Thread: Sous Vide

"Malcom "Mal" Reynolds" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]..
> Am thinking of buying the new combo deal from Costco but wondered if
> anyone has
> used either piece of equipment or maybe finds sous vide impractical for
> home
> use. I'm not likely to make fancy stuff, just thought I'd try something
> different

Do a search. This topic has come up recently.

On Mon, 18 Jul 2011 20:38:13 -0700, Malcom "Mal" Reynolds wrote:

> Am thinking of buying the new combo deal from Costco but wondered if anyone has
> used either piece of equipment or maybe finds sous vide impractical for home
> use. I'm not likely to make fancy stuff, just thought I'd try something different

It that the Hot Dog or Polish Dog and Large Drink for $1.50? I highly
recommend it. You can ask for free sauerkraut on the side, too.

-sw

"Sqwertz" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]..
> On Mon, 18 Jul 2011 20:38:13 -0700, Malcom "Mal" Reynolds wrote:
>
>> Am thinking of buying the new combo deal from Costco but wondered if
>> anyone has
>> used either piece of equipment or maybe finds sous vide impractical for
>> home
>> use. I'm not likely to make fancy stuff, just thought I'd try something
>> different
>
> It that the Hot Dog or Polish Dog and Large Drink for $1.50? I highly
> recommend it. You can ask for free sauerkraut on the side, too.

Hehehehehehehe.

"Malcom "Mal" Reynolds" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]..
> Am thinking of buying the new combo deal from Costco but wondered if
> anyone has
> used either piece of equipment or maybe finds sous vide impractical for
> home
> use. I'm not likely to make fancy stuff, just thought I'd try something
> different
>
>
I have the feeling that the current "sous vide" products are: 1. overpriced
and 2. need refinement. I think that mode of cooking is going to become
popular. I think I'd wait a bit before plunging in. It's not that big a deal
to cook at a constantly maintained temperature. I think that the means of
holding what is being cooked vacuumed in plastic is primitive. If you have
any air between the water and the surface of what you're cooking it won't
work. Imagine trying to vacuum cook a lobster tail or dungeness crab.

Kent

"Kent" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:j03j9n$rr$[email protected]..
>
> "Malcom "Mal" Reynolds" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]..
>> Am thinking of buying the new combo deal from Costco but wondered if
>> anyone has
>> used either piece of equipment or maybe finds sous vide impractical for
>> home
>> use. I'm not likely to make fancy stuff, just thought I'd try something
>> different
>>
>>
> I have the feeling that the current "sous vide" products are: 1.
> overpriced and 2. need refinement. I think that mode of cooking is going
> to become popular. I think I'd wait a bit before plunging in. It's not
> that big a deal to cook at a constantly maintained temperature. I think
> that the means of holding what is being cooked vacuumed in plastic is
> primitive. If you have any air between the water and the surface of what
> you're cooking it won't work. Imagine trying to vacuum cook a lobster tail
> or dungeness crab.
>
> Kent

The first thing I cooked sous vide was lobster tail (with a sauce that
included a bit of white chocolate). It was fantastic. But it was not a
whole lobster tail.

But, if you are "not likely to make fancy stuff", why go sous vide?
>
>
>
>

On Jul 18, 10:38*pm, "Malcom \"Mal\" Reynolds" <atlas-
bug...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
> Am thinking of buying the new combo deal from Costco but wondered if anyone has
> used either piece of equipment or maybe finds sous vide impractical for home
> use. I'm not likely to make fancy stuff, just thought I'd try something different

Bryan and I built a sous vide cooker. He's used it with limited
success.

John Kuthe...

In article <[email protected]>, Sqwertz <[email protected]>
wrote:

> On Mon, 18 Jul 2011 20:38:13 -0700, Malcom "Mal" Reynolds wrote:
>
> > Am thinking of buying the new combo deal from Costco but wondered if anyone
> > has
> > used either piece of equipment or maybe finds sous vide impractical for
> > home
> > use. I'm not likely to make fancy stuff, just thought I'd try something
> > different
>
> It that the Hot Dog or Polish Dog and Large Drink for $1.50? I highly
> recommend it. You can ask for free sauerkraut on the side, too.
>
> -sw

Chicken Bake

In article <j02u9t$p2n$[email protected]>, "Julie Bove" <[email protected]>
wrote:

> "Malcom "Mal" Reynolds" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]..
> > Am thinking of buying the new combo deal from Costco but wondered if
> > anyone has
> > used either piece of equipment or maybe finds sous vide impractical for
> > home
> > use. I'm not likely to make fancy stuff, just thought I'd try something
> > different
>
> Do a search. This topic has come up recently.

so now YOU are following me

In article <j03n2k$u16$[email protected]>, "Pico Rico" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>
> But, if you are "not likely to make fancy stuff", why go sous vide?

