My first Sous Vide experience

[JeffJ]

jfmorris I keep the Jumbo Joe and the 14.5 WSM in the garage for a reason. I cook on them all winter long, often using the WSM as a hybrid grill and sometimes using both at the same time. I cooked on the Joe last night and I'll be doing a chicken in the WSM tonight. Temps will be in the mid 20's. No problem!

[jfmorris]

JeffJ yep when it gets below freezing outside, I will be pulling Anova back out of the back of the pantry and cooking my steaks in a pot on the kitchen counter, with a CI sear... then again, REAL MEN don't let sub zero temperatures prevent them from cooking outside, do they? Hahaha.

[CaptainMike]

Smash burgers have become the household favorite lately, but if we hanker for one of them big 'ol thick steakhouse burgers then SV is the way to go. You can safely do 'em medium rare, put on a wicked sear, and they are soooo juicy

[CaptainMike]

It also works well with big cuts of meat like PB and brisket, especially if you have a specific serving time in mind. SV in advance (several days even) then a few hours in smoke to bring it up to serving/cambro temp. You can get a pretty accurate timetable with a little practice.

[JeffJ]

I prefer grilled steaks too. But man, when it is sub-degree temperatures outside....

[JeffJ]

SV is idiot-proof. As long as your bag is properly sealed it's virtually impossible to screw it up. Holding at the desired temperature (I've only cooked steaks with mine which is a shame and is something I need to remedy) for a couple of hours and then searing with cast iron produces fantastic results. Every time.

[T-bone]

Definitely agree with Davek8282 & CaptainMike. Also, patting dry is a key step that will definitely improve the sear.

[treesmacker]

Similarly, I read to air dry in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes before the sear. if possible, stand the meat on edge and hit both sides with the cool air. I did this on my first steak and followed with sear on grill grates and it came out beautiful.

[jfmorris]

I took the sous vide plunge, and got myself a wifi Anova last year on Cyber Monday, and had the wife give it to me for Christmas. While I've had a few great cooks with it - steaks, even a bacon wrapped pork loin a couple of times, I've decided that I prefer a good reverse seared steak better. I just feel like the smoke on the indirect side of the kettle while I come up to temp gives the steak that extra something. It's been 6 months probably since I bothered with it.

I imagine I will break Anova out to do some cooks over the winter, and sear in a skillet, but if its at all decent outside, I much prefer my meat off the grill. I think I liked it for the bigger cut - the bacon wrapped pork loin, seared in a hot oven, than I did for steaks.

[Polarbear777]

Also SV allows you to achieve pasteurization at temperatures as low as 132F (takes several hours) if you want to. (Use look up tables to determine temps/times) And similarly you can make perfectly safe chicken at say 140-150F which is amazingly juicy. Lots of tricks you can play. Sometimes it’s not worth the trouble and other times it is and other times it’s the only way to achieve things.

[Polarbear777]

Super hot sear is the key. My favorite is to use a flat metal skewer through the steak and lay it across a fully lit charcoal chimney (or the chimney of insanity air blown rig). That way you get a very fast, even sear with no overdone grill marks. Takes a couple minutes and make sure you sear all sides including the edges.

Also, be sure you get them very dry once you take them out of the bags (paper towels etc). Excess moisture just wastes searing heat through evaporation.

[Polarbear777]

A slow moving temperature target is easier to catch (reverse sear). Sous vide is a non moving temperature target which is really easy to catch :-).

You pretty much guarantee you can’t overcook it as long as the sear is quick and very hot.

[Davek8282]

Like EdF says, if you forget or become distracted your in no danger of ruining your meal. Its not just for steak either (although that is my favorite), Does an amazing job on chicken breasts tender & juicy. Leg of lamb. the list goes on.,

[Davek8282]

I use my gasser to heat the soapstone. I have also used grill grates on charcoal and I have a small fan powered wood burner called a Cook-Air that hits some pretty incredible temps. I always fall back on the gasser and soapstone as its easy.

[EdF]

Aside from the big benefit of making tough cuts tender, think of it as a Tivo cooking tool. It allows you to time-shift because it's so forgiving.