Tried Sous Vide!

Yesterday my girl and I decided to try Sous Vide cooking. We don't have a vacuum sealer so I bought a Flat Iron steak (about 1 1/2" thick) that was sold vacuum sealed. Looked up the temperature and time on google and came up with 4 hours at 140*. Threw it in at 140* for just over 3 hours, threw it in the pan for less than a minute, done.

It was awesome! Tasted so moist where it was falling apart in my mouth. It came out a hair more rare than we wanted but only right in the thick of it. I would recommend trying this cooking method. It would have been nice to vacuum seal it ourselves so we could throw some spices or marinade in there but just cooking in its own juices was still DAMN tasty.

I use my e-kettle for sous vide and I love it. I used it to cook steak, pork chops, chicken, and thanksgiving turkey. IMO, this is the best and most perfect way to cook steak. I like mine plain, just salt and pepper. I don't even use steak sauce to eat it, it's so good.

When I first started doing sous vide, I was using a blow torch to brown my food. The novelty wore off, so I just pan sear or char grill now.

I'm still trying to figure out the perfect way to cook eggs on it. I haven't made fish with it either.

Yeah I poured out some very tasty sauce to dip it in but it was so moist and delicious I did not use any. I definitely want to try it with different meats, it sounds like a great way to cook some juicy poultry.

I wish I could use an E-kettle or something with better temp control but my 20qt pot on the stove with my brewing thermometer wasn't too difficult.

How would you do an egg? Like a soft boiled egg?

Slow cooker & a Johnson temperature control device is what I use. Looking for a larger pot though. You can use a ziploc bag if you don't have a vacuum sealer.

I usually do potroast and leave it in for 12-24 hours at a really low temperature. Delicious.

Next up, I'd like to do a pork shoulder.

Would you need to double bag the ziplock or just buy the heavy duty ones? Does it keep the water out and juices in well enough I mean? If I can use ziplocks I can start trying this more often with a larger selection of meats.

H-ost said:

How would you do an egg? Like a soft boiled egg?

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The goal is to get it more like a poached egg but what I'm ending up it is a soft boiled egg.

H-ost said:

Would you need to double bag the ziplock or just buy the heavy duty ones? Does it keep the water out and juices in well enough I mean? If I can use ziplocks I can start trying this more often with a larger selection of meats.

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My very first attempt at sous vide a couple years ago was using the freezer ziplock bag. It worked well but I was so paranoid about water coming in through the zipper.

There are some semi-cheap models of the foodsaver online. Just lookaround for the simplest ones. I love mine.

I thought you might jump into the sous vide cooking. I saw your interest in another thread a day or two ago.

Yeah I am digging it. I think I am going to try it with double freezer bags for either tonight's or tomorrow's dinner and see how it goes. If I don't end up finding my parents old "food saver" this weekend I might start shopping around for one.

Anyone have some favorite marinade recipes to cook in?

H-ost said:

Yeah I am digging it. I think I am going to try it with double freezer bags for either tonight's or tomorrow's dinner and see how it goes. If I don't end up finding my parents old "food saver" this weekend I might start shopping around for one.

Anyone have some favorite marinade recipes to cook in?

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Blend this till smooth. Just used it this weekend on flank steaks, it was excellent. Got if off the internet somewhere. Good, I promise.

I'm SOOO trying this when I get my Electric brewing system built!

passedpawn said:

Blend this till smooth. Just used it this weekend on flank steaks, it was excellent. Got if off the internet somewhere. Good, I promise.

1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons brown sugar
4 anchovy filets
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup vegetable oil​

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Sounds great. Aside from the garlic I already have everything, thanks PP!

Homercidal said:

I'm SOOO trying this when I get my Electric brewing system built!

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I told my wife about sous vide and she asked how would we keep the temp stable for so long. I mentioned I had 3 15.5 gallon pots downstairs that are temp controlled and rigged with pumps to circulate the water. I'm set to try this.

Gussymo said:

pumps to circulate the water.

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I've stopped re-circulating my water some time ago and I haven't noticed any adverse effects. I figure that with the long cook times that temperature stratification wasn't that big of a deal.

A4J said:

I'm still trying to figure out the perfect way to cook eggs on it. I haven't made fish with it either.

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Slow poached eggs are really popular with them. I can't remember the temp but you just put the whole egg (shell and all) in for about 45 minutes.

You know, I actually already have a digital temp controller, and I could EASILY wire it up to an electric hotplate and heat a pan with steaks in it...

Woops, I just sold my extra controller. Kind of need the other one for beer.

Hmmm.... I wonder if I could rig up a 1-Wire circuit to control the cooker, and have it email me every so often, tempting me throughout the cooking process...

A4J said:

I've stopped re-circulating my water some time ago and I haven't noticed any adverse effects. I figure that with the long cook times that temperature stratification wasn't that big of a deal.

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If the pumps aren't running the temp controller won't work.

Gussymo said:

If the pumps aren't running the temp controller won't work.

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You mean in your setup, or in general?

My set up. The temp probe for the PID is in the outlet. Without circulation it will read incorrectly. My pot is like Kal's Electric Brewery.