Sous Vide question
General Topic
For those of you that have used sous vide, can you tell me the best way to cook meat in one lot to different doneness?
I like venison medium rare and the rest of my family is medium at least. How can I sous vide my steaks to medium rare and others to medium? Do I just finish the medium steaks off with a longer pan sear?
I do a longer sear with the heat turned down a little. I have a ceramic sear element on the BBQ grill and just dial it back a little.
Get two Sous vide machines. Or compromise. Thin cuts could be finished on a grill but thicker cuts will disappoint
You could pull your bag out a little early.
Thinner cuts. Sous vide to your preference, adjust how well done when searing.
I like a pretty hot cast iron pan for searing. Cast iron will hold it's heat longer. Do your's first as it will lower the oil (like to sear in oil) temps a bit before the others go in. With a bit of a lower temp you can leave them in a bit longer for more "doneness" and less, um, charcoal....
Set it at different temperatures.
Sous vide cooks all the way through. The after-sear will only affect the outer-most 'layer' of the meat. I'll stick with a good skillet.
Its about the thickness of the meat.
Slice thinner for medium / med well. Thicker for med rare.
Have not gotten around to trying the sous vide method yet.
However, I did recently try the Alton Brown "Reverse Sear" recipe and that was pretty darn good.
Still like to build a fire out back and cook steaks over the hot coals to get the smokey flavor.
I don’t like the texture of Sous vide meat, am I alone?
I'm doing collard greens right now in mine I think it's going to work out pretty good I did a little test the other day and I won't lose any nutrients versus boiling them
130-135 is med rare no matter how thick the cut. A thinner cut may end up medium during the searing because you are continuing to cook and it will cook through quicker. That's why the searing process needs to be VERY hot and VERY quick. A thicker cut is more forgiving of overcooking.
For medium rare, I like to cook to 128 deg for no more than 2 hours for a good steak like a ribeye. Cooking longer continues to break down the collagen making it more tender and changing the flavor to where you may not like it. The cheaper the cut of meat, the longer you'll want to leave in the bath. I've done a chuck roast and even a brisket using sous vide with wonderful results. The chuck roast comes out nearly as good as a prime rib. Nearly :-) The brisket was smoked for a few hours first, then sous vide for something like 29 hrs., then seared over charcoal. It was great.
Check out the "Sous Vide Everything" YouTube channel for some entertaining experiments with different cuts of meat.
Elkhorn, How would you describe the texture- softer mushier?
You can get any texture you want with sous vide. All it does is cook to your desired temp all the way through.... be it raw, all the way to boot leather and anything in between. Does it perfectly, all the way through from edge to edge, to the degree.
Outside of how done you want it, the sear mostly determines your "texture". That too is up to the chef, just barely dry it out, all the way up to charcoal. I like a real hot cast iron pan and oil. They also make a propane torch made just for searing that some chefs use.
If you don't add any moisture to the bag, then it only has it's own juices it cooks in. A couple times I've added butter, garlic etc...... next level stuff right there (TBM trademark...) You can do a lobster tail like that and pour the butter sauce from the bag into a small bowl for dipping.
Did a prime rib this Christmas that came out perfect. One of the best I've ever eaten.
The texture seems mushy...it is always done correct, medium rare, and I sear it. Texturefeels like cooked blood. Am I doing something wrong?
Elkhorn, how long in the bath?
TD, Prime Rib is on the menu tomorrow. Sous Vide of course!
My Moose I leave along time cause it’s tough, the reason I bought Sous vide. Tender, medium rare, but mushy. Deer I haven’t tried yet.
The texture seems mushy...it is always done correct, medium rare, and I sear it. Texturefeels like cooked blood. Am I doing something wrong?
I have the same issue. It is pretty easy to deal with....
Cook them all to 130F for medium rare. Sear them all however you prefer.
Then... slice their steaks in half lengthwise or butterfly them. Then, sear theirs again.
My favorite is a section of loin, maybe 8 inches long.
Cook at 130F for 2 hours. Take it out and sear with cast iron pan.
Then, slice off 1/2" inch slices. Sear those slices again for folks that want it a bit more done.
I’m not the cook in our house. Over Christmas we had some chicken cooked this way and then battered with plank crumbs and deep fried. Best chicken I have ever eaten, hands down.
Next day beef tenderloin cooked that way and then browned on a cast iron plate. It was also outstanding, but think would be even better if browned on a grill.
Elkhorn ... we eat sous vide probably 6x per week ... so, I'm a fan ... but I know what you're talking about. Game meat can be tough, even sous vide. What I've found is that it needs to be in the water longer ... but I want to hear from others, too. My hunch is that ageing of meat -- something that I've always suspected was not too important -- is actually more important with sous vide cooking.
Mad angler....great idea. Thanks!
(1) OP question (rare, med. rare, medium, etc.) in the same machine? you can't. It's temperature dependent.
(2) Other questions about "meat texture", the longer it cooks, the more it breaks down...mushy if left too long, but it is still the correct "done-ness" or color.
(3) How long to cook? It depends upon the THICKNESS of the meat. Google it, or read the instructions that come with your machine.
If you want it to "feel" like a ribeye, you need to take it out as soon as the internal temp is where you want it. If you leave it in all day, it may "feel" like you're eating blood-sausage.
A direct quote from one of our cookbooks.
"and I won't lose any nutrients versus boiling"
Forest, you've been on a whole new level lately...... =D
I think the best way is to cook med steaks first @ 138 for two hours then reduce temp to 128 and add med rare steaks for 2 hours.
