Temp and time always matters. Souls vide just removes one of the variables, because given enough time the food will achieve the correct temperature, but if you hold food at a certain temperature it will hit its peak condition and eventually begin to degrade.

I wouldn't say no one has come up with a way to monitor the temperature of food, it's just unnecessary when you know the temperature of the water bath and the amount of time it needs to be held at that temperature.

I recently did my first sous vide beef tenderloin and it came out very very tough. I like my steak rare, so cooked it at 121 dF for 2 hours then seared. It was a perfect rare+, but was extremely tough. These were around 2.5" thick.

I did 2 Sous Vide and 2 Traditional (pan sear and broil). The two sets looked identical on the plate and cut open, but the Sous Vide was far far more tough.

Prior to sous vide I rubbed with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper and let them sit in the fridge for a couple hours. Then vacuumed sealed and put in bath.

Any ideas?


Edit - I'm reading it may be due to salting prior to bagging that pulled out moisture and led to a more ham-like texture? Or at 2.5", that 2 hours may not be long enough?

I read the same about salting prior, but my Joule app says to salt in the bag....?

I got my Joule yesterday and did my first cook tonight. A 2" fillet came out a perfect medium. Easily the best steak I've had. I salted in the bag but I will try salting prior to sear next time.

Clay - you figured it out. Don't salt until you are about to seal it in the bag and submerge.

Van Buren Boy said:

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Deats said:

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Anyone have any bag recommendations?

The latest ones I have bought seem to be failing at the seal pretty often.

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I've never had an issue with these bags:

https://www.amazon.com/Houseables-Commercial-Plastic-Airtight-Microwave/dp/B00JESPZZ4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1545891653&sr=8-3&keywords=houseables+food+saver+bag

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Those are what I had ordered and they were having issues loosing their seal.

I went to back to the name brand Foodsaver bags and no issues.

can anyone recommend a container they use? I prefer to just buy one with an Anova compatible lid rather than use a pot and foil.

A buddy from the OB cut a hole in the top of a cheap Walmart cooler with cup holders. Seems to work pretty well.

Anyone have tips on saving a tough brisket with a sous vide cook? I thinking of stuffing a bag with the tough sliced brisket with Heinz chili sauce and doing a water bath. I just don't know how long to go since it's already cooked. I want it to absorb flavor and get tender.

We just picked up one of these for a couple of bucks at a restaurant supply store. It came with a lid, and since we only use it for sous vide, don't see it being an issue cutting the lid to fit, however, we don't use the lid....

My wife got me sous vide water balls on amazon for Christmas a couple years ago that we use when we're doing a longer cook to avoid any water loss.

Hey guys Is vacuum sealing necessary? Or can you just use a ziploc??

Doing my trial run on a filet tonight

Ziploc is fine

You can use a zip lock but I'd recommend sucking it up and buying a vacuum sealer. They're great devices.

I have a vacuum sealer and use it a lot for other purposes. But I use a ziploc about 90% of the time for sous vide.

Any particular Ziploc I need to use?

Don't think so. I believe they recommend freezer bags because they're thicker but not sure it's a huge deal.

Use the one with the slider

gigemJTH12 said:

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Any particular Ziploc I need to use?

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I stray away from store brand.

I found the HEB brand bags still float somehow. Maybe I'm doing it wrong but I can do the water displacement on a ziploc and it work like charm but the HEB bags still float.

One thing also is if you buy like the preseasoned meats that are vacuum sealed already you can just drop them in the bath. We buy the pre-marinated pork tenderloins from HEB for quick weeknight dinners. Just take em out and drop em in.

Excellent idea. I'll remember that. I got ziploc quart freezer zippers. If I'm doing two steaks should I do separate bags?

One bag is fine. Just make sure they aren't stacked on top of each other.

Okay just bought a preseasoned tenderloin at HEB. What temp and time has worked best for you?

And normal cast iron sear in EVOO?

Pork tenderloin ?

2 hours at 145*, place under broiler til 5-7 minutes, to brown as desired.

I do this recipe at least one a week.

Thanks deats! I did 140...had to get it started and hadn't seen a response. That's what I saw online for medium.

