Questions about food safety and technique for cooking sous vide.
2
votes
3answers
509 views
Blow torching meat after sous vide - add fat or not?
After I pull the meat out of the sous vide and then use a blow torch to sear it, should I use a fat on it or not? Will that get a better crust on it?
8
votes
0answers
205 views
Cooking Temperature for Crocodile meat?
Does anybody have any experience cooking crocodile meat sous-vide?
We found some crocodile meat at our local butcher, and bought some on a whim. Judging by appearances, it looked quite a lot like ...
2
votes
1answer
99 views
How would you make a roux efficiently?
Making a big batch of roux is a hassle, so I'm investigating how to make my life a bit easier.
According to 'Ideas in food', you can make roux in a jar in a pressure cooker. Nice, but the quantity is ...
-4
votes
1answer
109 views
How does sous vide compare to other cooking methods?
I have a stomach ailment which makes me intolerant to roasted meat and grilled meat. Even though with grilled food most of the fat drips off, you will notice that smaller amounts of fat still fry on ...
3
votes
1answer
327 views
Sous Vide leg of lamb WITH bone?
I'm a new owner of a Sous Vide circulator, and I'd really like to make a leg of lamb for Easter. Making leg of lamb the "old" way (in the oven) I always get a better result if the leg is with the bone ...
2
votes
2answers
94 views
Brining…at high temp?
I read that brining makes meat moister by causing protein cells to absorb water from the brine via osmosis (Wikipedia) So I thought, hmm, why not kill 2 birds with 1 stone: brine + slow-cook ...
2
votes
6answers
6k views
Tenderness of sous-vide pork chops
I made some sous vide pork chops this week that didn't turn out as tender as I expected. They were about as tender as when I grill them; maybe a little bit worse.
I had marinated them overnight in a ...
4
votes
3answers
900 views
Is it possible to do sous vide cooking in a crock pot?
I'd never heard of sous vide before coming to this site, but all the posts about it here have made me want to try it. I've seen the beer cooler method, which I also want to try, but, for a smaller ...
2
votes
3answers
176 views
Marinade then cook or cook then marinade?
For pork, does it matter if you marinade first, then sear + braise vs sear + braise first then marinade?
More details: I'm trying to cook pork chashu using pork butt. The marinade is mostly soy ...
0
votes
1answer
78 views
Sousvide seafood for sushi
I'm curious whether the store-labeled "sushi grade" fish, like some salmon and scallops, can be made by cooking the fish sousvide and chilling it in the refrigerator afterwards.
2
votes
1answer
105 views
Sous Vide without vacuum. What liquid should be used?
I'm new to sous-vide and I am trying to figure out how to do it without vacuum. I've seen how other people have done it with oil to displace the air in the bag. But is this the best liquid to use? ...
2
votes
1answer
171 views
Should a sous-vide-cooked meat be frozen then reheated?
New to sous-vide, I was wondering, once you are done cooking, will it degrade the quality of the meat if I freeze it then reheat it back? The method of reheating probably matters, but let's say I am ...
4
votes
2answers
559 views
why use a pressure cooker for collagen to gelatin conversion?
I was watching S13E16 of Good Eats and to cook his chicken for "chicken and dumplings", he places an old hen (instead of a rooster) in the pressure cooker at the maximum temperature & pressure. ...
15
votes
8answers
3k views
Is there any way to sous-vide without a machine
I live in an apartment and have limited space to store kitchen gadgets. I don't really like the idea of having a machine that is dedicated to one specific task.
I particularly want to get into using ...
4
votes
4answers
325 views
How should I prepare an excellent sauce from sous vide juices?
Reading the other posts on this, I realize I should have coagulated the myoglobin and removed it before attempting to make a sauce with what's left over. Anyone have a good trick to do that simply?
...
2
votes
2answers
342 views
Sous vide over cooking toughens meat?
I'm new to sous vide cooking. The equipment I'm using is a Ronson slow cooker
connected to Sous Vide Magic PID controller, no bubbler. No vacuum sealer.
I calibrated the SVM temperature reading to ...
1
vote
2answers
188 views
Using sous-vide oven to make stock or soup (no bags)
I have a sous-vide supreme water oven. I was wondering if I could use it to slow cook large amounts of soup or to make beef stock by slow cooking. The idea is to have the soup or stock directly into ...
