Best was a 1/2 pound hamburger made with grass feed beef. You would not belive how good good a hamburger can be. Just do not vacuum seal them or you will smash it.
Actually, I've found a great way to vacuum seal a burger. Mix your burger lightly with salt & pepper. Loosely pack it into a silicone egg ring like
this. Just pop the metal handle off. I find about 6 ounces of meat is perfect in this. Slip the entire thing, ring and all, into a FS bag, and vacuum seal just until you start to see the juices start to run. Hit Stop and seal. I like these between rare and mid-rare. 130 is my sweet spot. 30 minutes to an hour.
Doesn't stuff float if you don't get all the air out?
Yes, it can. That's why it's better to vacuum seal.
Hi Silver,
The corned beef 160 x 36. Would you share with us?
Did you buy the corned beef at the gro or did you make it
your self, What was the texture like? and did it shrink as
much as they normally do.
Thanks
Josie
I did not corn my own brisket, but next time I may try that. I have never liked boiled corned beef. I usually roast it. This had the very intense flavor of a roasted meat instead of that flavorless, stringy, dried out yet watery stuff that people make on St. Padraig's Day. (I'm just warming up for my March 17th soapbox.) It still does give up a lot of liquid, but not as much as a boiled brisket.
Must one have a vacuum sealer to use this method? I too am very interested in this.
Can multiple foods be prepared/cooked at once? Lets say meat and vegetable for dinner. Can I do both at the same time?
You don't have to have a vacuum sealer, but it's difficult to get the air out AND get a watertight seal without one. Since the sealer will save you lots of money if you buy meats on sale & in bulk, I don't even think of it as a cost of the sous vide process. It's just utilizing a multi-tasker.
Doing different foods in one bath can be done, but it takes a lot of planning. You dont' actually do them at the same time - you sort of overlap them. Most all veggies cook at 180F, and take a few hours. Most proteins cook between 120 & 160, depending on the cut and the doneness desired. However, unlike regular cooking, you don't have to pull something of the heat to avoid overcooking. If a steak is done in an hour, it can actual sit in the bath for 2 or 3 or even 4 without overcooking. Eventually, it will begin to over-soften to the point of getting somewhat mushy, but it will never cook beyond the temp you set.
Since most single cut meats & fish are only 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inch think, they cook from 15 minutes to an hour of two. That's not too long to hold the veg. So...set the water at 180F and cook the veg for as long as necessary. Then drop the temp of you bath to your meat temp ( by swapping some cold water for the hot) and add the protein in for it's allotted time The veg stays reasonably hot while the fish/chicken/beef cooks.
My model has two buttons. One is "Dry/Moist" and the other is "Normal/Gentle" There is also a stop button. I set to the gentle and moist then watch it. When the liquid starts to go up I hit stop and it starts the seal cycle.
I had one like Frank describes. But when I got my Sous Vide Supreme, I also receive their basic model vacuum sealer. I found with the 'stop' button, I could get as much control over the suction as I could with all the settings on my fancy FS model. So I kept the smaller, simpler one (which takes up less counter real estate) and sold my fancy one on Craigslist for $60.
