A Sous Vide Primer (how to get started and why with a ketogenic lifestyle)

sous-vide
#102

I think there is a portion that is converted, while the other (herbs, flavours, etc) carry the rest of the taste reducing the final sugar count.

#103

IMG_20170414_104412.jpg4032×3024 2.65 MB

Sous vide eggs aka “Starbucks egg bites”.

Heavy cream, eggs and cheese and sausage. Alton Brown nutmeg, salt and pepper.

172 deg for 50 mins. This is my favorite egg preparation method.

Jars are easily packable for work meals, and prep is easy using a blender .

Home Canning / Food Preservation
(Roxanne) #104

I made these yesterday, but in double size in shallow 1 cup jars. They tasted fantastic! Haven’t tried reheating one yet…that will be the ultimate test :slight_smile:

(Carpe salata!) #105

(Thread resurrection , hope it’s ok.)

I got me a Sunbeam MU4000 sous veid cooker yesterday. I did some steak and it was good. The MU4000 is a 5.5 litre water bath. I used the ziplock technique with a sprinkle of dried Italian herbs. When I did the fry off in a buttered pan, I slid the steak out of the bag and into the psn. The steak boiled in the bag juices. Next time I will unbag on a plate and put the dry steak in the psn.

The steak was more of a grey colour than a red colour even though I set 54C on the sous veid. But it was juicy and delicious. Thanks for the tip people! This is just the start of a great adventure.

#106

There’s a couple of tricks to finishing that improve performance.

  • As you found out, you do not dump out the steak and bag juice into your pan. Steams the steak and you probably lost pan heat with all the liquid contact, resulting in a longer sear time, overcooking the steak.
  • Unbag, pat dry, then finishing process, the item is already cooked, you are looking for searing char only… so HOT and quick as possible, when i first started I kept everything on too long in finishing, now 1.5 minutes a side max on my gas grill or cast iron pan.
  • Dropping your bag into a running water pot, sink + pot + tap running water, and let that going for a couple of mins, drops your temp 5F(sorry do not know the C conversion) or so, which gives you a cushion when searing to finish and keeping that beautiful 54C steak center.

Lastly, welcome to the world where cheap cuts of meat cooked for 24+ hours are as soft as filet migon, it is how I feel we eat very well, chuck roast is $2.99 versus filet $9.99, but on a budget due to the sous vide technique. Actually did Zucchini at 183F last night for 30 mins, it was very good, perfect texture, not mushy, the wife swore I used other seasoning than salt and pepper.

(matt ) #107

You can always take the food out of the Sous vide and put the whole thing in an ice bath. Stops all cooking. Then you can dry and sear as you like. You can also store it in the fridge to cook later.

(Carpe salata!) #108

Thanks. I dried off the steak properly before frying off with special attention to the fatty edge, then made a delicious jus with the sous vide juices and a splash of red wine, pepper and Italian herbs into the pan. Bleu cheese on top then under the grill for 30sec before splashing with pan jus.

Oh … yeah … this is the start to a beautiful friendship. :smile:

#109

Just bought a Joule sous vide. I have no idea what I’m doing, but the videos and links on this thread are setting me up for a good start! That juicy tender ribeye is calling my name first.

(Carpe salata!) #110

Dry the bag-water off before you fry the steak after the sous vide process. I made the mistake of pouring all the bag juices into the frying pan and it just kind of boiled in there…

Anyway, fry your dry steak in a well buttered pan , 30 sec each side, then fry any edge-fat by holding the steak on its edge with tongs for maybe a minute. After that I dropped some blue cheese on the sucker and 30sec under the grill(broiler). Meanwhile the bag juices went into the pan to reduce, then all over the cheesed steak…

You will have a spiritual experience :slight_smile:

EDIT:
Just noticed my previous post from last month. Yeah … enjoy

(Norma Laming) #111

This is what bothers me about the sous vide. Even if the plastic doesn’t affect the food, and I’m quite happy to believe that it might not, each time the sous vide is used so is more plastic. I simply cannot stomach throwing more plastic into the environment because it isn’t okay to keep using plastic and checking it, using more and chucking that out, again and again. This troubles me greatly.

Is there any other way to sous vide? Are there reusable bags?

#112

There are a couple of alternatives to the plastic bag option.

Something as advanced as a silicone bag: https://anovaculinary.com/meet-the-anova-reusable-silicone-bag/

Or lower tech as just using mason jars(I do my egg bites in mason jars): https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/your-favorite-sous-vide-egg-bites-at-home

For me and my family, since I have a fancy vacuum sealer, I can reuse a bag multiple times, just resealing the bag over and over. While I do not eliminate plastic bag waste, I use less bags, since I can cook 4-6 chicken breasts in one bag… portion some out for a meal for the family resealing the leftovers for tomorrows lunch etc.

Also the lowest tech method… Hard Boiled eggs, at 194F for 20mins… they come out perfect and I can do as many eggs as my water bath will hold, current record was 40 eggs… Just place eggs in the bath and go.

(Jacob Wagner) #113

I am using some reusable silicone bags that I got on Amazon.

–Jacob

(Norma Laming) #114

Thanks! I have come across those from internet searching so it’s good to know that they do work ok. I’m glad to learn from the internet that I am not the only one he’s concerned about all this plastic. I see it’s very much a worry of many people. Not sure that sous vide is for me at the moment but I’m v interested

(Todd Allen) #115

An alternative to sous vide are slow cookers or multi-function cooking pots like an Instant Pot that can maintain stable low temps of sous vide cookers. I bought a silicone bag to do sous vide in mine, but find I rarely bother and just bury a chunk of meat in butter and veggies like cabbage, cauliflower, onions and peppers to provide some moisture and thermal mass for even cooking without needing to submerge the meat in water.

(criticalcarecat) #116

Me too! Great for a beginner

:stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

#117

Welcome to the sous vide family…

#118

Hi, @brownfat, can you provide some more details on how you do this? I have an Instant Pot and am intrigued with your post. Which cuts of meat? Which setting? How long? Thanks very much!

(Todd Allen) #119

Here’s the slow cooker I have:
https://www.amazon.com/Gourmia-GMC650-Sous-Multi-Cooker/dp/B01M7NNO82

It has a sous vide mode which allows setting temps between 115F and 205F. Any slow cooker that can somewhat accurately hold temps in this range regardless of whether they call it sous vide or not can be used for sous vide. One limitation is without a water circulator a large amount of food may not cook as evenly. I have two 1 quart silicone bags I use in mine and it has worked fine with them both mostly full. Yesterday I sous vide cooked 4 grass fed lamb loin chops (newly available at ALDI $9.99/lb) in a silicone bag for 3 hours at 133F followed by a brief pan sear. Turned out great.

#120

Ah, ok, thanks @brownfat. I see what you mean now. I have an Instant Pot and I don’t think it can function like that. All it really does is sauté and cook at high pressure. It’s not like a crockpot.

(Todd Allen) #121

There are quite a few different instant pot models, some have numerous modes such as warm, slow cook, yogurt, etc. which ought to allow for temps in the sous vide range. I don’t know why they all can’t, it is such a simple thing to do.