sous vide cooking (fancy boil in the bag)

[angelbabe]

Wayne, thanks for sharing the photos, which look absolutely amazing!

My SIL keeps talking about Sous Vide so those photos might have just convinced me to get him one for Christmas

[Ruth]

Well, how lucky am I !

Just checked in here to find advice on Christmas cake recipe and came across this. Just been looking on google as to wether I can sou vide a beef joint and Wayne has done it. Very good it looks too.

I've only a small joint so I don't think it's going to take 13 hours and I don't have a fancy gadget so it going to be a cooking thermometer in the stock pot but here goes.

Thanks Wayne for the inspiration and lad to see that you are a fan of LIDL and Aldi. We have had their big daddy rump syteak which is very good but I had to say no to the tomahawk one as I don't have a pan big enough to put it in, or a saw to shorten the 'handle'.

I'll check in again sometime to see what else you've rustled up!

Ruth

[angelbabe]

I order the Crux Sous Vide on Black Friday for half price as a present for my Sil

[theCMG]

Some of that food looks delicious, I am tempted to look at one in the January sales or if I get some vouchers. Have you been tempted to warm a pair of socks in it?

[wanye]

Originally Posted by Ruth

I had to say no to the tomahawk one as I don't have a pan big enough to put it in, or a saw to shorten the 'handle'.

I'll check in again sometime to see what else you've rustled up!

Ruth

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We've already made plans to cook a big bone-in ribeye joint for the gf's folks at new year, before then, i'm planning on doing chicken, fish and duck breasts (which i pre seared and seasoned before sealing and freezing) - will be posting updates soon!

[wanye]

Originally Posted by theCMG

Some of that food looks delicious, I am tempted to look at one in the January sales or if I get some vouchers. Have you been tempted to warm a pair of socks in it?

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sign up on the anova website and facebook page - they regularly do offers on it, you can usually get the wifi model for £110-120 when on offer (last offer ended yesterday IIRC but they'll almost definitely do it again at xmas)

and no, i've not even considered warming socks! would probably work, but theres too much scope for them getting wet when trying to get them out of the bag.

the microwave is probably a more effective method :p

[wanye]

Originally Posted by Ruth

I've only a small joint so I don't think it's going to take 13 hours and I don't have a fancy gadget so it going to be a cooking thermometer in the stock pot but here goes.

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if you have a coolbox, youre probably better off using that, as it keeps the heat in for much longer.

have a look at this:

seriouseats/2010/04/c...vide-hack.html

ive done beer cooler steaks before whilst camping for 3-6 hours using just a camping kettle to top up with hot water (check on it at least once an hour and top up accordingly) - the beef joint should be easy enough to do, it'll just need a bit longer - i'd say you would want to do it for at least 5 hours... the longer the better - as its quite a bit thicker than a steak, it'll take longer to bring the centre up to temperature. you probably want to do it at around 135-140 unless you like it rare

then just finish it off on a hot pan/griddle for a minute each side to get some colour onto it.

hth

[wanye]

ok, sous vide duck breast. bought some reduced priced duck breasts from lidl a few weeks ago, i pre-seared them to get some of the fat out and give it a bit of colour, then bagged them with salt, pepper and some fresh thyme. dropped them in the freezer and stored till this weekend.

dropped the bag straight into the pot from frozen. cooked for 3-4 hours at 135, then did a quick second sear to crisp the skin back up a little.

made roasted veggies to go with it. sweet pepper, carrot, radish, shallots, plus some garlic (to use in the gravy) and some cherry tomatos for breakfast the next day (went on a bacon sandwich!)

and also dauphinoise potatoes... but instead of cream, i used pork stock (which was out of the freezer - made from a couple of old pork bones i used in previous cooking) with a bit of butter and milk for creaminess. if anything, i overdid it with the cheese (mature cheddar and parmesan) - shouldve used less.

when the veggies were done, i used the baking pan on top of the hob, deglazed it with the juice from the duck out of the sous vide bag, and a little leftover pork stock, added shallots and some roasted garlic

to make a *really* nice gravy

slice into 1cm thick pieces, and serve!

possibly the best meal i think i've *ever* made. even better than the beef!

tonight, im doing cajun chicken thighs with sous vide veg, served with the leftover dauphinoise potatoes. 5 hours at 160... will be serving around 6:30, so expect an update later tonight or tomorrow

[wanye]

Cajun chicken with sous vide vegetables, browned off in a pan at the end, served with Saturday's dauphinoise potatoes and a shallot and garlic reduction from the cajun chicken juices mixed with the leftover duck gravy...

[angelbabe]

Wayne, your food looks fabulous. Thanks for sharing.

I can't wait for Christmas so my Sil can cook something up with his new pressie!