My first big boy Sous Vide adventure

Cymbaline65

Well I pulled the trigger on an Anova SV controller and it arrived last week. Got some 1.25" bone in pork chops from my butcher friend and brined for 4hrs. Seasoned with pepper, fresh herbs from the garden and some garlic slivers. Hot tubbed for 3.5hrs at 138 degrees and finished on the Egg for 3 minutes a side at 600 degrees dome. Meat was pulled off at 151 IT.

Verdict? Unfortunately, the meat was not fork tender like it was when I redneck Sous Vide'd awhile back. I'm not sure what I did wrong. I suppose "practice makes perfect". Maybe the quality of meat was subpar even though I've always had excellent product from this butcher.

Served with grill-roasted corn, grilled zucchini and pureed cauliflower. The fam liked it but I was a bit disappointed.  

Raymont

Your set up/temps seem perfect to me. I would guess it was the cut of meat.

SenorHuevo

Aside from the result of the pork, what do you think of the Anova?  I'm thinking about getting one.

Skiddymarker

I had a similar result that was less than what I expected for boneless loin chops. Tried again without the brining, just herbs and touch of avocado oil - results were much better. Trés Booblay setting was 140ºF for about 4-5 hours, chops pan seared. Chops were all cut from the same cryovac pork loin. 

Cymbaline65

@SenorHuevo - I love the Anova so far. It's quiet and got cold tap water to 138 degrees in about 15 minutes (total volume prob 2 gal.) I verified with my Thermapen and it was spot on - not even .1 degrees off. So, I LOVE the unit and I think it's worth the price of admission. I'll try other proteins and see if my mileage varies.

@Skiddy - I did boneless PC's last time using the Redneck method and they were AWESOME. It's what drove me to buy the Anova. I guess it was the meat. So you think brining could be the issue too?

Skiddymarker

@Cymbaline65 - Yes, I think too much salt may be an issue. A number of commenters on different sous vide forums express the same issue of tough pork when salt is being used with vac packed pork chops. SWMBO is a super taster and asks me to not use salt during most preps. Butter and or avocado oil with herbs and spices, no salt, seemed to provide the best results. 

When you redneck - what temps are you using and for how long? Why can't you use that with the ANOVA? 

Cymbaline65

Skiddymarker said:

@Cymbaline65 - Yes, I think too much salt may be an issue. A number of commenters on different sous vide forums express the same issue of tough pork when salt is being used with vac packed pork chops. SWMBO is a super taster and asks me to not use salt during most preps. Butter and or avocado oil with herbs and spices, no salt, seemed to provide the best results. 

When you redneck - what temps are you using and for how long? Why can't you use that with the ANOVA? 

I redneck'd at 130 I think. It was about 3-4 hours - honestly can't remember. I did just apply some BGE Seasoning to the chops and sealed - that's it. No brine. You may be onto something there.

Cymbaline65

Oh, I did not add any additional salt to the chops after the bath.

Chef Charles

SWMBO bought me an Anova circulator for my b-day.  We tried it out on Saturday with some carrots.  I attached it to a large stock pot and it took quite some time to get to the 183 target temperature.  Going to plan a couple of new experiments for next weekend.

plumbfir01

i buy a '''cleaner pork'' from local farm and just SV for 4-6hrs at 135, then sear at 600-700 till good marks on each side.

Skiddymarker

Chef Charles said:

SWMBO bought me an Anova circulator for my b-day.  We tried it out on Saturday with some carrots.  I attached it to a large stock pot and it took quite some time to get to the 183 target temperature.  Going to plan a couple of new experiments for next weekend.

I use a stock pot as well. For the water bath, start with hot tap water, probably already at 120-140ºF. I sit my stock pot on a towel and bungee a towel around the sides to keep the heat in. Foil over the top to reflect heat and keep evaporation to a minimum. We do them at 187ºF for about 90 minutes if they are standard bagged carrots. Fresh baby carrots are better at 182ºF.  

Cymbaline65

plumbfir01 said:

i buy a '''cleaner pork'' from local farm and just SV for 4-6hrs at 135, then sear at 600-700 till good marks on each side.

So you don't brine your pork? I don't buy any of the pre-injected stuff but I find that brining keeps things moist. Or at least I did until last night.

plumbfir01

Cymbaline65 said:

plumbfir01 said:

i buy a '''cleaner pork'' from local farm and just SV for 4-6hrs at 135, then sear at 600-700 till good marks on each side.

So you don't brine your pork? I don't buy any of the pre-injected stuff but I find that brining keeps things moist. Or at least I did until last night.

