General > Cooking

sous vide cooking

(1/10) > >>

coppercone2:
Who here uses a sous vide machine for cooking? I have purchased one a few months ago back in november and I have been using it extensively since it got too cold for pleasant BBQ operation.

I do longer cook times (~6 hours) for most things at the lowest temperature possible. I have a vacuum sealer (the one with the lid you close over a bag so you can seal gravy and soups with cheap bags) and a sous vide machine that is made of stainless steel with a internal circulator.

For the post cook I have just been using a standard plumbers torch to roast the skin a little but I have thought to buy one of those catalytic heater things to broaden the flame (torch attachment), i.e. a searzall.
For thicker cuts of meat (i.e. 2 inch) I will fire up the BBQ to maximum temperature and sear the meat on the grill rather then attempting to sear it with a torch.. a plumbers torch does not do justice here, I feel that it has the strongest effect with a pork tenderloin.

It has not displaced the other kitchen implements though, I see little point in trying to make chili, strogonoff (a complex operation if you do the addition of ingredients according to estimated cook time) or corned beef in it, so I still use a electric crock pot for those things.

I repackage the meat I buy with spices ready for immersion cooking and freeze it most of the time now.

I don't think its ultra good to the point that I don't want to do occasional air roasts either.. pretty decent though and worth the money I think. But, the important part is decreased effort in getting excellent quality food, so I have easily paid it off since there would be no way I would have the energy to cook as much as I do without it.. there would be pizza and other takeout.

The idea of making my own long storage time pasteurized mayonnaise is also appealing but I have not tried it yet because the normal product is good and the price is also good.

HerbTarlek:
I use my sous vide machine pretty regularly for boneless skinless chicken breasts.  I dry season them, and then vacuum seal two or three in a bag and freeze.  When it's time to make supper, I throw a (thawed) bag or two into the bath for 90 minutes, and then I heat a cast iron pan with some vegetable oil so that I can sear each side for a 2-3 minutes.

I like sous vide because it's virtually impossible to overcook protein.  The downside is that almost every cut of meat needs to be seared or put under the broiler for a few minutes at the end of cooking, in which case, why wouldn't I just cook it that way in the first place and save myself the hassle?

coppercone2:
thats why i go for the torch

i feel like its more useful when I have low energy to be honest

coppice:
Anova claim to have sold 100M of their sous vide machines, so I guess sous vide cooking is pretty commonplace now. We use our machine quite a lot, although our commonest use for it is the controlled thawing of frozen foods. Circulating 22C water over a bag with the food in massively speeds up defrosting, without applying any high temperatures.

coppercone2:
i usually leave it under the faucet but its pretty wasteful. I think putting it in a metal bowl under running water so the water overfills the bowl and drains off the side is pretty fast, but that is something you need to keep your eye on (i.e. clean the kitchen or something).

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page