I got my Anova today!

[Spoooon]

If you have salmon that is sushi-quality, try doing it at 122 F instead. You'll get less albumen exudate and (I'm told) the texture is superior to even that at 130 F.

I read that brining helps with the albumen. I debated the lower temp but wasn't too sure since it's the first time. I may try the lower temp instead of brining, thanks!

 

[Kaido]

I read that brining helps with the albumen. I debated the lower temp but wasn't too sure since it's the first time. I may try the lower temp instead of brining, thanks!

I need to try a brine for my chicken. My family likes the texture, but there's no flavor. Tonight we just sliced it up, mixed it with some red sauce, and put it over penne.

 

[Howard]

I need to try a brine for my chicken. My family likes the texture, but there's no flavor. Tonight we just sliced it up, mixed it with some red sauce, and put it over penne.

Brining won't help with the flavor. It'll actually dilute it.

Cook dark meat instead. Or duck.

 

[slayer202]

cooked a pork chop at 132 tonight. still seemed to be overdone but much better than 138. will post a couple pics tomorrow

 

[notposting]

I've done glazed carrots. They need to be finished in a pan to reduce the sauce.

I've also done leeks and potatoes for vichyssoise. Superb. I usually use the recipe from MC@H.

I've done the glazed carrots, also just carrots (sliced long way in half, keep a little bit of the leafy portion for looks) and asparagus. Just served with a little oil, salt, and pepper for the asparagus.

This looks like it would be the ticket for crusting sous vide & pressure cooker meals. They also have a really interesting FAQ on grading & aging beef:

http://www.namathproducts.com/grading-and-aging-beef

I've never really been impressed with aged beef, but this is an interesting tidbit:

About 1/5 of the way down he discusses moisture loss. Not responsible for flavor enhancement or anything really, only lose at most 5%. Dry aged steaks don't look like withered up pieces of jerky, they are still nice and juicy - the dehydrated portion is cut away and nice looking steaks are left behind.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/03/the-food-lab-complete-guide-to-dry-aging-beef-at-home.html

That little griller does look interesting (wait, I just saw the price), but they also tout the "seal juices in" blah blah blah type crap. We'll never take over the galaxy while we can't even get past this crap here. :awe:

 

[Kaido]

About 1/5 of the way down he discusses moisture loss. Not responsible for flavor enhancement or anything really, only lose at most 5%. Dry aged steaks don't look like withered up pieces of jerky, they are still nice and juicy - the dehydrated portion is cut away and nice looking steaks are left behind.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/03/the-food-lab-complete-guide-to-dry-aging-beef-at-home.html

That little griller does look interesting (wait, I just saw the price), but they also tout the "seal juices in" blah blah blah type crap. We'll never take over the galaxy while we can't even get past this crap here. :awe:

Serious Eats has (of course) a guide to dry-aging. Sounds like 45 days is the ticket:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/03/the-food-lab-complete-guide-to-dry-aging-beef-at-home.html

PC Richards has the Namath Rapid Cooker for $249:

http://www.pcrichard.com/Edenpure/Joe-Namath-Rapid-Cooker-Stainless-Steel/EY101.pcrp

I am considering it. Seems a little spotty in the wind:

The disturbing problem with this product and the reason that I haven't giving it a rating is that on a burner setting of medium or lower the burn can be easily blown out. From a safety issue this is serious, very serious. When a burner blows out in the wind, gas continues to flow. Once that gas reaches an open flame or someone hits the igniter button and all the gas spontaneously burns. This is the sort of thing that causes severe burns. It is my opinion, based on the unit I tested, that this product needs to be redesigned or safety inspected by professionals to determine if it is safe to use.

Also, the heat apparently isn't as hot advertised:

http://bbq.about.com/od/portablegrillreviews/fl/Namath-Rapid-Cooker-Review.htm

There are some claims about this unit that are not entirely true. That it cooks at 1,400 degrees F. is something I couldn't reproduce. In comparison with a standard gas grill, this unit cooked at about the same speed. The thing is that while the core of the infrared burner might reach 1,400 degrees, that doesn't mean that the food is being cooked at these temperatures. Infrared is radiant heat and therefore follows the inverse square law (look it up).

That's not much of an explanation though - how hot was the reviewer able to get it? Aside from not meeting advertised heat output & being subject to wind outage, it seems like a cool little device for the price. One other reviewer said that using a standard propane tank with the adapter significantly cuts the heat output (vs. the small tank that attaches to the side), but again, no measured numbers posted. The next cheapest at-home salamander I was able to find was the Twin Eagles Salamangrill:

http://bbq.about.com/od/gasgrillreviews/gr/aapr070306a.htm

1700F for $1769 with good reviews. For the price difference, I'd consider the $250 model

 

[slayer202]

cooked a pork chop at 132 tonight. still seemed to be overdone but much better than 138. will post a couple pics tomorrow

balsamic reduction

 

[slayer202]

I'm getting frustrated. boneless chicken breasts, 140 degrees. Tender, but still overcooked compared to what I was expecting. I guess I need to check the temperature but I'm not sure that's it...

