Store sealed product direct to sous vide?

[Greg Who Cooks]

I covet getting a sous vide but I know it won't be any time soon. (I'm between houses.) I guess if you have a sous vide then by definition you're the chef who has everything, since I can't imagine getting one if you're lacking any kitchen essentials. As I daydream about my future sous vide I'm intrigued by ideas.

There are a few products I've seen at Trader Joe's although I imagine they are available at many markets.

1.) Boneless beef rib eye steak, tightly sealed in the kind of bag I think is essentially same as used for sous vide. It is so tightly sealed there is only the slightest amount of air bubbles and I can't imagine anybody sealing their own and getting any more air out. They're sold refrigerated not frozen. Would this be suitable for sous vide?

2.) Any of several varieties of fish (salmon, and a selection of various white fish fillets) usually sold about two servings per bag, similar to above but frozen. (I imagine you would thaw them before putting in the sous vide's hot water.) Would this be suitable for sous vide?

Both have adhesive labels and they don't look like there is any way to get them off, I don't know if they'd come off in the sous vide or not. Would this be a problem?

It seems to me that products already sealed in compatible packaging would be ideal for sous vide, would just eliminate one step.

 

[buckytom]

i think you're on to something greg.

i mean as far as the way they sell "boil in bag" veggies, but for meats.

i'd wonder about the safety of the plastics used for freezing meats if i were to cook in them, otherwise.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

i mean as far as the way they sell "boil in bag" veggies, but for meats.

i'd wonder about the safety of the plastics used for freezing meats if i were to cook in them, otherwise.

Trader Joe's says use them or freeze them by X date.

I'll agree that we know nothing about the plastics used, but do we know that much about vacuum seal bags?

It turns out it's not that simple. I'm still researching but I found an interesting blog post. You can draw your own conclusions. My conclusion: this needs more research

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

I covet getting a sous vide but I know it won't be any time soon. (I'm between houses.) I guess if you have a sous vide then by definition you're the chef who has everything, since I can't imagine getting one if you're lacking any kitchen essentials.

OMG!!! OMG!!! OMG!!! I ordered it TODAY!!!

SousVide Supreme™ Demi 11-Liter Water Oven Starter Kit

This starter kit has everything you need to start cooking sous vide, including the SousVide Supreme" Demi water oven, vacuum sealer (10 pouch count), and the Easy Sous Vide cookbook. Sous vide cooking involves cooking food in vacuum-sealed pouches submerged in a water bath held at a precise and constant temperature. The SousVide Supreme" Demi is the world's first water oven designed specifically to bring the extraordinary sous vide cooking method into the home kitchen. Simple digital push-button controls let you cook meals to perfection with maximum flavor and nutrition. This 11-liter water oven can cook up to twenty 4-oz. portions of food and features a tight-fitting lid to contain steam, precise temperature control adjustment (1° F increments), and rack for easy positioning of cooking pouches. Stainless steel exterior with nonstick interior for easy cleanup. 850 watts. Dimensions: 11.4" H x 11.5" W x 14.2" L. CUL listed. Imported. One-year warranty. Model# SVS10LS.

I had to special order it at Bed, Bath and Beyond (although you can order it online) so that I could use one of their 20% off coupons, plus they gave me free shipping (and I asked to deliver it to the store--5 minute drive from here, so that I wouldn't have to wait around for the truck) and the final price including tax is $436! They said it could take up to two weeks but it would probably come in before next weekend.

I'm pretty sure this is the top of the line model from the company that invented home kitchen sous vide!

You know how long I've wanted a sous vide (see the date on the OP). I can't believe it but it's finally on its way!!!

 

[salt and pepper]

No, don't cook in the bags they are sold in. To cook a stk you should season it frist then brown it quickly the place it in the sous vide after sealing in a clean bag.

 

[Andy M.]

No, don't cook in the bags they are sold in. To cook a stk you should season it frist then brown it quickly the place it in the sous vide after sealing in a clean bag.

I also heard it the opposite. That you sous vide it first then a quick sear.

Who was the member here who reported his SV process?

 

[salt and pepper]

I also heard it the opposite. That you sous vide it first then a quick sear.

Who was the member here who reported his SV process?

The whole idea is to keep it at the holding temp and not have to cook it any more then the serving temp ( say 130 degrees for a rib eye). Then it goes directly on a serving plate.

 

[Andy M.]

The whole idea is to keep it at the holding temp and not have to cook it any more then the serving temp ( say 130 degrees for a rib eye). Then it goes directly on a serving plate.

I get that. I remember this old thread (there are others) where Rob Babcock got a SV machine and shared a lot of info with us. Check out this thread on burgers. This is what I remembered and is why I posted that the opposite process to yours was also possible.

