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  #136   ^
Old Wed, Oct-28-09, 12:44
bike2work bike2work is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 4,536
 
Plan: Fung-inspired fasting
Stats: 336/000/160 Female 5' 9"
BF:
Progress: 191%
Location: Seattle metro area
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I made the best beef soup I've ever had. (Or maybe the Eades' 6 Week Cure has left me much more appreciative of real food!)

- I had some good beef stock that I made previously, but it was a bit weak. I added some of my homemade beef demi-glace (keep it in the freezer) to it. I added the juices from cooking my pot roast to it. (I ended up eating all the pot roast as hash.)
- I sous vide-ed some small pieces of chuck (2 2/3 lb) with herbs de Provence for the soup and added the juices from that to the stock.
- Then I sauteed a small leek and pureed it with some of my stock in the high-powdered blender till smooth (flavor and body for the soup).
- I diced and sauteed several mushrooms, a medium carrot, a small parsnip, half a small celeriac, and two celery sticks.
- I combined the beef, the stock, and the veggies and heated it through -- heaven.

Sous vide seems to be all about flavor. I'm surprised because I though the advantage was in not over-cooking things that are supposed to be medium rare.

Because I don't have perfectly accurate equipment, I've only tried long-cooked things so far and they've all yielded great flavors. I tried an impromptu pseudo-chicken curry too: just chicken thigh pieces, coconut milk, and curry powder. It wasn't anything an Indian would recognize as curry but it tasted great.
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  #137   ^
Old Wed, Oct-28-09, 12:49
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,842
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
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Ooooh, that sounds great!

I noticed I had some very concentrated, flavorful beef gelatin that rendered out of some 80/20 el-cheap-o hamburger I got at TJ's. It's powerfully beefy. I'm going to save it!

I think maybe the advantage here is that the flavors and volatile oils and stuff aren't dissipating into steam or being destroyed by excess heat.

I think there is an advantage in not overcooking too. But it seems to shine in some areas more than others. For instance, the steaks I did were magnificent. The pork roast wasn't that much better than oven cooked really.

I keep hearing about sous vide duck confit...

And thanks for mentioning herbs de Provence, I need to get some!
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  #138   ^
Old Wed, Oct-28-09, 13:08
capmikee's Avatar
capmikee capmikee is offline
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Posts: 5,160
 
Plan: Weston A. Price, GFCF
Stats: 165/133/132 Male 5' 5"
BF:?/12.7%/?
Progress: 97%
Location: Philadelphia
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nancy LC
I think there is an advantage in not overcooking too. But it seems to shine in some areas more than others. For instance, the steaks I did were magnificent. The pork roast wasn't that much better than oven cooked really.

That seems consistent with my experience. I hate overcooked roast beef, but pork roast just seems to get better and better with cooking.

I do miss doing it in the Romertopf, though. For some reason it was much better than the slow cooker. We need to get our convection oven fixed.
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  #139   ^
Old Wed, Oct-28-09, 17:33
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,842
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
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You know, when I reheat the pork meat in my cast iron skillet it becomes amazing. The exterior got all crispy! I haven't tried this on oven cooked, I think.
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  #140   ^
Old Fri, Oct-30-09, 08:37
Jayseem's Avatar
Jayseem Jayseem is offline
Carpe Diem
Posts: 1,029
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 310/260/185 Male 70
BF:42/33.7/25
Progress: 40%
Location: SE Wisconsin
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A question for Nancy LC (or anybody with Sous Vide equipment at home): If your set point is 150F, for example, do you know what the variance of your equipment is during the cooking process. That is if your set point is 150 does the cooking temperature cycle up and down with 150 as the mid point. If it does, do you know how much the variance is each way?
I am tinkering with a home made system and I am getting a variance of about 1.5 degrees F. I am going to try to fine tune the controller some more, but my equipment might not be sophisticated enough to hold the temp to within .5 degrees F. Still, my investment so far is a total of $4.99 for a hot pot from Goodwill (I had sensors and controllers laying around from a former life). Sure beats $399.00 + shipping from those diet docs.
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  #141   ^
Old Fri, Oct-30-09, 08:44
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
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Posts: 25,842
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
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Ah, a tinkerer! I got my equipment for under $300, using a PID controller, Rice cooker and FS vacuum sealer, all new.

I think it depends on a few things but with my set-up it occasionally goes 1-2 degrees over but it stays quite remarkably on the nose for the most part. And I don't know that absolute precision really matters so far. With eggs, of course that can be one where you don't want +/- 5 swings but a degree or two isn't bad and it isn't sustained long enough to cause the food to get too hot.

My controller probably is measuring sub fractions of degrees because it seems to detect trends in heating/cooling pretty quickly and adjusts it's on/off sequence. So by the time I see it's +1 degree, it's already lengthened the cycle and letting things cool a bit. So no, the 150 isn't a mid point it cycles around, it pretty much stays there spot on for the most part.

The precision would probably be worse in something like a crockpot. If you go look at the controller site I linked earlier (Auberins) they have a PDF about the best devices to use and why. It might be an issue with your hot-pot, rather than the controller.

I've also heard of people putting aquarium bubbler in their cooking devices to simulate the circulation of the professional devices. But it seems like my current setup works just fine. My only wish is that the water bath were bigger so I could jam more stuff in there!

