Sorry for the delay again - On the chicken with maple syrup. DO NOT TORCH AHEAD OF TIME. Just a quick pass over due to the amount of sugar does a great job after it comes out. These are skinless parts. In any case, you can pull the chicken meat off and run a torch over afterwards as well.
Another thing I have done is use the Pepperidge Farms puff pastries and used the chicken as a filler will a little more syrup poured over.
I entered a chicken quiche in a local contest and won when using (far more chicken that should have been used) with this recipe.
Sorry - I am sort of stuck in the bedroom and away from my notes. We usually cook to the standard chicken long term temp (140f? - please verify!)

exvaxman wrote: We usually cook to the standard chicken long term temp (140f? - please verify!)

USDA says 165 for all parts of the chicken. I usually see 175 for dark meat.

Cook #2: Rib eye steak (no grade from Assi plaza -- they had a pretty choice chuck steak, but I wanted something for tonight, not tomorrow). Tupperware does not make a good vessel: the plastic is too soft, and the heater wanted to slump into the water (it's propped up on a plastic cup). You can see more of the parts here: three "mug" heaters, and an aquarium pump in the water.


Sous vide rib eye by joelfinkle, on Flickr

Served, after a quick sear in oil and butter. I didn't want to mask the flavors with a sauce on my first sous vide beef.

Sous vide rib eye served by joelfinkle, on Flickr

Nice strong beefy flavor, Sue thought it could go a degree warmer -- I thought it was perfect. A little longer cook might have made it a little more tender. Dog got some nice juices poured from the bag. I was surprised that the outside of the meat -- just the very surface -- was brown. A little air left in the bag, perhaps?
Sorry I don't have a cut interior photo, I took one but the focus was on the bruschetta (jarred piquillo pepper stuff).

lougord99 wrote:

exvaxman wrote: We usually cook to the standard chicken long term temp (140f? - please verify!)

USDA says 165 for all parts of the chicken. I usually see 175 for dark meat.

This site suggest 140-146 for breast, 148-156 for legs or whole chicken is safe and ideal texture. They say you can cook it safely rare at 136/140, but the texture is not what most are used to for chicken.

JoelF wrote:Sue thought it could go a degree warmer -- I thought it was perfect. A little longer cook might have made it a little more tender.

How long and at what temperature?

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

JoelF wrote:Sue thought it could go a degree warmer -- I thought it was perfect. A little longer cook might have made it a little more tender.

How long and at what temperature?

=R=

About 3 hours at 55C/131F. A decent ribeye would have been tender enough at this time, I think, but this no-grade stuff is a little chewier.

JoelF wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:

JoelF wrote:Sue thought it could go a degree warmer -- I thought it was perfect. A little longer cook might have made it a little more tender.

How long and at what temperature?

=R=

About 3 hours at 55C/131F. A decent ribeye would have been tender enough at this time, I think, but this no-grade stuff is a little chewier.

Thanks, Joel. There's obviously a lot of trial and error involved in learning what suits one's preferences. I almost wish I had 2 machines.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Thanks, Joel. There's obviously a lot of trial and error involved in learning what suits one's preferences. I almost wish I had 2 machines.

I'm just getting started, and I'm thinking that too -- if you want to make the main and a veg, you need two temps.
If I can figure out a better mounting system, I'll probably build another.

Yeah, talk about facing a whole new cooking world! I did the chicken legs for 24 hours at 60°C, skinless, with some maple syrup. They ended up totally cooked, but, as noted above, strange unfamiliar texture. Not sure I'd do it again that way... Maybe it's time to return to the original suggestion--beef short ribs.

I get the theory, oh yes. But man, figuring out how to do it practically is a different story.

Geo

Geo wrote:Yeah, talk about facing a whole new cooking world! I did the chicken legs for 24 hours at 60°C, skinless, with some maple syrup. They ended up totally cooked, but, as noted above, strange unfamiliar texture. Not sure I'd do it again that way... Maybe it's time to return to the original suggestion--beef short ribs.

I get the theory, oh yes. But man, figuring out how to do it practically is a different story.

Geo

Geo:

IMO, there is nothing to be gained by cooking chicken legs that long at that low a temperature. There is no tough collagen to break down in most chicken legs - unless you have a tough old yardbird. The name of the game for tender cuts like chicken is to get the meat to the desired temperature for long enough for the proteins to denature - 4-6 hours @ 170F should give you more satisfactory results. That's how I do it before subjecting the chicken to the high heat of a deep fryer or WFO to finish the exterior.

Bill/SFNM

JoelF wrote:

lougord99 wrote:

exvaxman wrote: We usually cook to the standard chicken long term temp (140f? - please verify!)

USDA says 165 for all parts of the chicken. I usually see 175 for dark meat.

This site suggest 140-146 for breast, 148-156 for legs or whole chicken is safe and ideal texture. They say you can cook it safely rare at 136/140, but the texture is not what most are used to for chicken.

Interesting. So, Am I grossly overcooking my chicken when ( cooking by non - Sous Vide methods ) I cook the breast to 165?

