Hamburger cooked sous vide (with pics)

[Rob Babcock]

How about some pics of the device for this ol' hillbilly, 'cause I don't know
what sue viddie is...........

Wow, I apologize! I missed this question. Guess it's been a couple years now but it looks a bit like a bread machine.

 

[powerplantop]

That looks awesome, Powerplantop! I really like doing burgers that way. Over the last couple years though I have refined the technique a bit. My preferred method is now to finish the burger in a skillet instead of using the torch. I get a cast iron pan ripping hot, then add a TBSP or so of virgin organic coconut oil. It only takes about 30-45 seconds per side. This gets a really fantastic sear without substantially cooking the inside.

The reason I like the coconut oil is that no matter how hot you get it it doesn't hydroginize like other oils.

In the two or three years I've had my sous vide gear I've cooked between 2 and 7 days in it every week! In fact I just had ribs tonite from it. I smoked them in my smoker for 4 hours then finished overnight at 147. Very tasty!

Thanks for the tip on coconut oil!

 

[Kylie1969]

Looks very nice

 

[GotGarlic]

Cooking for several hours pasteurizes the beef eliminating the normal risks of illness you'd have consuming it medium rare.

This is not what we learned in the ServSafe food handling class in culinary school Bacteria multiply rapidly at temps between 41°F and 140°F. If a restaurant held food at that temp for more than an hour, they would be violating health and safety codes and risking food poisoning.

Just wanted to clear that up. Carry on

 

[powerplantop]

This is not what we learned in the ServSafe food handling class in culinary school Bacteria multiply rapidly at temps between 41°F and 140°F. If a restaurant held food at that temp for more than an hour, they would be violating health and safety codes and risking food poisoning.

Just wanted to clear that up. Carry on

Health and safety codes have a big safety factor built in (and for good reason).

Per the USDA safe levels of bacteria is a function of time and temperature. (Which is also what I was taught in high school science class.) http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FSISNotices/RTE_Poultry_Tables.pdf

If you scroll down to attachment 1 it list the time and temperature charts for beef and various fat content for chicken. For beef 130F is safe after 121 minutes. 157F is safe after 15 seconds. Anything above 157 is safe instantly.

 

[GotGarlic]

Health and safety codes have a big safety factor built in (and for good reason).

Per the USDA safe levels of bacteria is a function of time and temperature. (Which is also what I was taught in high school science class.) http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FSISNotices/RTE_Poultry_Tables.pdf

If you scroll down to attachment 1 it list the time and temperature charts for beef and various fat content for chicken. For beef 130F is safe after 121 minutes. 157F is safe after 15 seconds. Anything above 157 is safe instantly.

Sorry, should have written two hours, not one. I was responding to Rob's post where he said he had his at 133° for three hours. I don't believe that will kill the bacteria. I understand people are willing to take risks sometimes when it comes to food. I just thought the statement that "cooking" it for several hours at that temp "pasteurizes" the food needed to be corrected.

 

[Rob Babcock]

It will indeed kill the bacteria. There's a mathematical formula that uses the thickness of the item to determine the cooking time. I have a few books that have charts which make it easier. I too am ServeSafe certified and I understand why they have the guidelines they do but they're behind the curve science wise.

Basically if you're cooking a burger and want to kill most of the bacteria, getting the internal temp to 165 and holding it there for a couple seconds will do the job. But 130 will also do the job but it takes a lot longer. It *looks like* the cooking takes place within the "temperature danger zone" but that's not really the case. This is how pasteurization works.

It's important to vacuum seal the food (or at least seal it from the outside atmosphere). That way you don't reintroduce new bacteria.

 

[GotGarlic]

It will indeed kill the bacteria. There's a mathematical formula that uses the thickness of the item to determine the cooking time. I have a few books that have charts which make it easier. I too am ServeSafe certified and I understand why they have the guidelines they do but they're behind the curve science wise.

Basically if you're cooking a burger and want to kill most of the bacteria, getting the internal temp to 165 and holding it there for a couple seconds will do the job. But 130 will also do the job but it takes a lot longer. It *looks like* the cooking takes place within the "temperature danger zone" but that's not really the case. This is how pasteurization works.

It's important to vacuum seal the food (or at least seal it from the outside atmosphere). That way you don't reintroduce new bacteria.

Do you have a source for that? I'm honestly curious and would like to read more about it. I spend way too much time trying to learn and verify new information. My friends hate it Plus I have a compromised immune system, so I have to be especially careful.

 

[Rob Babcock]

If you don't mind that it's kind of technical/egg-heady, check out Dr. Doug Baldwin's Sous Vide site. There's a ton of great info, most of it pretty accessible. He book is fantastic and the charts take a lot of the math out of it. There's very solid science behind sous vide cooking; it's been widely used for around 40 years. It was initially pioneered to prevent cooking loss when cooking faux gras and was later adapted to airline meals in France. Chipotle Mexican Grill prepares their meat sous vide in a central location and ships it to the stores.

Yeah, Science! But it feels like sorcery!

 

[frenchguycooking]

I finally managed to hold off the snarfing long enough to get out the camera! Here's a couple pics of tonite's burger. It was prepared sous vide at 133 degrees F for three hours. I then dried it with a paper towel and gave it a quick sear with my Iwatani torch. It then went under the oven broiler for about 45 seconds per side.


Here's a picture of it before cutting. I mixed some stone ground mustard, mayo, and horseradish with minced scallions and shallots. I topped with aged white cheddar and melted the cheese a bit with my Iwatani.




Here it is cut in half so you can see the center. As rare as it looks in the picture, it hardly bled at all. Again, sv seems to combine cooking and resting. Plus the heat is low enough that the proteins don't keratinize to the point where all the juice is squeezed out.

This looks completely delicious ! Thanks for sharing

 

[GotGarlic]

If you don't mind that it's kind of technical/egg-heady, check out Dr. Doug Baldwin's Sous Vide site. There's a ton of great info, most of it pretty accessible. He book is fantastic and the charts take a lot of the math out of it. There's very solid science behind sous vide cooking; it's been widely used for around 40 years. It was initially pioneered to prevent cooking loss when cooking faux gras and was later adapted to airline meals in France. Chipotle Mexican Grill prepares their meat sous vide in a central location and ships it to the stores.

Yeah, Science! But it feels like sorcery!

Cool, thanks, Rob. Looks interesting.

 

[speckman16]

looks amazing

 

[Andy M.]

I read/looked back over this thread. An observation: both Rob's and Powerplantop's burgers look perfectly cooked, well seared but sort of dry. I don't see juices running out of the meat as I would expect for a burger cooked to this doneness level.

 

[taxlady]

I read/looked back over this thread. An observation: both Rob's and Powerplantop's burgers look perfectly cooked, well seared but sort of dry. I don't see juices running out of the meat as I would expect for a burger cooked to this doneness level.

Rob explained that in the first post. The explanation was hiding between the pix.

...

Here it is cut in half so you can see the center. As rare as it looks in the picture, it hardly bled at all. Again, sv seems to combine cooking and resting. Plus the heat is low enough that the proteins don't keratinize to the point where all the juice is squeezed out. ...

 

[Andy M.]

Thanks TL.