Sous Vide Cooking Anyone?

[MaytagMan]

Marcelo... come up here, and bring the machine!

OK then! But we'll have to try the 72 hours spare ribs.
That will give me plenty of time to indulge on Mrs. Maytag's cooking

Funny, she just made those a week ago for a shower she was going to... She left a few for me, and we referred to them as the snacks that Marcelo likes!

[Skipper the cigar aFISHinodo]

you know that botulism is a real concern. Your food saver comes with the warning to always make a hole in any bag while defrosting.
botulism is all around us. What keeps it under control is air. It doesn't do well in air. Put it in a vacuum and you have a problem wanting to happen. Just be careful.
Some precautions include defrosting in the fridge or removing foods from any bags for this part then reseal before cooking. Anything in a sealed bag should be either chilled to below 40 degrees or heated to above 150 (and even at these temps 24 hours is probably pushing it). Just be careful. If a bag inexplicably begins to swell or get what looks like an air pocket in it, don't trust it. One of the trademarks of botulism is they give off a gas. This results in visible expansion.

Aside from that, man what a great idea. Loosing no juices and having the food cook in their own juice. Heck, you're ot even losing any juice vapor. I have to try this for sure! maybe with some fish... hmmmm...

[Riofan]

You're right Skipper. Botulism is a major concern, in fact it can be a fatal concern. Thankfully according to Doug Baldwin research the majority of pouches after vacuum packaging still retain high levels of residual oxygen so you will likely encounter a much lower risk than as per say home canned foods that may expand away from view. Typically if you are defrosting sealed meat you will be exposing it to air before you season and vacuum seal it again. I'm a firm believer that one should preferably defrost fish/meat it in the fridge as you suggested for several reasons.

http://amath.colorado.edu/~baldwind/sous-vide.html


Because food savers are not designed to cope well with liquids that may enter the pump during suction, I attempt to at least partially freeze any meat and liquid I wish to marinate with in a pouch. This reduces the amount of liquid that collects in the small Food Saver reservoir when vacuum sealing. One of the advantages of sous vide is that it's difficult to overcook the meat so you could potentially seal the partially frozen pouch containing the marinade and fish/meat and freeze it indefinitely until ready to use in the future. You would then adjust the cooking time accordingly for having introduced a frozen pouch into the hot bath skipping the step of defrosting it in the refrigerator all together.

FoodSaver

Just to clarify: Because of the residual oxygen and relative ingredients in the pouch that may release vapors while cooking sous vide you could experience swelling of the bag and/or air pockets that are not related to the Clostridium Botulinum bacteria. Generally items placed in a pouch without an industry strength chamber style vacuum sealer may have a tendency to float. This is particularly true in Jerry-rigged home applications using a ziplock bag or when you are unable to obtain a great seal with your FoodSaver (clamp style vacuum sealer). That's one of the reasons you will find a pouch rack in the SousVide Supreme.

http://www.sousvidesupreme.com/default.aspx?

More likely you would want to address the fact that air acts as a barrier between the plastic in contact with the hot water bath, and the contents within the pouch. To avoid undercooked areas simply increase the cooking time if significant air pockets are present.

Obviously I make no representation of being an expert in this cooking method, nor imply that any of the suggestions here may replace common sense when avoiding food borne risks. When cooking sous vide you should also pay close attention and consider the risks of salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria (particular harmful to pregnant women). It is my understanding that in most cases food that is properly cooked and consumed within 4 hours represents a significant lower risk than food that may be cooked, stored and served at a later date. When doing so one should have an understanding of cook & chill methods employing an ice bath and proper storage.


... and Skipper. Fish is supposed to be incredible when cooked sous vide. I haven't tried it yet but when I do I plan to share the photos.

[Riofan]

...and continuing with the sous vide adventures I have to announce that
it will not replace the grill when cooking rib-eyes.



After defrosting before seasoning and resealing




This is what it looks like when out of the bag








Quick sear on the cast iron pan and it's done.





Now, don't get me wrong, this steak came out evenly cooked and absolutely tender and flavorful. However in terms of texture it was just slightly off the mark from being a 10. If weather was an issue that would prevent me from grilling outside I would not hesitate to cook a rib-eye sous vide.

I plan to definitely stick with the grill method perhaps because I have it dialed to a science having done it so many times. It's just a great combination to have a hot grill and the marbled fat talking to each other. They say that fat girls make better lovers? This is along those lines.

[Jimmie the Mum]

Marcelo, that looks damn good but you are correct, nothing beats the grill.
I'll never forget the time we grilled with Jesbus and Sergio. I thought those college boys were gonna eat the plates but you and I took our time and really enjoyed the grilled steaks.

[CigarJohn]

mmmmmm marbling on the rib-eye. Great looking meal as always Marcelo!

[Riofan]

mmmmmm marbling on the rib-eye. Great looking meal as always Marcelo!

Thanks CJ. Here's some marbling for U courtesy of Jimmie the Mum



One of these days we are gonna see what you're made of.
Think U can handle one of these big boys Pepino??

Marcelo, that looks damn good but you are correct, nothing beats the grill.
I'll never forget the time we grilled with Jebus and Sergio. I thought those college boys were gonna eat the plates but you and I took our time and really enjoyed the grilled steaks.

Those were great times my friend and I hope we can do it again soon and in good health!!!



I got all nostalgic here and even had to fire up a stogie. But let's not forget the peppers and mushrooms the Mum whipped out






...and you were right: Those steaks had no chance



Good times and good smokes were had...



Long Live Stogie Chat!

[Jimmie the Mum]

Excellent memories for sure my good friend..
Thanks

[tafdom]

Foodborne botulism would be a TOUGH thing to breed in a kitchen unless you are comlpete morron and follow zero safety measures. I bet there aren't 40 cases a year reported in the US. You don't hardly even see signs in the stores with swollen cans anymore. Our last scare was from some farm or something. Just stay clean and 140* + or - 5 on the high side.

[Skipper the cigar aFISHinodo]

... and Skipper. Fish is supposed to be incredible when cooked sous vide. I haven't tried it yet but when I do I plan to share the photos.

Sounds like it should be. I may have to try this myself.

Foodborne botulism would be a TOUGH thing to breed in a kitchen unless you are comlpete morron and follow zero safety measures. I bet there aren't 40 cases a year reported in the US. You don't hardly even see signs in the stores with swollen cans anymore. Our last scare was from some farm or something. Just stay clean and 140* + or - 5 on the high side.

Terry, myself & 2 of my cousins spent 3 days in a hospital around 15 years ago vomiting blood trying not to die (against our wishes) due to botulism. We got it from a canned bean dip. The can showed no signs of swelling. It happens. Having fought with it, I am terrified and stay educated and take every precaution.