When i've had the multi-coloured carrots in the past, raw, their flavour hasn't been very impressive. Have few rows growing in the backyard this smmer, we'll see whether they're worth the space in the next month or so.
dave
dave
Sous Vide
- Thread starter The Knize
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- #42
So I did two rib eye cap steaks (prime from Costco; amazing pieces of meat, but I do not like it is Costco is mechanically tenderizing as some folks on-line say) over the weekend. One on Saturday sous vide. Salt, pepper, granulated garlic, no oil or butter. Two hours at 136. Finished over a charcoal lighter chimney using steel skewers. One on Sunday. Salt, pepper, granulated garlic, no oil or butter. On high gas grill to sear all sides, then for ten minutes or less on lower grill to bring interior temp up to about 122. Rested for 15 minutes. I do not know final temp. I am sure it went up to 130 or so during the rest.
The sous vide version was not bad. The chimney sear method was fun and effective. Excellent appearance and sear did not penetrate too deeply. Incredibly tender. Bright red from edge to edge. Not the consistency I am used to in a steak. Seemed a little off-putting. Just a little. Probably could have done with more seasoning.
I personally thought the grill method came out better better. Perhaps less tender, but the meat was more the texture I am used to. The sear/char was excellent. Pretty much what I think of as a medium rare. This is a very thick piece of meat. I am sure closer to the edges was more done than the center. I did have close and excellent interior temperature control. I was glad I did not coat with oil although I might have seasoned more and added some fresh garlic perhaps with some oil and let it sit longer before grilling.
Bottom line, I am not loving sous vide so far, sorry to say. I was pretty excited about it when I started!
The sous vide version was not bad. The chimney sear method was fun and effective. Excellent appearance and sear did not penetrate too deeply. Incredibly tender. Bright red from edge to edge. Not the consistency I am used to in a steak. Seemed a little off-putting. Just a little. Probably could have done with more seasoning.
I personally thought the grill method came out better better. Perhaps less tender, but the meat was more the texture I am used to. The sear/char was excellent. Pretty much what I think of as a medium rare. This is a very thick piece of meat. I am sure closer to the edges was more done than the center. I did have close and excellent interior temperature control. I was glad I did not coat with oil although I might have seasoned more and added some fresh garlic perhaps with some oil and let it sit longer before grilling.
Bottom line, I am not loving sous vide so far, sorry to say. I was pretty excited about it when I started!
I've noticed that salting before sous vide or too much time in the bath negatively affects the texture of proteins. I would encourage you to not abandon the technique too soon; I'm sold on mine for proteins of any type.
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- #44
Do you think two hours is too much time in the bath for a 1 lb capsteak? 136 seemed relatively high, but the Sous Vide everything guys on You Tube had suggested 135 and two hours. Two hours seemed like the suggested time from various sources. This was a very thick piece of beef.
I promised I would report on the Taili Sous Vide Bags Kit. Seem to work very well and easy to use. Creates a very tight compression of plastic bag around the contents. No propensity to come open that I can tell. Supposedly re-useable, but I have not figured out how to get them clean enough for that, and they are inexpensive enough not to bother. I have not found the bags alone without the hand pump. I think the pump works works with similar bags from other brands, too, but not actually having a lot of luck finding such bags alone from any source. Takes up less space than a dedicated vacuum sealer, and like I said economic even if had to buy with a pump every time.
Sorry no pictures, by the way. I am not giving up. I need to be able to justify owning one of those flame thrower torches for one thing! Although the charcoal chimney seemed great.
I promised I would report on the Taili Sous Vide Bags Kit. Seem to work very well and easy to use. Creates a very tight compression of plastic bag around the contents. No propensity to come open that I can tell. Supposedly re-useable, but I have not figured out how to get them clean enough for that, and they are inexpensive enough not to bother. I have not found the bags alone without the hand pump. I think the pump works works with similar bags from other brands, too, but not actually having a lot of luck finding such bags alone from any source. Takes up less space than a dedicated vacuum sealer, and like I said economic even if had to buy with a pump every time.
Sorry no pictures, by the way. I am not giving up. I need to be able to justify owning one of those flame thrower torches for one thing! Although the charcoal chimney seemed great.
Two hours shouldn't be enough to have an adverse effect. Like you, I found many sources that recommend two hours. Serious Eats looked into how time effects texture, and I believe they reported that you have to go at least 4 hours before you start to see an appreciable effect on texture.
Both times I've done a sous vide steak, I left them in the bath for nearly two hours. I agree that the texture is different from what you get from grilling, and that makes plenty of sense. The longer, lower heat from from sous vide should produce a softer texture. Whether that texture is something you like is a matter of personal taste.
Both times I've done a sous vide steak, I left them in the bath for nearly two hours. I agree that the texture is different from what you get from grilling, and that makes plenty of sense. The longer, lower heat from from sous vide should produce a softer texture. Whether that texture is something you like is a matter of personal taste.
Sous vide is a godsend if you love big, thick, juicy pork chops. When done, I don't bother searing them on the stove or grill; I go straight to the blowtorch. Good eatin', quick and clean.
2 hours isn't too long at all. I go 1 hour for a 1" steak, but the great thing about sous vide is the time flexibility. While 2 hours should be fine, 136 seems pretty high.by the time you sear, you're probably pushing a buck-forty. My preferred steak temp is 127.
You don't need a torch; make sure the meat is patted dry (otherwise you're steaming), season, and sear in a smoking hot (and I mean, SMOKING) with a little fat (I use butter). Seriously, no more than 1 minute per side - super easy.
There is something to be said for the 'chew' of a steak prepared on an old-fashioned fire it's literally burned into our cellular subconsciousness. However, as I've got older, it is of prime importance to prepare food healthfully; the people I cook for don't handle gastrointestinal illness like they did as children / young adults. (Nor do I 
)
)Anyone deep frying a steak after the water bath?
I've the book 'Modernist Cuisine at Home' and deep frying for 30 seconds is a fourth method they outline for the searing of the steak surface, MAPP torch, pan and grill being the others.
dave
I've the book 'Modernist Cuisine at Home' and deep frying for 30 seconds is a fourth method they outline for the searing of the steak surface, MAPP torch, pan and grill being the others.
dave
/kewl
I haven't got to that point in the book. (I haven't got far at all; somehow life sucks all the life out of life sometimes...)
I haven't got to that point in the book. (I haven't got far at all; somehow life sucks all the life out of life sometimes...)
- Thread starter
- #51
Of course I do not need a torch! But I want a torch! The charcoal chimney worked great for the sear. I have an outdoor turkey deeper deep fryer type burn so I can get a cast iron pan smoking hot and keep it there. I think I am doing fine on searing. I think it would just be too much fun to have a flame thrower of a torch for $30!
I pulled the steak from the water bath an hour plus before searing. I took it to a friends house, so I doubt it was at 136 when I seared. I am confident the internal temp did not reach 140. As I indicated, I went by the You Tube Sous Vide everything guys, who seem to use various temperatures for various types of meats/steaks. They did not explain why they did 135 at two hours. I had been using lower temps anyway and wanted to experiment. What happens at the different temps? In grilled or pan cooked steak approaching medium more of the meat would be gray from the edge toward the center and the pink parts would be less red and start tending toward gray even in the center. However, anything I have done sous vide has stayed bright red, and to me the overall impression is undercooked, albeit super tender. BTW, the water temp seems very accurate based on insta-read temperature testing.
< the people I cook for don't handle gastrointestinal illness like they did as children / young adults. (Nor do I
)>Do you mean you are concerned that a steak prepared conventionally to a rare doneness might harbor problematic bacteria that would be killed in a sous vide process even at temperatures like 127? The theory would normally be any bacteria should be on the outside of a steak and that the conventional cooking process should heat the outside of the steak to a high enough temperature to kill all the bacteria there. The is online discussion of Costco in particular mechanically tenderizing its prime meat, which would undercut that protection!
My greatest concern about deep frying is that, in order to get a good sear on the steak without significantly cooking it further, it seems that you would need to get the oil to the smoke point (or beyond), just like you would do with a skillet with a little oil. That's an awful lot of oil to get that hot.
I've had a deep fried steak, and it was mighty good. It was raw, though, when it went into the oil, and the oil was only something like 350-375F (I don't recall). Even then, it took only a few minutes to cook, so it seems like it would be mighty tough to get a sear or crust you want without overcooking. Of course, you could start off by undercooking the steak, or you could refrigerate the steak after taking it out of the bath, but then you're losing a lot of the advantage of the sous vide method (consistency, predictability, simplicity, etc.)
Then, even if all goes well with the deep frying, you have a bigger mess to deal with. My least favorite part of deep frying is dealing with the leftover oil.
If I weren't going to sear on the grill, my first alternative would be to use a cast iron skillet that I could get a lot hotter and without so much danger. If I want to deep fry a steak, I'll just start from raw.
I've had a deep fried steak, and it was mighty good. It was raw, though, when it went into the oil, and the oil was only something like 350-375F (I don't recall). Even then, it took only a few minutes to cook, so it seems like it would be mighty tough to get a sear or crust you want without overcooking. Of course, you could start off by undercooking the steak, or you could refrigerate the steak after taking it out of the bath, but then you're losing a lot of the advantage of the sous vide method (consistency, predictability, simplicity, etc.)
Then, even if all goes well with the deep frying, you have a bigger mess to deal with. My least favorite part of deep frying is dealing with the leftover oil.
If I weren't going to sear on the grill, my first alternative would be to use a cast iron skillet that I could get a lot hotter and without so much danger. If I want to deep fry a steak, I'll just start from raw.
