Posted on 12/05/2012 4:24:39 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
By this point, there is absolutely no question that the method of cooking foods at precise low-temperatures in vacuum-sealed pouches (commonly referred to as "sous-vide") has revolutionized fine-dining kitchens around the world. There is not a Michelin-starred chef who would part easily with their Polyscience circulators. But the question of when this technique will trickle down to home users—and it certainly is a question of when, and not if—remains to be answered.
The Sous-Vide Supreme, introduced last winter, and of which I am a big fan, is certainly a big step in the right direction. But at $450, for most people, it still remains prohibitively costly. In an effort to help those who'd like to experiment with sous-vide cookery without having to put in the capital, a couple weeks ago I devised a novel solution to the problem: Cook your food in a beer cooler.
Here's how it works: A beer cooler is designed to keep things cool. It accomplishes this with a two-walled plastic chamber with an air space in between. This airspace acts as an insulator, preventing thermal energy (a.k.a. heat) from the outside from reaching the cold food on the inside. Of course, insulators work both ways. Once you realize that a beer cooler is just as good at keeping hot things hot as it is at keeping cold things cold, then the rest is easy: Fill up your beer cooler with water just a couple degrees higher than the temperature you'd like to cook your food at (to account for temperature loss when you add cold food to it), seal your food in a plastic Ziplock bag*, drop it in, and close your beer cooler until your food is cooked...
(Excerpt) Read more at seriouseats.com ...
I've used this method to precook apples for apple pie. It causes them to hold up better during baking phase, and prevents some oxidation.
There are some flaws to this method that are obvious. First it's named in French. The method wasn't invented in France, it wasn't pioneered in France, the first commercial applications weren't done in France, and the first commercially made machines weren't made in France. Why a French name? It just pissed me off.
Another important issue to note is that you can't brown anything using this method. The Malliard effect (yes, named after a Frenchie, but he at least deserved it) dramatically changes the flavor of many items (for the better) and in my mind is a requirement for most meat and a lot of vegetables.
Can you imagine Beef Bourguignon (a classic French dish) without the Malliard effect?
When you take into account the weaknesses of the vacuum water convection method it's a very situational cooking technique.
I don’t think this is going to work for you. In a closed system, ignoring heat loss, you have added 140 degree water and a below room temp mass. These temperatures will normalize at some point, as some average of the two, depending on the mass of the meat and the water. However based on this the final temp of the meat can’t reach 140. I would guess at the end of the process you will have steak that reached approximately 80 degrees. Math isn’t really my specialty but a quick guesstimate would be 38oz of boiling water would cause 12oz of mostly thawed steak to reach 140 degrees in 1 hour.
After a little more than an hour cooking in the theremos the steak was cooked to medium, but my choice of seasoning needed additional application. Steak was tender and was very good.
Corn on the cob was crisp, but I think it could have used a little more cooking time. A little salt and butter and I really had a great brunch. It will get better as I gain experience.
The steak was cooked well enough, but next time I will use boiling water and see what the outcome is.
My dog enjoyed the leftover steak.
Sous vide is great for cooking meat for a crowd or quickly preparing individual portions. Imparts flavor and tenderness at your desired doneness, then a good quick sear for maillaird and fond for a pan sauce. Faster (after the slow water bath process) more precise, and deeper flavor than a sear and finish in the oven.
Like this?
You can calculate the BTU needed to raise the temp of the steak, (assume it is the same as for water, 1 calorie = The energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water through 1 °C or 1 BTU = amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one 1 pound (0.454 kg) of liquid water by 1 °F) then adjust the starting temp of your hot water accordingly.
That’s the one. I bought two on Amazon about three months ago for $55.34. Today’s price is $36.50 ea. Two would be $73.00. Looks as if they are up $8.63 ea. over what I paid. With the price increases on nearly everything, even in our local stores, going up weekly, I will have to be very prudent in my purchases.
I bought the Thermos Nissans to cook beans and rice in and just discovered today you could cook anything in them. Plus they are super for keeping coffee hot.
We use two “pillows” filled with packing peanuts. One pillow has a recess large enough to hold a 3 quart pot. The other pillow covers the pot.
We bring rice, pasta, fresh veggies to a boil then put the pot into the pillows. Perfect rice & spaghetti in about 10 minutes.
Dried beans requires boiling about 15 minutes, putting it into the pillow for an hour or so, then bringing it back to a boil for another round.
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