Question for the Sous Vide Folks

[Greg Jones]

So, I’ve entered the world of a (cheap) vacuum sealer and a sous vide setup largely because I want to make better use of frozen, leftover brisket and pulled pork. A question for those here that also do that-how do you do it? Do you thaw first in the refrigerator, or go straight from freezer to sous vide? How long and at what temp do you set the sous vide to get to a hot serving temp? I was thinking that I would thaw first, put the meat in room temperature water, then set the sous vide to 160*, and serve the meat when it reaches 160*. Suggestions on how to approach this are appreciated!

 

[jfrosty27]

You can thaw or go directly from frozen. Whichever is most convenient for you. Just add 30-60 min depending on the thickness of the item. SV temp of 140 is sufficient in most cases. Remember the item is already fully cooked.

 

[Chief_USN_Ret]

So, I’ve entered the world of a (cheap) vacuum sealer and a sous vide setup largely because I want to make better use of frozen, leftover brisket and pulled pork. A question for those here that also do that-how do you do it? Do you thaw first in the refrigerator, or go straight from freezer to sous vide? How long and at what temp do you set the sous vide to get to a hot serving temp? I was thinking that I would thaw first, put the meat in room temperature water, then set the sous vide to 160*, and serve the meat when it reaches 160*. Suggestions on how to approach this are appreciated!

I have been doing the Sous Vide a lot last 4 years. 10lb Briskette = 155F for 24-30 hours., take it out of the bag, pat it dry, add your rub, then Smoke at 250 for 2 - 3 hours uncovered, (depending on how crusty you want the bark to form.

You want to let it thaw naturally. It allows the internal water moisture in the meat (when you vacu sealed it) to disperse evenly and not cause dry spots internally when they go from Frozen to that temp too quickly.

 

[IPlayWithMeat]

Oooh, that’s a good question! I usually thaw it in the fridge first, which can take a few days, depending on how many pounds we’re talking. From a food safety standpoint however, you should be safe going from the freezer directly into the preheated water, since all of the oxygen has been removed (most of the bacteria that you’d be worried about in this situation are aerobes of some sort). As @pmbjr said, you might get a bit more uniform moisture by thawing first, but it’s usually pretty negligible. For the temp, I’d stick between 140-155 degrees. As for the time, that varies with the number of pounds, and this is where your Meater+ might come in handy to know that it’s reached your serving temperature.

 

[Roaniecowpony]

IMO, using a thermostatically controlled sous vide machine for brisket and pulled pork re-warming is over-kill.

Brisket and pulled pork are cooked to almost the same temperature as boiling water. Warming it from frozen doesn't need the precision temperature control of an automated sous vide machine. Simply dropping the packet in a saucepan of simmering water will work fine. You can't "over-cook" brisket or pulled pork this way, because it will not raise it over the originally cooked temperature.

I vacuum pack and freeze sliced tritip beef and re-warming that is a delicate matter, because it was originally cooked only to medium rare (135F ish). Still, I don't want another appliance and I do a "manual" sous vide with hot water and a Thermapen.

 

[C. Keeper]

@Greg Jones is going French on us

 

[Wslayer]

Most meats will warm thru at 140° for an hour, if bulky maybe 2 hrs. We sometimes cut pork steaks, season, vac and freeze. They then can be dropped in frozen or thawed. Add an extra hr when frozen.
SV is Excellent for boiled eggs. 190° / 20 mins , ice water. Very easy peel.

 

[Ostrichsak]

IMO, using a thermostatically controlled sous vide machine for brisket and pulled pork re-warming is over-kill.

Brisket and pulled pork are cooked to almost the same temperature as boiling water. Warming it from frozen doesn't need the precision temperature control of an automated sous vide machine. Simply dropping the packet in a saucepan of simmering water will work fine. You can't "over-cook" brisket or pulled pork this way, because it will not raise it over the originally cooked temperature.

