Do you Sous-Vide?

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All you's guys are blowing smoke! The best way to cook a pork butt or sirloin is the digital pressure cooker. I can take one from frozen state to cooked to perfection in just over an hour...seasoned just like we like it.

They're cooked under high pressure and temp in a moist, apple juice-rich environment. The high temp and pressure kills any living bacteria. These things are incredibly tender and flavorful...and they last a long time, so they're suitable for boating.

Plus, they're flexible for a variety of pallets. Add some Mexican spices and a hot skillet and you've got great carnitas for a burrito. Want a German dinner tonight? Add some sauerkraut and homemade applesauce (also from the pressure cooker). Add it to pea soup for a hearty and warming winter meal.

I guess maybe I should start a pressure cooker thread and quit fouling your sous-vide waters. :hide:
 
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Sounds like boiled meat to me. [emoji51]

Just kidding. Don't ban me like RT!
 
Poached egg.

Use farm-fresh local eggs. Simple saucepan. Barely simmering water. NO VINEGAR! Gently tip egg into water. Four minutes. Scoop out with slotted spoon. Drain on paper towel a minute-or-three. Perfect.

I haven't attempted poached sous vide, but it's so easy without SV.

If I were trying to do it for lots of people with an uncertain timeframe, I'd try sous vide. But for one or two, old fashioned is easy. :) Best-ever breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Wifey B: You sure do a lot fancier than I do. :)

And for the verdict on tonight's sous vide dinner.

It was goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooddddd.

Now, I can't honestly say it was better than other ways. First the tenderloin roast. Everyone liked it. At home we do beef tenderloin roasts on the rotisserie. Some judged it the same, some not quite as good. You do gain something on a rotisserie but that's not something we have aboard the boat. On the cornish hen, everyone rated it as good as any we have at home and some said better. Some of the hens were done plain and some with a sauce. I think sous vide seemed to help the sauce versions more.

As to the two who cooked mostly, they had fun but they're kids so what do they know.:rofl: They said they kept checking and watching more than they would with more experience. It was something easy for a day that we were cruising all day. Now, what they liked best was cleanup. I hadn't even though about that. That I like. A lot. A whole lot. Negative of course now we have more kitchen gadgets on the boat although they don't take much space.

It's not something we're going to go to using all the time but it does work and was good for tonight's stuff. :)
 
It is a little amazing that my silly little Sous-Vide thread is now 150 plus posts in just a couple of days...
Perhaps we should rename this the Yummy food forum?
Of course then we will have to endure endless debates about what constitutes "yummy"...
Bruce
 
Wifey B: You sure do a lot fancier than I do. :)

And for the verdict on tonight's sous vide dinner.

It was goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooddddd.

Now, I can't honestly say it was better than other ways. First the tenderloin roast. Everyone liked it. At home we do beef tenderloin roasts on the rotisserie. Some judged it the same, some not quite as good. You do gain something on a rotisserie but that's not something we have aboard the boat. On the cornish hen, everyone rated it as good as any we have at home and some said better. Some of the hens were done plain and some with a sauce. I think sous vide seemed to help the sauce versions more.

As to the two who cooked mostly, they had fun but they're kids so what do they know.:rofl: They said they kept checking and watching more than they would with more experience. It was something easy for a day that we were cruising all day. Now, what they liked best was cleanup. I hadn't even though about that. That I like. A lot. A whole lot. Negative of course now we have more kitchen gadgets on the boat although they don't take much space.

It's not something we're going to go to using all the time but it does work and was good for tonight's stuff. :)

I am very happy you enjoyed your meal! I'd hate to think that I gave you bad advice...
Bruce
 
Greetings,
Mr. FW. There was a member here (forgot who) who extolled the use of pressure cooking. It DOES have it's place. Most definitely for more robust meals (root vegetables, tougher cuts of meat, stews) but not really the most genteel for something like fish, for example.
 
All you's guys are blowing smoke! The best way to cook a pork butt or sirloin is the digital pressure cooker. I can take one from frozen state to cooked to perfection in just over an hour...seasoned just like we like it.

They're cooked under high pressure and temp in a moist, apple juice-rich environment. The high temp and pressure kills any living bacteria. These things are incredibly tender and flavorful...and they last a long time, so they're suitable for boating.

Plus, they're flexible for a variety of pallets. Add some Mexican spices and a hot skillet and you've got great carnitas for a burrito. Want a German dinner tonight? Add some sauerkraut and homemade applesauce (also from the pressure cooker). Add it to pea soup for a hearty and warming winter meal.