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f48/hamburger-cooked-sous-vide-with-pics-70776.html

I suppose either way would work. I imagine if you did two steaks or burgers at the same time, one seared first and one after SV then compared the two. It seems to me the pre-seared meat would be diffeent from a freshly seared one. Just my imagination at work.

 

[powerplantop]

OMG!!! OMG!!! OMG!!! I ordered it TODAY!!!

You know how long I've wanted a sous vide (see the date on the OP). I can't believe it but it's finally on its way!!!

I ordered mine yesterday.

If it works out and I am sure it will I plan to also order a Polyscience Sous Vide to do larger batches of food at a different temp.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

OMG!!! OMG!!! OMG!!! I got it TODAY!!!

I picked it up late morning but I had lots of shopping to do (I'm moving into my new home) so I didn't get it unpacked until about an hour ago. One of my stops was to pick up some rib eye steaks at Trader Joe's. See the OP, the experiment I suggested almost two years ago I'm doing tonight!

My SVS10LS didn't come with a quick start guide but it came with two DVDs, one of them with a quick start video (perhaps 4-5 minutes, and other stuff on the DVD I haven't watched yet). In the QS video they demonstrate cooking chicken, and cooking beef.

They suggest seasoning before cooking, but my proposed experiment was to discover if you could go TJ --> Sous Vide --> done, without breaking the seal. They commented that storage bags may not be appropriate for sous vide cooking. I'm offering my body up to science, and besides, one time won't kill me, and anyway I don't want to unpack the vacuum sealer and read the manual and yada yada...

The QS video suggests for steaks to either sear one side, after cooking, (choose your method) or quickly saute one side in foaming butter. Or you can use a propane torch, I have the torch they used in the video, you can get it at BBB, but in the current state of my household there is no hope of finding the torch tonight. (Their statement to brown just one side suggests it's for appearance... ???)

Another point brought up in the video is that thickness is more important than cooking time. In the video they said you could bring it up to temperature (and minimum time) and then just let it sit until you feel like serving it. (You might want to reduce the temperature if you're considering 24 hour cooking periods.)

I didn't really research this subject all that much. I had more "covet" than "want to know" in me when I decided to get the sous vide. I think I'll be happy with my "water oven" (as they are sometimes referred) no matter what it's good for, I'll find out what the best recipes are.

I'm totally fascinated by the idea that this is high end gourmet professional cooking being introduced into the cooking enthusiast amateur chef regime which is what I consider myself, an "amateur chef." The price of admission is just a bit over $400 so it's not really super expensive. (PPT, what did you pay and where did you get it?)

So tonight I'm cooking my TJ rib eye steak at the recommended 134 degrees F, for 1-4 hours for 1" thickness. It's been in for 20 minutes now so I'm considering serving in about an hour or an hour and a half. I have some left over salted butter I used for my lobster a few nights ago, so I'll probably give it a quick saute (on one side per the video) and serve it. I'll report back on how it all worked out.

 

[powerplantop]

OMG!!! OMG!!! OMG!!! I got it TODAY!!!


I'm totally fascinated by the idea that this is high end gourmet professional cooking being introduced into the cooking enthusiast amateur chef regime which is what I consider myself, an "amateur chef." The price of admission is just a bit over $400 so it's not really super expensive. (PPT, what did you pay and where did you get it?)

.

I ordered the SousVide Supreme Promo Pack direct from the manufacture for $499.

I am still waiting.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

PPT, don't you have Bed, Bath & Beyond? Anyway it's worth $500 too! I'm looking forward to your posting your initial experiences, and hope you like it as much as I do. I've told several friends and relatives all about my new Sous Vide and invited them over (not all at once) to enjoy my new cooking method.

Anybody else who contemplates this, please visit the BBB website and join the mailing list and they'll email you a link to a 20% off coupon, and send you another each month. BBB list price (same as manufacturer) is $499.99, but with the 20% off coupon it's $399.99, plus sales tax. Free shipping from on-line. Or ship it to your local store like I did, so I wouldn't need to be home to receive it.

I have the photos of my SV steak and was showing it to a friend today. I'll post one or more pics soon.

 

[powerplantop]

PPT, don't you have Bed, Bath & Beyond? Anyway it's worth $500 too! I'm looking forward to your posting your initial experiences, and hope you like it as much as I do. I've told several friends and relatives all about my new Sous Vide and invited them over (not all at once) to enjoy my new cooking method.

There is one close to my house and one close to my current hotel. If I had known about the 20% and faster shipping I would have ordered mine the same way. But I did want to order using PayPal to use my funds from youtube.

I do have some things I want to try and will post results.

 

[powerplantop]

Mine came today!

