I know the concept but know nothing about SV

[Fish'nSmoke]

If what I saw on you tube is correct, sous vide circulates water of a certain temperature around whatever you want to cook for a long time to cook it evenly then you seer it.

For someone with zero equipment what all goes into a setup? Why sous vide something?

I'm interested in any kind of cooking that makes delicious food so this caught my interest.

 

[Natosha Jacobs]

Sous vide can also allow you to get results and textures that are impossible to achieve using traditional cooking methods. Your steaks will come out of the bath cooked to your preferred temperature from edge to edge. For pork shoulder, sous vide cooking allows us to cook at temperatures that are significantly lower and more stable than those used in traditional methods, which means that we can achieve tender results with relatively little moisture loss. (You can even cook a chicken breast so that it's rare or medium-rare and is entirely pasteurized and thus perfectly safe to eat, although I don't recommend it.)

 

[rbnice1]

Lots of reasons to use one depending on the situation.

Thick steaks or larger cuts of meat allow you to get them perfectly cooked to your preference with almost zero fuss or problems.

For large family meals with really large roasts and such it makes it very easy to make sure your main course is done when you want it. I use it even when I am smokeing my stuff for ease. If you ever have people sitting there waiting for a couple hours for a piece of meat to finish on the smoker cause it took longer then you thought, you will start thinking about it. lol

For poultry its great to make sure its cooked so lowers your chance of getting sick. I even do my chicken wings in it the day before.

Its also great for last minute dinner plans. Well last minute by a couple hours. I can pull my chicken/steak/pork right out of my deep freeze and throw it into the sous vide and have dinner 3-4 hours later.

There are things I have found are better not in the sous vide, but not many. :P

 

[Fish'nSmoke]

Lots of reasons to use one depending on the situation.

Thick steaks or larger cuts of meat allow you to get them perfectly cooked to your preference with almost zero fuss or problems.

For large family meals with really large roasts and such it makes it very easy to make sure your main course is done when you want it. I use it even when I am smokeing my stuff for ease. If you ever have people sitting there waiting for a couple hours for a piece of meat to finish on the smoker cause it took longer then you thought, you will start thinking about it. lol

For poultry its great to make sure its cooked so lowers your chance of getting sick. I even do my chicken wings in it the day before.

Its also great for last minute dinner plans. Well last minute by a couple hours. I can pull my chicken/steak/pork right out of my deep freeze and throw it into the sous vide and have dinner 3-4 hours later.

There are things I have found are better not in the sous vide, but not many. :P

So you don't have to thaw the meat? Natosha medium rare chicken breast? What's this magic voodoo all about haha.

So what advantage would it have over a crock pot for a roast? I know they are totally different, but sounds like the amount of time would be about the same.

 

[Brokenhandle]

Sous vide are great for taking tougher cuts of meat and cooking them via waterbath to make them fork tender. Can be used to do steaks or any meat so they are not over cooked. Can be used to reheat frozen foods also so as to not overcook them and dry them out. Can also be used to finish cooking summer sausage or pastrami after taking out of smoker.

Ryan

 

[SmokinEdge]

Sous vide is about cooking to pasteurization tables. Hold meat above 130 for long enough and it’s clean of pathogens.
No more over cooking anything. I throw a chuck roast in at 131 for 40 hours, it’s the texture of prime rib and solid pink edge to edge. Juicy chicken, amazing ribs. Oh and straight from the freezer cooking too. The perfect poached eggs also. Not good for everything but great at what it does.

 

[Fish'nSmoke]

Wow that's really cool. I never knew the many things you could do. All I ever saw was people putting steaks in the searing them for a minute a side. I would love to try a corned beef done sous vide!

 

[daveomak]

I cook chicken breasts at 138F for about 8 hours... I use Baldwin's charts, and the meat is tender and juicy.... The best Chicken breasts I have eaten... I add Lipton's onion soup mix and garlic to the bag while it cooks... I use Zip bags.... I do not vacuum bag meats I SV... I think the meat needs room to relax and not be squished... You can vac and seal as long as you stop the vac process before it squishes the meat....
I recommend low temp SV because you can achieve 7D reduction in all bacteria so folks with compromised immune systems has food that is safe for them to eat...
Read the below tutorial by Baldwin...

A Practical Guide to Sous Vide Cooking

..