I guess maybe I should start a pressure cooker thread and quit fouling your sous-vide waters. :hide:


Not-to-worry: we're all for pressure cookers! Didn't have one on the boat (sailboat, limited space), but they definitely have their place. Use one at home sometimes with great results. Just different application/benefits with sous-vide.

Our Airstream pals are big on the https://www.amazon.com/Instant-Pot-...F8&qid=1484704664&sr=1-1&keywords=instant+pot
Looks like good multi-function. Anyone use one?
 
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pig-jockey.jpeg
 
Last evening my sister treated me to a great dinner at the Yacht Club restaurant in Walnut Creek. Delicious, and the two martinis accompanying the swordfish steak, made it sufferable. ;)
 
Sounds like boiled meat to me. [emoji51]

Just kidding. Don't ban me like RT!

Hijack, sorry! :hide:

This banned stuff is silly. Just because someone says something [or even a group of things] you don't like [about you or anything else] makes no real reason to "ban" them. Just don't read their stuff if upon starting to read it seems a bother. Heck, a little tough skin is required to be on any discussion forum. :facepalm:

Now... back to cooking! :thumb: :D
 
At some point you have to choose how many ways must you be able to cook and which do you want. While we'd never get rid of a microwave, I could easily see sous vide and slow cooker's being redundant. We don't have a pressure cooker on the boat and haven't personally ever used one although we do own one we think.
 
So how many of you cookers out there brine before you BBQ or sous vide? I have found that a good brine can make all the difference with poultry and pork. Just did a big pork butt on the BGE that was brined for 24 hours (salt, brown sugar, peppercorns) then slow cooked at 250F for 10 hours. The brine adds soooo much flavor.


I brine my chicken for fried chicken in pickle juice.

Then soak in buttermilk.
 
Hijack, sorry! :hide:

This banned stuff is silly. Just because someone says something [or even a group of things] you don't like [about you or anything else] makes no real reason to "ban" them. Just don't read their stuff if upon starting to read it seems a bother. Heck, a little tough skin is required to be on any discussion forum. :facepalm:

Now... back to cooking! :thumb: :D


:thumb:
 
Being brutally honest, I sometimes wonder when I see this sort of chat, just how often these things are used in actual practice, as opposed to the ideal dream.

The basic issue that arises with a lot of these fancy cooking appliances is where the heck to put them when not is use, because they take up so much space. Often there is a novelty in their initial use, then as the novelty wears off, their use declines. Then one day you find yourself having not used the thing for weeks or months, and it is taking up so much bench space, room somewhere else has to be found for it.

How do I know this..? Because I am sick of falling over the bread maker, the Sous Vide, the Thermomix, the pressure cooker, the blender-gee-whiz-bullet (or is that 'bomb') thingie, and umpteen other 'useful' appliances. Oh, forgot the now barely used Weber out on the deck. The beaut thing about the microwave is we use it a lot, and it is usually able to be up on its own shelf or recess and out of the way.
 
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Being brutally honest, I sometimes wonder when I see this sort of chat, just how often these things are used in actual practice, as opposed to the ideal dream.

The basic issue that arises with a lot of these fancy cooking appliances is where the heck to put them when not is use, because they take up so much space. Often there is a novelty in their initial use, then as the novelty wears off, their use declines. Then one day you find yourself having not used the thing for weeks or months, and it is taking up so much bench space, room somewhere else has to be found for it.

How do I know this..? Because I am sick of falling over the bread maker, the Sous Vide, the Thermomix, the pressure cooker, the blender-gee-whiz-bullet (or is that 'bomb') thingie, and umpteen other 'useful' appliances. Oh, forgot the now barely used Weber out on the deck. The beaut thing about the microwave is we use it a lot, and it is usually able to be up on its own shelf or recess and out of the way.

Don't take what I will write the wrong way but I prefer to learn how to cook more than using any of these "gadget". But I do understand why people are using it, maybe just because it is easier? After all I am using a stand mixer to knead my dough just for this reason while I could do it by hand.
 
Don't ban me like RT!

Hijack, sorry! :hide:

This banned stuff is silly. Just because someone says something [or even a group of things] you don't like [about you or anything else] makes no real reason to "ban" them. Just don't read their stuff if upon starting to read it seems a bother. Heck, a little tough skin is required to be on any discussion forum. :facepalm:

Now... back to cooking! :thumb: :D

Where do you guys get this stuff? I think we better break out the tin foil hats. :nonono:
 
I was just joking around. Sorry, my comment came out wrong.
 
All you's guys are blowing smoke! The best way to cook a pork butt or sirloin is the digital pressure cooker. I can take one from frozen state to cooked to perfection in just over an hour...seasoned just like we like it.

