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First Anova Cook

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    First Anova Cook

    All right. So I took the plunge into the world of SV cooking by purchasing the Anova Wifi. Fired it up for the first time last night. I did the ChefSteps steak with rich red wine sauce. It seemed easy enough for a beginner, and it was. Following the directions, I seasoned and seared two Choice sirloins, added butter, and into the bath they went at 132 degrees for 45 minutes. Out of the bath, patted dry, and seared in a cast iron pan. Result: BEAUTIFUL all over sear. Little to no flavor. My daughter said it tasted "flat" My wife liked it, so that was a plus. She said "I like the cow", which from her is a huge compliment. I thought the texture was a bit mushy. I have never had mushy top sirloin before, so I am thinking it was the double sear that was the problem. Other recipes I have seen only called for searing AFTER SV. That sounds right to me. What do you Sous Vide Pit members think?
    Attached Files

    #2
    I've only ever done the reverse sear. I also started out at 50 min cook time now I am up to 2 to 2 and half hour (depending on the time I have) bath time. It may only make a marginal difference but to me the Meat is more tender. Sirloin is a great tasting piece of meat but (to me) very chewy not anymore its like a strip I can cut it with a butter knife Ok I tried it once lol it did cut but it wasn't pretty. yeah I only sear at the end after a 10 min shock in a bowl of ice water. (cools the meat down so the sear doesn't overcook the middle past the 135 degrees I worked so hard to get...ok the water worked so hard to get me. But hey I did have to wait 2+ hours that is a sort of work kinda ok not really.)

    Comment


      #3
      I don't pre-sear. I tried it once and didn't think it added much (if anything) to the final result ... largely because you always want to sear after cooking SV (even if you pre-seared, too). Here's a link to a really comprehensive article from SeriousEats on cooking steaks SV: http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/06/f...ide-steak.html

      Comment


        #4
        I say the feedback you received was exactly what you are going to get from different people. I followed Breadhead 's advice for SV tri-tip. My daughter preferred it to my age-old tri-tip method. I preferred my old style. I do feel that the SV causes beef to lose some of the "beefy" flavor. I have not suffered through a "mushy" steak but others have. People here have speculated that it was the result of going too long in the bath. I made a mushy pork tenderloin. I thought it was likely due to it being pre-frozen, thawed, frozen again and then SV'd. After the bath did you re-apply salt and pepper? I find that helps out a lot. I'm thinking of experimenting a bit with beef bullion to see if that preserves a bit of the beefiness. By the way - that's a beautiful sear. How was the color on the inside? If your wife liked the steak, wait until you grill up a chicken breast after SV. It took me a bit to get it right but man it really works well.

        Comment


        • Thunder77
          Thunder77 commented
          Editing a comment
          tbob4, The color was pretty good. It had a bit more banding than I like, which I attribute to the double sear.

        #5
        What little I have done with beef, I noticed it didn't have "the flavor", but I think it was more a lack of charcoal/smoke than a lack of beef taste. I also had gone light with the salt, pepper, and garlic (unsure of how they would perform in the bag). I did'n't find it mushy.

        I don't see it being my GO TO cooking method for beef. Looking forward to some runny yolks, hollandaise, and a variety of vegetables though. I have some BEEF SHANK ideas, and am wondering about the flavor of "purge" after clarifying as recommended by Potkettleblack. Possibly it would make a good beef broth (which I find difficult and time consuming, compared to chicken stock, and I still don't get it right) and I hate the chemical flavor of store bought.

        I think the sous vide will find a place in my kitchen, even if just for timing and rewarming for larger (to me) cooks, certain eggs, sauces, and maybe some chicken or lamb.
        Last edited by TheCountofQ; March 10, 2017, 03:14 PM.

        Comment


        • vandy
          vandy commented
          Editing a comment
          Look up Clint Cantwell's method for a SV ribeye on here and try that, I used it on my last ribeye cook and they turned out very good, the only thing I would change in that cook is to start the sear a little earlier than 115 IT because mine were a couple degrees overcooked. Beefy smoky flavor!

        • TheCountofQ
          TheCountofQ commented
          Editing a comment
          I've read it, and may give it a shot at some point. It's kinda hard to change up when you're happy with how you already do it though. All charcoal and Jack Daniels Oak chips is an amazing combination with a fatty cut like rib eye, Italian dressing as a quick marinade, when I have some in the fridge.

        • vandy
          vandy commented
          Editing a comment
          I tried it because of what Clint said about being his best steak ever according to his wife and the fact that he has done so many of them just on the grill. It did not disappoint, my best to date but I am looking forward to trying some other cuts of meat. Chicken breasts are great done this way!

