Sous Vide Mega Thread - Fine Dining for Dummies

[kermitology]

The herbs in my photo above are the Scarborough Fair spice mix from Silk Road.

It's pretty much the best thing ever.

[GGG]

It's just parsley, sage rosemary and thyme

[Regular_John]

I'll be honest, up until this point I wouldn't say anything I've made sous vide has been a real game changer for me. Tried eggs a few different time/temperature combinations and find I still prefer a 6 minute egg on the stove. Steaks have been nice... but I've yet to perfect my pan sear, and honestly a pre-sear before tossing them into the oven yields decent results for me.

But man, turkey breast a 145... this is a game changer. So moist & flavourful, we're getting into pork territory here.

Salt, pepper, garlic powder, rosemary and shallots, 3 hours at 145, quick pan sear.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Delgar

Bacon sous-vided for 10 hours at 147 degress then crisped up in the pan for a minute or two is glorious.

That seems like a lot of work for something that tastes awesome with a few minutes in a frying pan. Is it really glorious enough for that much time?

[Kjesse]

Originally Posted by jayswin

That seems like a lot of work for something that tastes awesome with a few minutes in a frying pan. Is it really glorious enough for that much time?

I think so, here is why:

-I use Sunterra Bacon, that by itself helps make it the best bacon ever.
-The bacon comes already in the package, you just drop it in the vat before you go to bed. No vacu-sealing or bagging.
-Getting up in the morning, its a matter of a quick pan fry, say a minute or two a side, and its ready, with very little mess.
-So its takes all of 5 working minutes to make bacon this way.
-In terms of the meat, the meat is more tender, and the fat is full cooked but does not render out as much, and it has a soft texture. Maybe that is a negative for some as it leaves more fat on the bacon, but I liked it as did my guests

Give it a try. My now second favourite method is in the oven on parchment paper for about 30 minutes at around 300 degrees.

[DionTheDman]

Made this last night, for the first time. It's a chocolate pot de creme. Apparently these are pretty finicky and temperature sensitive, so ideal for sous vide. Topped with white chocolate nibs, cocoa powder, and crushed cacao bean.

[Komskies]

Make some pork loin last weekend. Rubbed it with salt, pepper, ras el hanout, minced garlic, sliced shallot, and fresh thyme. Cooked for ~4 hours at 137*F. Gave it a quick sear in the cast iron pan at the end. This has to be some of the tastiest pork loin I've ever had. Sliced it thick, like little pork chops the first day. Shaved it really thin and made some sandwiches on sourdough rye with mustard as leftovers. It's amazing how evenly cooked the food is when it comes out.




I have a big slab of bacon that I'll be throwing in overnight, probably give it at least 12 hours in there. Should be a good breakfast tomorrow!

[DoubleF]

Pink in pork still weirds me out even though I know it's safe to consume as North America has mostly eliminated parasites in pork.... that food looks so darn tasty!

[Canehdianman]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

Pink in pork still weirds me out even though I know it's safe to consume as North America has mostly eliminated parasites in pork.... that food looks so darn tasty!

I grew up hating pork chops, because they were always incredibly dry.

Now I love them! Super easy to make, all they need is a little seasoning salt, then BBQ them (or sous vide).

So juicy!!

[Russic]

The nice thing about cooking pork to that temperature is you can re-heat it the next day and it doesn't automatically turn into a hockey puck.

[Jacks]

I bought some pork tenderloin to try, I've never liked it much because it always turned out dry or raw. Should be good this time.

I tried bone in pork loin chops and have to say that oven cooked is much better IMO. The loin chops have so much fat in them that the sous vide didn't render out nearly enough, the taste wasn't as good and the texture wasn't great. Anything with that much fat content can handle the higher cooking temperatures and still be juicy plus you get that nice thick sear.

[GP_Matt]

I bought a bunch of chicken breasts that I want to prep in advance and freeze in their bags for easy mid week meals. Does anyone have any good ideas for recipes?

And I second the plugs for pork. It is hands down the best way to cook pork with the possible exception being whole hog roasted over a fire.

[prarieboy]

I'm confused by the large range in cooking times for some online recipes.

How do you guys decide on how long you're going to cook something? Is it trial and error to find what you prefer?

[GGG]

Originally Posted by prarieboy

I'm confused by the large range in cooking times for some online recipes.

How do you guys decide on how long you're going to cook something? Is it trial and error to find what you prefer?

Part of it is it doesn't matter too much though texture does change with time.

I read through the serious eats break down on cooking a type of meat and then use trial and error from there. They have pretty good descriptions of various times and temperatures

[Kjesse]

Did pork tenderloin tonight. As per Komskies post above, 4 hours at 137 degrees. Then take it out and let it sit and cool. As it was nice outside (as in not minus 20), heat the grill to high heat, keep the lid open, and sear on the grill while caramelizing with generous brushings of BBQ sauce.

Best pork I've ever had. Great crust. Perfect inside.

As good as any steak really.

[Flaming Choy]

Did beef wellington the other day. Worked really well. Sous vide the tenderloin first, then pop it in the fridge for a bit. Roll out the puff pastry, prosciutto, duxelle and wrap. Pop in the oven till puff pastry is browned and crispy. The meat will warm but not over-cook while the pastry bakes.

I think the next time i make it, i'll do individually portioned pieces instead of a large log.

[Russic]

Originally Posted by prarieboy

I'm confused by the large range in cooking times for some online recipes.

How do you guys decide on how long you're going to cook something? Is it trial and error to find what you prefer?

To echo GGG, I just refer to whatever serious eats says. I was using this chart (https://www.chefsteps.com/activities...perature-guide), but I've had better results from serious eats and I enjoy their nerdy articles that break everything down.

[BigNumbers]

About to cook some salmon filet's that are about 1.5inches... Any suggestions on temp and length of time that's worked well for others?

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by BigNumbers

About to cook some salmon filet's that are about 1.5inches... Any suggestions on temp and length of time that's worked well for others?

I tried salmon only once, 45 mins at 118 degrees. I did it because I didn't trust the 113 degrees at half hour from the app. The problem was it dried it out a bit more than I would've liked. I'd suggest sticking to one of the recipes on the app.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by DionTheDman

Made this last night, for the first time. It's a chocolate pot de creme. Apparently these are pretty finicky and temperature sensitive, so ideal for sous vide. Topped with white chocolate nibs, cocoa powder, and crushed cacao bean.

Spoiler!

Could you deliver several of those to my office immeditaley? Wow those look tasty.