# Anyone else into Sous Vide cooking?



## lugoismad (Jan 3, 2016)

I got a gift card to amazon for christmas and bought myself a sous vide controller for my crock pot.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011296704

I use a cheap aquarium bubbler to keep the water circulating.







For those of you who've not heard of it before, you vacuum seal your meat into a bag






Submerse it in water and let the cooker bring it to exactly the temperature you want.

I cooked my steaks to exactly medium rare (135*) and let them sit there for 2 hours. Then quickly seared each side in an iron skillet.

The controller has a temperature probe that you place in the water, and it switches the crock pot on and off to keep the water right at the temp you set it too. Mine can keep the temp to within a 3 degree range, it would be 1 degree, but the heavy crock causes some overshoot, so I set my temp about 2 degrees less than I really want to compensate for the overshoot.






It lets you get the meat perfect all the way through. You can cook ribs or roasts for up to 3 days but hold it at medium rare so all of the collagen breaks down and its super tender, without being overcooked.

I just did salmon fillets at 130* and they were out of this world. Because you are cooking it in a sealed bag, the meat doesn't loose any moisture or fat. The salmon had the consistency of salmon flavored butter.

And the best part is you can seal it in with stuff like cedar planks

https://www.vacmasterfresh.com/fresh-bites-blog/sous-vide-cedar-planked-walleye/

Or fresh herbs, and it gets infused with the flavor.

I sealed in a sprig of rosemary with my steak, and the entire steak had a delicious rosemary taste.

I have a leg of lamb I'm going to do next weekend.


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## Johnny (Jan 3, 2016)

wow - just catching the first few sentences while waiting
for the photos to load and I thought you were steaming your minnows :LMFAO: 


several years ago, I got hooked on the "boil in a bag" vegetables in cheese sauce
and they were fantastic.

never heard of your recipe but it does sound great !


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## lugoismad (Jan 3, 2016)

Johnny said:


> wow - just catching the first few sentences while waiting
> for the photos to load and I thought you were steaming your minnows :LMFAO:
> 
> 
> ...



This isn't really "boil", because you cook at an exact temp. The water bath I put my sealed steaks in was 135*, so they came up to exactly medium rare all the way through. 

Because you heat the water to exactly the temp you want, you can't overheat the food and go past where you want. This means you can do ribs that cook at a low temp for 3 days so the collagen breaks down and the meat is super tender but not overcooked.


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## lckstckn2smknbrls (Jan 3, 2016)

Never heard of it but it looks interesting. I will be looking into it.


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## RiverBottomOutdoors (Jan 4, 2016)

I used sous vide probably 6 or 7 times. I just use an old Styrofoam cooler.

https://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/hunting/2014/10/recipe-redneck-venison-sous-vide


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## JMichael (Jan 4, 2016)

My son is a cook in nice restaurant and he says they do a massive amount of sous vide cooking. I've never had anything cooked that way or even seen it done in person yet but I plan on trying it the next time I go visit him. He says he loves any food they cook this way and can't say enough about how tender and good tasting anything cooked with this method. I'm looking forward to trying it.

I had heard about it and read up on it a bit a while back but don't remember seeing anything about being able to use with a regular crock pot. Maybe this is a new development since I first read about it.


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## Jim (Jan 4, 2016)

I have never heard of this! :LOL2:


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## lugoismad (Jan 4, 2016)

JMichael said:


> I had heard about it and read up on it a bit a while back but don't remember seeing anything about being able to use with a regular crock pot. Maybe this is a new development since I first read about it.



You have to have the controller I bought, its the "Brains" that keeps the crockpot at the prices temperature.


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## fool4fish1226 (Jan 5, 2016)

Alright dang it - just ordered one yesterday because of this thread. I watch allot of cooking shows and have always wanted to try this.


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## Jim (Jan 5, 2016)

:LOL2:


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## lugoismad (Jan 5, 2016)

fool4fish1226 said:


> Alright dang it - just ordered one yesterday because of this thread. I watch allot of cooking shows and have always wanted to try this.




Awesome!!! Let me know how you like that one. I went the cheap route, but if I get a little money together I might buy a nicer one.


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## JMichael (Jan 5, 2016)

lugoismad said:


> JMichael said:
> 
> 
> > I had heard about it and read up on it a bit a while back but don't remember seeing anything about being able to use with a regular crock pot. Maybe this is a new development since I first read about it.
> ...