No. (Although I cook to 160)

The food safety rules for temperature are different for SV than for regular cooking... it has to do with the amount of time held at a specific temperature. If you do 160-165 for one minute, you're safe. But if you do 145F for 4 hours (actual number isn't in front of me, someone else can fill it in) you're also safe.

That's my understanding, at least.

The site I linked to has a link to a USDA pasteurization rules paper. This amazingly says that 145F only needs to be held for 6-11 minutes (depending on the fat level of the chicken) in order to be lethal to salmonella. I imagine that's the entire piece, not just surface temp, although the odds of sub-surface salmonella is pretty slim unless you're rolling, stuffing, etc. Note that these are the extended times from earlier calculations!

The four hours is more of a texture thing.

I'd be much more concerned about campylobacter.. I wonder if the time is the same for that.

I broke several sous vide "rules" and produced a very successful first-cut brisket.

First, I seasoned that flat to the hilt, just as if I were going to braise it. I also included carrots, raw onions and beer in the cooking bag.

Second, I used the resulting liquid after the cook to make a fantastic sauce.

Third (not really a sous vide no-no but more of a personal no-no), I used a flat. I did this because, as I posted upthread, I figured that it was a fairly useless and unforgiving cut and would therefore be a good cut to experiment with.

I used a 4.5-pound flat from Costco (went ultra-cheap in case of failure) and cooked it at 140 F for 48 hours. After the cook, I re-seasoned the brisket and cooked it at 375 F (convection roast) for 15 minutes to produce what turned out to be a delectable crust. I strained the leftover cooking liquid, brought it to a hard boil and then reduced it by about 2/3. I re-seasoned it at the very end and served it with the meat.

The result was a flavorful, very tender and moist brisket. The cooking method somewhat made up for the fact that it was a flat. It was not as good as a whole brisket or a point but for a flat it was damned nice and most importantly, I think it was better that what braising normally produces. I'd probably cut back a little on the onion next time but I definitely wouldn't omit it, as it imparted nice flavor into the meat and the sauce. With Passover just around the corner, I'm seriously considering putting this method in play for the holiday briskets.

=R=

Ronnie,
I've used Costco flats with good results braised a number off times, only one disappointing result out of six or eight over the last couple years.

Thus sounds like something worth trying - I have a smaller than usual gathering for passover, one flat may be enough.

Aargghh!!

My sous vide cooker may just have cost me a few thousand dollars: The solid-surface countertop (Zodiaq) cracked after 40 hours of a lamb shank cook at 62C, through the hole for the sink faucet that's next to where I had set up the cook.

It may be covered by warranty, it may not -- the warranty doesn't cover "excessive heat" but it doesn't define excessive.

Aside from breaking my countertop (and as it cooled off the crack went from about 2mm to nearly invisible -- it's probably repairable not needing replacement), the cook came out wonderful.

I used this recipe, subbing coriander for the fennel seed as Sue isn't a big fan of fennell seed. The lamb shank was a single big one that includes the knee, about 1.7 lbs, and I made a half recipe of everything else in one bag, about 52 hours at 62c.

Lamb was tender as can be, the sauce was rich and silky. In addition to the port I added a couple tsp of sherry vinegar to increase the acidity. Served it with Polenta, made a great meal, with enough for leftovers (we ate a reasonable portion each)

This is a recipe I'll do again, but the Easter bath is not sitting on my counter again. I have a 2-inch thick bamboo citing board on feet which should provide enough protection and insulation.

That's scary JoelF! Luckily my countertop is butcherboard, so I don't envisage that happening here, but your experience is a caution to us all.

Did my third cook, and finally had an outrageously successful meal: as Bill/SFNM and others suggested, I went with spare ribs. Salted, peppered, bit of garlic powder. Then, for various crazy reasons (which need no going into here! : ) they went 96h at 60°C in the Costco machine. Oh boy oh boy oh boy! Best I've ever had, and TODG agreed wholeheartedly: tender, well-seasoned, enough jus to moisten the underlying linguini. Man, that's a keeper. Next project will be following JoelF's footsteps with a lamb shank, another of my faves.

This is *great* fun!

Geo

I'll be cooking for 11 people Saturday for Passover and I've decided to do two entrees. The hope is to do both in the SVS but I have not decided to go this route for sure just because of timing. The fist entree with be either short ribs, brisket or beef cheeks (can't decide) which I will definitely cook sous vide. I am slightly hesitant on the beef cheeks because I suspect temperature and cooking time might require just a little more experimentation than brisket or short ribs.

The other is this fennel and matzoh-stuffed turkey breast, which I have made a couple of times in the past, but never sous vide. I suspect the turkey breast could really benefit (in terms of retaining moisture) from sous vide cooking, with a quick sear before serving.

To avoid having to prep two dishes at the last minute (and because I didn't think I'd have enough room in the SVS), I opted to do only the short ribs sous vide. I used this recipe as a guide, although I made a number of changes. I placed the short ribs (with salt and pepper) in three separate bags, along with butter, red wine, garlic, thyme and dried porcini mushrooms. Here's a picture of one of the filled bags, pre vacuum seal:



After that, I made a number of departures from the recipe. I cooked the short ribs for about 73 hours at 136 degrees. Meanwhile, I prepared a sauce with some sauteed shallots, homemade beef stock, red wine, thyme and bay leaf. Upon removing the short ribs from their bags, I immediately added a little more salt and pepper and dusted in ground, dried porcini mushrooms per the recipe, then seared for about 20 seconds per side with olive oil. I served it with the prepared sauce and some pearl onions.