        #6
        Originally posted by TheCountofQ View Post
        I also had gone light with the salt, pepper, and garlic (unsure of how they would perform in the bag).
        These days, I don't season at all prior to cooking SV (sometimes I'll dry brine ... sometimes not). Spices (and aromatics to a lesser extent) in particular can be very unpredictable in the SV bath ... especially for longer periods of time. Instead of adding seasoning, I just cook SV to my target temp (not necessarily to serving temp), sometimes I'll shock/chill in an ice water bath, then remove from the bag and dry the beef thoroughly. After drying it, I typically let it sit uncovered on a rack for 15 - 20 minutes ... not to rest but to allow for further drying from evaporation. Finally, I'll season it and sear it until it's nicely browned and at the proper serving temp.

        Comment


          #7
          It sounds like your results on flavor were similar to my first SV experience. Texture wise, my t-bones were firm, and even a little chewy on the strip side, but I did not sear before SV, just seared after. Though I will probably stick with reverse sear method for steaks, I still like to read others' methods and recommendations, as I will probably make another stab at SV'g steaks in the future. Plus, I still want to try SV'g chicken breast.

          Comment


            #8
            It all seems a bit like experimentation for what we like, even if there are those who have gone before us.

            Comment


              #9
              Cooked a couple of tenderloins SV last night:
              1. 2 hours at 131 deg. F. in the SV bath (no seasoning in the bag)
              2. Removed and thoroughly patted dry then allowed to sit on a rack for 10 - 15 minutes
              3. Seasoned generously with onion salt, garlic salt, and dried basil then rubbed on all sides with olive oil
              4. Preheated the grill (Genesis EP-330) to about 600 deg. F. then lit the sear burner on high (after shutting down the far right burner)
              5. Seared for about 6 - 8 minutes, flipping and turning every 30 seconds. Pulled at IT 130 deg. F.
              The results were about as close to perfect as they could be:

              Out of the SV bath, seasoned, rubbed with oil, and waiting on the grill to reach temp:

              Click image for larger version  Name:	SV Steaks 20170310-1.jpg Views:	1 Size:	929.4 KB ID:	287263

              Seared to near perfection (and in danger of being eaten while I fumbled with the iPhone camera):

              Click image for larger version  Name:	SV Steaks 20170310-2.jpg Views:	1 Size:	489.7 KB ID:	287264

              Sliced and ready to serve (edge to edge med. rare, virtually no banding, and with a great sear crust):

              Click image for larger version  Name:	SV Steaks 20170310-3.jpg Views:	1 Size:	2.25 MB ID:	287265

              Texture was spot on (neither mushy nor tough), and taste was about as good as you can get from Choice beef.
              Last edited by MBMorgan; March 12, 2017, 06:14 PM.

              Comment


              • Thunder77
                Thunder77 commented
                Editing a comment
                That is gorgeous!

              • vandy
                vandy commented
                Editing a comment
                Awesome dude!

              • EdF
                EdF commented
                Editing a comment
                That does look perfect MBMorgan . Thanks!

              #10
              I don't remember where I saw it, but I think it was a chefsteps.com recipe where they said that pre-searing provides for a better sear after coming out of the hot tub. If you pre-sear, the meat is at it's coldest so grey band isn't formed as easily as searing after heated up. The second sear also takes less time due to already having been seared, which also helps to prevent a grey band too.

              Comment


                #11
                Great job, MBMorgan . Those steak slices look the perfect color. I bet it tasted great.

                Dr ROK , I did the pre-sear step on 2 inch thick pork chops following the Chef Steps guidelines. I wasn't that impressed. It took too long to get any browning on the pork chops, even though my IR thermometer showed the pan temp in excess of 600°F. In order to get the level of pre-sear brown shown on the Chef Steps video, I would have had to sear several minutes per side. I followed the rest of the directions, and at the end of the cook, I thought the pork chops were pretty unremarkable. Not nearly as juicy as they turn out when I reverse sear them. Color me disappointed.

                Kathryn

                Comment


                  #12
                  Originally posted by fzxdoc View Post
                  Great job, MBMorgan . Those steak slices look the perfect color. I bet it tasted great.

                  Dr ROK , I did the pre-sear step on 2 inch thick pork chops following the Chef Steps guidelines. I wasn't that impressed. It took too long to get any browning on the pork chops, even though my IR thermometer showed the pan temp in excess of 600°F. In order to get the level of pre-sear brown shown on the Chef Steps video, I would have had to sear several minutes per side. I followed the rest of the directions, and at the end of the cook, I thought the pork chops were pretty unremarkable. Not nearly as juicy as they turn out when I reverse sear them. Color me disappointed.