I vacuum pack and freeze sliced tritip beef and re-warming that is a delicate matter, because it was originally cooked only to medium rare (135F ish). Still, I don't want another appliance and I do a "manual" sous vide with hot water and a Thermapen.

Taken aat face value I agree with this statement but if you're buying a precision cooker only to sous vide vacuum-sealed meat that's already cooked you're missing the boat on the benefits of owning one of these devices. I would say buy it for all the other reasons and then use it because you have it for the purpose discussed here. If nothing else, it uses much less energy than a 240-volt burner on high trying to get a pot of room temperature water up to a boil and then maintaining that for the same duration of time.

 

[Greg Jones]

Taken aat face value I agree with this statement but if you're buying a precision cooker only to sous vide vacuum-sealed meat that's already cooked you're missing the boat on the benefits of owning one of these devices.

The first thing I tried cooking with it was soft boiled eggs-came out perfect. The second thing was steaks, as people seem to rave about how good they are when sous vide followed by a fast sear. So I bought 4 very nice, 1.5” thick NY strip steaks to celebrate my son’s 21st birthday. Seasoned them, added a pat of butter, sealed them in their bags, then let them rest for a day.

Then in the bath until 130*, patted dry, then seared at 500* on the Bullseye GrillGrates, 1 minute per side. The steaks were cooked to perfect doneness and they were very tender, but it was one of the most tasteless steaks I have ever eaten. My wife is very picky about her steaks, and she said the same thing about her’s before I could even comment about mine. I think I’ll stick with my normal reverse-sear process for steaks.

Thanks all for the suggestions on reheating-gives me a starting point on what to try.

 

[Lager1829]

The steaks were cooked to perfect doneness and they were very tender, but it was one of the most tasteless steaks I have ever eaten.

My experience as well.

 

[IPlayWithMeat]

That’s true, what @Roaniecowpony said. But I like to reheat things sous vide under other circumstances. 1. My job can involve crazy numbers of work hours, and sometimes, I just want to plunk a bag of food into the water, and walk away from it until I’m done with work. I can do this with an entire meal for the whole family with the giant commercial container I have, and it doesn’t get overcooked like it would in a crockpot/slow cooker (as long as I’ve set it to the right temp). 2. Sometimes, you cook something to the perfect temperature, and reheating it at a higher temp would destroy all of your hard work (Thanksgiving turkey and precisely cooked steaks and fish come to mind). As long as you set the sous vide at least 1-2 degrees below that perfect internal temperature that you previously achieved, your reheated food can taste exactly like it did when it was fresh.
And then, of course, there are things that are just awesome when they are cooked sous vide to begin with.

Come to the dark side. We have cookies

 

[BethV]

I'm a big sous vide fan. Other than a cast iron pan with butter & herbs from start to finish, I always sous vide.

You can season the steak with herbs, butter, seasonings and rubs prior to vacuum sealing. I never do. I prefer to season when I'm searing. The only time I season is simply with salt, and if I have a steak that I wanted to leave in the refrigerator for a few hours prior to cooking to help the steak absorb the salt. Otherwise I vacuum seal it naked.

I'm a personal chef so I've done my share of steaks many different ways. Another way of using the sous vide or even controll temperature water on the stove is to sear your steak before vacuum sealing the bag. All the flavors are enclosed in the bag.

I always keep my water temperature about 15° lower than my desired eating temperature when I reverse sear.

The only time I do not use the sous vide is if I'm using a wagyu thick steak. I don't like the texture when it comes out. Way to fatty.

Another method to get flavor is to low smoke the steak (Lo setting), thawed or frozen, seasoned or naked before vacuum sealing. If it's already thawed, I don't vacuum seal. I use a ziplock bag and a straw and suck out the air. Otherwise the pressure of the sealer squishes the steak.

I have a very good recipe for how to cook a steak in a cast iron pan if anyone is interested, I'm happy to share.

 

[IPlayWithMeat]

I'm a big sous vide fan. Other than a cast iron pan with butter & herbs from start to finish, I always sous vide.