 

[Howard]

I'm getting frustrated. boneless chicken breasts, 140 degrees. Tender, but still overcooked compared to what I was expecting. I guess I need to check the temperature but I'm not sure that's it...

I like my breasts around 135 F.

I'm seeing a consistent pattern of you cooking your meat at higher temps than I do...

 

[slayer202]

I like my breasts around 135 F.

I'm seeing a consistent pattern of you cooking your meat at higher temps than I do...

haha I'm trying to follow what I read online! I'm finding the info out there very inconsistent and inaccurate. but there is certainly a pattern of cooking too high. is there a good temp chart out there?

 

[Kaido]

I'm getting frustrated. boneless chicken breasts, 140 degrees. Tender, but still overcooked compared to what I was expecting. I guess I need to check the temperature but I'm not sure that's it...

How long did you do it for, and how thick was the chicken? I get the kind with rib meat (very thick) & then pound it down to about 1" thick. About 60 feet above sea level.

 

[slayer202]

Thickness or time shouldn't really matter though unless it's really thin. They were good sized breasts and cooked for an hour 40 or so.

 

[Kaido]

Thickness or time shouldn't really matter though unless it's really thin. They were good sized breasts and cooked for an hour 40 or so.

I previous did the chicken at 149F, came out kinda dry. 140F for 75 minutes is purrrrrfect, made it twice so far with excellent results :thumbsup:

Giving home dry-aging a shot (7-days), got the steak in the Anova now!

 

[Kaido]

Another Sous Vide cooker: Mellow

https://cookmellow.com/

$600, but $200 off if you pre-order, so $400 (ships Feb 2016). Big feature is that IT HAS A FREAKING FRIDGE IN IT! Genius!! You can put your food in it before work & time it to be ready when you get home! Ahhhh! I got out of class at 8:30pm tonight & my steak just barely came out! That would be a great feature to have!

 

[Kaido]

Home-aged ribeye tonight:

Came out pretty good, actually better than the other steaks I've done so far - lots of meaty flavor, but nice & soft:

Also tried out canned diced potatoes. Still trying to figure out how to get them crispy (for homefries) due to the water content.

 

[slayer202]

texture looks strange?

 

[notposting]

texture looks strange?

Personally, we've been doing steaks usually around medium (in the vicinity of 135, depending on the cut).

I think the obsession with "moar rare" in many cases has to do with cooking methods - conventional methods will have a rare center with ever increasing zones of doneness surrounding it.

I find medium cooked sous vide to be perfect for us - I like it, wife likes it, kids like it - the texture firms up nicely, but if you leave it for extended cooks (like, 12+ hours) it starts to tenderize (though lose more juice).

For the chicken, we just throw the Kirkland frozen breasts (pre-brined, I believe) in at 150 for about 2.5 hours. Perfect firm texture but no risk of drying them out like regular cooking methods. Evenly juicy throughout. I have done boneless, skin-on (dismember a whole breast or chicken) as well and *that* is amazing.

The thin cut pork chops are little boogers so far though. Eye of round was just D:

 

[Kaido]

texture looks strange?

Spice rub, been playing with different ways to get more of a crust when searing since you can only do it for 30 or 40 seconds without overcooking it.

 

[Kaido]

The thin cut pork chops are little boogers so far though. Eye of round was just D:

I too have had problems with pork, will probably work on it more later this summer. I'd like to be able to do a not-dry porkchop...someday

 

[notposting]

Did a rack of lamb the other day. Made a little mint yogurt dip for it. Some fresh rosemary from the garden was nice, plus fresh greens for the salad.

 

[slayer202]

that looks great. how'd you sear it

 

[notposting]

that looks great. how'd you sear it

Crappy tailgate grill

 

[slayer202]

not sure if this has been posted before, but it's a nice resource http://www.cookingissues.com/uploads/Low_Temp_Charts.pdf

i'm still trying to learn about safe temperatures. so most of these charts are giving us minimum time for pasteurization? so how about the risks about eating at temperatures or times under that? any good resources on that?

 

[notposting]

For times or temps under:

One, it better be a short cook - otherwise you're just keeping the temp at a nice unsafe level for baddy breeding.

Think of the particular item - ground beef is different than steak, surface contaminants could be distributed throughout. Pork you may want to get to a safe temp/time for trichinosis concerns. Issues with fish or veggies or what not.

Who is eating? Anyone already sick? Compromised immune systems, something like chemo or cancer, the elderly or young, pregnant women.

No one will appreciate the great meal if they have the squirts in a hospital for two weeks afterward.

Finally, don't forget it is a time versus temp equation. Long enough, at a (high enough) low temp still works.

 

[slayer202]

I like my breasts around 135 F.

I'm seeing a consistent pattern of you cooking your meat at higher temps than I do...

did a split bone in skin on chicken breast at 135 last night. it was premarinated from the store if that makes any difference. I've come to realize that you only need a very very quick sear to get good color, though the skin was not really edible. I think I'll remove the skin and cook it separately next time if I want it.

The meat was definitely juicier this time. I think it was a bit less tender, a little chewier but still fine, compared to 140 degrees. I think I need to start working more on sauces or sides, because chicken is still a fucking bore even when cooked well...