 155F for the same amount of time and the texture is no longer like eating raw chicken.