Justin & Meredith Winokur's Kitchen Cooking Notebook
Sitemap ·
Our Recipe Book ·
Steven's Recipe Book ·
Ann's Recipe Book ·
Meal Ideas ·
Copied Recipes
Random ·
Random Links
Home > sous_vide
All for 'sous_vide'
All sub pages for /_tags/sous_vide
Sous Vide Tilapia and Sautéed Kale -- back to top
I made tilapia using my new sous vide setup. Actually, the setup isn't for sous vide but it should work. I do want to do some real tests, but in the mean time, I just cooked tilapia from frozen. I started with the water pretty warm, put the fish in, and let it go. However, I only set it to low and when I checked on it a while later, it was not at temp. I was afraid the fish was at the "danger zone" for too long so I tossed it and tried again with it on warm
A few things. The first is that I am unsure of this setup. It blew past the set temp and took a very long time to come down. I do not know if it is a mixture issue or that fact that it may be too strong of a source. I'll investigate. (see the photo below. I'll comment later on making it but it's for beer)
The other thing is that this is simply a piss-poor test of the system. It is pretty boring fish with absolutely no seasonings. I just wanted something fast and easy.
The fish came out pretty well. It was warm when I ate it but that is likely after I plated it. It seemed fully cooked and certainly not overcooked.
I also made sautéd kale. Pretty standard. I just added some salt, pepper and dried onions.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6681, 2013-09-19_203308
Valentines' Day Dinner: Sous-Vide Tenderloin, Winter Caprese, and Asparagus -- back to top
The plan for this meal was to be surf and turf, but the lobster tails were, unknown to us, frozen. Thankfully, I had prepped cauliflower fritters for the next day and we decided to make them for tonight (though we ate them after)
Anyway, we had sous-vide beef tenderloin (same cut as filet mignon). We had some at the Santa Fe Foodie Classic. I knew I had done it before so I figured we'd dit it again.
I was a bit nervous since Meredith really doesn't like steak and this cut was very expensive (especially since it was from Whole Foods).
I used the same method as the first time (2015-03-27). I used my STC-1000 based temperature controller with the crock-pot. The controller is more a thermostat so it's either one or off (and there was no cooling method).
I followed the Serious Eats (LOCAL) guidance and did it with 131°F aiming to be around medium-rare and medium. Actually, I had to use celsius so I did 55°C (<==> exactly 131°F). I set it with a 0.3°C (the minimum) with the heat on the high setting. Again, there was no cooling so I watched the temps and it seemed to go between 54.7°C (130.46°F) to 55.5°C (131.9°F).
I couldn't find the vacuum sealer bags so I just used heavy-duty freezer bags and I submersed them in the water to get rid of all of the air. I was also able to weigh them down with the meat at the bottom of the bag so they staid in the water (see the set up).
I prepped it with some salt and pepper (before I read in the Serious Eats article that you shouldn't do that). I started it around 5:30 and let it go for about 2.5 hours.
They really came out extremely tender and flavorful. It was great since it is so easy to overcook this cut of meat, yet this was cooked through perfectly!
The asparagus was just cooked at 425 for 5-8 minutes or so (while searing the steak) with pepper and smoked salt.
I prepped the cauliflower fritters before for tomorrow but decided to make it tonight. Actually, we really didn't need it but we ate some (and took the rest for lunch)
The caprese came from this Whole Foods recipe (local copy). Actually, we just used it for inspiration. We roasted the potatoes, used mozzarella, and then topped it with sage and balsamic. It was actually pretty...ok. The mozzarella, or at least this mozzarella, had very little flavor. I would try something like this again but with better cheese.
Sweet Potato Winter Caprese Salad (from Whole Foods)
Local Copy (U:guest, P: name of my dog, all lower case)
Sous-Vide Steak Sirloin -- back to top
We made a sous-vide steak on salad. We were going to make two small steaks and something else, but we weren't very hungry so we just did the steak and a salad.