It's been a while since I first read about it, but to the best of my memories ability, they had the crock-pot looking cooker with the controls built in to it and all you needed with it was the vacuum sealer. But I also remember the stand alone unit was pretty expensive at that time as well. Since I didn't have a vacuum sealer back then (I do now), and the cookers were so expensive, I quit looking in to it. Maybe I should check again and see if they are any cheaper now.


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## RiverBottomOutdoors (Jan 5, 2016)

I've done suis vide ribeyes with just a zip lock and cooler. 

Suck all the air out of the zip locks. Get your water to 140. Put the steaks in for about an hour then hit it for about 10 seconds on each side on a hot iron. I used 20oz ribeyes.


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## Jim (Jan 5, 2016)

I still cant believe this! :LOL2:


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## lugoismad (Jan 5, 2016)

Jim said:


> I still cant believe this! :LOL2:



I've got 3lbs of beef ribs at 170* right now. Doing a 8 hour cook on them.


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## JMichael (Jan 5, 2016)

Doing a little more research on this today shows the self contained units are still expensive but these immersion circulator units are what's new and much cheaper than the older units. I've only found and checked on 3 brands of these immersion style units, but they all have about 10% of the reviewers rating them at 1-3 stars. Customer service from all 3 seems to be hit or miss, and varies by individual, with some pretty bad things reported by some. Keeping all that in mind, I think I'm going to try and find one of the Anova units on sale and give them a try.


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## RiverBottomOutdoors (Jan 5, 2016)

Picks from my first sous vides. ***Does anyone else say "sous vide" in an accent with inflection????***


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## JMichael (Jan 5, 2016)

RiverBottomOutdoors said:


> I used sous vide probably 6 or 7 times. I just use an old Styrofoam cooler.
> 
> https://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/hunting/2014/10/recipe-redneck-venison-sous-vide


Jonah, what brand/style cooker are you using with that cooler?


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## lugoismad (Jan 5, 2016)

JMichael said:


> RiverBottomOutdoors said:
> 
> 
> > I used sous vide probably 6 or 7 times. I just use an old Styrofoam cooler.
> ...




He's not. He's heating water to 140, and using the cooler to keep it there for a short cook. That actually works pretty well for short cook stuff like steak or fish, but if you want to do a long haul cook for like ribs, you need someone that can keep the water warm.


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## lugoismad (Jan 5, 2016)

Dang that looks good.

Deer loin?

I actually didn't know it was pronounced "Soo Vee" for a long time until my wife started making fun of me for sounding like an idiot for saying "Soose Viday"


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## RiverBottomOutdoors (Jan 5, 2016)

JMichael said:


> RiverBottomOutdoors said:
> 
> 
> > I used sous vide probably 6 or 7 times. I just use an old Styrofoam cooler.
> ...



Redneck Yeti.... Just a styrofoam cooler that came from a mail order Christmas ham. I got two of 'em now. Holds temp for probably 2 hours, could top it off if needed to extend cook time. But, of course the cheap route means you have to do a little more babysitting. Without a doubt the sous vide method makes the best deer you will ever have. The biggest, oldest, toughest buck will melt in your mouth. Only way I will cook a deer loin now.


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## JMichael (Jan 5, 2016)

RiverBottomOutdoors said:


> Picks from my first sous vides. ***Does anyone else say "sous vide" in an accent with inflection????***


Well I can't attest to the accuracy of their pronunciation of it, but my son says they pronounce it "sue-veed" at the restaurant he works at. Weed with a V. :lol:


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## Jim (Jan 5, 2016)

That looks awesome wow!


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## JMichael (Jan 6, 2016)

lugoismad said:


> Dang that looks good.
> 
> Deer loin?
> 
> I actually didn't know it was pronounced "Soo Vee" for a long time until my wife started making fun of me for sounding like an idiot for saying "Soose Viday"



LoL I was pronouncing it Soose Videee until my son told me how it's pronounced. :mrgreen:


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## Jim (Jan 6, 2016)

I was just watching diners drive ins and dives and they did this style of cooking


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## AllOutdoors (Jan 7, 2016)

Looks great!


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## bobmwsc (Jan 7, 2016)

*Meld Knob*







This was one of those kickstarter campains that would have been perfect for this type of cooking. It would automatically turns the burner up or down to keep the burner at a set temperature. Too bad they cancelled the campaign. It says they merged with a kitchenware company so there is still hope.

