Stove-top Sous Vide

[KJT]

Originally Posted by ChicagoRon

The doneness looks great. THat's the beauty of sous vide... it's a consistent color all the way through, so mid-rare doesn't mean raw center/over-cooked near the skin.. .it's just mid-rare all the way through.

Plus, how did it taste? That's the true gauge.

Delicious. Juicy meat, very crisp skin, fat nicely rendered and not chewy. I would have been happy getting it in a restaurant. I will absolutely cook duck this way again.

 

[Nil]

Originally Posted by KJT

Believe it or not, that's a photo from the foodsaver website. The machine I have is listed as the "game master" or something.
One of the stranger stock photos I've seen. Beyond the bizarre urgent need to vacuum seal food on your porch prior to even going inside or putting your shotgun away, why would you garnish a cutting board of raw poultry? And I cosign KJT's observations on the duck. I'll definitely do it again.

 

[impolyt_one]

How much fat did you get out of that duck breast when you crisped the skin though? The finished pic looks like a slight bit much fat for my tastes.

 

[Nil]

Quite a bit actually. I scored the skin with numerous angled slits all the way down and put it over medium heat until browned nicely. These ducks were raised for foie gras production so perhaps that led to fattier skin? Here's an incredibly poor photo of the duck breast right after I flipped it over in the pan. That's pretty much all duck fat in there.

 

[KJT]

Originally Posted by impolyt_one

How much fat did you get out of that duck breast when you crisped the skin though? The finished pic looks like a slight bit much fat for my tastes.

There was a bunch of liquid fat. Mine was the way I like it - crisp skin, thin layer of fat on the verge of melting (not chewy at all), warm juicy breast.

 

[itsstillmatt]

How long did you guys sear? That may account for the slight overcooking. With duck breast, you really want to pre sear to render the fat, then chill before you put the meat in the bag. That way you are not likely to overcook. Personally, I think most meat should be pre browned before putting in the bag, because I think the flavor is better that way.

 

[ChicagoRon]

I can see how that would distribute the flavor of the caramelized sugars on the outside into the rest of the meat, which seems like a good idea...

But wouldn't it ruin the crispy texture?

 

[itsstillmatt]

Originally Posted by ChicagoRon

I can see how that would distribute the flavor of the caramelized sugars on the outside into the rest of the meat, which seems like a good idea... But wouldn't it ruin the crispy texture?
Do it again at the end. Quickly.

 

[KJT]

7 minutes on the skin side, 1 minute on flesh side. It was supposed to be 6, but the skin wasn't where I wanted it, so I did 1 more minute.

Will try a presear next time. How long would you suggest?

 

[Yo-han]

A+ thread, will try this weekend

 

[itsstillmatt]

Originally Posted by KJT

7 minutes on the skin side, 1 minute on flesh side. It was supposed to be 6, but the skin wasn't where I wanted it, so I did 1 more minute.

Will try a presear next time. How long would you suggest?
8 minutes searing after cooking? Think about it. If you cook the duck to the temp you want, and then put it over a hot flame for 8 minutes, you are going to end up with something cooked to a very different temperature than when you took it out of the water. You are probably talking at least ten to fifteen degrees fahrenheit in change from the water to the finish. If you presear duck, you want to get the meat super cold first, perhaps freeze for 20 minutes, then cook until the fat renders and stick it in the fridge. You don't want to cook the meat, only the skin. After it comes out of the bag, sear for 30 seconds or so per side, which is about the amount you ever want to do it since you have already cooked the meat to your desired temp. Where did you get 7 minutes of searing? I mean, the recipe could be right, but if it is, it is only because the internal temp coming out of the bag is lower than the temp of the water because the cooking time is short.

 

[Nil]

^^^^^^^^^^^^

Good point and a good idea. I have a duck breast left over from the pack, so I'll give that method a shot soon enough.

 

[JhwkMac]

Originally Posted by Nil

deeper cuts, lower temperature crisping on the pan and longer time will render down that big chewy fat cap into something crispy and more pleasant. if you sear only the skin side it should not affect the internal doneness of the duck at all. When I have to do many duck breasts at once i will pre-render the skin by rendering it down at low temperature for over 10 minutes and the breasts remain completely raw other then some slight cooking on the edge of the skins. imo 30 seconds is not enough to render well the skin, even if it has been poached sous vide already. it will get some color on the outside but will be chewy and unpleasant.

 

[itsstillmatt]

Originally Posted by JhwkMac

deeper cuts, lower temperature crisping on the pan and longer time will render down that big chewy fat cap into something crispy and more pleasant.

if you sear only the skin side it should not affect the internal doneness of the duck at all. When I have to do many duck breasts at once i will pre-render the skin by rendering it down at low temperature for over 10 minutes and the breasts remain completely raw other then some slight cooking on the edge of the skins. imo 30 seconds is not enough to render well the skin, even if it has been poached sous vide already. it will get some color on the outside but will be chewy and unpleasant.

OK, this is awful advice, no offense. Your reasoning is that if you take a cold duck breast and sear it, skin side down, until it is rendered, you can avoid cooking the middle, so if you take a warm duck breast and do the same thing, you can avoid changing the temp. The problem is that meat remains "uncooked" until about 30 C, and your meat from the fridge is 3 C or so, so you can raise the temp 27 degrees and still see it as being uncooked. On the other hand, if you raise it only 5 degrees from 54 C you have completely changed the cooking. So, as I said, render first, because you don't overcook that way, then just quickly in the pan afterward so that you re crisp. If you render ten minutes, or five minutes, out of the bag, you just overcooked your meat. It isn't cooking voodoo, it is simple science.

 

[KJT]

Originally Posted by iammatt

8 minutes searing after cooking? Think about it. If you cook the duck to the temp you want, and then put it over a hot flame for 8 minutes, you are going to end up with something cooked to a very different temperature than when you took it out of the water. You are probably talking at least ten to fifteen degrees fahrenheit in change from the water to the finish. If you presear duck, you want to get the meat super cold first, perhaps freeze for 20 minutes, then cook until the fat renders and stick it in the fridge. You don't want to cook the meat, only the skin. After it comes out of the bag, sear for 30 seconds or so per side, which is about the amount you ever want to do it since you have already cooked the meat to your desired temp. Where did you get 7 minutes of searing? I mean, the recipe could be right, but if it is, it is only because the internal temp coming out of the bag is lower than the temp of the water because the cooking time is short.
Yeah, makes sense. I didn't put too much thought into this and was purely following directions in my first attempt. The recipe said to cook the fat side for 6 minutes and the meat side for 1. After 6 minutes the skin wasn't as crisp as I wanted it, so I cooked for 1 minute longer. I cooked in the water for almost 2 hours at 135F. Thanks for the advice. Edit: actually Matt do you have any recs for sous vide information? Is this going to be too much for the amateur dabbler? Under Pressure?