What's cooking? (1 Viewer)

[Johnny Angell]

The former, yes, should work well.

The latter with a big honkin’ steak will give you a steak that’s charred in the outside and raw on the inside. Unless you’ve got the coals really low.

Oh, I wasn’t going to cook the big steak that way, just curious if anyone has tried it.

 

[DaveF]

First try: hard boiled eggs for breakfast tomorrow.

 

[Johnny Angell]

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First try: hard boiled eggs for breakfast tomorrow.

Looking forward to when you try a steak with it. How long do the hard boiled eggs take?

Does the Anovka supply the heat itself?

 

[BobO'Link]

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First try: hard boiled eggs for breakfast tomorrow.

I have to ask...

Why not just use the burner? Bring the water (enough to fully cover the egg(s)) to a slow boil, drop egg(s) into water (use a spoon so there's no splash), wait 5 minutes, remove from heat, pour off hot water, cover with cold water, let sit a minute, peel and eat/use or just refrigerate for later.

 

[Malcolm R]

Yeah, I don't get it either.

Looks like just a fancy thermometer for boiling water?

 

[DaveF]

I have to ask...

Why not just use the burner? Bring the water (enough to fully cover the egg(s)) to a slow boil, drop egg(s) into water (use a spoon so there's no splash), wait 5 minutes, remove from heat, pour off hot water, cover with cold water, let sit a minute, peel and eat/use or just refrigerate for later.

Yeah, I don't get it either.

Looks like just a fancy thermometer for boiling water?

I wanted to try it immediately. And I had eggs I could cook last night (for breakfast this morning). That gave me a shake down cruise to learn how the device works, without risking more than a buck in eggs.

It doesn’t boil. It’s low and slow cooking.

But as a real use of the sous vide, is cooking eggs one? Maybe. You can cook them precisely and repeatedly how you like:


My eye came out with the white soft and creamy (and pretty messy), with the yolk solid but not dried and hard yellow. I’ve never had a boiled egg like that. Do I want that normally? I don’t know.

Conventional stovetop boiling is faster. I may stick with that. But I’m curious now about SV poached and soft-boiled eggs.

 

[DaveF]

Looking forward to when you try a steak with it. How long do the hard boiled eggs take?

Does the Anovka supply the heat itself?

SV is the heating element. It sucks up water from the bottom, circulates it past its 900W heating element, and spits it out higher up. It controls water temperature to about 0.1F for a consistent, repeatable cook. The eggs took 15 min to heat the water, and then 45 min to cook: an hour total.

The real payoff, I’m told, is steaks. Sous Vide a filet at 131.5F for a 45 min, then sear it on the stove or grill, and it’s a perfect medium-rare steak every time. I can grill a good filet. I’m told SV is better.

Likewise for fish and poultry. I’m also looking forward to trying salmon filets.

I’ve been following the consumer SV devices for about two years. The Anova or similar started on Kickstarter. Apparently, Sous Vide has been standard practice in professional kitchens for decades. But in recent years it broke into to the geek-cooking crowd and from there has become a mass-market consumer kitchen gadget, kinda like the InstantPot (but not as housewife popular).

I don’t know if I’m going to love it or not. But with the recommended Anova on PrimeDay sale for $70, it reached my “what the heck” threshold. And it’s small enough to not break my “ugh, where will I put this” limitation.

As I’m a latecomer to the SV fun, I’ve got friends giving me tips to get the most out of it.

For now, I’m here to report on how it goes. I can’t advocate for SV...yet.

 

[Malcolm R]

I dunno. An hour of cooking for boiled eggs and the same with two different methods to finish a steak? Sounds like a lot of extra work and time when there are more efficient options.

 

[DaveF]

I dunno. An hour of cooking for boiled eggs and the same with two different methods to finish a steak? Sounds like a lot of extra work and time when there are more efficient options.

Might be.

I bought the gadget to find out for myself.

 

[BobO'Link]

We parboil lots of meats for the grill. Simple pan/pot on the stove with a thermometer inserted into the water to make sure it's not *too* hot. We've found it's the best way to grill some meats if you don't have a smoker. After all, most, if not all, of the "grilled flavor" is on the outside of the meat.

 

[DaveF]

Sous Vide #2: Tenderloin steak


Steak is good. It came out perfect medium-rare. I don’t know that it’s any better than normal grilled filet. But certainly not worse. But though the SV is 45 min, it’s actually simpler in a way knowing I can’t overlook it. The sear I did with two burners on High and the "Sear Station" (a Weber thing) on High pre-heated for 15 minutes. The sear was 30 sec then flip, about 3 times, for a total of about 1:30 sear per side. Probably could have done just 1:00 per side and been good.

Cauliflower was tossed in EVOO, kosher salt, cracked pepper, and brown sugar. New grill veg to me, and very good.
I won't use the lemon in the butter compound in the future. I don't remember if I've used it previously, but it's noted as out from now on. Wrong flavor with a steak for me.

First the finished food, then photos of the process.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Dave what impresses me about the steak is how much of the inside is medium rare. On the grill I usually have thicker done layers on both sides of the steak. Judging by the results, souse vide did the job very well (or is that rare?).

 

[DaveF]

Next time I cook a filet, I'll grill as I usually do so I can get a new comparison.

 

[Johnny Angell]

On Monday I grilled this large “cowboy” steak. The thing was 3 inches thick. I decided the only way to grill it was the reverse sear. So I grilled it at 250 degrees and it took about and hour and 40 minutes. When done, I took it off the grill, put my Weber into sear mode and got the grill honkin hot. Took about three minutes to get it properly seared. When done, it looked a lot like Dave’s steak above. A very wide range of the proper medium rare and a narrow brown band on both sides.

It was delicious and it was 3 inches thick! Sorry, I forgot to take pics.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Dave:

That IS a bee-yoo-tee-full cook on that filet.

Johnny:

Glad that cowboy steak came out so well. Would have loved to have seen pix (or taken a bite!)

 

[Johnny Angell]

Dave, is this the one you bought: https://www.amazon.com/Anova-Culina...=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00UKPBXM4

 

[Mike Frezon]

I took a bit of a shortcut tonight with my ribs and corn on the cob dinner:

But I've got to tell you, it was yummy! And very tender!

Those Hatfield ribs...HIGHLY recommended.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I did another bone-in pork chop in my grill pan tonight. Had to work an overnight and wanted to eat something before going in, but didn't want to fuss too much. Pounded the chop thin, seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder and dried oregano on both sides, seared on the grill pan on high heat, and done.

I had a some leftover simple salad ingredients lying around, some baby romaine, cherry tomatoes, red onion slices, and a little bit of homemade lemon-shallot dressing, so that was the side.

All in all, pretty simple, no fuss meal but one I enjoy.

 

[DaveF]

Dave, is this the one you bought: https://www.amazon.com/Anova-Culina...=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00UKPBXM4

This is the specific model I bought:
Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker | WI-FI + Bluetooth | 900W | Anova App Included https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HHWSV1S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_rGAxBb9BEFAE4

I got the 900W BT+WiFi model.
The Wirecutter has their reviews and discussion.
https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-sous-vide-gear/

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Those Hatfield ribs...HIGHLY recommended.

Those look fantastic - to get "shortcut" ribs coming out looking as good as "all day project" ribs is pretty nice.

Someday I'll share my top-secret, takes-all-day-but-worth-it rib recipe