I'm notoriously terrible with beef and often with pork. I thought it might make
things like carnitas more dependable and that ultimately I might be able to use
lower priced cuts of beef (if such things still exist). I suppose eventually I
would explore "fancy stuff" but that isn't what motivates me

"Malcom "Mal" Reynolds" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]..
> In article <j02u9t$p2n$[email protected]>, "Julie Bove"
> <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>> "Malcom "Mal" Reynolds" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]..
>> > Am thinking of buying the new combo deal from Costco but wondered if
>> > anyone has
>> > used either piece of equipment or maybe finds sous vide impractical for
>> > home
>> > use. I'm not likely to make fancy stuff, just thought I'd try something
>> > different
>>
>> Do a search. This topic has come up recently.
>
> so now YOU are following me

Nope. I've been here for years.

"Malcom \"Mal\" Reynolds" <[email protected]> wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>, Sqwertz <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>> On Mon, 18 Jul 2011 20:38:13 -0700, Malcom "Mal" Reynolds wrote:
>>
>>> Am thinking of buying the new combo deal from Costco but wondered if anyone
>>> has
>>> used either piece of equipment or maybe finds sous vide impractical for
>>> home
>>> use. I'm not likely to make fancy stuff, just thought I'd try something
>>> different
>>
>> It that the Hot Dog or Polish Dog and Large Drink for $1.50? I highly
>> recommend it. You can ask for free sauerkraut on the side, too.
>>
>> -sw
>
> Chicken Bake
I was there today.

It is the Pizza Combo. Is it me or the have they degraded the pizza even
more. Seems in the past to have more sauce, the last two times I was there
the pizza was on the dry side. Good thing for free refills on the
beverages.

They did have a seven piece "All-Clad" cook set for $300 that was tempting.
A nice braising pan with lid, small cook pot with lid, small sauce pot with
lid and a midsize skillet. I do not remember the exact sizes.

Tempting... Watching my pennies these days.

--
Enjoy Life... Nad R (Garden in zone 5a Michigan)

In article <j04lut$69k$[email protected]>, "Julie Bove" <[email protected]>
wrote:

> "Malcom "Mal" Reynolds" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]..
> > In article <j02u9t$p2n$[email protected]>, "Julie Bove"
> > <[email protected]>
> > wrote:
> >
> >> "Malcom "Mal" Reynolds" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> >> news:[email protected]..
> >> > Am thinking of buying the new combo deal from Costco but wondered if
> >> > anyone has
> >> > used either piece of equipment or maybe finds sous vide impractical for
> >> > home
> >> > use. I'm not likely to make fancy stuff, just thought I'd try something
> >> > different
> >>
> >> Do a search. This topic has come up recently.
> >
> > so now YOU are following me
>
> Nope. I've been here for years.

Well then get ready for more fun

Mal wrote:

>> But, if you are "not likely to make fancy stuff", why go sous vide?
>
> I'm notoriously terrible with beef and often with pork. I thought it might
> make things like carnitas more dependable and that ultimately I might be
> able to use lower priced cuts of beef (if such things still exist). I
> suppose eventually I would explore "fancy stuff" but that isn't what
> motivates me

Carnitas are already pretty forgiving. It's chicken breasts and seafood
which need the greater precision.

At any rate, the Costco deal *look* pretty good, but I'm not all that sure
about their vacuum-sealing thing. Some chefs claim that a slow-sealing
vacuum sucks out moisture, making it inappropriate for sous vide, and that
you need one of those cryovac chambers which inflates and then explosively
decompresses the bag. In _Under Pressure_, Thomas Keller refers to those as
"chamber packers," and has this to say:

"Chamber vacuum packers can exert a lot of pressure or a little pressure on
the food in the bag. An important consideration in cooking sous vide is just
how much pressure to use. If you're cooking a delicate fish, you don't want
to crush it. If you're cooking a hard root vegetable, you want it
vacuum-packed as tightly as possible in order to ensure the most efficient
heating possible.

"Perhaps one of the most important abilities chamber vacuum packers have is
that they can seal bags containing liquid ingredients, such as a custard
base or marinade, or any number of items that we want to cook with a fat
(such as olive oil) or with stock. Packers intended for home use (and a home
budget) can't really compress food, and if you have liquids in the bag,
those tend to be sucked out along with the air, making a good seal
difficult. If you are unable to seal liquids in plastic, your ability to
cook sous vide is restricted."

By way of rebuttal, I note that my Foodsaver does have a setting for moist
foods, but that doesn't mean that *some* moisture isn't lost.

The Costco price is the same as you'll pay elsewhere for the water oven
*without* the vacuum sealer, so it's important to know for sure that the
vacuum sealer is the right one for sous vide, otherwise it's no bargain at
all.

Bob