Plannned I'm doing 90 minutes.

It'll be pretty rare but should be delicious.

I do mine at 136, per the joule app. If it were rare my wife wouldn't eat it, and she's never complained.

Definitely has some pink, but not like it's bleeding or oinking.....

Ag_07 said:

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gigemJTH12 said:

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Any particular Ziploc I need to use?

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I stray away from store brand.

I found the HEB brand bags still float somehow. Maybe I'm doing it wrong but I can do the water displacement on a ziploc and it work like charm but the HEB bags still float.

One thing also is if you buy like the preseasoned meats that are vacuum sealed already you can just drop them in the bath. We buy the pre-marinated pork tenderloins from HEB for quick weeknight dinners. Just take em out and drop em in.

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I use the heb store brand but I make sure they are freezer bags instead of storage bags. I don't know that it actually matters or over extrapolation from one bad box.

I also find water displacement works best if I don't crowd the bag. So I use the 1 gal size a lot.

Finally got a bigger cambro to use for our sousvide, and did a leg of lamb. Mrs and I both decided it was the best one we'd ever done. We usually like it on the rare side but went for medium rare, and the tenderness from even the more done pieces was amazing.

I do mine at 136 for an hour and a half then sear in cast iron with vegetable oil.

How'd it come out?

I'm still amazed at how the sous vide cooks pork and chicken. You can get a tender juicy steak using other methods but I'm not sure there's anything to get pork and chicken to turn out as good as it does in the sous vide.

Turned out great! Going to post pics tomorrow when I get to work. I never have luck posting from mobile.

I did a bunch of boneless skinless thighs tonight. Finished them on my hot gas grill. Really good!

Curious how y'all do chicken breast. That's my next one.

okay so this was my first weekend with my Anova. Never done Sous Vide before. I did Steaks Friday and a Preseasoned Pork Tenderloin from HEB Saturday. Here are some pics.

I was really please with is all. The temps I cooked are posted above in the last 10 posts. Only thing I would have changed was the Tenderloin was just ever so slightly too rare for me. I would up the temp a few degrees. It was still delicious though.

the steak was seriously amazing. And I bought it from the fridge at HEB. I didnt buy the nice butcher meat for my first try.

hey and I just realized I gave yall a really weak attempt at Rule #1 in the back haha.

thanks for everyone that helped me.

gigemJTH12 said:

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Turned out great! Going to post pics tomorrow when I get to work. I never have luck posting from mobile.

I did a bunch of boneless skinless thighs tonight. Finished them on my hot gas grill. Really good!

Curious how y'all do chicken breast. That's my next one.

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Did a tenderloin tonight but only to 140* per the Anova gauge. It turns out my Anova is about 2* off, so when it says 140*, the water is 138*, per my therma pin AND my laser thermal gun.

Did it with frozen veggies for 5 minutes in 400* oven, then seared under broiler for 5 minutes. Left in over for 5 minutes with oven off.

Wife and kids said it was the best ever...

So lesson learned.

Looks good. Well done

I do chicken breasts just seasoned with any dry rub (I'm currently on 2 Gringos Chupacabra kick and I use it for everything) with about a 1/2 tablespoon of butter in the bag as well. Then dropped in the bath at 140 for an hour.

Ag_07 said:

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Then dropped in the bath at 140 for an hour.

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Man, you like to like to live on the edge...

Quote:

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These bacteria reproduce very slowly, if at all, below 40 F and above 140 F. But note that the temperatures at which bacteria are killed vary according to the microbe. For example, salmonella is killed by heating it to 131 F for one hour, 140 F for a half-hour, or by heating it to 167 F for 10 minutes.

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One of my favorite things about doing beef sous vide is that you can do amazing things with cheaper cuts of meat. By holding a piece of somthing like chuck at the medium rare temp for several hours, you get a tender medium-rare steak that rivals the expensive cuts in tenderness, but blows them out of the water (so to speak) for flavor.

I also like to add a splash of fish sauce to the bag for extra umami.

Yeah I should've said at least an hour. Usually it ends up sitting in the bath for another 20-30 mins as I get busy doing other shlt.

I've never had an issue