Sous vide and vacuum sealer

Powak

A buddy was over on Halloween and was telling me about his friend who has an attachable sous vide unit, a vacuum sealer and a green egg and man it just sounds like a complete game changer. Anybody else use one of these? The idea of gettin those ribeyes in the hot bath before work, coming home, firing up the egg to 650-750 and searing and BOOM dinner’s done sounds great!

smokingal

Yep, I've got all three, like many others on here.  Actually in the process of using all 3 right now.  Works great.

jtcBoynton

Powak said:

... The idea of gettin those ribeyes in the hot bath before work, coming home, firing up the egg to 650-750 and searing and BOOM dinner’s done sounds great!

Works great except I wouldn’t leave a ribeye in the bath that long.  Two hours is my normal, with four as a max.  

Carolina Q

jtcBoynton said:

Powak said:

... The idea of gettin those ribeyes in the hot bath before work, coming home, firing up the egg to 650-750 and searing and BOOM dinner’s done sounds great!

Works great except I wouldn’t leave a ribeye in the bath that long.  Two hours is my normal, with four as a max.  

Two hours is the "official" limit between 40 and 140°.

I've never tried this, but I've read that people fill the SV pot with ice (with the protein buried in there) and WIFI it to start heating at the appropriate time. Or something like that. Not sure how they know when to start so it'll finish on time. Trial and error?

smbishop

Yes, a perfect combo for cooking, freezing and reheating!

milesvdustin

I have an anova and a food saver, use them often!

smokingal

jtcBoynton said:

Powak said:

... The idea of gettin those ribeyes in the hot bath before work, coming home, firing up the egg to 650-750 and searing and BOOM dinner’s done sounds great!

Works great except I wouldn’t leave a ribeye in the bath that long.  Two hours is my normal, with four as a max.  

If the temp is 131 or below, the recommendation is to keep it to 2 hours.  Most cuts will have an unpleasant texture if left in there all day.  Tough cuts like skirt steak, however, are divine when cooked for longer stretches.

hoosier_egger

Yup use them all often. Joule, Anova and Vacmaster. We can buy bulk and cook lots between the two.

Highly recommend 

HeavyG

Carolina Q said:

jtcBoynton said:

Powak said:

... The idea of gettin those ribeyes in the hot bath before work, coming home, firing up the egg to 650-750 and searing and BOOM dinner’s done sounds great!

Works great except I wouldn’t leave a ribeye in the bath that long.  Two hours is my normal, with four as a max.  

Two hours is the "official" limit between 40 and 140°.

I've never tried this, but I've read that people fill the SV pot with ice (with the protein buried in there) and WIFI it to start heating at the appropriate time. Or something like that. Not sure how they know when to start so it'll finish on time. Trial and error?

Here's a link I've posted before about the ice technique. Some good info but certainly a person would need to do some of their own experimenting to nail down a timeline with their particular setup.

https://www.amazingfoodmadeeasy.com/info/modernist-cooking-blog/more/experiments-to-determine-how-long-will-a-sous-vide-ice-bath-keep-food-safe

Powak

Ooo 2 hour max? How long does it normally take to get a meat to the desired internal temp with one? It may make things a little easier since I get usually get home 1-1.5 hours before dinner.

NorthPilot06

+1 on the ice technique. Just be aware that you’ll need more ice than you might expect. You want to be sure to keep the meat <40 as long as possible — a SV unit will melt extra ice quickly... you don’t want your meat to spoil. 

caliking

Carolina Q said:

jtcBoynton said:

Powak said:

... The idea of gettin those ribeyes in the hot bath before work, coming home, firing up the egg to 650-750 and searing and BOOM dinner’s done sounds great!

Works great except I wouldn’t leave a ribeye in the bath that long.  Two hours is my normal, with four as a max.  

Two hours is the "official" limit between 40 and 140°.

I've never tried this, but I've read that people fill the SV pot with ice (with the protein buried in there) and WIFI it to start heating at the appropriate time. Or something like that. Not sure how they know when to start so it'll finish on time. Trial and error?

I think the Anova had an ice protocol, where you'd get a notification when the bath hit 40F so you could start the cook remotely. You can do this with the Joule too, but you have to keep an eye on the bath temp manually, then start the cook remotely when the bath temp hits 40F. 

nolaegghead

What is this talk of magical tools?  Tell me more! 

rekameohs

smokingal said:If the temp is 131 or below, the recommendation is to keep it to 2 hours.

I just finished re-watching the ATK episode on sous vide and took a few notes.  They said to do it at 130 for at least 1.5 hours, but not more than 3.  After that, the texture of the steak started to change (and not for the better).

A few of their other recommendations:

- Salt and pepper before sealing in bag.

- add 1/4 cup of oil to the bag.  It helps the steak maintain it's shape if vacuum sealed.

- cover the sous vide container with plastic wrap to help minimize evaporation.

- let rest for 5-10 minutes before doing reverse sear.

- use 3 Tbsp oil in the skillet, as it helps with the sear/color.

jtcBoynton

Powak said:

Ooo 2 hour max? How long does it normally take to get a meat to the desired internal temp with one? It may make things a little easier since I get usually get home 1-1.5 hours before dinner.

Give it an hour.  Thin steaks will take less.