 

[dr k]

I cook chicken breasts at 138F for about 8 hours... I use Baldwin's charts, and the meat is tender and juicy.... The best Chicken breasts I have eaten... I add Lipton's onion soup mix and garlic to the bag while it cooks... I use Zip bags.... I do not vacuum bag meats I SV... I think the meat needs room to relax and not be squished... You can vac and seal as long as you stop the vac process before it squishes the meat....
I recommend low temp SV because you can achieve 7D reduction in all bacteria so folks with compromised immune systems has food that is safe for them to eat...
Read the below tutorial by Baldwin...

A Practical Guide to Sous Vide Cooking

..

Do you happen to know the temp when breast goes from pink to white and leg quarter joints aren't pink?

 

[mike243]

with most home vac's the bags loosen up as the remaining air is heated up, I don't ever remember a bag retaining a hard vac after going for a swim, I love to make smoked potato salad, made some yesterday and after it was done thought to my self, why didn't I sv them, I could hit the perfect temp every time, a tube with a piece of hickory bark and packed with hickory pellets for 1 hour gave a nice smoke flavor after the boil. Took the tube and throwed it in the PB5 of my son's to add smoke to 3 chickens and 3 little short ribs, forgot a picture again lol.

 

[Fish'nSmoke]

I cook chicken breasts at 138F for about 8 hours... I use Baldwin's charts, and the meat is tender and juicy.... The best Chicken breasts I have eaten... I add Lipton's onion soup mix and garlic to the bag while it cooks... I use Zip bags.... I do not vacuum bag meats I SV... I think the meat needs room to relax and not be squished... You can vac and seal as long as you stop the vac process before it squishes the meat....
I recommend low temp SV because you can achieve 7D reduction in all bacteria so folks with compromised immune systems has food that is safe for them to eat...
Read the below tutorial by Baldwin...

A Practical Guide to Sous Vide Cooking

..

Ok that answers a big question I had. Adding in a vacuum sealer makes the price go up. My wife didnt care about the money, it was the space or lack there of in the kitchen. Once I looked on Amazon and showed her the immersion circulator part she was on board. I see others use cooking pots or stock pots to do it in.

 

[daveomak]

Do you happen to know the temp when breast goes from pink to white and leg quarter joints aren't pink?

My last batch I did notice, the chicken thighs, were all white with no pink around the bones or joints....
It could have been the chicken was an older bird or the extra time cooked the bird more thoroughly.
Either way, I have no problem eating pink/red meat in chicken when it's been sous vide...
Heck, I eat raw beef like in a prime rib roast... I eat "raw" salmon when I eat my grav lax...
Cook up a chicken breast in spices and herbs for 2-3 hours once the IT reaches 138, blindfold your squeamish friend and feed it to them...
"BEWARE"... I did that to my friends wife... It was beef tongue... She claimed it was the most wonderful piece of meat she had ever eaten... Didn't know what it was... After 2 hours of her badgering me I told her it was beef tongue... She projectile vomited and beat the crap out of me SCREAMING, How could you feed someone tongue !!!! I guess she forgot she thought it was the most wonderful piece of meat she had ever eaten AND, never spoke to me again... I'm guessing she was embarrassed she was so ignorant...

Below is a pasteurization table for poultry....
Temperature........ Time .............Time
°F...... (°C) ...........1% fat ...........12% fat
136 (57.8)........... 64 min......... 81.4 min
137 (58.3) .........51.9 min....... 65.5 min
138 (58.9)......... 42.2 min....... 52.9 min
139 (59.4) ........34.4 min........ 43 min
140 (60.0)....... 28.1 min ........35 min


And then there was the time I served male salmon milt at a party.... slowly cooked in butter and garlic... Mildly tastes like an oyster.... Basically there was the same reaction and response...
After those episodes, my hors d'oeuvre selection was limited to easily recognizable dishes or it wasn't eaten....

 

[dr k]

My last batch I did notice, the chicken thighs, were all white with no pink around the bones or joints....
It could have been the chicken was an older bird or the extra time cooked the bird more thoroughly.
Either way, I have no problem eating pink/red meat in chicken when it's been sous vide...
Heck, I eat raw beef like in a prime rib roast... I eat "raw" salmon when I eat my grav lax...
Cook up a chicken breast in spices and herbs for 2-3 hours once the IT reaches 138, blindfold your squeamish friend and feed it to them...
"BEWARE"... I did that to my friends wife... It was beef tongue... She claimed it was the most wonderful piece of meat she had ever eaten... Didn't know what it was... After 2 hours of her badgering me I told her it was beef tongue... She projectile vomited and beat the crap out of me SCREAMING, How could you feed someone tongue !!!! I guess she forgot she thought it was the most wonderful piece of meat she had ever eaten AND, never spoke to me again... I'm guessing she was embarrassed she was so ignorant...

