Sous Vide Burger Molds for Perfectly-Shaped Sous-Vide Burgers

[fzxdoc]

​I'm a big fan of the Kosher Dosher website, thanks to Potkettleblack . That guy, Kosher Dosher, is a genius.

Today he posted about using sous-vide-compatible molds to form hamburgers so that they keep their shape during vacuum-sealing and sous-viding. OMGosh. What a revelation.

Here's the link to the post on his 'blog:

https://kosherdosher.blogspot.com/20...-425-x-1.html?

And here's a link to the sous-vide burger forms that Kosher Dosher recommends from Sous-la-Vide, available on Amazon. The idea is that you put your ground meat into this form, freeze it in this form (if desired), and sous vide it in this form as well to maintain the perfect burger shape.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...5TSQ9I2A&psc=1

And here's what the burgers can look like, with and without the mold in place during the sous vide process:





What a revelation. I have sous vided many a 1" thick "perfectly-shaped" 8 oz burger. But when I put it into the vacuum sealer before freezing or cooking, or when I Archimedes-Principle-dunk it into the sous-vide pot using a Ziploc bag, the burger would become formless during the cook. Well, not exactly formless, but just not as pretty.

Of course I could freeze "perfectly" hand-shaped burgers on a tray first and then put into bags, I guess. But these forms eliminate one step.

So I just ordered a couple of 6 packs of the BPA-free burger sous-vide-compatible molds.​

I think they might also make good stocking-stuffers for both daughters for whom we bought a Joule and a vacuum-sealer in the past. P.S. I'd love to be my own kid when it comes to things like this, for sure.

Kathryn

Edited to make the photo viewable.

[Draznnl]

What a great idea. Can’t wait to read your review of the molds in action.

BTW, I think you’re missing a picture in your post.

[fzxdoc]

Hopefully it's fixed. Thanks for letting me know.

K.

[tbob4]

I've been doing that trick for a long time and posted it here. I was doing it with metal egg rings. I had a problem and had to come up with a solution. Wish I had asked for a patent. HA. It works great. It also makes for a very easy stuffed burger.

[Skip]

Thanks for the posts. Now I remember what I was going to make. SV Burgers are great!

[texastweeter]

Bet they make good egg and or pancake rings too.

[jfmorris]

Well... they are plastic, so I don't think you want to throw these down on your griddle!

[texastweeter]

Oh, I thought they were silicon. jfmorris

[GolfGeezer]

fzxdoc Sorry, I do not see the pics of the SV burgers with/without the forms. Are you referring to the pics on Amazon?

[fzxdoc]

I fixed the photo, hopefully. Thanks for letting me know, since the original photo appeared perfectly on my computer.

Kathryn

[bbqLuv]

Looks like a whole lot of work for burgers. But maybe worth it.
Let us know how it goes. I am intrigued.

[fzxdoc]

Not for an 8oz pasteurized steakburger, cooked medium-rare. Gotta kill those e.coli bugs at that temp. But then maybe a nice cold PBR along with the burger will do that. More research needed.

K.

[LibertyJayHawk]

Thank you, I have been looking for something like this for a few months!!

BTW I have a stocking too!!😬

[smokenoob]

In light of this new discovery I offer up the Katheryn Principal for peer review to the fzx community:

Three Laws of Sous Vide Burger Freezing

1. A raw burger patty will remain shapely or in a uniform state of shape unless that shape is changed by a vacuum sealer.
2. A raw burger patty will remain shapely or in a uniform state if that patty is encased in a burger form prior to vacuum sealing as long as the force of the vacuum sealer is less than the burger form’s crush point.
3. For every action in the pit, there is an equal and opposite reaction, thus frozen smash burgers should only be smashed after sous vide, not before. Otherwise, the opposite reaction will be a broken hand requiring massive quantities of PBR.

[fzxdoc]

K.

[Uncle Bob]

Hmmmmm, you're good at inspiration Kathryn. I like crab cakes that are more crab than cake for texture, so something like this might just be the ticket.

[fzxdoc]

Good plan.

K.

[cgrover60]

I guess I'm missing something fzxdoc. What benefit does Sous Vide bring to burgers?

[fzxdoc]

I guess I'm missing something fzxdoc. What benefit does Sous Vide bring to burgers?

cgrover60 , I like smashburgers as well as the next person, and I make them often. Sous vide methods are unnecessary for cooking them.

But every once in a while I want a big chubby 8 oz steakburger that is not well done. The safest way to eat an 8 oz burger at a medium-well (150°), medium (140°) , or medium-rare (130°) doneness is to sous vide it until it is completely pasteurized.

Here's what Kenji Lopez-Alt says over on Serious Eats says about it:

With sous vide methods, you have a bit more leeway as beef can be safely pasteurized at temperatures as low as 130°F if held for long enough. At 130°F, it takes 2 hours to safely pasteurize beef, while at 140°F, it takes only 12 minutes. Remember—these time frames begin once the center of the burger reaches pasteurization temperature, so it's a good idea to add an extra half hour to those times for any burger you plan on pasteurizing.

Pasteurization cannot safely take place lower than 130°F, so for this reason, I strongly recommend freshly grinding beef for sous-vide burgers you plan on serving rare to medium-rare.

We like our burgers pasteurized at 140 to 145°. They have the texture we like and are really juicy!

With these molds, I may try making a Juicy Lucy using sous vide. I'm sure it's been done by somebody here.

Once the sous vide session is finished, the burger should be rested for a bit and then seared to crispy goodness on the surface. I do that on 700+° flipped Grill Grates on my gasser.

Kathryn

[cgrover60]

Good info. Thanks fzxdoc.