The Sous Vide to BGE Combo Never Fails

JohnInCarolina · September 2016

Like many of you, I've gotten into the SV cooking. I like to combine it with finishing on the BGE. The process is generally to cook in the SV for an extended period ahead of time, let cool in the fridge, and then finish by smoking on the Egg. I've tried it now with spare ribs, turkey breast, salmon, brisket, and over the weekend - Adam Perry Lang's chicken satay recipe (from Serious Barbecue). Sorry I didn't get any pics, but they were gone quick!

The recipe's the usual APL one. You marinade the chicken tenders for about 6 hrs, and then grill over high heat fast while applying a glaze. I mixed it up by throwing them in the SV after the marinade (Anova has a recipe), letting them cool in the fridge, and then adding char on the BGE later. They were... ridiculously tender. If you have the means, I highly recommend this recipe and approach.

What I like about this approach, in addition to the end product, is how consistent and reliable it is. There was never any question that the tenders were cooked out of the SV. So I just went with pure appearance on the Egg in terms of getting the right amount of char. I've found the same thing with the spare ribs I do - very consistent. I've only done brisket once, but will be using this approach again.

DoubleEgger · September 2016

No pics?

MaC122 · September 2016

Great. I need to get a sous vide, haha. Can you recommend one that is good but wont break the bank? And Ill need a vacuum sealer, correct? I would normally be cooking for 2 or 3 at the most. Thanks @JohnInCarolina for the help.

JohnInCarolina · September 2016

DoubleEgger said:

No pics?

I knew I was going to catch sheaht for that from the usual suspects. Never change Michael!

JohnInCarolina · September 2016

MaC122 said:

Great. I need to get a sous vide, haha. Can you recommend one that is good but wont break the bank? And Ill need a vacuum sealer, correct? I would normally be cooking for 2 or 3 at the most. Thanks @JohnInCarolina for the help.

I got my Anova unit for $99 during an Amazon sale. You just have to pay attention for those - they come around every once in awhile. They're about $200 otherwise. There are some others from other companies that are less well known but probably just as good. Maybe some other folks here will chime in.

You don't need a vacuum sealer to SV, but it definitely helps. But here's a key point about having one: it can actually save you money. The reason is that you will use it for leftovers. We vacuum seal any leftovers we have from any large Egg cook, and throw them in the freezer. Then you reheat in the SV - just drop the bag in - and you'll get the freshest leftovers you've ever had, perfectly reheated. It will honestly change your life.

buzd504 · September 2016

I have a vacuum sealer but I usually just use the "seal the ziplock submersed in water" trick when cooking sous vide.

DoubleEgger · September 2016

JohnInCarolina said:

DoubleEgger said:

No pics?

I knew I was going to catch sheaht for that from the usual suspects. Never change Michael!

Ha! You've been around long enough to know the gig. I'm sure it was outstanding!

pflug · September 2016

Sounds awesome. What is the purpose of the cooling in the fridge? Does it stop the cooking, or just give you the flexibility to wait?

Thanks!

Legume · September 2016

Well, it sounds excellent. I've been wanting to get an anova, just haven't pulled the trigger yet. I'm going to need a smaller egg (or something) if I'm going to be firing it up just to char.

Travis must be laughing his @ss off now that everyone is boiling their food. Who is going to host sous vide camp?

JohnInCarolina · September 2016

pflug said:

Sounds awesome. What is the purpose of the cooling in the fridge? Does it stop the cooking, or just give you the flexibility to wait?

Thanks!

It gives you the flexibility for sure, but I think the main thing is that it prevents over-cooking. You can also dip in an ice bath if you're pressed for time.

DieselkW · September 2016

Cheapest sous vide is an ordinary beer cooler. Put boiling water in the cooler, then immerse the tip of your thermopen and add ice cold water until you get to 5º above your target temp.
Add your vacuum bag of meat, and check it every 45 minutes, adding boiling water if necessary to keep your temp up.

I've only done it once, but it worked great on steaks, a 90 minute sous vide that held temp at 135º the whole time, after dropping 5º from putting 3 cold steaks in the water. The steaks came out a lot like a reverse sear - grill marks on the exterior, medium rare top to bottom. Thermopen had them at 140º interior after grilling.

Total cost: A $30 cooler that I already had and can use for keeping stuff cold as well as hot.
http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1199015/redneck-sous-vide#latest

JohnInCarolina · September 2016

Legume said:

Well, it sounds excellent. I've been wanting to get an anova, just haven't pulled the trigger yet. I'm going to need a smaller egg (or something) if I'm going to be firing it up just to char.

Travis must be laughing his @ss off now that everyone is boiling their food. Who is going to host sous vide camp?

LOL. Travis is on to the SV as well.

I think we're talking about SV'ing one of the briskets at @nolaegghead 's camp this year, just to mess around.

JohnInCarolina · September 2016

DieselkW said:

Cheapest sous vide is an ordinary beer cooler. Put boiling water in the cooler, then immerse the tip of your thermopen and add ice cold water until you get to 5º above your target temp.
Add your vacuum bag of meat, and check it every 45 minutes, adding boiling water if necessary to keep your temp up.

I've only done it once, but it worked great on steaks, a 90 minute sous vide that held temp at 135º the whole time, after dropping 5º from putting 3 cold steaks in the water. The steaks came out a lot like a reverse sear - grill marks on the exterior, medium rare top to bottom. Thermopen had them at 140º interior after grilling.

