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Slow Cookers

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Slow cooking - sous vide and a cast iron skillet beats the shit out of any crock pot. One gets you a perfectly cooked pork tenderloin and the other can make pork and beans.

True or false for everyone here:

Do you know at least one guy who pushed sous vide really hard the exact same year he pushed buying a hoverboard, right before we learned they explode and catch fire?

That was the case for me... and why I held off on sous vide.
 
So it's like a mini oven that cooks food over a 4 hour period?
 
True or false for everyone here:

Do you know at least one guy who pushed sous vide really hard the exact same year he pushed buying a hoverboard, right before we learned they explode and catch fire?

That was the case for me... and why I held off on sous vide.

Don’t know anybody that pushed a hoverboard.

But I do use the sous vide and its fantastic. Seems like it would be right up your alley.
 
Don’t know anybody that pushed a hoverboard.

But I do use the sous vide and its fantastic. Seems like it would be right up your alley.

My interest is perked. Which brand did you buy, is it controlled by a phone app, what should I know about it? I've been using my Dutch Oven more than the slow cooker for years.
 
My interest is perked. Which brand did you buy, is it controlled by a phone app, what should I know about it? I've been using my Dutch Oven more than the slow cooker for years.

Anova. Yes, it is controlled by an app.

You put the meat in a vaccuum sealed bag, drop in the pot, put the sous vide wand in, heat the water to your finishing temp. I tend to leave it in for 30mins or so over the minimum time. Then you sear the meat on your cast iron skillet.

You cannot get a more consistent cook on a piece of meat.
 
My under standing is that Beans don't burn on the grill.

Now i could be wrong, but it took a whole lotta trying just to get up that hill.

Either way, we are now we're up in the big leagues getting our turn at bat.

Fish don't fry in the kitchen either.
 
@MGMT

This is worse than your earlier post. Lee also receives a 0, but @The Human Q-Tip will be sending him to dinner with neither beans nor dessert.

So I am finally not getting negative points on your scoring system?

Well looks it looks like I am moving on up.
 
My interest is perked. Which brand did you buy, is it controlled by a phone app, what should I know about it? I've been using my Dutch Oven more than the slow cooker for years.
Anova. Yes, it is controlled by an app.

You put the meat in a vaccuum sealed bag, drop in the pot, put the sous vide wand in, heat the water to your finishing temp. I tend to leave it in for 30mins or so over the minimum time. Then you sear the meat on your cast iron skillet.

You cannot get a more consistent cook on a piece of meat.

Sous vide is great..

I have the exact same machine as Oi, the Anova. Get the model that has Wi-Fi though, not just bluetooth, that way you can do longer cooks and still control the machine remotely.

Now I will say this, sous vide is a great technique to use for a lot of cooks - but it's NOT better than a reverse sear flavor-wise; and using it for fish or chicken, IMHO, is a bad idea. It's really best for beef and pork.

But it's not only very convenient, but as Oi said; you'll get a consistent, perfect cook, every time. It just doesn't let you develop the same flavors that you would with a reverse sear.
 
Sous vide is great..

I have the exact same machine as Oi, the Anova. Get the model that has Wi-Fi though, not just bluetooth, that way you can do longer cooks and still control the machine remotely.

Now I will say this, sous vide is a great technique to use for a lot of cooks - but it's NOT better than a reverse sear flavor-wise; and using it for fish or chicken, IMHO, is a bad idea. It's really best for beef and pork.

But it's not only very convenient, but as Oi said; you'll get a consistent, perfect cook, every time. It just doesn't let you develop the same flavors that you would with a reverse sear.

Can't you use the sous vide for a reverse sear? Take it up to a few degrees below your desired doneness temperature, than sear it on a cast iron skillet? I was always under the impression sous vide's were great for the reverse sear method. Do people actually just eat the meat straight out of the bag, grey color and all?
 
Can't you use the sous vide for a reverse sear? Take it up to a few degrees below your desired doneness temperature, than sear it on a cast iron skillet? I was always under the impression sous vide's were great for the reverse sear method. Do people actually just eat the meat straight out of the bag, grey color and all?

It's not really the same thing, you do one or the other.

So the reverse sear exposes the fat of the meat to high temperatures in an oven, like 225-275 degrees; and this breaks down the fat and also allows for chemical reactions in the food to take place changing the flavor profile. So the taste of a reverse seared steak in an oven is more complex. You also have the ability to impart more flavors in a pan reverse searing the steak rather than in a vacuum bag.

By contrast, sous vide gives you a very delicate increase in temperature, uniformly, and over a long period of time. So the meat's texture is very soft, and if the cut of meat is tender then you'll end up with a tender steak. So a ribeye is a fantastic cut, but if you wanted to do a chuck roast you're much much better off in an oven.

Also doneness is important here. If you're shooting for anything beyond medium-rare, then sous vide is totally pointless. But I'd never take a proper steak past medium-rare so this wouldn't effect me, but if you're cooking for someone else and they want a medium steak, then sous vide is actually a huge waste of time.

But if you're like me and want a medium-rare throughout steak, edge to edge, then sous vide is the way to go. That being said, reverse searing over a wood-fire is definitely going to give you way more flavor.

Simply put, it's one technique to add to a toolbox of techniques .. It's not "the best way" its just another way to get a great steak, depending upon how you want your steak cooked.

p.s.
Everything I just said kinda goes out of the window if you have a steak thicker than 2.5" thick should probably be cooked sous vide.. :chuckle:
 
The key is a cast iron skillet to pair with sous vide. Pork tenderloin is ridiculous cooked this way. Sear in some butter and serve immediately.

If you cook for two, eat half the tenderloin right away, then warm up the rest, sliced, in a vacuumed bag in sous vide. Serve in corn tortillas with salsa verde, scallions, Jack cheese - great stuff.

Also try sous vide bacon overnight. Drain and fry 45 seconds a side and it's like cured pork belly.
 
Also try sous vide on veggies at 183 degrees. Carrots, sugar, salt and butter for an hour, then dump into fry pan and heat stir until carrots are glazed.

I also use Anova - bought a small and large plastic bin. Great for precooking and reheating lots of food for parties or Thanksgiving.
 
I just saw the interview with new Browns guard Eric Kush - revealed that the great Joe Thomas is a big fan of sous vide steak with the reverse sear.

That's the clincher. Picking one up in the next few weeks. Joe Thomas approval is a lead pipe lock.
 
I just saw the interview with new Browns guard Eric Kush - revealed that the great Joe Thomas is a big fan of sous vide steak with the reverse sear.

That's the clincher. Picking one up in the next few weeks. Joe Thomas approval is a lead pipe lock.

Make sure you get a cast iron skillet if you dont already have one - necessary in winter.

My brother-in-law brought 4 t-bones and watched in disgust as I cooked them med rare (129 degrees) in sous vide, then got the grill up around 550 for a couple minutes sear on each side. Then we ate. Now he's joined the divine sous vide church.
 
I just saw the interview with new Browns guard Eric Kush - revealed that the great Joe Thomas is a big fan of sous vide steak with the reverse sear.

That's the clincher. Picking one up in the next few weeks. Joe Thomas approval is a lead pipe lock.

I'm surprised that you didn't have one already.

Make sure you get the grilled skillet for aesthetic purposes.

I failed to do so and though the meat was perfect, it didn't look as good as it could. I later got that two way iron skillet from WS that is a flat griddle on one side, and a grill on the other.

vIfo1Dm.jpg
 

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