You can season the steak with herbs, butter, seasonings and rubs prior to vacuum sealing. I never do. I prefer to season when I'm searing. The only time I season is simply with salt, and if I have a steak that I wanted to leave in the refrigerator for a few hours prior to cooking to help the steak absorb the salt. Otherwise I vacuum seal it naked.

I'm a personal chef so I've done my share of steaks many different ways. Another way of using the sous vide or even controll temperature water on the stove is to sear your steak before vacuum sealing the bag. All the flavors are enclosed in the bag.

I always keep my water temperature about 15° lower than my desired eating temperature when I reverse sear.

The only time I do not use the sous vide is if I'm using a wagyu thick steak. I don't like the texture when it comes out. Way to fatty.

Another method to get flavor is to low smoke the steak (Lo setting), thawed or frozen, seasoned or naked before vacuum sealing. If it's already thawed, I don't vacuum seal. I use a ziplock bag and a straw and suck out the air. Otherwise the pressure of the sealer squishes the steak.

I have a very good recipe for how to cook a steak in a cast iron pan if anyone is interested, I'm happy to share.

I’m always interested in a good recipe .

 

[C. Keeper]

That’s true, what @Roaniecowpony said. But I like to reheat things sous vide under other circumstances. 1. My job can involve crazy numbers of work hours, and sometimes, I just want to plunk a bag of food into the water, and walk away from it until I’m done with work. I can do this with an entire meal for the whole family with the giant commercial container I have, and it doesn’t get overcooked like it would in a crockpot/slow cooker (as long as I’ve set it to the right temp). 2. Sometimes, you cook something to the perfect temperature, and reheating it at a higher temp would destroy all of your hard work (Thanksgiving turkey and precisely cooked steaks and fish come to mind). As long as you set the sous vide at least 1-2 degrees below that perfect internal temperature that you previously achieved, your reheated food can taste exactly like it did when it was fresh.
And then, of course, there are things that are just awesome when they are cooked sous vide to begin with.

Come to the dark side. We have cookies

What's in the cookies??

 

[BethV]

@IPlayWithMeat here is the recipe. Not mine but it works every time. One thing to look for is that as you baste with the butter, the fat will turn a beautiful golden color as will the steak. You want golden, not a black or dark sear.

You will be tilting the pan as you baste. It's screaming hot so make sure you have long padded gloves on. It makes a mess of the stove.

TIP: I cover the other burners with foil when I sear at high temps on my cooktop. All the splatter goes on the foil and not the burners. Foil can burn and even catch on fire. Keep it away from the flames.

https://www.seriouseats.com/butter-basted-pan-seared-steaks-recipe

 

[Roaniecowpony]

My comment about overkill for brisket and pulled pork was addressing the OP's statement that he bought a sous vide "largely..." to reheat brisket and pulled pork. I should have said it is an under utilization of a sous vide. But my point was that a sous vide is not needed for bbq meats that are cooked to to temperatures that render the connective tissue. Those meats are very tolerant of reheat temperatures.

Sorry, I didn't mean to rain on the sous vide fans.

But I do like cooking with fire.

Eggs were mentioned a couple times. I discovered steaming eggs in the past year. I like my eggs "medium" if equated to a steak. No runny yolk, but slightly moist. 12 minutes in a steamer basket and into ice water gets me that consistently everytime. My wife likes them raw over a bed of white rice. We have issues.

 

[BethV]

@Roaniecowpony, I've never steamed eggs before but I'm sure going to try now!

 

[IPlayWithMeat]

What's in the cookies??

What do you want to be in the cookies, @Chris_G ???

 

[C. Keeper]

What do you want to be in the cookies, @Chris_G ???

Today is the first day here in Va.

 

[IPlayWithMeat]

View attachment 11293
Today is the first day here in Va.

Those cookies aren’t legal in my state, but my Sith friends in other states can hook you up .