I guess maybe I should start a pressure cooker thread and quit fouling your sous-vide waters. :hide:


We used to use a pressure cooker quite often, great for pot roasts (even if we started with shoe leather), and especially for the "speed" factor after long days at work.

Reminds me, I need to get a new one; the most recent eventually crapped out after 20 years or so...

-Chris
 
Since I am a medical, allow me to make one point very clear.

There are many types of plastic bags, various plastic categories then there are variations that result in a myriad of plastic types. There are many uses of plastics in cooking, including using plastics in the microwave.

If you’re looking to create plastic food packaging or Sous-Vide cooking, it’s essential that you understand which plastics are food-safe. Foods that are highly acidic or that contain alcohol or fats can leach plastic additives from the packaging or container into the food.

Food-safe plastic resins are those approved for contact with edibles by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for determining how materials may be caused in contact with food products. They are known as food contact substances (FCS). The FDA defines food contact substances as “any substance that is intended for use as a component of materials used in manufacturing, packing, packaging, transporting, or holding food.”

Food-safe plastic resins are separated from food by a functional barrier, they are nonvolatile and do not react to liquids, acids in the food, or bases, & biologically inert if ingested.

There are various kinds of plastic bags, some are not food safe at all, some are food safe only at low temperatures, and some are food safe even at or above boiling. Sous-Vide should always be done in bags that are food safe up through boiling, just by security.

The food-safe plastics bags are food-grade high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, and polypropylene. When food-safe plastic bags are mentioned "microwave-safe" or "boil-safe", you can cook Sous-Vide. Plastic freezer bags are not all "microwave-safe" or "boil-safe" or "Sous-Vide" certified, I mean they are not high temperature certified.

My personal preference for food-safe plastic (freezer & cooking) bags is for products made of called polyethylene - Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE). It is widely used in containers & plastic films for biology and chemistry labs, and it has been studied extensively. LDPE can hold your food products without leaching any harmful materials or allowing microorganisms to permeate, plus breaking down collagen in meats for fork tenderness, then it is safe & good.
But, do avoid very cheap plastic zip wraps when cooking. These are made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and heating them presents a huge risk of chemicals leaching into the food.

Bottom line :
- Food-safe plastics bags made expressly for cooking Sous-Vide (or mentioned "microwave-safe" or "boil-safe") FDA / FCS approved are safe, so far. But most plastics – including many that are BPA-free – can leach out chemicals with estrogenic activity then we must be aware that limited information exists indicating whether any of the resins or additives used in these food-safe plastic cooking bags, or their degradation products, migrate or do not migrate from the plastic into the food during the 3 or 4 hours long process of cooking.
However, the temperatures of Sous Vide are also low (polyethylene doesn’t begin softening until 195F), then, in my own opinion, it is a positive result, most of the toted benefits come not from the vacuum sealing but the high precision water bath. Just provide the proper materials & cook at the right temperature, there are just a few easy precautions to watch for !

- I would definitely avoid the use of biodegradable plastic bag in cooking for the reason they made with additives. Biodegradable plastic, which is also made from petrochemicals (around of 25% less fossil fuel than regular plastic), is manufactured differently, made from organic, renewable sources, such as vegetable oils, corn, grains etc.. Biodegradable plastics are plastics that can be broken down by microorganisms (bacteria or fungi) into water, carbon dioxide (CO2), light, heat, and some bio-material. In my own opinion, they may more or less degrade during cooking under the influence of long heat. Moreover & unfortunately the biodegradable plastics produce methane when decomposing.

- Microwave cooking : While food contact materials are not intended to alter food, they are not necessarily inert or biologically inactive. Given the vast number of chemicals that may be used in food contact materials, I don’t microwave plastic.

Interested in more info for plastic? For clarification about plastic certification standards please check out :
Plastic Codes Explained

A good website for Sous-Vide cooking tips :
No Danger in Sous Vide Plastic Bags | Dr Terry Simpson

I should like to take this opportunity to stating also that we must use only Certified Water Pipe (Certified for potable water delivery), Polyethylene made with approved silicon, to fill our fresh water tank even if we don't drink fresh water from the tank, to avoid virucidal & plastic chemical (I never use use garden hose) activity on skin (shower, bath). Certified fresh water hose is also resistant to ozone and U.V. over long time periods. Easy to do and doesn't take much effort, the addition of a 5 micron filter to the inlet of the water hose when filling fresh water tank is a critical factor as well, since bacteria love to grab on micro-particles found in water & multiply very rapidly as a biofilm in oxygen-rich environments like the tank.
 

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