Ok Now I'm A Believer

[cgrover60]

I admit to thinking the sous vide que craze was nothing short of an unnecessary gimmick and another way to drain the wallet on more gadgets and supporting goodies. I mean come on guys, just cook the way you're supposed to and do it right. You can do it! But then my chef wife gave me an Anova circulator for Christmas and proclaimed, "don't knock it until you've tried it". So be it.

I've never been delighted with my pork shoulder / pulled pork cooks. Sure they have been good but never outstanding. So because our grocery has a limited selection ended up buying a 9 pound shoulder to see what the sous vide que technique could do with a trusty PBC cook. After dividing it in half so I could bag it and a generous rub of Memphis Dust into the water bath it went for 22 hours at 165 degrees. Followed by an ice bath and into the fridge for two days before smoking. Loaded the PBC full and lit to run on the hot side. Rubbed the shoulder again with MMD and into the PBC with apple and cherry chunks to smoke, reheat and build some bark. With the PBC running around 305 - 315 the bark was set and internal temp at 145 after about two hours. Nice! How easy is that? Barely managed to get it off the PBC without it falling completely apart, pulled the bone out clean and shredded effortlessly. I literally could have shredded it with two small disposable plastic forks. I had saved the purge liquid from the sous vide process so reheated it to render the fat floaties, added a splash of barbecue sauce and poured it over the shred pile to finish. Sorry the family stampede did not allow pics of the finished results but the rave reviews were worth it.



Bagged and ready for the magic bath.




First piece bone out and ready to pull


Epilogue: My wife borrowed my Anova circulator to make two filet mignons, 130 degrees for an hour, pan seared, home made bernaise sauce and the best filet I've ever had. No worries - I borrowed the new Foodsaver I gave her for Christmas to bag the pork shoulder. ; )

[CaptainMike]

Yup, I thought the same thing until I tried it.

[Troutman]

Welcome to the wonderful world of SV. Your pork looks excellent !! Next try doing some QVQ, Smoke first, then SV, then a final sear/Smoke. It opens up a whole other dimension in cooking !!!

[DavidNorcross]

Would love to try this. Thank you for sharing. I have the Anova and love it. Couple questions. Did you place in a cooler to sous vide? Assuming you did the same setup as another thread where you rigged up a cooler for larger pieces of meat? Also, can you share more about the ice bath and how you left in the fridge? Did you leave in the bags for two days, etc? I am new to sous vide but everything that I have tried has been great so far.

[Thunder77]

I have a 16 quart All-clad stockpot my wife gave me for my birthday last year. It spends a lot of its time as home to my Anova, and various cooks. I love my Anova.

[DavidNorcross]

Will it hold 2 shoulders?

[Thunder77]

DavidNorcross, it’s a possibility!

[cgrover60]

DavidNorcross , I use the Coleman Party Stacker hack (pun intended) for the water bath. Huge capacity, insulted and covered to prevent evaporation. I used another unhacked Coleman party stacker with half bag of ice and water for the ice bath of about an hour. Also use the party stacker with a foil pan and towel in the bottom as a very effective faux Cambro and no I don't work for Coleman. After the ice bath dried the outside of the bags and straight into the fridge bagged. Hope that helps.

[SmokeyGator]

I need one of those boxes!

[binarypaladin]

Excellent. I've been using my old Igloo with a goofy, custom made, foam insert. I was seriously considering a new cooler this year specifically for sous vide that's a little better equipped.

What size is that one?

[cgrover60]

It's the 24 can size binarypaladin

[fzxdoc]

Welcome to the Dark Side, cgrover60 ! What a good wife you have to have anticipated what you would really enjoy cooking with.

I use my Joule sous vide units once a week minimum and almost have to remind myself to reverse sear steaks anymore. I still enjoy reverse searing because I love using my SnS+WSCGC. But for a "quick" meal without firing up charcoal, sous vide steaks more than fill the bill.

I always say the best thing about sous vide is that the meat is no longer the boss of me when I'm preparing dinner. When I'm ready to deal with it, it is patiently waiting for me in its water bath.

You'll think you have died and gone to piggie heaven when you make boneless pork chops in the sous vide (don't go above 135° for the juiciest pork chops you've ever had) . Tonight for the first time I'm trying a Joule Ready Sauce with pre-seared 2 inch thick pork chops. I'm skeptical about a sauce in a bag, but I'll report back.

Kathryn

[fzxdoc]

Wow. That was quick. I wonder what happened. rodkeary

Kathryn

[rodkeary]

fzxdoc From what I can gather Joule is getting out of all their "side hustles" and will just concentrate on the Joule immersion circulator hardware/software.

[hoovarmin]

I'm glad they are getting out of that gig. I paid for the Premium content on their site and it hasn't been updated or added to in 2 years. I'd like them to focus more on that and I'll make my own sauces.

[klflowers]

Got a SVQ pastrami on the sns now. 16 degrees to 140, then we will see how it goes. First time trying it.

