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Any (good or bad) experiences using Food Saver to cook Sous Vide?

post #1 of 11
8/17/09 at 4:13pm
Thread Starter 
Subject Says it all.. I finally got a food saver. I'm thinking of trying to put a steak in there (going sirloin, choice for the maiden voyage) and see what I can do. So... questions: 1> Can/Should you put anything else in the bag besides seasoning w/ salt and pepper before sealing (e.g. a dash of worcestershire, or something like that)? 2> How do you heat the water? Do you immerse and then put it in the oven? I am not about to buy a device that heats/circulates the water on a countertop... I assume there is an easier way. I know there are a bunch of internet sites that explain how to do it... but I'd like some personal experiences if there are any out there. Thanks, Ron
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post #2 of 11
8/17/09 at 4:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChicagoRon View Post
Subject Says it all..

I finally got a food saver. I'm thinking of trying to put a steak in there (going sirloin, choice for the maiden voyage) and see what I can do.

So... questions:

1> Can/Should you put anything else in the bag besides seasoning w/ salt and pepper before sealing (e.g. a dash of worcestershire, or something like that)?

2> How do you heat the water? Do you immerse and then put it in the oven? I am not about to buy a device that heats/circulates the water on a countertop... I assume there is an easier way.

I know there are a bunch of internet sites that explain how to do it... but I'd like some personal experiences if there are any out there.

Thanks,
Ron

1. Yes/If you want. Salt the meat, but don't add pepper directly before putting it in the bag. If you do you will end up with uneven spots of concentrated pepper flavor directly where the meat/pepper contacted. Instead, take a small piece of saran wrap, add some cracked pepper, thyme, and maybe a garlic clove to it, then roll it up and cut the ends off of it. Put this in the bag with the meat. Worcestershire is fine if you like it. I'd also throw a pat of butter into the bag.

2. Biggest stockpot you have+thermometer+ice cubes on the stovetop and you should be good to go for relatively short cooking things like steak.
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post #3 of 11
8/17/09 at 4:28pm
Thread Starter 
So... AEK.. you're saying I have to sit and manually add the ice cubes as the temp begins to rise? How short cooking is a steak? I was under the impression that at 160 degrees, a 1 to 1.5" steak would take at least an hour and a half or two hours.
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post #4 of 11
8/17/09 at 4:44pm
Well, depending on your stove, you should be able to get it to hold a reasonably stable temperature, and you'll just need to check every so often to makes sure it's not too far off. A few degrees F either way probably won't be too detrimental for your purposes. 160 is way too high--135ish should be good for medium rare. Timewise, for something like sirloin/ny strip/filet/ribeye, 30-45 minutes should be sufficient. Then just pull it out of the bag, dry with paper towels, and quickly sear or grill it.

Also, don't be alarmed by the color when you initially pull the meat out of the bag. It will be a little funky due to the lack of oxygen.
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post #5 of 11
8/17/09 at 5:20pm
Please try and do report back. Seems like you can have a lot of fun with this. Edit: I like this guy's setup: http://chadzilla.typepad.com/chadzil...ng-the-ho.html
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post #6 of 11
8/17/09 at 6:13pm
Hear Thomas Keller describe the sous vide process: http://libwww.freelibrary.org/podcas...24-thomask.mp3. (Great info!)

His prediction: an immersion circulator integrated into the home stove in a few years by Whirlpool, GE, etc.
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post #7 of 11
8/17/09 at 6:24pm
Thread Starter 
That's an awesome setup. I'm going to warm up to that.. sadly, I don't have a lot of space in my condo for the extra equipment, but I've always wanted a rice cooker, so maybe I'll try and make room.
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post #8 of 11
8/17/09 at 7:54pm
how well would it work to use a really good oven thermometer to get an accurate reading on your overn then do them in a water filled dutch oven at temp?

K
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post #9 of 11
8/17/09 at 8:04pm
It's unlikely that the oven would be able to maintain a low enough temperature.
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post #10 of 11
8/17/09 at 8:08pm
My oven's lowest setting is listed at 50 degrees C (~120 farenheit). I imagine it's probably not stable...

I may give it a shot for the hell of it. I've got the dutch oven and thermometer.

K
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post #11 of 11
8/17/09 at 8:16pm
If it will hold somewhat stably that low, than it might work, since even with oven temp fluctation, the water in your dutch oven won't heat/cool as quickly.
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