Sous Vide guys, is it necessary?

Hans61

I know this is a cooking for fun forum (love the camaraderie here), so I'm not knocking the sous vide method as it has shown amazing results! (admittedly never tasted) And I also know a bunch of us are into the latest thing...(maybe some history with the French) but I always thought one of the main draws of the egg is the even cooking that it masterfully produces. I've done reverse sears on the egg with very near complete even cooking from center to crust. I'm starting this discussion just for fun, (again not dissing sous vide) but should eggheads/grillers/backyard bbq champions get into this method as opposed to cooking outside with fire? Maybe the answer is, there's more than one way to skin a cat. Thoughts?

Ozzie_Isaac

Nothing is necessary,  not even our Eggs.  I lovey Sous Vide, not just for stuff I egg.  Ever try Creme Brulee on an Egg?

Hans61

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Nothing is necessary,  not even our Eggs.  I lovey Sous Vide, not just for stuff I egg.  Ever try Creme Brulee on an Egg?

Guess the meats that are traditional bbq/grilled is more of what I was thinking when I posted, but your point is well taken :-)

Thatgrimguy

You can't safely cook a chicken breast to 140 on an egg. You also can reheat those perfectly egged goodies back in an egg as well as you can in a SV. Also try making chocolate covered oreos on your egg! Different tools for different effects. They both do a job very well. Is there some overlap, of course! But all cooking devices have some overlap.

johnnyp

There is a level of technical perfection that Sous Vide precision cookers offer that is hard to replicate with other methods.

In regards to "should eggheads use this method" question, I think it's fair to say we're cooking enthusiasts.  Why not discuss modern styles of cooking in addition to embracing the age old open flame cooking techniques.

Ozzie_Isaac

Its different.  Allows more time variation when cooking for groups, easy way to get perfect texture and doneness. 

Do I use it every time?  Nope, but it is not a gimmick for sure.  It is another tool in ones tool box.

Canugghead

Apology to OP for thread jacking ... @Thatgrimguy care to share your chocolate covered oreos how-to please? TIA

nolaegghead

To me, sous vide is a complementary technique to grilling.  It allows me to take even cheaper cuts of meat and make the best of them.  And I can crank out huge amounts of food to feed large crowds -- something I couldn't do with the egg capacity I currently have.  And, insofar as quality control, there's nothing better.

DeltaNu1142

As someone who denied himself a SV device for many months before actually buying one, I'll say it's useful, and fills a gap I didn't know was there, but I could go back to doing without it tomorrow without too much misery.

I've found that I can be cooking low & slow on the Egg while SV'ing a couple of other things, then ramp up the Egg to sear both in series. It's nice for cooking when the meal time is a moving target. And the precision in cooking thick steaks is, well, awesome... something that's not impossible to do on the Egg or elsewhere, but so much easier in a bath.

pab

For me the SV serves a purpose as my wife and I share a steak as she is a light eater who doesn't want "blood" on her plate. I, on the other hand, do not like dried out meat. I have found if I sous vide the steak to 136.2 and then sear the steak in a ci skillet on the egg for 2 minutes a side I can make her happy without myoglobin on her plate but still enough moisture in the meat for me. 

Mosca

I like sous vide, but I have trouble planning and starting Sunday's dinner on Friday. More typical for us is heading over to the supermarket at 4PM for steaks or chicken etc. The best I can do is night before for brisket and pork butts. 

But for sure, sous vide is a valuable tool to have in the box.

gdenby

While I supposed that an SV would be a good accompaniment to Egging, I got into it for other reasons. It was an extension of using a slow cooker, just w. lots more precision and versatility. I liked the idea of being able to pre-make very savory meals in a bag, freeze them, and just toss the bag(s) into hot water to have a meal. Home made convenience food.

I had had trouble making good short ribs on the Egg, about half ended up too tough. One of the 1st recipes I came across was for 72 hour SV ribs. They turned out unreal. I wondered how lower quality steaks might be improved. There are 2 places near me that sell whole strip and rib-eye sections, but they are only select, and sometimes tough. After 48 - 60 hours in the bath, when Egg seared, the end up as tender as choice, maybe better.

If you can plan ahead, knowing there will be little time when dinner comes around, things like so-called country ribs can be lightly rubbed, tossed into an SV a day or 2 in advance, the given a quick smoke bath in the Egg. Not quite as good as doing them completely on the Egg, but much better than from an oven.

 

eggnewtoy

We made Ny strips and rib eyes using the sous vide method and had great results.  Made artichokes, not so good but will try again.  Beef--Cooked to rare, then put on BGE full blast for char.  Direct heat, all vents open, as hot as it could get, seared for 2 minutes per side on cast iron.  Loved the results.  It's a great addition to the arsenal.  Also, deeply into my Joetisserie right now too.  

Skiddymarker

No question of the value to cook in the bath and finish on the egg or in CI for steaks and chops. Dinner is ready in minutes and the texture and temperature all almost guaranteed. 
Like @gdenby notes above, convenience is a big advantage. 
The meat we do the most is St Louis sauced ribs. Rub and 15ml of the finishing sauce, into bath at 145ºF to 150ºF for 18 hours and then finish for an hour do so on a 250º egg. If you ice bath the rib bags out of the sous vide, you can even get a smoke ring when the cold ribs hit the egg to finish. 
Great to have another cooking choice. 

hondabbq

I have cooked in Sous vide for 20 years here and there using it for culinary competitions where a slow heating of the product to ensure a ultra fine end result and at various hotels for Room service items for reheating. I think it has its merits, but it isnt for me.