We sous-vide cooked it like Valentine's Day but since this was sirloin, we did it as 57°C (134.6°F1) which is hotter than for tenderloin but makes sense for sirloin. We set the slow cooker on High and set the tolerance as low as possible. I didn't super watch it but I know the temperature fluctuated a bit.
Also, I got the water to the right temp and then added the steak. This brought the temperature down a bunch and got messed up. Next time, I will try to get it to temperature with the steak in there already.
It cooked for about 2 hours. I then topped it with a bit of oil, salt and pepper, and then seared it.
They came out ok. A bit overcooked given how thin they were. And they were just not a good of a cut of meat. Also, there was some liquid from the steaks which I used a dressing on the salad.
The controller only work in °C ↩
Sous Vide Steak and Calabacitas -- back to top
While we've done sous vide before with my home-brew fridge controller but it was a pain in the ass and didn't work well. We recently bought a controller since it was on sale.
Anyway, we cooked two Delmonico cut steaks. We did it for about 1.5 hours at 136°F (easily exactly done with the controller). I then seared them on a super-hot pan.
They came out pretty good, but I was not really thinking it through when I bought the steaks. It was a really high-end cut but it was also very fatty. We spent most of the time eating it cutting away (or spitting out) fatty parts.
The sous vide process went well but the steak itself was just not for us. I am looking forward to doing more things with it (but leaner).
We also made calabacitas by just cooking some onions in butter, and then adding a chopped zucchini and two yellow squashes.
The only seasonings with used on both the steak and the calabacitas salt and pepper.
The sous vide set up. You can also see the fatty steak cuts.
Cilantro Chicken (Sous-Vide) and Greek Kohlrabi Gratin -- back to top
I have been continuing to have fun with the sous-vide cooker. It really just makes it so easy. Meredith made her cilantro dip. I took two pieces of chicken and scored it a bit with a knife and then put tons of the dip in the bag.
I followed the Serious Eats guide and did the chicken at 150°F for about 1.5 hours. True to what they said, it came out a lot like normal chicken texture but still really moist. Still, given the flexibility, Next time I think 145°F will be better (between this and Serious Eats' next temp range).
Flavor wise, this was ok. I really like the dip but the chicken could have been brined or something to get more flavor inside it. And/or, it may have been better with a longer (or any) marinate time. We were going to marinate it for a bit but based on the timing, we decided to just let it cook longer (the beauty of Sous Vide).
We also had Kohlrabi we needed to use up. I was going to stir fry it but Meredith wanted to do something different so she decided to Kohlrabi Gratin from this NYTimes recipe (local).
We did it the "gratin" style and halved it. Other changes/modifications were:
It was pretty good. It was very reminiscent of other greek pie dishes. That is probably from the feta and dill. We would make it again.
Greek-Style Kohlrabi Pie or Gratin With Dill and Feta (from NYTimes)
Local Copy (U: guest, P: name of my dog, lower case)
Zucchini Buffalo Salad (with Sous Vide Chicken) -- back to top
We made a zucchini buffalo salad based on this Kitchn recipe & the croutons (Local for both). At the very least, it was based on their recipes.
I decided to sous-vide the chicken. I bagged the chicken with some Franks Red Hot and did it at 145 for an hour and a half (based on my suggestion on 2016-05-15) This was a nice amount of time and temp. The chicken was juicy and moist and was a nice consistency.
I used their recipe with some sourdough but I wasn't super impressed. I added the Franks to the (possibly too hot?) oil and it splattered everywhere. I then added the bread which absorbed all of the oil and then burned little pieces on. It was kind of a mess. What was left was flavorful but kind of mush
Rather than use their dressing, Meredith made her own. She mixed some fat free greek yogurt, Penzeys Ranch, Penzeys powdered roasted garlic, and some almond-cashew milk. Very low calorie and flavorful.
No cheese in the dressing. We just used it (Cambozola) on the salad. The salad was just spiralized zucchini
The ideas were pretty good. I liked the super-low calorie dressing and the chicken came out very good. Meredith thought the cheese was a bit much (even though Cambozola is not super "blue"). I thought it was fine...in small enough amounts.
As I noted, the croutons were a bit of a mess but really not too bad.