8
votes
3answers
782 views
Can I sous-vide meat (at a temperature between 40ºF and 140ºF) for more than four hours?
According to the USDA cooking chicken at 145ºF (63ºC) for 13 minutes (i.e. maintaining an internal temperature of 145ºF for that long) will bring about a "7 log10 relative reduction of salmonella".
A ...
12
votes
4answers
1k views
Should I sear meat which is cooked sous vide before it goes in the bag, or after?
After reading the beer cooler sous vide hack, I'm tempted to try it probably with duck, but maybe with steak.
Should I sear my duck/steak first before I put it in the bag, or afterwards, and why? ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views
What temperature should I use for sous-vide chicken breasts?
I'm finally going to advance my sous vide repertoire from just steaks to poultry. I know the safety issues and am familiar with the salmonella death rate chart. What I'm wondering about is the ...
5
votes
3answers
441 views
Meat juice reabsorption sous vide
I frequently cook sous vide at home--primarily for the sake of convenience. I have been generally satisfied with the results, and normally get tender and juicy meat.
One thing that bothers me, ...
3
votes
3answers
1k views
My sous vide chicken is tough and stringy - did I cook it too long, or too little?
So far I've attempted it twice. The first time I cooked legs and thighs at 60C for an hour and a half; the second time I cooked two breasts at 60C for about 45 minutes. Both times the chicken came out ...
4
votes
2answers
286 views
Is the rapid ice bath chill post-sous vide actually necessary when putting the meat/fish in the freezer?
In the past, I would frequently cook (in the oven) 6+ lbs (3+ kg) of salmon fillets (usually took ~25 min) to an internal temp of 145-150 F (62.5-65 C), take them out, let them set on the counter for ...
7
votes
2answers
2k views
Is a vacuum strictly necessary for sous-vide cooking?
I'd always assumed that things cooked sous-vide (which translates as 'under vacuum'!) needed to be under a good vacuum for the most efficient heat transfer into the meat, since air is less convective ...
4
votes
3answers
318 views
What is a good way for a beginner to start sous vide cooking?
I am just about to start experimenting with Sous Vide cooking. My plan is to start out with some very simple equipment (A PID controller and a kettle) and slowly build up until I have made my custom ...
10
votes
3answers
5k views
Which torch to buy for finishing sous vide meat? Butane or propane?
I have started cooking sous vide and am thinking of buying a torch to finish off the meat. I have seen stores selling little butane torches for creme brulees, but some have claimed they are not hot ...
9
votes
3answers
561 views
Can I use my oven for sous-vide
I have an electric oven which has a temperature setting, starting at 50c and goes up in 5 degree increments; [50,55,60,65,...]. It also has a fan to circulate air. (pictured below)
Will this be ...
4
votes
2answers
243 views
Is there additional risk in cooking meat sous-vide from frozen?
I am aware of the additional cooking time required when cooking frozen meat sous-vide. Beyond that, is there additional risk in cooking meat sous-vide from frozen?
8
votes
5answers
5k views
How do I get breading to stick to pre-cooked chicken for pan frying?
I tried pan fried chicken and pre-cooked the chicken sous vide. This meant that the chicken just needed to be crisped once it went in the pan. I dredged in flour then egg and then panko (Japanese ...
4
votes
2answers
320 views
Is Sous Vide Oil Infusion with fresh herbs or garlic a practical technique to avoid botulism risk?
I've been experimenting with flavoring olive oil using dried herbs. So far, I've only used dried herbs in my home infusions because I have read a number of articles which claim there is a botulism ...
6
votes
1answer
168 views
How does double-bagging sous vide food affect cook time?
Does double vacuum bagging food for sous vide cooking measurably increase the cook times? Or is the extra bag not thick enough to make an impact?
6
votes
3answers
401 views
Is there some trick to vacuum sealing broccoli?
In Sous Vide for the Home Cook Douglas Baldwin gives a recipe for broccoli. In brief, blanch the broccoli, cool in an ice bath, then vacuum seal as a single layer in a bag with salt, pepper, and ...
8
votes
2answers
624 views
Sous-vide without a pump using convection?