Video of it in action


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## Jim (Jan 7, 2016)

Any concerns with cooking food in a plastic bag? 

And I'm not one of those people, but just curious! :LOL2:


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## RiverBottomOutdoors (Jan 7, 2016)

That Meld gadget looks cool.


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## lugoismad (Jan 7, 2016)

Jim said:


> Any concerns with cooking food in a plastic bag?
> 
> And I'm not one of those people, but just curious! :LOL2:



Nope. It's food safe at the temps the foods are cooked at.


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## JMichael (Jan 7, 2016)

Jim said:


> Any concerns with cooking food in a plastic bag?
> 
> And I'm not one of those people, but just curious! :LOL2:


Evidently there are concerns by some while others give it a thumbs up. But I have read where they suggested using Ziploc brand bags or the vacuum seal bags because they are supposed to be BPA free, (what ever that is). Judge for yourself but there are lots of articles out there on both sides of the discussion. https://nomnompaleo.com/post/12463202060/cooking-sous-vide-plastic-safety

All that considered, after watching and reading many many reviews, I pulled the trigger on one of these a couple of hours ago. It came out on top of the majority of the comparison reviews I read/watched. 

[youtube]Xt4nGuj6vQg[/youtube]


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## Jim (Jan 9, 2016)

Now it's everywhere! 

https://www.chefsteps.com/joule?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Joule-presales-lookalikes&utm_content=Joule%20video%20v2


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## JMichael (Jan 9, 2016)

Jim said:


> Now it's everywhere!
> 
> https://www.chefsteps.com/joule?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Joule-presales-lookalikes&utm_content=Joule%20video%20v2


You know I would think that the more companies that get in to this market (competition), the more the prices would start to drop. But based on that ad you linked, they appear to be doing just the opposite and are actually getting more expensive. :lol: BTW Based on the research I did before ordering one, there is absolutely zero chances I would buy one of these things without reading a lot of reviews by actual owners, much less get in on a pre order sale, but that's just me.


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## JMichael (Jan 11, 2016)

In the mail this morning, in the pot this afternoon. :mrgreen: 





Decided to do my first test cooking a soft boiled egg based on time n temps from an online guide. While it's cooking, I decided to check the water with my inexpensive cooking thermometer. Surprised to see that there's only about a .6-.8° difference between the two. Shocked my cooking thermo is that accurate or consistent. Feeling like a kid at Christmas, excited to try cooking pretty much anything at this point and I'm not even hungry.  :lol:


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## lugoismad (Jan 12, 2016)

Some of my cooks so far -

I did a 4 hour flank steak at 130*

It was super tender. I used them for steak tacos with some guacamole pico de gallo.





Salmon. I did salmon at 125* for 20 minutes.

It was AMAZING. I will never do salmon any other way, ever again. It tasted like salmon flavored butter.

I finished it with a quick sear on both sides in a non-stick pan and a sprinkle of "Slap Ya Mama" seasoning.







I did some Blue Fin Tuna steaks I found on sale for $7 a pound, marked down from $25 because it was the last day they were good.

Took them home and cooked them in a honey teriyaki ginger sauce.






I did them at 125* and then did a quick sear. I wish I'd done 120* or less, I felt they were overcooked. My wife on the other hand LOVED them and says they were perfect.


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## Jim (Jan 12, 2016)

You guys are killing me. I'm drooling over that flank steak.

So after the 4 hours you do a quick sear or no?


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## RiverBottomOutdoors (Jan 12, 2016)

Man alive that flank steak looks good.


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## lugoismad (Jan 12, 2016)

Jim said:


> You guys are killing me. I'm drooling over that flank steak.
> 
> So after the 4 hours you do a quick sear or no?



Yep, I heat my iron skillet up under the broiler for 20 minutes, then 30 seconds a side.


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## JMichael (Jan 13, 2016)

It all looks good, to me. My brother is up visiting so we decided to try some chicken breast at 150° for 1hr. The breast were huge and I probably should have increased the time because of that but didn't. I've always steered clear of white meat chicken because it's too dry for my liking. Decided to see if this made a difference. Used ginger, garlic, scallions, Julio's seasoning mix, and lemon.





Wasn't much skin left on them to brown but did what I could in a cast iron skillet with a couple of tblsp of oil. 





