DivotMaker
New member
Looking forward to trying it out!
Sous Vide
- Thread starter SconnieQ
- Start date
SconnieQ
New member
Congrats Tony! I've been using mine constantly since I bought it. More than I ever thought I would. I'm overjoyed with it. The quality and ease-of-use is excellent.
The soft boiled eggs are great. For extra large eggs, 147 for 1 hour is a good starting point. That will be at the lower end. The whites will be barely set (some might still be loose, but white and barely cooked), and the yolk still runny. Crack open just like you would a raw egg and gently drop over your plate or english muffin. They come out looking like a perfect poached egg. I made some yesterday (should have taken a picture). If you like them a little more cooked, then adjust time and temp slightly. There are lots of youtube videos and time/temp charts for eggs. Salmon comes out super moist and flavorful. The Anova really excels at proteins. My favorite so far is still the first thing I cooked, which is the low-price slab of chuck roast, transformed into a super flavorful, melt-in-your-mouth, prime-rib like delight (in 4 days mind you, some recipes say 2-3 days). I have since cooked numerous rib-eye steaks too. For a 1-1/2 to 2 inch medium-rare steak, 129 for one hour (or two, doesn't seem to matter, I usually go two), then a quick high-temp sear (don't overdo the sear, just need a minute or two per side to get a good crust). Even pink from edge to edge. I will be cooking a rib-eye in the Anova today in fact.
I came up with a little trick for getting a wet marinade into the vacuum sealed bag (since I don't have a chamber vac), if you want to sous vide in a wet marinade. Well, I didn't discover it, I'm sure someone else has thought of it before me (probably on this forum). I freeze my marinade into an ice cube tray, or some other sort of small container. Pop out the frozen marinade and quickly seal in the bag with the meat. Or I suppose you could put a little marinade directly into your bag, freeze it right in the bag, then add meat and seal. You can drop it right into the Anova. Or if you want to pre-marinate (cook later), thaw the cube quickly by dropping the bag into warm water, then into the fridge. Or let it thaw slowly in the fridge. A lot of salt in the marinade will inhibit freezing, so as long as it's not overly salty (and your freezer is very cold), it should freeze enough. Involves a little planning ahead, but aren't we all used to that?
Of course, you can always use a ziplock bag and the water displacement method for wet things, but it's hard to get ALL of the air out. It works quite well, except you might need to weigh it down with something to keep it submerged.
The soft boiled eggs are great. For extra large eggs, 147 for 1 hour is a good starting point. That will be at the lower end. The whites will be barely set (some might still be loose, but white and barely cooked), and the yolk still runny. Crack open just like you would a raw egg and gently drop over your plate or english muffin. They come out looking like a perfect poached egg. I made some yesterday (should have taken a picture). If you like them a little more cooked, then adjust time and temp slightly. There are lots of youtube videos and time/temp charts for eggs. Salmon comes out super moist and flavorful. The Anova really excels at proteins. My favorite so far is still the first thing I cooked, which is the low-price slab of chuck roast, transformed into a super flavorful, melt-in-your-mouth, prime-rib like delight (in 4 days mind you, some recipes say 2-3 days). I have since cooked numerous rib-eye steaks too. For a 1-1/2 to 2 inch medium-rare steak, 129 for one hour (or two, doesn't seem to matter, I usually go two), then a quick high-temp sear (don't overdo the sear, just need a minute or two per side to get a good crust). Even pink from edge to edge. I will be cooking a rib-eye in the Anova today in fact.
I came up with a little trick for getting a wet marinade into the vacuum sealed bag (since I don't have a chamber vac), if you want to sous vide in a wet marinade. Well, I didn't discover it, I'm sure someone else has thought of it before me (probably on this forum). I freeze my marinade into an ice cube tray, or some other sort of small container. Pop out the frozen marinade and quickly seal in the bag with the meat. Or I suppose you could put a little marinade directly into your bag, freeze it right in the bag, then add meat and seal. You can drop it right into the Anova. Or if you want to pre-marinate (cook later), thaw the cube quickly by dropping the bag into warm water, then into the fridge. Or let it thaw slowly in the fridge. A lot of salt in the marinade will inhibit freezing, so as long as it's not overly salty (and your freezer is very cold), it should freeze enough. Involves a little planning ahead, but aren't we all used to that?