Below is a pasteurization table for poultry....
Temperature........ Time .............Time
°F...... (°C) ...........1% fat ...........12% fat
136 (57.8)........... 64 min......... 81.4 min
137 (58.3) .........51.9 min....... 65.5 min
138 (58.9)......... 42.2 min....... 52.9 min
139 (59.4) ........34.4 min........ 43 min
140 (60.0)....... 28.1 min ........35 min


And then there was the time I served male salmon milt at a party.... slowly cooked in butter and garlic... Mildly tastes like an oyster.... Basically there was the same reaction and response...
After those episodes, my hors d'oeuvre selection was limited to easily recognizable dishes or it wasn't eaten....

Thanks I know it's safe if still pink in the joints and meets pasteurization temps/durations. Was just wondering if you knew the temp but even pasteurized at 136 for thighs they should be acceptable color wise because family members are tough to convince about the contrast with poultry vs med rare beef even though they like the beef.

 

[Winterrider]

Ok that answers a big question I had. Adding in a vacuum sealer makes the price go up. My wife didnt care about the money, it was the space or lack there of in the kitchen. Once I looked on Amazon and showed her the immersion circulator part she was on board. I see others use cooking pots or stock pots to do it in.

Vacuum sealed not necessary. Freezer bags with the air.out will work fine.
A Menards container like this is nice for the longer cooks so evaporation doesn't take place and is cheap.

 

[Fish'nSmoke]

I like the cleat container. I like being able to see whats going on. I looked up some on amazon and it looks like they start at about $80. No idea on the quality or features. That's a whole new rabbit hole!

 

[rbnice1]

yea I only use vacuum bags for really big cuts. And stuff right out of my freezer. steaks and fresh pultry I just throw in freezer ziplocks.

 

[cmcolvin]

New member here, I found this forum while researching the idea of purchasing a smoker for my apartment balcony, ultimately deciding again the idea due to the strick codes where I reside. I'm still considering a Presto indoor smoker but they are sold out. In the meantime I have been teaching myself how to cook since the pandemic started. I knew nothing about cooking less than a year ago and I learned about the Sous Vide method. Now all my friends and family are asking about using an immersion circulator. Needless to say I went from spending up to a hundred dollars on a good steak to being capable and confident of cooking at home. This method has changed my entire life when it comes to meals.

I've been treating SV cooking like a science, which made me more interesting in smoking also. I have been using 100proof Knobs to marinate burgers while they are in the water bath and pan-searing with carbon steel or using a blow-torch attachment. If you toss a little bit of pepper jack and bbq sauce on a farm seasoned bun, it's hard to beat the results.

So far I have cooked steaks, burgers, chicken breasts, and pork chops, all have been excellent.

 

[rbnice1]

Neat! I have tried burgers once but they didnt turn out very good. I might have to try them again. Would be great if they worked well. Wasnt sure why they didnt the first time. Maybe was just bad meat.......

 

[cmcolvin]

I pretty much follow the same technique every time. I always try to get a decent grade of Angus meat. I use Himalayan salt and fresh ground pepper on each side, then I top it off with Webers gourmet burger seasoning and a couple of spoons of Knobs Creek 100 proof bourbon before using a ziplock bag to place the patties into the bath. I don't like using a vacuum sealer because I don't always get the same results. I cook my burgers well done at 158 degrees for 75minutes, even though my Anova calls for 60min.

After I take the burgers out of pot, I use a cast iron or carbon steel pan to sear and fry them in a little longer. I heat the pan up to about 5 on my glass top stove and use about a half stick of butter with Kinder's buttery garlic seasoning. I actually cook my burgers in the pan until the butter browns before removing them. I follow up with melting pepper jack cheese on them in the microwave for 20 seconds and top with fresh cut onions and Lillies BBQ sauce on top of a sesame farmhouse bun by pepperidge farms.

 

[rbnice1]

hmm... maybe thats why they didnt turn out good for me. I much much much prefer my burgers med/rare to med. Might try it again this weekend. Its going to be cold and rainy.