Sous Vide Sirloin -- back to top
The original plan was to do something of a Meredith meal with some sous-vide steak too but we ended up not being very hungry so we just had the steak.
We went with a sirloin. Our favorite of sous-vide steaks was the tenderloin, our least favorite was the Delmonico. This one seemed pretty lean and was also a good price.
I cut the piece in two and did it at 136°F for about 1.5 hours.
It was pretty good. The problem was it needed salt. I forgot it until the steak was already in the bag. I tried to add some salt but since it was in the bag, only some got salted. Those were the better parts. I do not know the pros and cons of salting before or after cooking, but either way, it could have used more.
Jerk Chicken Tacos (Sous Vide + Grilled) -- back to top
Meredith and I were having a friend over so ee decided to again try to replicate Torchy's Brushfire Taco (see 2016-04-07 but decided to use a different jerk chicken recipe (and method)
We decided to go (mostly) with the Serious Eats FoodLab (Local 1) recipe. Kenji, in typical fashion, goes overboard. We just used his original marinade.
I did make a few small changes to the marinade:
The marinade was really good. I was eating some of it with a spoon! I think we could try to thicken this (though it may then not be enough volume to blend) and make it into a sauce. Either way, we would certainly use the marinade again!
I marinated the chicken for 3 days (very long). I then followed 2016-06-28 and did the chicken at 145°F. I did it for about 2 hours with the chicken still in the marinade in the bags.
I then grilled it at the highest temp for 1 minute per side as the sear step.
Flavor wise, I like it a lot. I would certainly scale up using this recipe. Method wise, I was a bit torn. I love sous-vide but finishing on the grill was kind of a waste. It stuck some (since we intentionally not leaving it on long enough to cook) and there wasn't much benefit. Plus, it took a lot of time and propane to grill it. On the plus side, I could do it all at once, I didn't have to heat up the house, and I didn't set off smoke alarms.
I think next time, I will either sous-vide or grill, but not both. If I sous-vide, I will either just shred it or I will sear it and slice it.
Or, I will just grill it. Then you get the (appropriate for the meal) char, etc. And I may consider keeping the skin on, but we'll see.
Also, with the sous-vide, the chicken was almost too moist. It just didn't quite feel right for this. Kind of strange I guess.
Anyway, we just assembled with fat-free greek yogurt, chicken, marinade2,mango, Torchy's Diablo sauce, and cilantro. (I forgot to take a photo of mine. We used my friend's photo but we assembled hers differently and without Diablo sauce so it is missing in the above photo)
Sous Vide Pork Chop and Kabocha Squash -- back to top
Meredith was out of town so I tried to make something she usually doesn't like: pork chops. I bought a bone-in (rib I think?) pork chop. I followed Serious Eats (Local Copy 1). I used salt and pepper on the pork chops and then I added some diced garlic, rosemary, and a Tbsp of butter to the bag. I did it at 142.5F (In between the table's temps) for about an hour and a half.
I decided to sear it in the grill pan so I needed more oil than usual since it would be below the "grates". I got it super hot with a bit of butter. It was searing pretty nicely, though splattering everywhere. Then I smelled the leftover liquid from the sous vide bag and it smelled amazing. I figured that in addition to following Serious Eats and adding more aromatics after the turn, I would also add the contents from this bag. Big mistake! I didn't think that some of the bag was water (from the pork and also butter is 20% water). Well, that caused the oil to super, super splatter and create a literal FIREBALL in the kitchen. Woah! Thankfully, it extinguished itself before I had to intervene. oops! I'll be more careful next time.
Either way, the pork was cooked really well as you can see from the picture. It was really moist and flavorful, though I did have to work around some fat.
However, will all that, there still were no grill lines!
I also made Kabocha squash (30 min at 400, flipped half way). I tried to cut it smaller but it was still a tight fit on the pan. Good though!
U: guest, P: name of my dog, all lower case ↩
Sous Vide Sirloin with Chimichurri -- back to top
We made steak with chimichurri. The chimichurri was from The Kitchn (LOCAL 1). Meredith prepped it ahead following the same closely except using lemon instead of lime since we didn't have it.
I made the steak with the sous-vide using the same temp as 2016-07-01, that is 136°F for about an hour to an hour and half. This time, I salted it before since we missed it last time. I then seared it on the cast iron with ghee and a bit more salt.
Finally, we roasted some brussel sprouts at 400°F for 30 min or so with some fox point.
I liked the chimichurri a lot and I think it worked really well on steak. But I also think the steak was a bit tough. It could have been cooked at a bit lower and/or less time on the sear. It was still good, but could be better. It was also not the highest quality level of steak, so that may help in the future.
U: guest, P: name of my Boston Terrier, all lower case ↩
Sous-Vide Brisket, Jalapeno Cheddar Corn-Bread, and Broccolini -- back to top
This was something of a project meal but not too bad.
For the brisket, I again followed the Serious Eats guide 1. Unlike the first time, I did it at 135°F for 72 hours (yes, 72 hours!). I then put it in the fridge and cooked it the next day.
The original plan was to grill it as per the recipe, but decided to bake it instead since we hadn't soaked the wood chips.
I followed the general idea, but I just did it with salt and pepper by feel. I did use the liquid smoke, but you could barely taste it. Next time, I would do a bit more, even if I do plan to do it on the grill.
It was pretty good. I think I liked it at the lower temperature. The meat was very flavorful. And even in the oven, it got a nice crust
As you can see from the pictures, it went from to 4.09 to 2.62 pounds, a 35% loss! (Actually, I saved a lot of the liquid from the sous-vide bag to use later).
Meredith made a modified version of this Homesick Texan Recipe (Local). She used the recipe but added cheddar cheese, two jalapeños, and used ghee for the oil/bacon drippings.
It was very good but could easily have used much more salt in it and also, maybe Maldon salt on top. The texture was perfect and worked very well in the cast iron. It gave it a perfect crust (though we needed to cook it an extra 10ish minutes).
Meredith made broccolini by sautéing it with some ghee with roasted garlic powder, salt, and crushed red pepper. She sautéed it for about 10 minutes.
She topped it with Tahini sauce which worked really well.
On that recipe page, is a link to the PDF with the entire page ↩
French Onion Soup with Sous Vide Chicken -- back to top
I had planned to make French Onion Soup a few days ago but didn't get to it until now. I caramelized onions a the night before I was supposed to make it but they ended up sitting in the fridge for a bit.
I heated them up but decided not to do the flour. I did however save the liquid from the 72-hour brisket. I used this as my beef broth, though it was less. The rest was chicken broth plus the wine.
And I let it simmer for about an hour and a half since the chicken was going.
On the chicken, I followed 2016-06-28 and did the chicken with a bit of butter, garlic, salt, pepper, roasted garlic powder, and Mural of Flavor. I let that sous-vide for 90ish minutes (probably more). I finally seared it on the pan for about 60 seconds per side.
I then made a bit of a pan-sauce from the liquid in the sous-vide bags. I liked the chicken a lot. A nice amount of flavor and (obviously) not overcooked.
The soup was fine. I thought it was maybe a bit too salty but that is pretty typical of soups.
Sous Vide Pork Tenderloin and Elotes Salad -- back to top
I made sous vide pork tenderloin. As usual with sous vide stuff, I followed The Food Lab, and the recipe. Local recipe (with a PDF of the article there too).
I really basically followed the recipe pretty closely. I used a handful of fresh herbs from the garden plus a few shallots and some garlic. I sous vide cooked it at 145°F (Between the medium and medium-well doneness) for about 2.5-3 hours.
I seared it and added butter and shallots as the recipe suggests and then made a pan sauce. I had some trouble distributing the herbs, but I think the flavors all got there.
I also made elotes salad as we have before. Meredith actually directed but we followed the same basic idea as before, again with out mayo. We used jalapeños and no cilantro. Also some chipotle powder.
The pork tenderloin came out really good. It was really juicy and you could really taste the aromatics. Nice texture too! The elotes salad was also good. A bit spicy but still good.
