How many of you guys here really, really enjoy cooking and planning meals?

[IslandTractor]

Thanks, IT. Being too lazy and impatient, , I decided to just take the $25 and order. I've been reading a bunch about sv cooking this morning, and I can hardly wait to get it now!

What I find fascinating is how simple and obvious the concept behind it is. Of course is wasn't possible until highly accurate water heaters could be built and after that it took off commercially and in fine restaurants. It isn't good for everything (French fries, etc) and may not be practical for some things (whole turkey), but it clearly has major advantages for cooking meats that you don't want to overcook and also for cooking things like soft boiled or poached eggs reliably. I like the idea that you can prep a large quantity and vacuum seal some of it for freezing then just go straight from freezer to water bath in the same package.

 

[RobertN]

Alternative way to cook bacon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddCJIqznUNU

 

[GolfAddict]

What I find fascinating is how simple and obvious the concept behind it is. Of course is wasn't possible until highly accurate water heaters could be built and after that it took off commercially and in fine restaurants. It isn't good for everything (French fries, etc) and may not be practical for some things (whole turkey), but it clearly has major advantages for cooking meats that you don't want to overcook and also for cooking things like soft boiled or poached eggs reliably. I like the idea that you can prep a large quantity and vacuum seal some of it for freezing then just go straight from freezer to water bath in the same package.

It really clicked for me. I already have my meats in vacuum bags, as I transfer to them when I first get them home from the grocer. Then, I often thaw a package for the evening meal by putting the package in hot water.

I have noticed that when I do this, it seems it will cook much faster and seems a little easier to get a medium rare better without getting over done, but it's still always a bit of challenge for me. It sort of makes sense I think - perhaps I've been doing kind of an abbrieviated version of SV. I'm really looking forward to this.

 

[MossRoad]

My first reaction exactly! Think of it rather as stewing at lowest effective temperature followed by a nice sear.

What I did learn from reading articles on that is I have been grilling my meats at much too high a temperature. We were brought up to sear em to seal in the juices, but we always ended up with tough red meat in the middle. For the past year or two I've been going with a much lower flame, longer cooking time and paying attention to internal temps. So much better results! :thumbsup:

 

[sodamo]

I can see where this water method makes sense. I'm a recent convert to the low and slow method having made some delicious and juicy poultry, beef, and pork lately.

Might be a while before I can spring for one of these as when I was asking about it, wife remarked I had enough kitchen toys

David Sent from my iPad Air using TractorByNet

 

[TomSeller]

Might be a while before I can spring for one of these as when I was asking about it, wife remarked I had enough kitchen toys

There is no limit on men's toys. More toys is like the law of gravity, it can not legitimately be disputed.

 

[polo1665]

Might be a while before I can spring for one of these as when I was asking about it, wife remarked I had enough kitchen toys

David Sent from my iPad Air using TractorByNet

Same deal here......... indoor kitchen, outdoor kitchen, many gadgets (heck, I even have a wood fired oven right outside the back door)....but not enough yet. I've been reading alot about the SV process and will probably eventually get the Anova, but I'll have to be sneaky about it. Of course IT had to post the link to that pressure cooker. Me and the UPS guy will be on a first name basis before long, if I don't try and control myself.

As far as cooking steaks on the grill goes, high heat sear with about a 10 to 12 minute rest after it comes off the grill. I Like a steak rare to medium-rare, and never had a problem with toughness.

 

[IslandTractor]

Well, I don't know how long it will be before the snow is off my grill but I do know that Anova has shipped my Precision cooker. Excited to try it out. Might need to do stovetop searing until the snow melts here in Beantown.

On the topic of SV cooking, I'm wondering why it isn't used even more commercially, especially for big events like wedding receptions or big banquets. My wife just informed me that I will be her date at a big dinner held for a couple hundred people and she asked me which meal I wanted. Tenderloin was on the menu but I have long ago learned never to order beef on airlines or big banquets as the meat is invariably overcooked. Same goes for chicken, nearly always dry and rubbery. I cannot stand being served well done beef not only because I prefer medium rare or rare but also because it just demonstrates how the kitchen is treating the guests like cattle (I know, bad analogy).

How hard would it be for the caterer to simply sous vide a hundred portions at precise temperatures (say two baths, one at 138F for medium rare and the other at 145F for medium) and then just as the guests are served an appetizer have the cooks put a simple two minute high temperature sear on the individual portions in an assembly line? I can imagine the searing step could easily be automated with a moving tracked grill with very powerful burners top and bottom. One of the beauties of sous vide cooking is that once the food has cooked for a minimum time (roughly 90-120min for 1" steak), you can leave it in the same waterbath for up to 72hours and it will only become more tender but never more "cooked". They could easily do all the sous vide cooking the morning of the banquet and just hold the meat at that temperature in insulated coolers until just before searing it. The standards for both cooking and holding safely are well established and easily controlled. Seems such a win win for both the kitchen and the diners that I cannot understand why overdone meat and rubber chicken are not just bad memories of the past.

 

[IslandTractor]

I can see where this water method makes sense. I'm a recent convert to the low and slow method having made some delicious and juicy poultry, beef, and pork lately.

Might be a while before I can spring for one of these as when I was asking about it, wife remarked I had enough kitchen toys

David Sent from my iPad Air using TractorByNet

Don't forget, it is easier to ask forgiveness than permission.

Sous vide is certainly an easy way to prepare something like Kalua pork. Nice Boston Butt, little liquid smoke, seal a meal, and about twelve hours at 145F. A whole lot less work than digging and preparing an imu! I've had the Costco Kalua pork in Hawaii which is certainly prepared this way and it is IMO indistinguishable, at least taste wise, from the real thing cooked in an imu.

 

[GolfAddict]

Don't forget, it is easier to ask forgiveness than permission.

Sous vide is certainly an easy way to prepare something like Kalua pork. Nice Boston Butt, little liquid smoke, seal a meal, and about twelve hours at 145F. A whole lot less work than digging and preparing an imu! I've had the Costco Kalua pork in Hawaii which is certainly prepared this way and it is IMO indistinguishable, at least taste wise, from the real thing cooked in an imu.

Oh man! :licking:

We're going to have to have a "Sous Vide Recipes" thread. :laughing: