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Bringing Sous Vide to the Home Cook

nytimes.com

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Re: Bringing Sous Vide to the Home Cook

#41

Post by alkonaut »

tptacek wrote: post #32
personZ wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is somewhat fascinating how much the tech community seems to strive to try to solve non-problems. In this case, poaching or hard boiling an egg is so utterly simple, done in mere minutes, that it is simply impossible that this device could make it easier. And the grotesque proposed waste of energy borders on the absurd. And then, after you've had your perfectly cooked eggs that you presumably had to hop out of bed…

Hard-boiling an egg is trivial. Soft-boiling an egg, or making a perfect poached egg, is non-trivial; it's a finesse task. And doing it once or twice is one thing, but plating 10-20 for a bunch is another. Also: your definition of "a perfect steak" is different from mine. You either like a little overcooked steak or a little undercooked steak (or maybe a lot of either), because you can't get uniform doneness in a cas…

I use a Sansaire, but have found that for "nice meat" I actually prefer a regular cooking in a grill pan to a perfect-all-through plus just seared. Not sure why, but it's likely something with the gradient of doneness that is a more interesting texture.

Where the sous vide shines I think is for cheap cuts such as pork belly or tougher game meat where you just can't simply sear until done but actually have to break down the meat overnight at target temp. Another perfect use is charcoal grilling for many people. Just throw a huge steak in the sous vide in the morning. Throw it on charcoal when guests arrive just for the flavor.

Re: Bringing Sous Vide to the Home Cook

#42

Post by ollysb »

compumike wrote: post #3

If you'd like your perfectly-cooked steak in 20 minutes, not 2 hours, try Pantelligent (note: co-founder). Video here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hevans/pantelligent-int... Unlike sous-vide cooking, Pantelligent is not limited to things you can cook in a plastic bag, doesn't take forever to get to steady-state temperature equilibrium, and most sous-vide recipes encourage you to finish in a pan anyway! Inste…

This looks like a great idea! Ideally though, with electric hobs, I'd like to be able to set the temperature on the hob and then have the pan kept at the correct temperature automatically(with the thermometer still in the pan not the hob).

Re: Bringing Sous Vide to the Home Cook

#44

Post by ingenieros »

ChefSteps.com has a great introductory class to sous vide for those curious to experiment, but not foolish enough to spend a bunch of money on expensive equipment. I just cooked salmon this past week following their poor man's method and it came out great.

Re: Bringing Sous Vide to the Home Cook

#45

Post by alkonaut »

personZ wrote: post #38
tptacek wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hard-boiling an egg is trivial. Soft-boiling an egg, or making a perfect poached egg, is non-trivial; it's a finesse task. And doing it once or twice is one thing, but plating 10-20 for a bunch is another. Also: your definition of "a perfect steak" is different from mine. You either like a little overcooked steak or a little undercooked steak (or maybe a lot of either), because you can't get uniform doneness in a cas…

As I addressed in the other comment, yes, indeed, this is a technique built for traffic spikes. It is not a technique made for cooking breakfast. As to steak, just to be clear (since there seems to be a lot of misinformation in here), the best New York City steakhouses grill steaks in a 1800 degree broiler. This is a heat that is difficult to obtain at home, so the sear+oven actually yields a wonderful, very uniform…

At (steakhouse) restaurants sous vide is likely not used to cook expensive cuts perfectly. A good chef can do that in a pan+oven. The best cuts though imo aren't the expensive ones, it's the tougher ones that taste most. If you go to a restaurant and have a brisket cooked medium, that is so tender you can use a spoon, then it was likely done in a water bath over night.

Re: Bringing Sous Vide to the Home Cook

#46

Post by tptacek »

personZ wrote: post #39
tptacek wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, I do think that. Hard-boiled eggs are gross. Set egg yolks are gross. An egg white that is even slightly undercooked is also disgusting. There's a relatively narrow band of doneness in which eggs are good. You sound less like an advocate of simplicity and more like, as Dave Arnold would put it, "an enemy of quality". :)

A "six minute egg" has been a benchmark for literally centuries . Apologies if there is confusion, but when I say "hard boiled", I mean all doneness levels of boiled eggs.

Yeah, you're right about this. Honestly: I usually just fry eggs; I use the circ only when I need to serve a bunch of them.

Re: Bringing Sous Vide to the Home Cook

#47

Post by batbomb »

tptacek wrote: post #34
compumike wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup, I have a sous vide setup. I don't use it. It's neat to do the eggs once or twice. I don't find it to be practical.

You're the first person who (a) evidently cooks a lot and (b) has a water bath setup that I've ever seen call it "impractical". It is vastly more practical than a smart frying pan; among other things, it cooks unattended , the same way a crock pot does.

it also controls the temperature. The pan doesn't. You also don't have to do much to clean up after, just throw the ziplock bags away. With this pan you (should) hand wash it. The pan itself isn't even close to being similar in the same class of build quality to that of a $50-$100 non-stick pan. The pan also doesn't work with induction cooktops.

I said this in another discussion, but I think this is a $200 fish cooker. I don't see the convenience. Not being able to work above 400 means you simply can't cook some things to the quality they deserve, like with steak- you can't get an amazing crust.

There are good reviews- but there aren't any reviews that say "I've been a cooking professionally for XX years and I think this is a game changer". You do, however see that in articles for consumer sous vide devices.

Re: Bringing Sous Vide to the Home Cook

#48

Post by batbomb »

highlander wrote: post #13

There's enough evidence that plastics leak harmful chemicals into our food that I don't want to eat anything that's been sitting in a plastic bag in warm water for hours on end. No thanks.

Ziploc bags are made of polyethylene and have no plasticizers. They are as safe as you can get with plastic.

Re: Bringing Sous Vide to the Home Cook

#49

Post by cwyers »

personZ wrote: post #22
joshgachnang wrote: post #14

My perfect Sous Vide machine would be a Mellow[0] with an API. I want to throw some eggs (or other breakfast items) in the Mellow at night, it flips to a refrigerate option, and then hooks up with my alarm (physical or on phone) to make sure the eggs start cooking a few minutes before I wake up, so they're perfect when I roll out of bed. Then I'll empty the machine, throw dinner in, and it'll automatically be ready b…

It is somewhat fascinating how much the tech community seems to strive to try to solve non-problems. In this case, poaching or hard boiling an egg is so utterly simple, done in mere minutes, that it is simply impossible that this device could make it easier. And the grotesque proposed waste of energy borders on the absurd. And then, after you've had your perfectly cooked eggs that you presumably had to hop out of bed…

I have had my Anova for just a little over a week, and I think this is missing something. Yes, the "sear then oven" technique gives you a good steak. The sous vide steak I made tonight is the best home steak I have had - more tender than the cast iron steaks I have done. It's also easier - I can make sides while the steaks cook in the water bath, and my window to get them out and still have them at the doneness I want is literally hours, whereas I have to precisely time when I I remove the steaks from the ocen to get the right internal temperature.

Re: Bringing Sous Vide to the Home Cook

#50

Post by danieltillett »

tripzilch wrote: post #30

You can also use a beer cooler or other thermo-isolated container, filled with hot water at the correct temperature (kitchen thermometer), and a bunch of plastic baggies (plus something clever with tape). It's not quite as set-and-forget as a real sous-vide machine, you need to readjust the temperature (measure, adding more hot water, and stir a little, measure) about every 20 minutes or so (depending on the volume o…

I have used this method before and it works great. It is really useful for large parties where you are not sure when everyone will want to eat. Just throw everything in the cooler (heater I guess) and when everyone says let's eat throw everything on the bbq for a couple of minutes to sear.
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