I’m a decent amateur cook, but I’d read about sous vide and told my folks, and they got me a sous vide device for Xmas. So far I’ve used it for 4 meat dishes:
Chuck steaks – these were seasoned with Zatarain’s creole seasoning (as a Louisiana boy, this is my standard seasoning). Cooked for about 14 hours at 135 F. They turned out pretty good. They were reasonably tender, very juicy, and a nice medium rare, then seared in the pan. My expectations were probably too high as I was excited to try my first sous vide. I realized later I hadn’t seasoned them enough – it appears, at least to me, that you really have to cover the meat with seasoning for sous vide.
Lamb shoulder, cut up into chunks – creole seasoning again (mixed with Adobo I think), cooked at about 134 for 24 hours (then seared in the pan). This was a bit disappointing, but it may have been because the meat was badly freezer burned, having been in the back of my freezer for who know’s how long. I love cooking stews with lamb shoulder, and it usually has a rich lamb flavor, but these just didn’t have a lot of flavor.
Chuck roast – this was excellent, seasoned with a combination of creole, Adobo, and Moroccan ras el hanout, cooked at 132 F for 26 hours (then seared). Well marbled (and I love the fatty parts), and was really similar to a high quality prime rib IMO.
Beef ribs – this was the best thing so far, truly delicious. Cooked in the same pot as the chuck roast (132 for 26 hours), but I seasoned this one exclusively with Jamaican jerk seasoning powder. The flavor was just amazing – this jerk seasoning will be my go to for beef at least for now. Just amazingly juicy and flavorful.
Overall I think it’s a big success. It’s really easy and stress free, even though it takes planning. I like the idea of having delicious meat around at all times, and I especially like that it can make cheap cuts of meat into delicious, high quality meals. I bought some thick, bone in pork chops that I’m going to try next. I’ll probably try the jerk for these chops too. Recommended!
I don’t have the room for Yet Another Kitchen Device, but I’m curious about your Creole seasoning. I use Zat’s crab cake seasoning, but haven’t tried their Creole seasoning. I make my own, and I always make extra so that I have it whenever I need it.
Creole Seasoning:
2½ tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
Combine all ingredients thoroughly.
Now try a 65-degree egg. It sounds bizarre, but it’s legitimately amazing.
I’ve been sous-vide-ing for years and I swear by it. Super useful to slow-cook something all day while at work, and then just quick-sear it before dinner. Most proteins are pretty tolerant to long cooking, with the exception of chicken breast, which gets a little rubbery if left too long.
I’m not sure what kind of vacuum-seal device you have, but here’s a handy tip: In addition to prepping your proteins with dry seasoning rubs, you have the alternative of using a sauce inside the vacuum bag, like say a teriyaki sauce with chicken thighs (which go under the broiler for a couple of minutes after spending time in the water bath). You’re basically cooking and marinading in one step.
You just need to plan ahead a bit, because the liquid will get sucked into the vacuum machine when you seal the bag. A few hours before starting the sous vide, just portion out some of your desired sauce in an ice cube tray and freeze it. Then pop a frozen sauce cube into the bag before sealing. An hour or so after you start cooking, pull the bag out and observe the sauce cube is melted; give the bag a little shake and massage to distribute the sauce, and stick it back in the bath for the remainder of the scheduled time.
And you don’t have to stick exclusively with protein, either. For example, I like to sous vide carrots with orange, honey, and cumin. Perfect every time.
Try pork shoulder. Here’s Kenji’s Lopez-Alt pulled pork recipe on Anova. Kenji has a bunch of recipes on Anova.
I love this one because it can be finished in either the oven or on a charcoal BBQ. For me, I get the fun of finishing on the Weber but not having to spend 18 hours baby sitting it.
It’s fantastic for finicky things like chicken breasts or salmon steaks, or even a nice thick pork chop. Anything with a narrow window for “perfect” and overcooking just ruins entirely. We’ve all turned salmon into canned tuna fish before and it’s awful. If I ever cook Thanksgiving turkey breast again, I’m not doing it any other way.
You may want to check out the Sous Vide Everything YouTube channel. It is as the name suggests and has a large following. He tests all sorts of things to sous vide and how to get the best results. Worth checking out I think if you like this way of cooking (restaurants love sous vide, this is not a fringe thing).
All my steaks for ever and ever–even the cheapest chuck-- will be restaurant quality delicious because I discovered sous vide. I use my cheap sous stick for meat mostly but have made lovely custard and really nice ramen eggs in it.
I got a marinated pork tenderloin from Aldi the other day and did it in its retail packaging at 140 for 90 minutes. After chilling, I cut it into medallions 3/4" and seared hard on cast iron with salt and lemon juice. It was ‘Italian’ flavor which I was surprised but pleased to find meant a fennel kick. $5.45, hard to beat.
Carrots are amazing. Those multi color ones are a fun special occasion splash and present like a magazine cover. Beets cook at the same temperature/time and turn out equally well.
Any waterproof bag is fine, no vacuum sealer required. A plain Ziploc bag will work just fine. You can even get reusable silicone bags.
Sous vide is exceptionally good with meats. Essentially impossible to overcook. You can certainly cook for too long which will yield strangely-textured results, but there’s an extremely large window for perfect results before bad things start to happen; you really have to leave it in for many hours too long to mess it up.
I have a lot of individual portions of salmon in the freezer, and they are a little fussy to cook. I may start with one of those. They even come in sealed plastic bags.
That sounds like an excellent idea. I had a bunch of salmon in the freezer for the longest time that I was afraid to cook because overcooked salmon is terrible. Came out perfect of course. Gave it a quick sear on the skin side in a screaming hot pan right before serving, and it was easily the best salmon I’d ever cooked.
As to cooking it in the original packaging, just make sure the package is heat sealed and not glued. Heat sealed packages are generally safe to use, but glued packages run a high risk of leaking or coming apart altogether.
I wouldn’t bother with SV for salmon and certainly not for individual portions. It cooks quickly using a conventional method (pan, bake, grill) and the extra time in the bath & bag will make the fish fall apart long before it hits the sear pan.
I’d do some carrots for a first cook. Cheap, durable, and a good demonstration of the technique.
I could be doing a lot more, but I use sous vide for:
NY Strip Steak. I buy 2 whole slabs of meat at Costco every Black Friday. Cut into 1.25" slices. Season generously with Montreal Steak rub. Vacuum-pouch 2 per bag, and freeze. Sous-vide at 140F (I’d prefer a little less, and rocknrhodes would prefer a little more) for 2 to 4 hours. Then blot dry, season generously with whatever steak rub I find in the pantry, and sear it on a hot skillet with a touch of olive oil, or on the grill. Serve with homemade chimichurri and a mix of diced sweet potato, poblano, shallot, cherry tomato, and avocado.
Chicken Breast. Pull a couple packs of Costco chicken breast out of the freezer and sous-vide at 150F (I’ll try a little lower next time) for 1.5 to 2 hours. Blot dry and cut in half the long way (they’re really thick). Season generously. Sear on a hot skillet with a fair amount of olive oil.
I’m bumping this thread because I just got a sous vide machine as an early Christmas present. Any beginners tips for sous vide cooking would be quite welcome.
I do not have a vacuum sealer, but I understand it can be done with ordinary Ziploc type bags. Anything I need to be aware of if doing it this way? I assume I need to get all the air out and make sure the bag is sealed well.
It sounds bizarre, but it’s legitimately amazing.