[klflowers]

Pastrami came out great. We don't use the Anova nearly enough.

[Backroadmeats]

Damn it you guys are talking me into getting a sv unit..who would have thought I would join a BBQ website and start cooking my meat in water!!

[RichieB]

you won't regret it.

[EdF]

Think of the water as your air replacement. You're actually cooking it in its own juices.

[Sweaty Paul]

They’re really fun!

[FireMan]

Nah, not for me. Won’t say never, but probably never. What got me interested into grilling & then Q was learning to manage fire & cooking. I’m actually interested in cooking without all the gadgetry & electricity. And if I don’t make the absolute perfect steak after whatevering it for hours on end, so be it.
It also might open things to criticism because of my gasser & thermometers but, I lean towards simplicity & involvement. I’m also not necessarily in the set it & forget it camp. I like being involved. Awhile back I almost got caught up in the instant pot thing, but time cured me from acquiring more "stuff". I guess I’m tending into the opposite direction of tech. Just my thoughts. Smoke on, keep the fires burning.

[NapMaster]

Get off my lawn!!! 🤣

[cgrover60]

I'm still with you FireMan and will always prefer the satisfaction and challenge of fire management and traditional methods. But since the wife threw down the gauntlet I decided I better give it a try and now I'm slightly less of a skeptic.

[FireMan]

That’s really great, especially with the involvement of your wife. And again not tryin to influence anybody or make a statement, 8’m just not interested. It’s cool it worked for you.

[Willy]

Welcome to sous vide life! Yet another bonus is how easy it is to make home made yogurt. Heat the milk to about 180°F on the stove top, cool to 116°F, add the starter (which could be some left-over yogurt), dump into quart mason jars, screw on the lid and SV overnight at 116°F. Now I can't even eat the store bought, (often) sugared, (often) flavored, gelatinized stuff.

Last year, we spent three weeks in New Zealand and ended up eating at a number of hotel breakfast buffets--never once saw the doctored crap that passes for yogurt in the States.

Also, SV creme brulee, brought to my mind courtesy of Jerod Broussard , is the best way ever to easily make that spectacular dish: https://www.chefsteps.com/activities...n-creme-brulee

And, the best ribeye ever--SV at 130°F, then sear on screaming hot hunk of metal (I like GrillGrates) for about 45 seconds-ish per side. Phooey with sear marks--sear the entire side.

Sous vide away, cgrover60.

[hogdog6]

What kind of left over yogurt should I use as a starter?

[NapMaster]

I think down the road I'll get a SV rig. I'm in no rush. Using it for steaks, chops, chicken breast, etc is intriguing.

[Timbo54]

Don't forget the ability to reheat frozen left overs that have been placed in vacuum bags Steaks, smoked brisket chili, spaghetti and the list goes on. You don't have to worry about burning or drying things out.

[fzxdoc]

From a food safety standpoint, I'm too much of a chicken to use sous vide for reheating, especially after reading this post: https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...872#post540872

Kathryn

[Timbo54]

Thanks Kathryn fzxdoc for refreshing the past post. Now that my head has exploded with so many theories and so called facts , I'm interpreting that to reheat you must also consider re-pasteurizing at the same time.( Using Time and Heat ).

[dlaslo]

I must be doing something wrong. I've tried chicken and steak and my wife thinks it tastes "boiled" and complains when I cook with it. I also end up with a bag of juice and the meat seems a little dried out.

Eggs are great, however.

[MBMorgan]

If you could provide details we might be able to help. Stuff like what cuts of meat, brining, what’s in the bag with the meat, SV temp and time, post SV seasoning & searing, etc.

[FireMan]

Thanks "d". I needed that. 🕶

[dlaslo]

MBMorgan...I had a post a few months ago describing my sous vide failures but I con't find it now.

[Spinaker]

I like to cook things sous vide. I don't see it as a replacement for tradition, it is just another way to cook things. I also like to pre-sear all of the meats I put into the bags. Whether that is a prime rib roast, ribs, pork shoulders etc. They all get a pre sear in either tallow or pork lard. I think this makes a big difference in the eventual outcome. Some disagree, of course, but its my kitchen.

Also, I would recommend you try making hollandaise sauce via Sous vide. It is incredible on another level.

[Backroadmeats]

Thank you..I am looking at sv units right now. Any recommendations??

[Spinaker]

Backroadmeats
Joule. I love using it. It is small compact and you get all the recipes on your phone. Chefs steps is also always innovating. So you have access to their website with tons of recipes and techniques.

https://www.chefsteps.com/joule

Meathead is also a pretty big fan

https://amazingribs.com/more-technique-and-science/more-cooking-science/sous-vide-que-marrying-grill-an

[Skip]

Backroadmeats You will not be sorry if you get a SV Machine. It is just another "tool" for cooking. I like my Anova but there are others people like too. Tri Tip is wonderful!!! Good luck!