stevez wrote:If you can find one locally, why not buy a point for experimentation purposes before committing to a whole brisket.

I have a freezer full of NR briskets. People who know me will readily understand this.

I'm perfectly happy to scarifice one for the cause.

Bill/SFNM

Bill/SFNM wrote:I have a freezer full of NR briskets. People who know me will readily understand this.

I'm perfectly happy to scarifice one for the cause.

Bill/SFNM

That makes perfect sense to me.

Bill,

Is there any way you can vacuum seal a polder thermometer probe into the meat by letting sealing over the wire. Maybe use a silicone substance to close any leaks around the wire? Or just poke the probe through the bag and use Belly's old marinade sealing tool - Duct Tape.

I don't think duct tape or silicone would cause any harm for a one time experiment. Maybe there is some other type of tape that could be used.

Actually, I have been talking about brisket. One thing about sous vide is that there will be no meteorite bark like you get in a smoker. But the flavor, whatever will be more concentrated. Whether the final result is better is something I'm anxious to see.

This sounds like the technique Wiviott needs for his pastrami. You had to be there.

Kit

Bruce wrote:Bill,

Is there any way you can vacuum seal a polder thermometer probe into the meat by letting sealing over the wire. Maybe use a silicone substance to close any leaks around the wire? Or just poke the probe through the bag and use Belly's old marinade sealing tool - Duct Tape.

I don't think duct tape or silicone would cause any harm for a one time experiment. Maybe there is some other type of tape that could be used.

Bruce,

I've got some very thin thermocouple probes that would work better than a Polder, but I don't see an easy way to seal with no loss of vacuum where the probe exits. Vacuum is supposed to be a very important part of the sous vide effect so it is more than just making the pouch airtight . Maybe I could seal in one of those probes with a wireless transmitter


Bill/SFNM

I was thinking you could try a disposable pop-up thermometer. I'm not sure how the vacuum would affect it, though; if the bag is sealed with no air space, the thermometer may not pop up.

I wonder what would happen if you just stuck an old-fashioned meat thermometer in the brisket and sealed the whole thing in the bag.

LAZ wrote: would happen if you just stuck an old-fashioned meat thermometer in the brisket and sealed the whole thing in the bag.

LAZ,

That would be too easy!!

Your solution is probably the only way. Thanks!

Bill/SFNM

Been playing around short ribs slow-cooked in a Foodsaver pouch in water and finally got results that made it all worth while.


First, I used high-quality meat; these are from Niman Ranch:



Using a recipe for Daube in the Style of Gascony from Wolford as a rough guide, I marinated the meat for several days, browned the meat in duck fat, browned some vegetables, made a reduction sauce with the marinade and Armagnac. Sealed in pouches with some cured pork belly, etc., and placed in water bath @ 165F-170F for 20 hours.





Some observations:

1. Texture: the meat remained intact. It was velvety soft and gelatinous, easily cut with a fork, melted in the mouth. The inside was pink, although this may have something to do with the wine marinade.

2. Browning before putting in the pouch is essential. Batches that weren't browned didn't hold together as well and didn't have as deep a flavor.

3. Pressure: The Foodsaver was unable to remove all of the air - sauce began to be sucked into the pump before all of the air could be drawn out. Remaining air within the pouch expands with the heat. To get the real benefit of cooking at reduced pressure I would need a food service-quality vacuum sealer. Santa, are you listening?

4. Before serving, it was easy to put a slit in the bag and remove much of the fat. At this point, the rest of the sauce could be removed for further reduction and seasoning while the meat remained warm in the water bath.

5. This is extremely rich food - small portions are absolutely called for. Pig out and pay the price.

6. The meal above was served with a "YES!-Knead" boule made from my Austrian starter.

Bill/SFNM

Bill, that looks so irresistably succulent!

Can you freeze your sauce? The home sous-vide tricks is to freeze your marinade/sauce in an ice tray and then add the cubes to the sous-vide/FoodSaver bag so it doesn't get sucked up. My added advice is to use a silicone tray - makes popping them out much easier - and then sous-vide the entire tray to store in the freezer. And the way to measure the internal temp of sealed food is to stick some weather stripping on the bag and then use the thin probe thermometer.

The eGullet thread really is currently the best widely accessible source for home sous-vide information.

Happy sous-vide-ing!

Thank you, Louisa, especially for the great idea about freezing the sauce. I'll have to check out the eGullet thread.

Quick question. Is the Foodsaver actually able to draw enough of a vacuum, even with the frozen sauce trick?

Thanks, again.

Bill/SFNM

Bill - it should be - mine works fine. Then again there's always the Ultravac http://www.kochequipment.com/site/equip ... tegory=154