Gotta admit that dryness was is no longer an issue but I still prefer the taste of dark meat. But it was good and I'll try it more often playing around with different choices of seasoning. 

Gotta run to the market today and will decide there whether we're doing steak or fish tonight, depending on which looks the best at the store. Can't imagine I'm not coming back with both though. LoL


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## Jim (Jan 13, 2016)

Thanks for the updates!

JMichael, I feel the same way about Chicken. Dark meat or beef for me, unless it's in some chicken salad configuration. :lol:


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## fool4fish1226 (Jan 13, 2016)

Well I did my first two cooks (beef and chicken) both were great I will have to get pics next time


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## BigTerp (Jan 14, 2016)

I just recently set up a fermentation chamber for my hombrewed beer using a chest freezer, small ceramic heater and an STC-1000 temperature controller. I'm thinking the STC-1000 would be perfect for a project like this. Only $16 and easy to wire up yourself. I just need to see if I have a non-digital crockpot at home. The one my wife cooked some deer roast in yesterday is digital and once cycled on and off the temperature needs reset. I have a bunch of venison tenderloin already vacuum sealed that would be great cooked Sous Vide!!

https://goo.gl/GLG3uj


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## JMichael (Jan 15, 2016)

Keeping it simple tonight with steak and tater but thought you might want to see how it turned out. Ribeye, med rare, 130° for 40 minutes. I cut the slices here with a knife but cut the sliced pieces into bite size pieces easily with just the edge of my fork.


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## Jim (Jan 15, 2016)

I'm convinced! wow!


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## JMichael (Jan 17, 2016)

As I was saying, Friday night a buddy calls me up and says the sheriff had a deer with a broken leg and were about to put it down. I grabbed my bone saw and knives and headed out. So tonight's menu was a little impromptu. 

Hoisin-Glazed Venison Tenderloin
3 hours @ 145° then brushed on the Hoisin sauce and browned/caramelized on high heat with gas grill.





I will probably revisit this menu at a later date, after I've tried a lot of other things. LoL


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## BigTerp (Jan 19, 2016)

I need to get into this!!!


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## JMichael (Jan 19, 2016)

Well if you're not squeamish about it, the tenderloin that came out of the cooker the other night made for some mighty fine road kill. :lol: :lol:


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## Jim (Jan 19, 2016)

How do I sneak a $200 purchase? :LOL2:


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## RiverBottomOutdoors (Jan 19, 2016)

Might be one of those ask for forgiveness instead of for permission..... ;-)


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## BigTerp (Jan 20, 2016)

Jim said:


> How do I sneak a $200 purchase? :LOL2:



I tried to hint a little about how sweet it would be to have a perfectly medium-rare steak cooked easily and about how well Sous Vide cooks fish (my wife loves fish). She told me I was crazy. I'm not one to give up easily though!!


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## JMichael (Jan 20, 2016)

Jim said:


> How do I sneak a $200 purchase? :LOL2:


Ain't married life a wonderful. LoL I tried it twice, but I've either made some bad choices or I'm not suited to married life.


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## Jim (Jan 20, 2016)

I'm going to follow riverbottomoutdoors advice on this one I think.


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## BigTerp (Jan 20, 2016)

Jim said:


> I'm going to follow riverbottomoutdoors advice on this one I think.



I did this one time with a fancy $300+ T-5 HO light hood for a 10 gallon saltwater live reef tank (one of my many previous hobbies). Not a good result on that one [-X


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## RiverBottomOutdoors (Jan 20, 2016)

LOL...Jim did you read the fine print??

Results my vary. Not responsible for frying pan head injuries.


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## BigTerp (Jan 21, 2016)

RiverBottomOutdoors said:


> LOL...Jim did you read the fine print??
> 
> Results my vary. Not responsible for frying pan head injuries.



HA!!!


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## lugoismad (Jan 24, 2016)

I made fried chicken tonight.

Cooked thighs at 165* for 4 hours, then dunked in egg and buttermilk and rolled in flour.