These short ribs really blew me away in terms of both flavor and texture - just above medium rare (something I've never experienced with short ribs) and so tender they were practically melting. I will never, ever, ever braise short ribs or similarly tough cuts of meat again . . . never!

Yet another inexpensive immersion circulator:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nom ... ur-kitchen

$299 gets one unit, an extra Benjamin gets you a class in NY, Chicago or SF

Very compact unit, cool industrial design. If they can get it on the market, it might open up the market to more people.

JoelF wrote:Yet another inexpensive immersion circulator:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nom ... ur-kitchen

$299 gets one unit, an extra Benjamin gets you a class in NY, Chicago or SF

Very compact unit, cool industrial design. If they can get it on the market, it might open up the market to more people.

Wow, that thing looks slick. If I could be sure that it works as well as claimed, I'd be very tempted to pledge $299.

JoelF wrote:Yet another inexpensive immersion circulator:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nom ... ur-kitchen

$299 gets one unit, an extra Benjamin gets you a class in NY, Chicago or SF

Very compact unit, cool industrial design. If they can get it on the market, it might open up the market to more people.

I was hesitant due to the smallish heating element (only 750 watts), but figured it would come in handy for cooking smaller items that don't need the large bath I generally use with my current (rather old) circulator. In at the $299 level.

Coogles wrote:I was hesitant due to the smallish heating element (only 750 watts), but figured it would come in handy for cooking smaller items that don't need the large bath I generally use with my current (rather old) circulator. In at the $299 level.

750 is smallish? The one I homebuilt has three 125-watt elements, and I have no problem getting to temp or maintaining it. The Sous Vide Supreme is only 850 watts (and I'm betting a few of those are the electronics) -- did you know they have a 6/10-size model called the Demi for $329?.
Hmm.. The Polyscience Ac1B is 1100 watts.

I'm very much interested in this, but was a bit hesitant to back straight away. I emailed them asking for a 12-24 hour comparison against some other models available. It sounds like they're looking into a test like this to show how it matches up against other models. Here's hoping they do it.

Remember this about Kickstarter - once they reach their goal, your credit card will be charged with no guarantee when, if ever, you will receive anything.

Here is a sous vide contraption on Amazon that turns a crock pot into a sv cooker.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0088OTON4/ref=cm_sw_su_dp

JoelF wrote:Aargghh!!

My sous vide cooker may just have cost me a few thousand dollars: The solid-surface countertop (Zodiaq) cracked after 40 hours of a lamb shank cook at 62C, through the hole for the sink faucet that's next to where I had set up the cook.

It may be covered by warranty, it may not -- the warranty doesn't cover "excessive heat" but it doesn't define excessive.

So after exactly three months, it's finally replaced -- under warranty!
Initially, DuPont claimed it was not covered by warranty, until I kvetched that 145F is hardly "extreme heat" and they agreed to cover it. a 19-foot stretch of countertop was replaced today, and they managed to do it without munging my tile backsplash (although I do need to get some of the color-matching caulk), and the plumber just left after re-installing the bar sink. Not a cent out of my pocket, but some lessons learned: Next time, I'm putting the cooking vessel on a big hunk of styrofoam insulation, on top of a big cutting board with feet (maybe just one or the other).

Latest sous vide experiment: butter-poached shrimp. I was making Michael Ruhlman's shrimp and grits, which uses a cup of butter for a pound of shrimp. I was tripling the recipe, when I noticed that after cooking the shrimp, only one third of the butter goes into the grits, but you can't cover the shrimp with only 1/3C butter. I looked up "sous vide butter poached shrimp" and saw it done with as little as two tablespoons. I put a pound of peeled shrimp with 2/3 a stick (1/3C) of butter per sealed bag, times three, so I could put the shrimp and grits out in phases.

The advised temp I saw most commonly was 58C for 30 minutes. I was limited on counter space, so used a 4.5qt pot as my vessel. This may have been a little small, as I found the heater would overshoot by a degree and a half, and the first bag had a couple undercooked shrimp after a half-hour.

The texture (except for the couple of undercooked ones) was terrific, flavor very nice (a little salt might have been good, maybe a little thyme?). Only real negative is that the vacuum process "set" the shrimp in some funny shapes when cooked -- I will take the time to lay them out in a single layer next time (which should help with the circulation too).

As it is, this was not a popular dish at my party: the first pound wasn't even finished. It was a combination of fear of grits (damn yankees) and an inability to keep them warm: cold grits are not so good, and I was serving them in scallop shells which aren't very conducive to a keeping them on a warming tray. I did cook all the shrimp before putting away the circulator, and the next night, a quick broil with some garlicky bread crumbs mixed with the re-solidified butter made a great shrimp dejonghe.