A new era in cooking for me...

[tRidiot]

I've been smoking a lot of meat, BBQing, etc. I love cooking, especially for friends and family, and occasionally for the folks at work, too. Here's what I brought to work the other night:

It got clobbered and every bite was devoured. I was a little nervous, because it rested in the cooler for a few hours before I got to work, but it turned out it was still great and everyone went nuts over it. Made me happy to make others happy.

So now, the new chapter starts here:

This is the Joule sous vide cooker. I've been contemplating taking the plunge for a while, and I finally did it. So my first major sous vide project starts tomorrow, and here's what I'm starting with:

Some NY strips

Some ribeyes, about 16-20 oz each

And the final product, all prepped and ready for tomorrow's cook. All vacuum packed after seasoning with kosher salt, some fresh cracked black pepper, fresh pressed garlic and fresh rosemary.

I'm not making ALL of those tomorrow... probably about 1/3 of them or maybe 1/2, depending on who all shows up. The problem with sous vide is, you gotta have a head count pretty early, 'cause it takes a while to get it all right.

The plan for tomorrow, though, is sous vide, chill, then remove from vacuum and smoke to 115*F, then sear on a blazing hot grill for a minute or less on each side just to get a good crust. Half will be medium well (blech!), and half medium rare, except for the elderly neighbor lady's, who likes hers blue rare. Yikes!

Anyways, so that's the plan. Got several sides to make up, as well, so I'll probably post some pics of the whole setup throughout the day and hopefully will have enough time to take some pics of the finished products as we're cutting into them.

Wish me luck!

 

[Gunbuffer]

no idea what those french words are

 

[Okie4570]

Looks good, following

 

[dennishoddy]

no idea what those french words are

Google translate is your friend.

 

[Gunbuffer]

I don't need friends

 

[D. Hargrove]

I'm diggin this thread, keep us posted please..... Those pics of the meat are darn near porn for some of us...lol

 

[dennishoddy]

I've been smoking a lot of meat, BBQing, etc. I love cooking, especially for friends and family, and occasionally for the folks at work, too. Here's what I brought to work the other night:



It got clobbered and every bite was devoured. I was a little nervous, because it rested in the cooler for a few hours before I got to work, but it turned out it was still great and everyone went nuts over it. Made me happy to make others happy.


I'm not making ALL of those tomorrow... probably about 1/3 of them or maybe 1/2, depending on who all shows up. The problem with sous vide is, you gotta have a head count pretty early, 'cause it takes a while to get it all right.

The plan for tomorrow, though, is sous vide, chill, then remove from vacuum and smoke to 115*F, then sear on a blazing hot grill for a minute or less on each side just to get a good crust. Half will be medium well (blech!), and half medium rare, except for the elderly neighbor lady's, who likes hers blue rare. Yikes!

Anyways, so that's the plan. Got several sides to make up, as well, so I'll probably post some pics of the whole setup throughout the day and hopefully will have enough time to take some pics of the finished products as we're cutting into them.

Wish me luck!

Awesome! looking forward to the pics. I started down this road a couple weeks ago using an Ink Bird temperature controller and a crock pot. It holds the temp amazingly well.
I did ribeyes as well. The recipe calling for 2-4 hours(rare to well done) if I remember right in the cooker, then searing over high heat like your going to do.
Well, here is where I ran into issues. If 2-4 is good, 6-8 should be better.
Nope. It basically turned the ribeye into a mush texture that could be eaten like a can of tuna. Not quite that actually, but the consistency of the meat was not good.
Its a learning process for sure.

 

[dennishoddy]

I don't need friends

I'm your friend buddy.

 

[tRidiot]

Sous vide (soo-veed) roughly means vacuum sealed or something, I believe.

However, the idea is to cook your meat in a sealed bag in a warm water bath. This means, for medium rare steak, you set your temp at 131*F or so and walk away. For an hour, for 2 hours, for 4 hours. The meat cannot overcook, because the water bath temp never gets over 131*F. Of course, if you leave it too long, it can turn to mush, but we're talking a long time. A day or more, probably for a typical steak.

So the benefit is when you pull it out, your 2" or 2.5" or 3" steak is perfectly medium rare, edge to edge. No overcooked zones on the outside. So, then you sear it in a cast iron skillet or on a blazing hot grill or griddle and get your crust. No more guessing how well-done (or not) your steaks are on the grill.

Last time I bought Prime ribeyes, spent probably $20 per steak, and because they were so thick, I had a hard time deciding how done they were, and ended up overcooking - just past medium, almost to medium well. They were still good, but I definitely was unhappy with the result. This method is more time-intensive, but isn't particularly labor-intensive, and removes most of that guesswork.

Lots of vids on YouTube, or on www.chefsteps.com (the maker of my Joule cooker) that demonstrate the effectiveness of the technique. Look on YT for a channel called Sous Vide Everything - those guys really DO sous vide everything. They've done a 60-hour pork butt, a 62-hour brisket... interesting stuff.

So, anyways, I'm a little excited, it's a new toy, and I love to cook, so it gives me something to look forward to on my days off.

 

[tRidiot]

Awesome! looking forward to the pics. I started down this road a couple weeks ago using an Ink Bird temperature controller and a crock pot. It holds the temp amazingly well.
I did ribeyes as well. The recipe calling for 2-4 hours(rare to well done) if I remember right in the cooker, then searing over high heat like your going to do.
Well, here is where I ran into issues. If 2-4 is good, 6-8 should be better.
Nope. It basically turned the ribeye into a mush texture that could be eaten like a can of tuna. Not quite that actually, but the consistency of the meat was not good.
Its a learning process for sure.

Right... too long can be bad, especially if starting with a super tender piece of meat already. That's why this time around, I went with Choice cuts, not Prime. I want to experiment a little, but the NY strips I plan on about 2-2.5h, while the ribeyes I am planning 1-1.5h. I will do longer tenderizing cooks with something like flank steak, sirloin and tri-tip, to soften them up. I've read very good results on those tougher cuts. Hell, if it'll tenderize a pork butt or a brisket, it'll work on anything!

Stay tuned!