I've had great success with the colour/temperature/texture of my steaks using sous vide (3 times now), but I've found the end result after searing does not achieve the same taste you can get with a grill.
I've had other great results with sous vide. So far my favourite was broccolini with shallots, garlic, and a little butter, it came out so perfectly tender but still kind of firm.
For those who can get great results on a grill, are you of the opinion you get better results with sous vide? If so please share.
I'll load some photos up later today of my sous vide vs. grilled steak results for comparison.
I love the sous vide (am doing the eggs benny recipe right now can't wait) but I'm not of the view it replaces a great grill.
Here are some steak photos comparing sous vide to grilling.
First, the sous vide result on a ribeye steak finished on a cast iron pan (image is a little blurry oops):
NSFW!
Second, here is a tomahawk ribeye I did on the grill a few weeks ago. Shown first overhead then sliced on my plate (great steak-- feeds 4 you can get them at the new italian market near Acadia):
NSFW!
And finally, a tenderloin I did on the grill before I got the Anova:
NSFW!
In terms of final taste, each of the grilled steaks were better in my opinion compared to the sous vide steak. That being said, I've also overcooked quite a few steaks on the grill and getting those grill results takes practice.
And yeah, I have a few friends with whom we share our grilling and bbq results, so I take pics of things like steak, beef jerky, ribs, brisket, etc...
And as a result of the brisket post I've now ordered that large tub and lid, that brisket looks amazing. Thanks!
Without a doubt the Eggs Benedict recipe resulted in the best Eggs Benny I've ever had, bar none. And it was so much easier than trying to poach eggs in a pan and make hollandaise the traditional way. No restaurant I've been to has done it as good.
I had both the hollandaise and the eggs in the bath at 147 for 1 1/2 hours. The yolks were barely runny, just perfect.
Without a doubt the Eggs Benedict recipe resulted in the best Eggs Benny I've ever had, bar none. And it was so much easier than trying to poach eggs in a pan and make hollandaise the traditional way. No restaurant I've been to has done it as good.
I had both the hollandaise and the eggs in the bath at 147 for 1 1/2 hours. The yolks were barely runny, just perfect.
Photo:
NSFW!
I tried the chefsteps eggs benny this morning. Delicious. Yolks were a custardy consistency and hollandaise had some tanginess to it. I found the egg whites to be a bit runny so I think next time I'll put the egg in boiling water for a couple minutes before cracking it open.
With eggs Benedict, I cracked the egg into a slotted spoon and a bit of the runny whites ran through leaving me with a really well done egg.
It was the first thing we tried and worked really well. Next we cooked pork satay and peanut sauce which turned out great.
Here are some steak photos comparing sous vide to grilling.
First, the sous vide result on a ribeye steak finished on a cast iron pan
In terms of final taste, each of the grilled steaks were better in my opinion compared to the sous vide steak. That being said, I've also overcooked quite a few steaks on the grill and getting those grill results takes practice.
Have you tried finishing the steak on the grill instead of in a cast iron pan? It might get you the best of both worlds.
After using the rack, I don't believe it's necessary unless you decide you want to have more than 2 bags going at any given point.
And the rack mentioned in that previous post works great fit wise, but the bottom welded joints rusted on me.
Even the lid isn't necessary, I find. Half the time, I find it more interesting to just look into the container to see the food cooking peacefully in the tub. But... perhaps the lid is more useful if you do super long cooks.
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After using the rack, I don't believe it's necessary unless you decide you want to have more than 2 bags going at any given point.
And the rack mentioned in that previous post works great fit wise, but the bottom welded joints rusted on me.
Even the lid isn't necessary, I find. Half the time, I find it more interesting to just look into the container to see the food cooking peacefully in the tub. But... perhaps the lid is more useful if you do super long cooks.
Definitely for a long cook otherwise you'll lose water to evaporation.
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I've had great success with the colour/temperature/texture of my steaks using sous vide (3 times now), but I've found the end result after searing does not achieve the same taste you can get with a grill.