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## JMichael (Jan 25, 2016)

Looks great, I can never get the coating on my chicken to come out like I want. Yours looks fantastic. I tried some cheap thin cut bone in pork chops last night. Didn't take any pics as I wasn't gonna torture Jim any more. Absolutely the moistest and tenderest chops I've ever cooked. Cooked a NY strip the other night. Just can't say enough about how good the food turns out with this. My biggest fear at this point is that they're gonna discover there is something about it that causes cancer. ROFLMAO :lol: :lol:


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## lugoismad (Jan 26, 2016)

JMichael said:


> Looks great, I can never get the coating on my chicken to come out like I want. Yours looks fantastic. I tried some cheap thin cut bone in pork chops last night. Didn't take any pics as I wasn't gonna torture Jim any more. Absolutely the moistest and tenderest chops I've ever cooked. Cooked a NY strip the other night. Just can't say enough about how good the food turns out with this. My biggest fear at this point is that they're gonna discover there is something about it that causes cancer. ROFLMAO :lol: :lol:



The key is to add a little of the buttermilk to the flour. Just a splash. Then mix up the flour so its clumpy. This makes clumps on the chicken so you have crunchy and crispy pieces. Then you have to push the chicken against the flour. Cover it in the flour and really pack it on there and push down on it. THEN put it in the fryer.


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## JMichael (Jan 26, 2016)

lugoismad said:


> JMichael said:
> 
> 
> > Looks great, I can never get the coating on my chicken to come out like I want. Yours looks fantastic. I tried some cheap thin cut bone in pork chops last night. Didn't take any pics as I wasn't gonna torture Jim any more. Absolutely the moistest and tenderest chops I've ever cooked. Cooked a NY strip the other night. Just can't say enough about how good the food turns out with this. My biggest fear at this point is that they're gonna discover there is something about it that causes cancer. ROFLMAO :lol: :lol:
> ...


Never heard of doing it that way, but you can bet I'll be giving it a try the next time I fry chicken. Do you deep fry yours or fry it in a skillet? Thanks


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## lugoismad (Jan 26, 2016)

JMichael said:


> Do you deep fry yours or fry it in a skillet? Thanks



I actually use a wok.






I have a fry daddy, but for big items like whole thighs or breasts or whole fish fillets, the surface area of the wok works the best.


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## fool4fish1226 (Jan 28, 2016)

Ok finally got some pics of a flank steak we did last week :beer:


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## BigTerp (Jan 28, 2016)

These pictures are killing me!! I fixed some deer steak last night, which was delicious, but all I could think about was how good it could have been with Sous Vide.


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## Scott85 (Jan 28, 2016)

I'll be taking the plunge in a couple of weeks I think. Thanks a lot guys!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Jim (Jan 29, 2016)

BigTerp said:


> These pictures are killing me!! I fixed some deer steak last night, which was delicious, but all I could think about was how good it could have been with Sous Vide.



This thread is bad, real bad. :LOL2:


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## Jim (Jan 29, 2016)

Scott85 said:


> I'll be taking the plunge in a couple of weeks I think. Thanks a lot guys!!!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



:LOL2:


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## fool4fish1226 (Jan 29, 2016)

Just put some shrimp in at 129 with garlic, ginger, salt, and crushed red pepper - gonna leave it a hour and the flash fry it no breading just the shell - we will see I will post pics


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## BigTerp (Jan 29, 2016)

fool4fish1226 said:


> Just put some shrimp in at 129 with garlic, ginger, salt, and crushed red pepper - gonna leave it a hour and the flash fry it no breading just the shell - we will see I will post pics



This is getting out of control!! :shock:


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## fool4fish1226 (Jan 30, 2016)

Say hello to my little shrimps


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## fool4fish1226 (Jan 30, 2016)

Seen it on the tube gonna do burgers tonight stuffed with smoked white cheddar, mushrooms, and onion :beer: and yes I am taking pics

Doing them at 129 for one and a half hours then I will use my griddle to finish them off - Can't wait


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## lugoismad (Jan 30, 2016)

fool4fish1226 said:


> Seen it on the tube gonna do burgers tonight stuffed with smoked white cheddar, mushrooms, and onion :beer: and yes I am taking pics
> 
> Doing them at 129 for one and a half hours then I will use my griddle to finish them off - Can't wait




That sounds awesome! I'm making korean BBQ boneless ribs tomorrow. Going to start them as soon as I get out of bed in the morning and then finish them on the grill for dinner.


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## Jim (Jan 31, 2016)

Time to lock this thread! :LOL2:


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## lugoismad (Jan 31, 2016)

Tons of great ideas here - https://www.reddit.com/r/sousvide/


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