Of course, you can always use a ziplock bag and the water displacement method for wet things, but it's hard to get ALL of the air out. It works quite well, except you might need to weigh it down with something to keep it submerged.
DivotMaker
New member
Thanks, Kari! I am really excited about adding a new dimension to my cooking! So much to learn, and so many avenues for experimentation on how to incorporate this with SI smoked meat! I may have to start a new recipe category for sous vide!! 
SconnieQ
New member
I forgot to mention chicken breast. I'm not usually a big fan. They are kind of bland, and often overcooked and dry. Cook chicken breasts sous vide, and it's a whole different animal. So moist. A perfect opportunity to cook in a marinade. A couple other cuts of meat that benefit greatly from sous vide are pork tenderloin and beef tenderloin. Like chicken breast, not the most flavorful cuts (so lean), and easy to overcook, but when cooked properly they are elevated to a whole new level.
DivotMaker
New member
SconnieQ said:
Me too! But I have to tell you, I'm giddy about trying the Anova! Can't wait til it gets here Wednesday! I'm already thinking of ways to combine it with the SI! I think a great thing to try would be pastrami! Smoke it for several hours, really low (like 150), then finish in the SV! No steaming necessary! The possibilities are limitless!
I'll probably be throwing a chuck roast in it Wednesday night for the weekend, first!
SconnieQ
New member
Just did another chuck roast/steak. About 1-1/2 inches thick. I tried 3 days at 131 instead of 4 days this time. It really was just as good as the 4 day one, except I would say if you like to eat the fat, then that was a little more melty at 4 days.
Pastrami is a GREAT idea! I did a pastrami a few years ago on my WSM, and it was quite bad. Not the fault of the smoker. I made a few mistakes. Mistake #1: bought a "pre-corned" beef. I found one that did not have the pickling spices added to the corning process, but it still did not have the correct taste. Mistake #2: too lazy to steam. Figured it would be tender/juicy enough for sandwiches without steaming. Wrong. Mistake #3: too much pepper on the outside (easy fix, rinsed some off, but sliced quite a bit before I realized this).
I have been wanting to revisit pastrami, this time on the SI. This has inspired me to try it again. So I'm looking forward to your results, and time/temp for the sous vide part. I'm going to try and get beef navel next time if I can, and of course cure it myself. Seems like sous vide would be a perfect substitute for the steaming step, most likely far superior to standard steaming.
DivotMaker
New member
Got my Anova today! Yay! I haven't been this excited about a new cooking device since I got my first SI! Looks to be well-made, and had no problem synching with the WiFi. Can't wait to try this bad boy out this weekend!
Ok Kari, you got me curious, so right after I pulled tonight's Rib Eyes, out of the bath, I just trew a 3# boneless chuck roast in there. Set temps to 131f and planning to have it for Thursday's dinner. Just salt, pepper, garlic powder and a bit of olive oil. We'll see how it ends up.
DivotMaker
New member
That looks great, Kari! I'm thawing a chuck roast now....should go in the bath tomorrow for Saturday! Did chicken breasts at 150 yesterday...not near as impressed as the steak. I think I need to go 160-165 next time. The texture was weird. Not that it was bad, it just didn't "feel" right.
DivotMaker
New member
Not sure, Roger. Like I said, it wasn't bad, but I just guess I've had chicken more "done" my whole life, and am used to the texture at 165. I'll report how it goes! Killer on beef, though!
SconnieQ
New member
I can totally understand the texture issue with sous vide chicken breasts. Your brain and previous experience is directing you to expect a fairly firm product. Moist and tender is where sous vide chicken breasts excel. I have used mine in chicken salad as Roger suggested, and they are great there. I enjoy rare meats, and raw sushi, so that soft texture thing to me is desirable, and something not weird to me. But sometimes the texture of sous vide poultry requires a re-programming of the mind and taste-buds. Sometimes the brain interprets something with that texture to be undercooked, dangerous, and risky to eat, even though it is cooked. Thus, it is not an enjoyable experience.
DivotMaker
New member
Might be right, Kari; just not sure I want to re-program my brain for poultry, after as many trips around the sun as I've made eating poultry more firm! 
;D I'm sure 165 chicken will be just as moist, just have the texture I'm used to!
;D I'm sure 165 chicken will be just as moist, just have the texture I'm used to!
