Sous Vide cooking

[Tank]

3 hours ago, red321 said:

I usually do rib eyes sous vide, tri tip as well...normally I use 134, might try 129. Cast iron works great, use a lot of butter and spoon butter onto steak while searing...grill sear is a little tough, haven't gotten that to work. Haven't tried the blow torch method.

 

I still prefer the grill, because I have it absolutely down with my grill but sous vide does a fabulous job.

For grill I turn my grill on for 10 minutes at highest temperature...builds up to 600+. Steak at room temp. Right before you put steak on grill turn down to low. Put grill at 45 degree angle. Flip every two minutes in criss cross fashion. For steaks thicker than 1 1/12 inches...maybe another 30 seconds the first two flips.

I also use this method for tri tip. For a 2.5lb tri tip I do 6-7 minuter per side.

 

Another method I've used that works fantastic for steaks

Set oven to 350

Cast iron as hot as you can get it. Right before you are ready to put in steak, melt a bunch of better

one minute each side and then put in oven for 7 minutes.

both of those are same EXACT methods i use for my tofurkey. uncanny!

[red321]

9 minutes ago, Tank said:

both of those are same EXACT methods i use for my tofurkey. uncanny!

here's a good recipe for tofurkey Tank

 

[Tank]

from the bottom of my heart, thank you, red.

that guy is a hero to me. he's like the bobby flay of the tofurkey world.

[Make Angels Great Again]

So I was in the market for a precision cooker already because I wanted to get one for my dad's 60th, I checked Slickdeals.net and did a search and found a post that was about a month old.

Some Targets had apparently made some kind of pricing database error and listed the $200 model for $50 at some stores (not sure why it only affected some stores). The target in Santa Ana on 17th street happened to be the only one around here that had them listed as that price and they showed 4 in stock. I refused to believe I would pay that much until I walked out of the store with my receipt. They had a slightly different model out on the shelf that was listed for $150 that rang up $150 still, so I cross referenced the UPC and it didn't match up.

So I showed the customer service drone up front the UPC, and he said "is it the one for $50?" I tried to hold in my excitement as he said all 4 were in the back and that he'd go get me one. I told him to grab 2 (which is stupid, I probably should have bought them all).

[Make Angels Great Again]

57 minutes ago, yk9001 said:

"And I'm going to wash it down with a generic cola!"

 

Hey man, Shasta tastes just as good for half the cost!

[Make Angels Great Again]

1 hour ago, Blarg said:

Did you realize at the last minute you were going to post this and switched from the Dixie paper plate to the Mikasa?

 

haha, I think I used the paper plate to cut up little bits for my 1 year old.

The fruit/veggie mush pouch next to it was totally mine though.

[yk9001]

I think the best part of AW is when someone posts pics from home, and we dissect the pics like its the Zapruder film and we're the FBI.

[eaterfan]

I've had the Annova for about 2 years. I love it and I probably use it at least twice a week. It's really great when I have guests over because the food has a nearly 4 hour window when it is good to serve. Guests are half an hour late? No big deal! The side dishes are taking a little longer to prepare than you thought? That's fine. 

As Red has pointed out, it's really great for cooking things from frozen. I buy the Costco chicken breasts in 12 packs, season them and then throw them in a day before I'm ready to eat them. Last weekend I bought a 9 lb pork loin for $18.00 at Costco. I cut my own chops from it, stuffed them, and froze them. I had dinner for 5 people and have about 10 big chops left for future lunches/dinners. It's running me about $5 a meal when all is said and done.

My favorite thing to make is burgers. Ground beef has the highest risk for e. coli so they should be cooked through. With a sous vide you can cook a burger to medium rare and it's still safe to eat. Plus the crust from the skillet makes it delicious.

But steaks are my go to. It's been pretty well covered in here. I have a only a free things to add. I haven't tried a blow torch, but from what I understand it's the best way to get a good crust. Both sear in cast iron and use the torch for a perfect finish. Also, make sure to rest the steaks and make sure they are as dry on the outside as you can get it before searing. This will lead to better browning.

My final, and most important suggestion is to try different cuts. My personal favorite is the chuck steak. At Costco it's like $25 for 6 lbs. Normally, a chuck steak can't be served medium rare because it's too tough. It has great flavor but it dries out. Cooking it sous vide allows for a tender medium rare steak. It takes 24 hours, which is great for me because I throw it in when I get home from work one night and it's ready the next night. I can't get home for lunch so 24 hot cook trimmed are better than 6 for me. Anyway, I find the chuck to have better flavor and it's just as tender as rib eye when it's sous vide.

[Blarg]

30 minutes ago, Make Angels Great Again said:

 

Hey man, Shasta tastes just as good for half the cost!

This is like trading your Bernie Socialism for Trump Capitalism. Practically the same thing.

[red321]

good stuff eater...especially the drying the meat thoroughly before searing

 

We did Salmon as well, I liked it, the wife did not...she had an issue with the texture, it was a little too gelatinous for her liking.

[red321]

Had a second 3.5lb chuck roast from our Costco package...just started it's 24 hours journey at 134...interested to see how this comes out!

[Make Angels Great Again]

I did a prime NY strip last weekend at 131 for 2 hours.

It's like meat heaven. It brings a tear to my eye.

[Make Angels Great Again]

Don't worry, i'm a pro.

[eaterfan]

On 12/1/2017 at 10:26 AM, red321 said:

Had a second 3.5lb chuck roast from our Costco package...just started it's 24 hours journey at 134...interested to see how this comes out!

How'd it go?

[red321]

27 hours...went well...certainly a different take on pot roast as it's tender but not falling apart. I did notice one side was a little tougher than the other. Normally I rotate what I'm cooking every few hours but this time I didn't...so I'm thinking it was the side closest to the sous vide. I probably need to get a larger bucket...been using a very large stockpot and at times the meat is right next to where the water circulates.

[Blarg]

Or you could have used an oven and carved 20 hours off that time.

[red321]

26 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Or you could have used an oven and carved 20 hours off that time.

could have used a pressure cooker and cut off 22 hours off that time...where's the fun in that

[yk9001]

Wow, you guys are..... dedicated to your craft.

I'm an eat to live guy, not a live to eat guy.  27 hours for a roast?  insane.  Then again, I spent all weekend obsessing over a three team $20 NFL parlay.

[Blarg]

1 hour ago, red321 said:

could have used a pressure cooker and cut off 22 hours off that time...where's the fun in that

Eating.

[Tank]

could have saved yourself 26 hrs and 15 minutes and had a tofurkey.

[red321]

1 hour ago, Tank said:

could have saved yourself 26 hrs and 15 minutes and had a tofurkey.

true...but I don't hate myself

[Blarg]

1 hour ago, Tank said:

could have saved yourself 26 hrs and 15 minutes and had a tofurkey.

I'll wait instead.

[yk9001]

I'm somewhere in the middle between cooking a pot roast for more time than it takes for the earth to fully rotate.... and eating tofurkey.

 

There is a middle ground.

[Tank]

8 minutes ago, yk9001 said:

I'm somewhere in the middle between cooking a pot roast for more time than it takes for the earth to fully rotate.... and eating tofurkey.

 

There is a middle ground.

you wouldn't do well in washington dc with that kind of attitude.

[eaterfan]

14 hours ago, yk9001 said:

I'm somewhere in the middle between cooking a pot roast for more time than it takes for the earth to fully rotate.... and eating tofurkey.

 

There is a middle ground.

I guess the time thing doesn't bother me. It's not like I'm standing there the whole time. I actually prefer the 24 hour cook time to shorter cook times. I can do stuff in 24 hours. There aren't many errands I can run in 2.