I plan to give it a try on Sunday

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

Great!!! I was too busy today to plan any dinner so I grabbed another Trader Joe's rib eye and threw it into the water oven about half hour ago. Tonight I don't know when I want for dinner but the video says any time 1-4 hours after start. That means I can serve dinner any time past 7 pm local (until 10 pm). I hope I'll find my propane torch before then...

 

[powerplantop]

I will do some chicken breast tomorrow night. Not sure if I will go buy a torch or not.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

PPT I used a home improvement type propane torch last night, the kind you use for brazing copper pipe, etc., and I found it tedious and likely to let your steaks cool off while you're torching them. It's a must to start with extremely hot serving dishes.

I covet another cooing device: an infrared grill similar to the Tec Cherokee (which I may buy soon). As far as I understand there is no way to get a higher grill temperature than via an infrared grill. A quick sear on the infrared would probably be perfect!

Noting that for steaks infrared grills and sous vide are virtually direct competitors.

Today I purchased at the market a pork tenderloin already seasoned with "chipotle barbecue sauce." I'm going for 135 for 2 hours, per an online recipe...

Lest I give anybody the incorrect impression, sous vide usually involves spicing and perhaps buttering (or other sauce) your entree then seal it in a vacuum bag (the top of the line SV comes with a vacuum sealer and 10 bags). I'm still extremely busy getting my new household together and I've been making use of pre-prepared products a lot. It's amazing that so many products are unintentionally sous vide compatible!

 

[powerplantop]

I looked at some of those at Lowes but passed. I was not ready to buy one just yet.

Last night I did two grass fed strip steaks 1 hour at 133 with rosemary and garlic. Patted them dry then seared in a hot pan. Simply amazing.

Let me know how the pork turns out.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

PPT the pork tenderloin didn't appeal to me. I have never cooked pork tenderloin before so maybe it's just me...

So here's the promised pics of my first SV rib eye steak:

The package from Trader Joe's:

(after cooking, so that's why the label pealed off)

Cookin' in my Sous Vide:

Decorating my plate!!!

It was simply delicious!!!!!!!!!!


One very interesting thing I may have mentioned already, the sous vide technique is very time forgiving. I can't remember now when I put in tonight's rib eye... Was it 5:30 or 6:30??? I'm pretty sure it wasn't 7:30 because that's less than an hour ago, and 1" steaks cook for 1-4 hours. You can pull them out at 1 hour and serve them, or you can just let them fly in a holding pattern like LAX or JFK on a Friday night, or at least that's what the video says. So it was an hour or more ago, I forgot, I been busy uploading pics and posting. Probably went in at 6:30 and probably serve at 8:30.

So I'm pretty sure my steak will be just fine even if it's 9:30 p.m. (4 hours after the earliest I may have started it). It's just past 8 local and I'll probably serve in the next 30 minutes or so. Munchies: done. Salad: done. Guests: none. Wine: middling, Trader Joe's "Two and a half buck Chuck." Moving: 3-1/2 weeks into it I'm just beginning to realize the magnitude of the problem!

I'm having a great time!!!

 

[powerplantop]

PPT the pork tenderloin didn't appeal to me. I have never cooked pork tenderloin before so maybe it's just me...

So here's the promised pics of my first SV rib eye steak:

Decorating my plate!!!

It was simply delicious!!!!!!!!!!


One very interesting thing I may have mentioned already, the sous vide technique is very time forgiving. I can't remember now when I put in tonight's rib eye... Was it 5:30 or 6:30??? I'm pretty sure it wasn't 7:30 because that's less than an hour ago, and 1" steaks cook for 1-4 hours. You can pull them out at 1 hour and serve them, or you can just let them fly in a holding pattern like LAX or NYC on a Friday night, or at least that's what the video says.

So I'm pretty sure my steak will be just fine even if it's 9:30 p.m. (4 hours after the earliest I may have started it). It's just past 8 local and I'll probably serve in the next 30 minutes or so. Munchies: done. Salad: done. Guests: none. Wine: middling, Trader Joe's "Two and a half buck Chuck." Moving: 3-1/2 weeks into it I'm just beginning to realize the magnitude of the problem!

I'm having a great time!!!

Thanks for the info!

Your steak does look good.

Today I did see a video of a chef cooking lamb in the crovac package it came in.

Today I played with two things.

Steak and asparagus. This I was very happy with this. Cooked the asparagus at 185 for 4 minutes then quickly dropped the temp and held it while cooking the steak at 133 for 1 hour.


Steak and Asparagus cooked Sous Vide by powerplantop, on Flickr

I stuffed some chicken breast with cheese and tomato with some extra tomatoes on the outside of the breast. It was good but not supper tender like the breast I cooked a few days ago. This was cooked at 146 F for one hour. Not sure if it was the acid in the tomato of the higher temp.


DSC_0270 by powerplantop, on Flickr