# The SBHonline Community Daily > Restaurants Wine & Food Off The Island >  >  This article convinced us to try sous vide

## JEK

*Making Sous Vide Simplify Work for You*

By BRIAN X. CHENOCT. 10, 2016



Photo

Sous-vide beef prepared by Grant Crilly at ChefSteps in Seattle. CreditStuart Isett for The New York Times Increasingly affordable and easy to do, sous-vide immersion cooking has become trendy among food nerds who want precise control over the doneness of their meats.
Sous vide, which means under vacuum in French, involves sealing food in an airtight bag and giving it a hot-water bath. A cylindrical gadget gently circulates and heats the water to a precise, consistent temperature, allowing the food to reach the exact temperature the cook desires without the risk of overcooking. Its advocates say the method is the key to attaining a piece of meat that is uniformly tender and juicy inside.
But gosh, it can take forever.
Enthusiasts who sing the praises of sous vide often try to indoctrinate home cooks with the holy grail of recipes: the perfect rib-eye steak. Set the device to heat up the water to around 129 degrees, immerse the bagged steak in the water and, like magic, you have a steak that is perfectly medium-rare all the way through, not just in the center. Give it a sear to brown the crust, and its close to something you would get at a steakhouse.
Glossed over in that sales pitch is the part where sous vide takes at least an hour to cook the steak, or up to 10 times longer than it would using conventional methods, like a stove or grill.
Making Sous Vide Simplify Work for You

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## stbartshopper

Let us know the results!

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## andynap

Nope.

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## JEK

What I like is the "stick" that goes in any pot. We always make a number of "snow meals" for, well, snowy days. I think the machine will be perfect for preparing, freezing and then finishing a "snow meal".  Most of the places we go out for dinner use sous vide and now I really understand why.

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## andynap

We plan meals from Saturday to Wednesday. Thursday could be a Frittata or pasta or takeout. Friday always fish or shellfish. Our snow meals are usually pasta- I have 50 quarts of red sauce.
The problem with sous vide is the time.

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## MIke R

I ve been curious about this method 

snow meals?....funny

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## JEK

> We plan meals from Saturday to Wednesday. Thursday could be a Frittata or pasta or takeout. Friday always fish or shellfish. Our snow meals are usually pasta- I have 50 quarts of red sauce.
> The problem with sous vide is the time.



As double pensioners we have the time. She isn't convinced. I ordered on Prime and will report back.

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## Dennis

We use it all the time and it rocks.

Throw a couple steaks in for 2 hours at 129*, go play in the pool, BAM! Sear on the cast iron for 90 secs per side.

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## JEK

> We use it all the time and it rocks.
> 
> Throw a couple steaks in for 2 hours at 129*, go play in the pool, BAM! Sear on the cast iron for 90 secs per side.



 :thumb up:

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## Bart -my real name-

> As double pensioners we have the time. She isn't convinced. I ordered on Prime and will report back.



What type did you get?

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## JEK

The Bluetooth one of course . . .

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...0?ie=UTF8&th=1

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## Bart -my real name-

Perfect!  I trust you'll be able to control in from your car.

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## JEK

Amazon Prime delivers!

Lamb chops, a test . . .

IMG_3474.jpg

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## andynap

I would have done a cheap piece of meat like skirt steak first. Lamb chops take 6  minutes on the grill for rare.

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## JEK

She had a rack of lamb in the fridge for dinner and I chopped off a couple of chops for the test run. When you get yours you can cook anything you want. NOW, GET OFF MY LAWN  :cool:

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## andynap

Nope. But thanks

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## JEK

You probably haven't changed you position on the Big Green Egg either  :cool:

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## andynap

Correct. Gas all the way.

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## JEK

You don't know what you are missing.  Don't get me wrong I still use gas from time-to-time.

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## andynap

I am of the if it isn't broke don't fix it crowd. I have, however, starting  using grill mats. I get the full grill marks with no mess on the grill itself. The mats clean up easily.

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## JEK

> Amazon Prime delivers!
> 
> Lamb chops, a test . . .
> 
> 
> 
> IMG_3474.jpg




IMG_3475.jpg

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## andynap

That looks good- a little sear? How long?

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## JEK

Two hours in the water and a quick sear. Not bad for a test. Trying something bigger this weekend. I like the unit as it has Bluetooth and alerts on my iPhone when the water is at temperature and one can adjust the temp and time from the app.

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## amyb

Just the color I Like on my rack of lamb.  Nice work, John.

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## Bart -my real name-

> I like the unit as it has Bluetooth and alerts on my iPhone when the water is at temperature and one can adjust the temp and time from the app.



Thank God for that!  It relieves you of the nearly insurmountable burden of walking over to it and using your fingers.     :Devilish:

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## JEK

Still have to use fingers but on the iPhone. I can control nearly everything in the house with my iPhone. Except to get my wife to turn her iPhone on or to turn Do Not Disturb off

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## JEK

A bigger and longer project.

Top round

IMG_3502.jpg

Vacuum seal

IMG_3504.jpg


140° 24 hours


IMG_3505.jpg

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## JEK

Reread recipie and realized the temp was 131° for beef and 140° for pork. Adjusted from the couch (Bart) 


IMG_4183.jpg

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## JEK

24 hours later. Some to freeze and some for tonight. 

IMG_3529.jpg

IMG_3530.jpg

IMG_3531.jpg

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## andynap

24 hours?

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## JEK

See above and read the article.

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## andynap

A yes or no would be fine

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## amyb

This meat  looks delicious.

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## andynap

Alright I read the article. Doesn't the water evaporate within 24 hours?

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## Dennis

> Alright I read the article. Doesn't the water evaporate within 24 hours?




Yes. But if you have running water, you just add some of that.

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## andynap

> Yes. But if you have running water, you just add some of that.



Ok but what about overnight when you're sleeping?

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## JEK

Saran Wrap helps. I added water (hot tap) before retiring and again with the first cup of coffee. Not rocket science.

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## andynap

So the bigger the pot the better?

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## JEK

More Saran Wrap.

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## JEK

I think I need this. Note lid. 

https://www.amazon.com/LIPAVI-Contai...vide+container

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## Peter NJ

Yes Andy I can see this in the Resto...How would you like your steak sir? Well I like it rare so only bubble it in water for 18 hours.. :Wink-slap:

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## JEK

Funny thing is many restos use sous vide every day. I had a great loin of venison last night  that was taking a bath  for half a day at 131° and then finished with fire.

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## andynap

> Funny thing is many restos use sous vide every day. I had a great loin of venison last night  that was taking a bath  for half a day at 131° and then finished with fire.



I'm sure it was but on the other hand that cooks in less than 10 minutes in the oven. What the restaurant is going is precooking   it and then reheating it- saves time in the long run. Sort of like precooking the pasta and then dunking it in hot water to warm it.

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## andynap

> Yes Andy I can see this in the Resto...How would you like your steak sir? Well I like it rare so only bubble it in water for 18 hours..



LOL

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## JEK

I bought the Thomas Keller cookbook on sou vide and many items are cooked after the order is taken. Trying one tonight - salmon.

IMG_3776.jpg

115º for 35 minutes

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## Peter NJ

It looks like all you need is a beer cooler.. :Big Grin: 



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5h_y3svpNiw

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