Last edited by Nancy LC : Fri, Oct-30-09 at 08:54.
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  #142   ^
Old Fri, Oct-30-09, 17:39
bekkers's Avatar
bekkers bekkers is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 556
 
Plan: Paleo/Primal
Stats: 270/210/150 Female 65 inches
BF:50?/VERY/22
Progress: 50%
Location: WA
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OH. MY.GOSH. Thank you for this thread Nancy, I have been dreaming baout the Eadse's sous vide, but I think I might be able to rig something up with just buying the PID controller. We have a rice cooker but I'm not sure how I would put the probe in without closing the lid over it, which you said might damage the wire? I will continue to research...

Plus, maybe dh would get into to the "gadget-y-ness" of it all, this could be a Christmas present for both of us! (and he could be allowed to cook again! right now all he makes is deep fried chicken w/buffalo sauce and pasta for himself if he needs it...)

I've been skipping veggies for the most part anyway lately, kind of a smidge here and there for taste but otherwise not very interested, so this could be really awesome for my all meat all the time habit... Plus alternatively styled eggs. ;-)

Would you feel comfortable using the ziplock freezer bags so long as the temp is below 175 F? I worry about the plastic issues but would prefer to not have to buy a food saver to try out the method at first. I'm sure it would come later though if we use it a lot. I have looked into it before though and read that the units often give out quickly, has anyone here experienced that?
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  #143   ^
Old Fri, Oct-30-09, 18:09
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
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Posts: 25,842
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
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Oh do get into this! I love having people to compare notes with.

So far the ziploc bags have worked great for certain things, like egg custard. But I think Allison said that her roast she did the bag was starting to degrade a little after 24 hours or so in heat 140-150. Just meaning, the seal wasn't holding up real well I think. It's hard to get all the air out of the ziploc bags, although I am getting better at it, so they tend to float. But my rice maker has a steamer tray, so I stick that in and it pushes the bag down.

You should read this from Auberins about what device to use: http://auberins.com/Sous%20Vide%20a...tion%20note.pdf

I think some rice cookers with lids are ok, but others have a sharp lip that can damage the probe's wire.

Also, make sure your rice cooker is big enough. Mine is 24 cups and I find myself wishing it were bigger! I think a 10 cup would be too small. Someday I'll look into larger devices.

Some people say they've had their foodsavers for years, so I'm not sure it's that flakey. There's a Foodsaver group on Yahoo, seems like there are a lot of devoted fans.
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  #144   ^
Old Fri, Oct-30-09, 18:34
Jayseem's Avatar
Jayseem Jayseem is offline
Carpe Diem
Posts: 1,029
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 310/260/185 Male 70
BF:42/33.7/25
Progress: 40%
Location: SE Wisconsin
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My Sous Vide Rube Golberg contraption worked pretty well for the first time. I did eggs at 150F for 75 minutes and the controller held the temperature pretty close to 150F while they were cooking and the eggs were pretty tasty too. Tomorrow I will be trying what the store calls "petite sirloin". I don't know what they are, but they are a bit tough, though tasty. I expect to hold the temperature at 140F +/- 2 degrees. My cooker certainly has enough power to take the temp up to 150 and hold it there. I did go around the internal bi-metal control switch so that the heater coil is on full whenever the controller is supplying power. If this thing turns those tough steaks into tender sirloins then I will really be hooked on this method.
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  #145   ^
Old Fri, Oct-30-09, 18:36
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,842
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
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You might want to consult that guide on temperature for steak. I thought 130 was great. About 2-3 hours for a tough old sirloin turned it into something wonderful. Then a quick seer.

Can't wait to hear how your contraption works out!

A practical guide to sous vide cooking
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  #146   ^
Old Fri, Oct-30-09, 18:39
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,842
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
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I posted my lemon custard sous vide recipe on my blog. Comes out really nicely every time.
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  #147   ^
Old Fri, Oct-30-09, 18:56
bike2work bike2work is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 4,536
 
Plan: Fung-inspired fasting
Stats: 336/000/160 Female 5' 9"
BF:
Progress: 191%
Location: Seattle metro area
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I don't have any trouble getting the air out of a ziplock bag -- I use a straw halfway down the side of the bag, zip the bag close to the straw, suck all the air out , and then pull the straw out with my mouth while still sucking and zipping with my fingers. Easy and it works great. A vacuum is a vacuum.

But I'm worried about cooking in these plastic bags. What's leaching into the food? Will I just end up with cancer instead of diabetes?

And as Nancy said, the tracks on the ziplock were disintigrating when I opened a pot roast at 30 hours.
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  #148   ^
Old Fri, Oct-30-09, 19:07
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,842
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
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What little investigating I did was that the Ziploc freezer bags are made from polyethelene and they don't have issues... at least that we know of. The only thing I've heard is not to use the bags at boiling temperature (over 200') because they'll melt.

Plus, SV tends to be fairly low temperature.

Here's Harold McGee's answer:

http://petitsoleilblog.blogspot.com...de-cooking.html

Allison, which brand did you use? Ziploc brand?
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  #149   ^
Old Fri, Oct-30-09, 19:13
bike2work bike2work is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 4,536
 
Plan: Fung-inspired fasting
Stats: 336/000/160 Female 5' 9"
BF:
Progress: 191%
Location: Seattle metro area
Default

Which foodsaver is best? There are so many. I am ready to buy one.
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  #150   ^
Old Fri, Oct-30-09, 19:15
bike2work bike2work is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 4,536
 
Plan: Fung-inspired fasting
Stats: 336/000/160 Female 5' 9"
BF:
Progress: 191%
Location: Seattle metro area
Default

I've been using the Ziplock Double Zipper Heavy Duty Freezer bags that Costco carries.
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