I've had other great results with sous vide. So far my favourite was broccolini with shallots, garlic, and a little butter, it came out so perfectly tender but still kind of firm.
For those who can get great results on a grill, are you of the opinion you get better results with sous vide? If so please share.
I'll load some photos up later today of my sous vide vs. grilled steak results for comparison.
I love the sous vide (am doing the eggs benny recipe right now can't wait) but I'm not of the view it replaces a great grill.
I think I know what you're talking about. I feel like certain flavors are retained in a sous vide that on occasion are lost when grilled properly. This is good if the flavors are desired. This is bad if the flavors are not desired. I've noticed that acidic flavors added into a sous vide cooking method ends up with an odd flavor that doesn't exist when I grill.
IMO, I think some of the perception might be backwards. Grilling a higher level skill than sous vide. It requires more skill to grill than sous vide. I find that with a sous vide, I feel like the floors are higher, and the ceilings are lower when it comes to food quality. A grill would have a lower floor (charcoal) and a higher high (perfection). In some ways, I feel like a sous vide helps to make food with a higher average. I have seemed to notice that many individuals with sous vides feel the confidence to make foods they previously would have never even attempted. The wider margin of error helps people feel comfortable cooking and thus, taking on riskier recipes.
When I first started using the sous vide, I almost believed I had made a mistake. The sirloin to ribeye hype I was hearing wasn't true at all. Several marinades I have perfected for my own purposes were ruined flavor wise when sous vided. But as I evolved the way I thought of how to use the sous vide, my relationship with it changed as well.
I had a party where I removed bags of food every 20-30 minutes and cooked up a nice hot batch when the food ran low. No longer was I cooking up a storm to start off with excellent hot foods and hitting meh cold food an hour later. I experimented under cooking the meats with basic spices (sous vide) then making sauces while finishing off the meats with a proper cook via baking or searing.
By changing my mindset to think of the sous vide as a food prepping method, I've been having a great time with it. I wasn't having as much of a great time with it when I was thinking of it as the main cooking method. But that is my opinion. Many people will ultimately have a different relationship with a pan and stove than the next guy, why shouldn't the sous vide be the same thing?
Quote:
Originally Posted by kermitology
Definitely for a long cook otherwise you'll lose water to evaporation.
Fair enough. I don't find I lose a significant enough amount of water in 3 hours or less cooks.
Last edited by DoubleF; 12-30-2016 at 06:36 PM.
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I had a ton of left over ham so I did some eggs bennidict via the recipe and it was awesome. My wife was very happy that I could make restaurant grade meal at home. I used the slotted spoon teqnique and it worked great.
Even the lid isn't necessary, I find. Half the time, I find it more interesting to just look into the container to see the food cooking peacefully in the tub. But... perhaps the lid is more useful if you do super long cooks.
Ya I only use it for long cooks but even cooking veggies at 183F you can notice the water loss after an hour. With the lid I did the 26hr brisket cook at 155F without losing any noticable water.
BTW, never did get to thank your first post for recommending the container setup so thanks!
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Alright, here we go. I took pictures through the process of cooking the beef tenderloin I made myself for dinner tonight. Tastiest steak I've made so far with this, I think... better than the ribeyes I did.
The process:
Spoiler!
1. Meat seasoned and vacuum sealed with butter.
2. Cooking at 129 degrees for 1 hour.
3. Removed from bag and dried with paper towel.
4. The fun part: seared with a torch until brown.
5. Et voila. Just that easy.
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I achieved better flavour today on our tenderloins. I seasoned the steaks in the morning, and let them dry out a bit in the fridge for about 6 hours (flipping them every couple hours, letting the surface dry out for a better sear), then bagged and sous-vided, followed by a short sear in a cast iron pan. They were very tasty but still not quite as good as a real charcoal grilled steak.
When you see the kinds of results that Corsi posted above its hard to argue with that, he demonstrates perfectly cooked steak. I wouldn't be able to get that result on a grill but the consistency of the meat comes at the price of char flavour, in part.