I'm currently planning on creating a sous-vide setup using an induction cooktop and a PID controller. I will be an Arduino micro-controller setup similar to this openschemes.com-manual control of ...
10
votes
7answers
1k views
How do I impart “extra” flavor with Sous Vide cooking?
I've been cooking Sous Vide 2-3 times a week for about 10 months now, and I absolutely love it. The control of temperature and time makes for some really interesting possibilities. But, one of the ...
4
votes
2answers
710 views
Spanish Codfish with sous-vide
I recently made a Spanish codfish. It's called Bacalao al pil pil. The trick is to render the gelatin from the fish at a low temperature, reserve the fish meat and then mount the gelatin with oil. The ...
-1
votes
1answer
262 views
Where to rent vacuum chamber?
I am testing out ideas for edible fruit cocktails that I would like to serve as an opener at a dinner party.
So far, my tests have been successful, but it occurred to me that vacuum sealing, or ...
2
votes
7answers
4k views
Sous vide without plastic bags?
I really like the idea of cooking steak using sous vide. However, I am very wary of heating food up together with plastic, and then eating the food, as I believe that at high temperatures, chemicals ...
5
votes
1answer
994 views
Pre-Cooking Steak in a bag, Any suggestions?
I tried something on the weekend, and it seemed to work well, so I thought I'd ask for comments.
We'd planned to make steak for dinner, and it happened to come in a vacuum-packet plastic. So before ...
1
vote
3answers
426 views
Can putting items with high heat capacity smooth out heat changes in Sous Vide?
So was recently thinking about the beer cooler sous vide method and had a thought:
While heating the water to put in the beer cooler, if you were to place an object with a high heat capacity (e.g. a ...
3
votes
1answer
362 views
Reheating boiled eggs for scotch eggs
I recently boiled a duck egg for 7 mins and then immediately placed into iced water, where I let it sit for 10 mins.
I then proceeded to place the cold egg into a water bath set at a temperature of ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
Vacuum sealing with a submerged ziplock vs home machine vs professional machine
Typically I'll seal food for storage or sous-vide in a Ziplock bag, submerging it in water whilst closing the final inch to remove air.
How close to a machine seal is this, and is it worth worrying ...
5
votes
2answers
644 views
Party scale sous-vide
I have used the chilly bin (cooler) sous-vide hack at home for a while and get excellent results for up to eight servings
I use extra insulation on the lid and a digital submersible flexible probe ...
4
votes
3answers
628 views
Do you have to use water to sous vide?
I've been using the beer cooler hack instead of a sous vide machine and I was wondering if water is the only medium I can use to cook in it. I was thinking that I could fill it with oil for a high ...
2
votes
1answer
3k views
How long does it take botulism spores to germinate in the fridge?
Based on this question, I started wondering how long I could keep an anerobic food in the fridge before I have to worry about botulism colonization. 1 day? 3 days? 2 months? Clearly it's not a ...
3
votes
2answers
592 views
Training on molecular gastronomy and sous vide
I am looking for suggestions on opportunities for learning techniques directly from a skilled professional, preferably in a classroom setting.
I have been dabbling in molecular gastronomy/precision ...
11
votes
2answers
2k views
Are there health issues with sous-vide cooking?
As I understand the technique, you put a food item in a plastic bag and dump it into warm water for some amount of time.
What happens to bacteria growth inside the bag?
80
votes
7answers
12k views
Is it possible to cook a whole fish in a dishwasher?
I heard that there is a way to cook a whole fish in a dishwasher - any techniques, tips??
2
votes
1answer
279 views
Should I sear sous-vide chicken breasts?
I'm planning on cooking some boneless skinless chicken breasts tonight sous-vide. Should I finish them with a quick pan sear like I do with my steaks or should I just season and slice?
3
votes
1answer
301 views
How do I control the temperature of water for an extended period of time?
When making the "perfect" mash, Heston Blumenthal recommends cooking waxy spuds in hot water for half an hour at the temperature of 72 degrees Celsius, exactly. At 75 degrees stuff starts breaking ...
8
votes
3answers
5k views
Is there a way to make compressed watermelon without a vacuum machine?
I've got in mind to make a dish with compressed watermelon, but I don't have access to a vacuum machine. I've tried once using weight, but it just cracks because the pressure is all from one side. ...
