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Finally, a sous vide success story for me

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    Finally, a sous vide success story for me

    Some of you may recall a former tale of woe that I shared following my sous vide purchase: I completely dorked up a chef steps recipe for apple braised pork shanks. Since then I've had a few successes with poaching shrimp and making cheese sauce. Bottom line tho is my wife hates the way meat comes out of the sous vide: it just seems unnatural to her and she's asked me several times to just use the grill ... until last night.

    I started a sirloin steak on Monday using a freezer bag and some rosemary: cooked it for about 7 hours at 131 and threw it in the refrigerator when wife intervened and asked me to cook something else. So last night I pulled it out and finished it in a cast iron skillet with some chili powder and paprika. After the diner my kids told their mother that was the best steak they'd ever had and they want me to use the sous vide more often.

    Just wanted to share a little success. Dinner below is herb salad with raspberry vinegarette, potato salad with italian salad dressing instead of mayonnaise and sous vide cast iron sirloin:

    Click image for larger version

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    #2
    well it looks amazing to me

    Comment


      #3
      Congrats on a successful cook. I looks very tasty.

      Comment


        #4
        Looks delicious! Just a suggestion: I'm starting to find that you CAN "overcook" meat using SV in terms of over-tenderizing it to a more "mealy" but still delicious and tender texture; the issue is that some people, your wife included, don't like that texture. A nice happy medium might be to try cooking some meat for her at for a shorter duration. For example, experiment with, say, 2 hours and 4 hours in the bath for steak and see if she likes that better than the texture at 7 hours. Depending on the thickness of the steak, there will obviously be a minimum of how long you can leave it in; check Chefsteps, I think they have some great guides on this.

        Comment


        • bcostlow
          bcostlow commented
          Editing a comment
          It's not the consistency that bothers her - it's the idea of plastic-wrapped meat sitting in barely hot water ... I had similar concerns until I read the Sous-B-Q article :-)

        • Notavegan
          Notavegan commented
          Editing a comment
          I understand it but it remains unnatural to me as well. Don't own one nor have I tried food from it. But I really really really wanna try it.

        #5
        Yeah, after having a SV machine for like 7 or 8 years, the wife has finally gotten to the point where she's willing to use it instead of considering it a bother. Do listen to doctorak 's time tips and experiment!

        Of course, that may be because we're using it in the same room she's starting this year's crop, and it adds humidity! ;-)

        Comment


        • fzxdoc
          fzxdoc commented
          Editing a comment
          This year's crop of what, EdF ?

        • EdF
          EdF commented
          Editing a comment
          Peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, other stuff too, but I'm not sure what all of it is. No pot. ;-)

        #6
        Was that sirloin steak tender? It looks fantastic.

        Kathryn

        And P.S., bcostlow , if my husband intervened and asked me to cook something else other than what I had planned and was already cooking for dinner, there'd be a bit of steam coming out of my ears! Kudos to you for changing course and carrying on!

        Comment


        • EdF
          EdF commented
          Editing a comment
          I'm the same way.

        • Lowjiber
          Lowjiber commented
          Editing a comment
          Me too. I'm the boss in the kitchen. The only place on the homestead. LOL

        • Thunder77
          Thunder77 commented
          Editing a comment
          I would never dare to ask for something else once the cooking was already started. 😱

        #7
        Great looking cook. How did that skillet work for you?!?!?! Assuming it was the Wagner I sent you?

        Comment


          #8
          Originally posted by Spinaker View Post
          Great looking cook. How did that skillet work for you?!?!?! Assuming it was the Wagner I sent you?
          It was indeed the Wagner and I really like how the sides are higher than the lodge skillet I used to use :-)

          Comment


            #9
            Originally posted by doctorak View Post
            Looks delicious! Just a suggestion: I'm starting to find that you CAN "overcook" meat using SV in terms of over-tenderizing it to a more "mealy" but still delicious and tender texture; the issue is that some people, your wife included, don't like that texture. A nice happy medium might be to try cooking some meat for her at for a shorter duration. For example, experiment with, say, 2 hours and 4 hours in the bath for steak and see if she likes that better than the texture at 7 hours. Depending on the thickness of the steak, there will obviously be a minimum of how long you can leave it in; check Chefsteps, I think they have some great guides on this.
            For my wife, I think 90% is the concept. If I don't tell her and she doesn't see it sitting in 'the bath' then she doesn't seem to mind. I did have a fail last week with a chuck roast that I only cooked for about 24 hours ... tough, tough, tough ... but it tasted good. Dog got most of it tho because I have a picky family. sigh ...

            Comment


            • vandy
              vandy commented
              Editing a comment
              Thanks PKB, what if you are looking for pulled beef for sandwiches would you still go steak temp or higher. Pulled beef was what I was aiming for but it did not turn out very well, it was edible and tasted good but was a bit chewy.

            • Potkettleblack
              Potkettleblack commented
              Editing a comment
              For something more like a traditional braise texture, I think much higher temp and shorter time. Like 165x8 or so. ChefSteps videos of short ribs might be instructive.

            • vandy
              vandy commented
              Editing a comment
              For this one I was going more toward Douglas Baldwin's recommended 160 for 24 hours so next time I think I will try 36 hours at 160 to see if that will tenderize the meat more and make it pull apart tender which this one certainly was not. Thanks for the info.

            #10
            bcostlow I Sous Vide chuck at 135 for 48 hours. It turns into ribeye.

            Comment


              #11
              Originally posted by fzxdoc View Post
              Was that sirloin steak tender? It looks fantastic.

              Kathryn

              And P.S., bcostlow , if my husband intervened and asked me to cook something else other than what I had planned and was already cooking for dinner, there'd be a bit of steam coming out of my ears! Kudos to you for changing course and carrying on!
              I have learned over the years that being flexible in the kitchen builds long term acceptance for my MCS moments of weakness ...

              Comment


              • vandy
                vandy commented
                Editing a comment
                bcostlow, I like that strategy!

              • fzxdoc
                fzxdoc commented
                Editing a comment
                Give a little, get a little, bcostlow . Good plan.

                Kathryn

              #12
              "it's the idea of plastic-wrapped meat sitting in barely hot water ..."

              bcostlow I'm not being funny or rude (at least I don't think so?) But next time you have the SV up to temp ask her to put her finger in the water for a few sec's. I was trying to hold down a floating hunk of protein and the 2 tablespoons I put on it slipped off. I thought its only 130 degrees I'll go in after them how bad can it be. Well its gets hot way fast! I think she'll find its actually hotter than she thought.

              Comment

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