Home brew sous vide

I like the idea of an instant read thermometer. Like the form factor of the Therapen, but man you are talking knife money. I know they are the gold standard, Amazon has them for $199. I will consider a lesser clone that is a second or two slower to read.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0&_nkw=Superfast Thermapen&_sacat=0&_from=R40

Some discount, also if you sign up on the website you get specials emailed to you.

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop... Ships Free!&gclid=CPvmutqsuL4CFehQOgodKWUAqw

 

Thermapen is the the gold standard, but the technology has been around for a few years now and everybody has copied it. You should be able to find an equally good thermocouple thermometer for less than half the price of the Thermapen. The form factor and large digital display of the Termapen is great too. I hate the round digital displays as they have a tendency to roll off the counter/table and commit suicide. I also dislike the models that add extra things I didn't want... memory recall, infrared, timer, remote reader, etc.

I have sold both Taylor and CDN (Component Design Northwest) thermometers and timers for over fifteen years. (I like CDN the best) Both make their own version of the Thermapen. Just make sure you buy their models designed for the food service industry. Like everybody else, they also make cheaper "bottom feeder consumer" models of their better products.

EDITED: Tried to post a link to the CDN version on Amazon, but the link would not link.... so you will just have to go to Amazon and do a search for CDN thermocouple thermometer.

Nancy

 

replacement crock arrived yesterday. air bubbler the day before. 3 pound brisket seasoned and sealed. making another go at it.

 

Sounds great Mike. Good luck!

 

Thanks Jim. bigger crock, lots of room, no crowding in there. aquarium bubbler definitely circulating water but may be an unnecessary addition. Logsden's grilled brisket recipe calls for cooking it for 2 to 3 days at 135 with the caveat that grass fed beef can get by on 24 to 36 hours. I was not able to determine grass fed or not a nd the butcher-ish guy behind the counter did not
know. A raw brisket seems pretty tough and I don't know how to tell if it will respond in two or three days, so I'm going to wing it. My schedule will allow me to finish it on the grill on either day.

My though is that 135 is rare for brisket which from what I have read is traditionally served well done or 160. I figure this will allow me sear it, expose it to some smoke and then glaze a bit of sauce just prior to serving, so will have it on the grill for a bit longer than the 2 to 4 minutes required to sear it . thought it would allow me to get it into the medium range and not dry out. I did not use liquid smoke or smoke it prior to going in the sous vide cooker.

 

I am happy to announce that operation brisket was a success! Took it out at 52 hours. dried, salt and peppered. pulled the vegetables from the grill and then moved the brisket on to a monster bed of ripping hot coals. two minutes on each side, then sauced and pulled off to the side to let it glaze over a bit. I must admit, that when I took it from the bag I was thinking it might have been a 3 day brisket instead of a two day brisket. but when it cam time to cut it, it was tender and moist. I might become a sous vide addict if this is any indication. I'm stoked!

 

Congrats. It's beautiful when it work, right?

 

Nice result Mike! after reading your update it inspired me and I have a Chuck steak in now for Sat night.

 

Sounds like a great idea Jim. I have some fish I need to take care of first, but will be revisiting the crock vide again soon.

In reading the crock pot hack postings, I see some that swear by the bubbler owed to uneven heat in the crockpot. Others who say it is not needed owed to convection currents that naturally create a current.

any thoughts on that? The bubbler clearly creates a steady current.

 

I say it cannot hurt right!

 

Mike, can you PM me some of the details? Like where on the bay, and honestly how easy it is/was to put together?
I've never soldered anything, if that helps...............................

 

I've been reading and playing with SV for a little while but claim no expertise. My understanding is that circulation is most important when multiple bags are in the bath to prevent cooler zones from developing between bags. (I read it on the internet...) Seems like periodic rotation would accomplish the same thing.

 

Thanks Rami

 

PM'd

 

Jim
How did your chuck steak come out?

I had a chuck steak last night. It had been salted and peppered and sealed. two steaks about 1.25 inch thick. in the water bath at 135 for about 29 hours. I dried and salted and peppered again and grilled for about 2 min on each side on a very hot grill. It had a nice browned appearance, it was tasty, tender and pink all the way across. It was not dry but not juicy either. should I have used 131 as my target temp? considering the jury rig set up, I have been wanting to give myself a couple extra degrees into the safe zone. Is this the nature of using tougher lean cuts of meat in this way? quite a lot of juice in the bag that could have been employed to make a sauce but I did not.

all suggestions welcome.

 

Mike it was PDG overall, tender without being mushy. I cooled it in an ice bath till it was near freezing, threw it in the cooler and brought it to the compound for the long weekend. Started it from room temperature and got a great crust on it. I am also very shy about going too low on the temps and used 134 as my setting.
At the end of the day I am not sure if you are ever going to end up with a juicy steak if its just not good to start with. I know mine was only just OK in the juiciness department, the bag did yield some awesome juices for a mushroom sauce though.

 

OK, more experimentation needed...

Mushroom sauce (insert drooling smiley) Do tell...

 

Dude, the juice out of this is almost better than the meat. If not outright better.

 

Sweat off a shallot, some mushrooms, a tablespoon of butter and tablespoon of flour. Add the drippings in and some water/stock reduce and enjoy.