For the deep fry instructions i was looking at,
Water temp., 55C/131F
Sous vide steak to an internal temp. of 54C/129F
Oil temp., 225C/437F - deep fry (dried steak) until dark brown and crispy, about 30s
Side note, we've never ever deep fried at home as i've no desire to deal with the used oil.
dave
Water temp., 55C/131F
Sous vide steak to an internal temp. of 54C/129F
Oil temp., 225C/437F - deep fry (dried steak) until dark brown and crispy, about 30s
Side note, we've never ever deep fried at home as i've no desire to deal with the used oil.
dave
yep, I've been shopping Costco
and toward deep fat, this convinced me it was time to leave the litt'l fry daddy and much of pan frying with splash screens:
T-fal Deep Fryer with Basket, Stainless Steel, Easy to Clean Deep Fryer, Oil Filtration, 2.6-Pound, Silver, Model FR8000
and toward deep fat, this convinced me it was time to leave the litt'l fry daddy and much of pan frying with splash screens:
T-fal Deep Fryer with Basket, Stainless Steel, Easy to Clean Deep Fryer, Oil Filtration, 2.6-Pound, Silver, Model FR8000
- Thread starter
- #55
Nice unit! I bought a cheap deep fryer from Aldi--not the one recently recalled, an earlier larger version. It was great but I have only used it once. I probably do not need to be eating more deep fried food than I do!
Still it is an excellent cooking method.
Still it is an excellent cooking method.
Deep frying is great, but it seems like an awful lot of trouble and potential risk for a quick sear. That said, I wouldn't be shocked if give it a try sooner or later.
As for fryers, I have something similar to that T-Fal, but I rarely bring it out after seeing just how simple deep frying is with a dutch oven.
As for fryers, I have something similar to that T-Fal, but I rarely bring it out after seeing just how simple deep frying is with a dutch oven.
I love my 5 1/2 qt dutch oven. What sold me on the unit cited above is, once the oil is back to near room temperature, you open that valve easily on the front panel, the oil gravity feeds down into a poly containment, directly under the cooking components, and there is a fine mesh screen mounted above the drain valve. This saves me the trouble of holding such a thing over a funnel, balanced over a quart/gallon jug... which is just waiting for me to do stupid and spill the entire thing! (not that it Ever happened to Me... no, no, no... ) 
Oh, I'll add, everything about the T-fal is about safely handling very very hot oil - a lot of very very hot oil.
Oh, I'll add, everything about the T-fal is about safely handling very very hot oil - a lot of very very hot oil.
- Thread starter
- #58
So I finally tried out my $22 after coupon Harbor Freight propane weed burner flamethrower as a post sous vide searing method. I did an Aldi rib-eye seasoned with salt and pepper only sealed up with with a slice of onion and a couple slice garlic cloves for two hours at 129 degrees. Dried the steak off with paper towels and put it on the grate of my natural gas-fired grill. (Turned the gas off at the wall before starting this, and wore glasses and heavy gloves.) I hit it for probably less than one minute a side with this propane torch, essentially going in bursts and keeping the flame moving over the surface of the steak.
On some level I would like to be able to say this did not do well because I am afraid someone out there is going to hurt themselves or facilitate someone else hurting themselves. This torch is "awesome" in terms of "inspiring awe" and is nothing to play with. And frankly, it scares me using this over even a completely shut down gas grill. The temperatures generated must be amazing. For all I know, it could cause damage to the grill, even though the grate is quite a bit above the elements of the gas burner.
That said, this worked really well indeed. The best sous vide steak I have done so far. And my wife liked it, which is a first for sous vide. A through searing that does not go very deep. Very uniform. Excellent flavor development. Absolutely no hydrocarbon smells from the propane or anything like that.
Truly, though, I cannot recommend this to anyone and only discuss it here with enormous caveats. Anyone who attempts this is assuming all risks and those risks are numerous. On some level it is like getting a drink of water from a fire hose!
On some level I would like to be able to say this did not do well because I am afraid someone out there is going to hurt themselves or facilitate someone else hurting themselves. This torch is "awesome" in terms of "inspiring awe" and is nothing to play with. And frankly, it scares me using this over even a completely shut down gas grill. The temperatures generated must be amazing. For all I know, it could cause damage to the grill, even though the grate is quite a bit above the elements of the gas burner.
That said, this worked really well indeed. The best sous vide steak I have done so far. And my wife liked it, which is a first for sous vide. A through searing that does not go very deep. Very uniform. Excellent flavor development. Absolutely no hydrocarbon smells from the propane or anything like that.
Truly, though, I cannot recommend this to anyone and only discuss it here with enormous caveats. Anyone who attempts this is assuming all risks and those risks are numerous. On some level it is like getting a drink of water from a fire hose!
Now that's taking flame kissed steaks to a new level.
I might have to finally break down and get one of those weed burners!