                  Kathryn
                  Thanks, Kathryn ... and FWIW, I now sear post-SV almost exclusively on my grill. I just get better results (assuming I get it hot enough first), especially when the meat is somewhat irregularly shaped and I have trouble making full contact in a pan. Also, I like the flavor better when I sear on the grill as those Weber flavorizer bars seem to do a decent job of doing what the PBC does so well: vaporizing dripping juices and fat and sending up some nice, tasty smoke to flavor the meat.

                  Comment


                  • fzxdoc
                    fzxdoc commented
                    Editing a comment
                    Good to know, MBMorgan . Thanks!

                  #13
                  Pre-searing works better if your cooking with oil. Either deep frying, or a quarter inch or so in the pan. The first sear shouldn't be the long one, just get things started. The second sear will happen quicker if you pre-sear. If you think about searing as adding the highest heat possible to the meat then post sear is best. If you're heating oil to 400 degrees and dropping the meat in, whether it's deep fried or just quarter inch in the pan, you just need that temperature. You don't want the oil to smoke. Covering the steak in oil will always yield a thick hard crust (frying is God's method of cooking). You just have to be sure you use fresh oil, canola probably best. If you control things right you can avoid a smoky kitchen. It's a pain to do but it's mostly what Chefsteps, Dave Arnold, these types mean by presear. It will produce a hard crust that doesn't go away. But it's different from what the grill does. Personally I prefer grill, but texture wise it's tough to beat a deep fried crust. Sous Vide is just controlling the temperature as close as it can be controlled. Flavor issues probably have more to do with how much salt was used, before or after. Salt is a very personal preference, I like a lot, but not enough is always bad. You just have to experiment.

                  Comment


                    #14
                    Thanks for that input, Michael Brinton . I followed the Chef Steps video and had maybe a couple of tablespoons of oil (ghee, actually) in the pre-searing pan. I thought I'd pre-sear about a minute per side, but at that point there was virtually no browning on either side of the 2 inch thick pork chops. The longer I seared, the more I felt I was moving away from the perfect pork chop. And I was right.

                    You bring up salt. I salt when adding the meat to the bag, just as the Chef Steps folks recommend. I also make a sauce from the "purge", adding garlic, herbs, and butter. What I don't do is to wet brine the pork, which is what I always do when I reverse sear it. Kenji Lopez-Alt says pre salting changes the texture of the sous vided meat.

                    So I'm still up in the air as to whether to wet brine pork chops that are heading to the sous vide pot. I'm wondering if that would bring back the juiciness that I've become used to with the reverse sear method.

                    Kathryn

                    Comment


                    • Michael Brinton
                      Michael Brinton commented
                      Editing a comment
                      It may, I think some pork is just lean, too lean. I have the same issues. I cook them exactly (usually just salt) the same, sometimes juicy, not so much other times.

                    • fzxdoc
                      fzxdoc commented
                      Editing a comment
                      Thanks, Michael. Michael Brinton

                      Kathryn

                    #15
                    So, My 2c. My wife's boss recently bought a sous vide immersion tool,(Not sure of the brand) and when she told me about it I was intrigued. Her issue was cooking in plastic, but since I grew up in the 70's I soooo remember the "boil-n-bag" dinners that were so popular back then. I decided to research this method and after reading all I could find on this site, (it truly deserves the tag Amazing in it's title) I discussed with her my findings on the safety of the modern plastics and decided to give the redneck method a try. So, I got out my small igloo cooler and my Maverick et-733 to see how well the little plastic tub could retain heat and found that it could hold 131 for over 2 hours as long as I kept a pan of water heating on the stove to add when the temp dropped to 129.

                    That experiment completed successfully, I decided to try my hand with 2 nice lean sirloin steaks 10 oz each. I placed them each in their own "foodsaver" bags with a little fresh mashed garlic and olive oil rub and a little salt and course ground pepper and started them soaking in the cooler at 131 on the Maverick. I only had to adjust the water temp tow or three times initially as the meat was brought up to temp, and they held at 131 for 2.45 hours. I then immersed them in an ice water bath for 2-3 hours, (had to visit the in-laws and couldn't see any difference in length of this step as the y were in the refrigerator as well.) I'll put them in the Dyna-Glo DGO 1850, Wednesday to smoke them to 155 before doing the sear on a cast iron pan on the extra burner of my Char-broil Commercial grill. Now for the sear phase, I have read that flipping more often (every 15-20 seconds) produces a better sear on Meatheads discussion of the Maillard reaction, So that's what I'm gonna do. I neglected to take pictures of the redneck sous vide, but will try to recreate them on my day off, (this Wednesday)

                    I'll post the results as well as a full review by my wife, (she thinks anything that is less than well done is raw, but I'm really trying to educate her, and this site is extremely helpful!)

                    Comment


                    • EdF
                      EdF commented
                      Editing a comment
                      Good luck with that eddicatin'! Speaking from experience.

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