Total cost: A $30 cooler that I already had and can use for keeping stuff cold as well as hot.
http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1199015/redneck-sous-vide#latest

Redneck SV - I like it!

That'll work for things that only need an hour or so. I do my ribs for 18hrs, and the brisket I did over the weekend was in for 24. Some folks are going a lot longer on various cooks.

caliking · September 2016

Nice. I've been contemplating the SV-->BGE method for some time.

What time/temp for the chix tenders and turkey breast? I smoked 2 turkey breasts for the office holiday party last year, but might SV/BGE this year.

JohnInCarolina · September 2016

caliking said:

Nice. I've been contemplating the SV-->BGE method for some time.

What time/temp for the chix tenders and turkey breast? I smoked 2 turkey breasts for the office holiday party last year, but might SV/BGE this year.

Chicken tenders were in the SV for 1:15 at 140F.

Last year for Thanksgiving we had a lot of people over, and I was worried about not having enough turkey. So in addition to the one I did on the Egg, I threw a couple of turkey breasts into the SV. There was no comparison in terms of moisture and flavor, the SV breasts were miles better. I did them at 145F for three hrs.

tarheelmatt · September 2016

You failed this test professor. You failed to show your work.

Image result for pictures or it didnt happen

Eggcelsior · September 2016

We need to SV a brisket at BC if time allows.

NPHuskerFL · September 2016

Hmmm... Using your Professor card are we?

The Cen-Tex Smoker · September 2016

I had units 1 and 2 fired up this weekend. Put some pork belly in the SVS Demi and some kalbi style Korean short ribs in the annova/cooler combo. 30 hrs on the belly and 8 on the shorties. They were both really good but glaze reduction from the juices in the bag were to die for. We are going to make a SV Demi glacé this way in the coming weeks. it was the best I've ever had and it was a total afterthought.

Did the belly Kung Pao style and did the ribs kalbi style. Both were glazed with the reduction from the bag juices then seared one side on the egg and sauced. Served with sushi rice and Japanese salad. Fun little Sunday.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/kh/jk959p76mytt.jpeg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/1y/lc2vlcfnzgqf.jpeg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/og/6219130dsfj9.jpeg

The Cen-Tex Smoker · September 2016

good lord I hate typing on my iphone. Had to correct almost every sentence. Didn't seem to have that problem on my last phone but this one has been a nightmare since day 1. I've had it over a year so you would figure I would be use to it by now. Nope.

Canugghead · September 2016

Great post. I've been trying SV-BGE occasionally, usually have decent results but had few bad experiences with over smoking the meat (lo and slo) after the SV... still learning.

My favourite method for turkey is from Chefsteps, sv leg roulade + breast lo n slo in the oven.

Couple of things I want to try (read in MCAH) are sv-sear kebabs and caseless sausages.

20stone · September 2016

caliking said:

Nice. I've been contemplating the SV-->BGE method for some time.

What time/temp for the chix tenders and turkey breast? I smoked 2 turkey breasts for the office holiday party last year, but might SV/BGE this year.

SV turkey breast is one of the highest payoff cooks for the tech. I'll dig up the recipe we used last year.

thetrim · September 2016

I've only done steaks on the SV/BGE but they are masterful. Here's an SRF ribeye

Raymont · September 2016

Love my SV, but don't really SV ribeyes anymore. Reverse sear is a better tasting steak IMO. SV gets a workout on chicken, pork chops, filet's, salmon.. but ribeyes... reverse sear is king.

JohnInCarolina · September 2016

Raymont said:

Love my SV, but don't really SV ribeyes anymore. Reverse sear is a better tasting steak IMO. SV gets a workout on chicken, pork chops, filet's, salmon.. but ribeyes... reverse sear is king.

I agree. The added flavor you get from the smoke makes a big difference.

caliking · September 2016

20stone said:

caliking said:

Nice. I've been contemplating the SV-->BGE method for some time.

What time/temp for the chix tenders and turkey breast? I smoked 2 turkey breasts for the office holiday party last year, but might SV/BGE this year.

SV turkey breast is one of the highest payoff cooks for the tech. I'll dig up the recipe we used last year.

Keeping secrets, eh? Actually, I remember you talking about it, but don't recall the specifics.

DoubleEgger · September 2016

Man I want some turkey now. I might fire up the SV this week if a good recipe comes through.

smokeyj · September 2016

I been doing the opposite with great results. I smoke a chuck roast or a corned beef brisket until about 165, cool and then vac seal and put in the fridge and when I want it for so her I put in the sous vide the day before the evening I want it.

JohnInCarolina · September 2016

smokeyj said:

I been doing the opposite with great results. I smoke a chuck roast or a corned beef brisket until about 165, cool and then vac seal and put in the fridge and when I want it for so her I put in the sous vide the day before the evening I want it.

Why not? Sounds like a good idea to me!

thetrim · September 2016

Yeah I want a Turkey too now!

SGH · September 2016

smokeyj said:

I been doing the opposite with great results. I smoke a chuck roast or a corned beef brisket until about 165, cool and then vac seal and put in the fridge and when I want it for so her I put in the sous vide the day before the evening I want it.

Would that be called reverse SV?
If the name reverse SV sticks im claiming it

The Sous Vide to BGE Combo Never Fails

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