No i dont brine at all, maybe doing to much that way.. try without. I end up eating most of the fat on the chops after cooking my way...if i grill, roast or pan fry, I wouldnt touch the fat. its also because the better quality meat i use now vs before. good luck

caliking

Looks pretty good from over here.

I wouldn't brine for SV. Those suckers are going to be quite moist after the bath. Maybe more time in the bath would also help? Personally, I don't aim for fork tender myself, as that is a little too soft for me. 

 How did the garlic taste? Some folks say it becomes bitter if put in the bag for the bath, but I have not confirmed this myself. 

Lastly, we are our own worst critics. Despite your disappointment, it soudns like your family really enjoyed it all. 

Cymbaline65

Hi Caliking-

Well, I won't brine the next time and I'll see how it goes. As for the garlic, I removed it from the chops prior to searing on the Egg. Between the garlic and fresh herbs, the chop was really infused with flavor - almost sublime. And yes, I am definitely my own worst critic. But hey, how can one improve if one does not beat himself up...a lot...

BraveUlysses

I would try finding a way to get your sear done faster than 3min/side and see if that helps.

Cymbaline65

BraveUlysses said:

I would try finding a way to get your sear done faster than 3min/side and see if that helps.

IT was 151 - well within normal specs. I really didn't want to pull it off any sooner. Plenty of time to play and experiment.

J_Que

I've SVed a bunch of brined chops over the last couple months. The first one was at 138 for 2 hours with a quick sear on the egg. It came out dry. Second one was at 136 for 2 hours and was better but still on the dry side. I would SV at a lower temp and dry the chop as best a possible before the sear. Also, I would only sear them for a minute max on each side. Chops will dry out very quickly at 3 minutes a side. 

caliking

@Cymbaline65 - thanks for the garlic tip.  I will try it sometime. 

Mike_the_BBQ_Fanatic

I haven't done chops yet but I love my anova...done steaks a few times, chicken, burgers once and a ton of brussel sprouts...I use a stockpot too but I don't wrap or cover as the unit seems to handle temps very well...

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Brine + 132 degrees for 2-3 hrs w/60'second (max) sear per side = good. Fork tender chops would take a much longer bath for chops but I always brine and always cook at 132 with very quick sear. Some things aren't meant to be fork tender and that's ok. If you want for tender, SV them for 2 days.

if your chops ended up at 151, you were not well within normal specs for great chops in my book.

Cymbaline65

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Definitely play with various proteins. I did some shrimp last night and they were delicious to me but SWMBO did not like the texture. Various sites/recipes I researched always pointed to 138 as the correct temp to tub. All a grand experiment. I just like the flexibility the controller gives me.

Cymbaline65

I'm off to the races again with pork chops. Hot tubbin at 135 and will sear for 1 minute on the Egg. Pics later.

plumbfir01

good luck. No brine and you did season prior to vac sealing right?

Cymbaline65

@Plumbfir01: Yes sir on both counts!

Carolina Q

Hmmm. I often buy "value paks" of stuff when it's on sale, vac seal it in smaller quantities when I get home, and then freeze. I have trouble deciding what to cook (and how to season) TONIGHT's meal! Now you tell me that, with sous vide, I have to decide maybe weeks in advance what seasonings to use? What happens if I add no seasoning until after the water bath?

PS: I don't have a SV unit yet, but soon will. Have only done it with a cooler and hot water so far. And only with fresh (never frozen) meat.

plumbfir01

Michael you can season after but I find that it soaks into meat a bit better before. I have my dad seasoning before he vac seals. He marks which way they are seasoned before they are tossed in freezer... 

Cymbaline65

@CarolinaQ: I too buy meat in bulk and cryovac and freeze for later use. If I plan to SV my protein, I'll just open the original bag, season and re-seal (assuming you have enough space.) The FoodSaver unit I have needs about 2" of bag to form a good seal.

Carolina Q

Thanks, I think I like the resealing idea better than picking seasonings in advance, but we'll see.

Raymont

I note you have moved to a igloo cooler versus using a stock pot for SV. I was going to suggest this as that is how I do it. I think it helps significantly reducing heat loss. I don't brine items going into SV, and think it can be avoided given how tender everything comes out. Try Salmon with Raging River (or other salmon rub); a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Comes out great. I ended up buying the Modernist Cuisine at home cookbook. If anyone wants a SV recipe just ask, be glad to share.

Raymont

+1 on freezing w/o seasoning. I try to seal the top of bag so there is plenty of room for a re-seal. You can take it out of freezer, drop in the SV until it unthaws a little, then open bag, add seasoning and then reseal and put back in SV. Yes this seems like a lot of steps, but it isn't really difficult.