Sous Vide

I do a lot of sous vide cooking. Couple of things, to make a chuck steak /roast that has the consistency of a prime grade filet mignon you need to cook it at least 36 hours depending how fatty it is. Eye Rounds 48 hours to get the same. 36 hour cook on an eye round will be very tender but not prime grade tender. One thing I do to save money is buy whole eye rounds when they are on sale which I can on a good sale get them $1.99 a pound usually $2.99 though then sous vide cook them 24 hours for use a cold cuts since I also bought a deli slicer. That setup has already paid for itself and then some on daily lunch sandwiches.

I'm about to SV some pork loin "steaks"* and was about to go online to find out about Trichinosis and SV. But your comment about "kills everything" pretty much covers that.

Yes, coming to grips with the time and temp' for pasteurization (sterilization?) at much lower than traditional temps was the hardest thing for me to overcome. I think that's the kicker for lots of folks.

* I wanted something different for supper the other night and fried 2 of the 4 I had spiced up days before. Even the wife commented on how good they tasted. Now I'll SV the 2 remaining boneless chops or steaks whatever one wants to call them. I've mentioned previously that I've never SVed pork before this. (What's the past tense of Sous Vide in French? IMO Sous Vide'ed doesn't really work in English, I hope folks realize what I mean by SVed and don't pronounce the "ed". Everytime I write SVed I cringe. Anyway...)

Rarier pork is a preference also. It can be overly juicy and too mushy when you go below about 135 F. I cook pork at 140F which is a good compromise for juicy and tender at least 4 hours depending the cut. Usually I do pork loins since I use them and eye rounds to make cold cuts afterwards.

There are some reasonably priced vessels you can get that will give you more flexibility than just using a pot. I have the Anova cooker and vessel that was sold at Costco. I’ve been very happy with it. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GQV5C4P?pd_...b72f603ba5

https://www.amazon.com/Anova-Culinary-AN...194&sr=8-8

You can also get a multifunction pressure cooker that has a sous vide option. I have an instant pot duo evo plus 6 qt that does. It works really well and you can do easily up to a 4 lb or so corned beef in it.

You can get an 8qt duo plus pressure cooker that can also do sous vide for $104 on amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Instant-Pot-Plus-...075CWJ3T8/

Another trick is cooking corn on the cob. To make perfect corn on the cob it needs to be between 150 F and 185 F. Reason being corn starch breaks down in the kernel above 150F the outer coating of pectin doesn't start breaking down until 185 F. You go over that temp on the corn itself that is when the corn turns to mush. Sous vide it for a half hour to an hour usually I cook at about 170 - 175 F this way that gives me some leeway to grill it afterwards without overcooking it. It also holds all the internel juice so the corn stays more sweet at the same time.

I'm still experimenting with simple things using my sous vide cooker and am amazed at the results of even the most basic of meats.  The other day I made a basic turkey burger and have never had such a moist and tasty one.  Last night it was a pork tenderloin, seen here.  Once again, a very basic preparation, simply salt, pepper and garlic powder and after the sous vide bath a quick sear on all sides. Like the turkey burger, it was moist and tender.  I like both turkey burgers and pork tenderloin and while traditional methods call for reasonably short cooking times, for me it was always a guessing game and more often than not the final product would be a bit too dry.  Not with the sous vide.  I actually don't mind the longer cooking time as I don't  have to watch what I'm cooking and can use that extra time to prepare any sides I'm making.  Everything ends up being done at roughly the same time, which is perfect.

Glad you're liking it Freddy! It's a magical cooking technique tailor made for guys. What guy doesn't like cooking meat with fire?

We had a couple over awhile back for lamb and beef that was SV. (I may have mentioned this before) Debbie doesn't normally eat meat. She made a comment (Please take it in the most innocent way as it was intended, as I did) , "Brian I'd eat your meat anytime.". She liked the results that much. The lamb really didn't taste like lamb but more like very tender beef. My wife doesn't like the potentially strong aroma of lamb (but I do) and there was none of that. For me it was just mehhh. For me part of the character of lamb is the aroma and the attendant flavor. But the lack doesn't keep me from partaking of it over and over.

Glad you're liking it Freddy! It's a magical cooking technique tailor made for guys. What guy doesn't like cooking meat with fire?

We had a couple over awhile back for lamb and beef that was SV. (I may have mentioned this before) Debbie doesn't normally eat meat.  She made a comment (Please take it in the most innocent way as it was intended, as I did) , "Brian I'd eat your meat anytime.". She liked the results that much. The lamb really didn't taste like lamb but more like very tender beef. My wife doesn't like the potentially strong aroma of lamb (but I do) and there was none of that. For me it was just mehhh. For me part of the character of lamb is the aroma and the attendant flavor. But the lack doesn't keep me from partaking of it over and over.

Brian, I did my first lamb chop last week and was really happy with the result.  It was cooked through but pink, the way I like it.  I must admit that I do not care for leg of lamb because of its (to me) gamey taste.  Lamb chops, though, I have always liked and sous vide was made for them, in my opinion.

Another thing I like is being able to cook from frozen.  The supermarket had 1-inch pork chops on sale, packed in twos.  I made one for dinner and decided to take a chance on what I had read, that one can sous video from frozen.  I lightly seasoned it, vacuum sealed it, and tossed it in the freezer.  About two weeks later, I didn't know what I wanted for dinner when I remembered the chop.  Using the sous vide machine, I added the recommended extra time for defrosting/cooking and added a quick side of broad noodles and broccoli and, voila, dinner with minimal cleanup.

Sous vide really is a great way to cook. It’s all about time and temperature and with sous vide you can get precise temperature for the time you want. Also once the food has been in for the time required there is no pressure to get it out of the water right away or it’s ruined. Obviously you can’t leave it forever but it’s so no stress.

I did a tritip last night, gave it 27 hours in the bath and then a light mayo rub, finished over charcoal. Didn’t get quite the sear I wanted but still came out very nice.

I did a tritip last night, gave it 27 hours in the bath and then a light mayo rub, finished over charcoal. Didn’t get quite the sear I wanted but still came out very nice.

That looks beautiful!