Sous Vide In An Urn?

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Bribie G

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Sous vide cooking is big in the UK and the USA but not too well known in Australia, yet. The odd reference to it on Masterchef.

The urn controller isn't too flash but probably good enough if I do a test run first and adjust accordingly, I'm thinking of quadruple shrink wrapping a whole rib and cooking for 18 hours, then slice and sear as they do at Hog's Breath.

Sick of crap steaks, plus I'll get the grass fed Killarney version from the local butcher.
 
works well but you will need something better than shrink wrap. try vacuum sealing them.
i love my corned silverside done at 63 degrees for two days.
cheers barls
 
Wow, where would you get vacuum sealing equipment that big?
 
IMO the temp control probably isn't tight enough to get the most out of the technique. The difference between 50 & 52 is significant....

If you were to use an external controller that you were confident would get you accurately to within a degree, then what you would need to add is something to stir the liquid and distribute the heat. An aquarium bubble is good for that.

Urn provides heat, bubbles "stir" the urn, controller keeps tabs on the temp.

Vac sealer is important - best to use a really good one like a cryovac, because it keeps the membrane tight against the thing you are cooking and keeps moisture in a bit better. a household vac sealer still works fine though. I lipke to put the meat in the freezer for long enough to freeze the surface moisture... then my vac seal can pull tighter without a bunch of liquid coming through and screwing it up. You can do it with gladwrap if you need to.... lots of layers, wrap it nice and tight, make 100% sure no liquid is going in or out of there.

Dont add raw garlic.... if you are cooking steak, beef etc that you want to be nice and rare, there isn't enough heat to cook the garlic and you'll end up with raw garlic flavour. Salt is in there with the steak for long enough to almost cure as well as cook it, seasoning, marinating, infusing all at once. Oh and watch for lumps of internal fat, things dont get hot enou for them to render... so nice and lean. Marbled is OK but not layer away from the surface. On the surface is OK cause you'll get em when you sear it.

once oyu get the hang of it... perfect every time.
 
Friends bought me a kit from here: www.lowereastkitchen.com but i am yet to assemble. It basically hacks onto an urn. Apparently precise temp control is really important. Instead of using vacuum sealing gear most people use ziploc bags and lower them into water until just the zip is sticking out then zipping it up ( the water pushes on the outside of the bag and squeezes the air out )

Looking forward to trying some snags in beer - since its sealed and at a relatively low temp the beer flavour supposedly really permeates the melting sausage fat.

Cheers,

MD
 
Believe it or not the Masterchef cooking class with the bald guy is using one tonight, with a cryovac bagger - he's doing salmon.
 
I do it with my electric hlt, tempmate and brown pump for recirculation.

Pork ribs are great after 24 or 48hrs. The meat actually does fall off the bone. After slow cooking usually on the BBQ grill for a bit of charring or in the oven to broil with a nice dark sugar and BBQ sauce rub.
Steak is also great but I've got myself sorted with just the hot plate on the BBQ for a great steak with less hassle and time. A whole rib fillet however is fantastic sous vide and then a touch on the flame grill.

If you have a way of recirculating then the temp control is much more precise.

I'm hungry now. Might get myself sorted for tomorrow night ribs and rugby :icon_drool2:

Edit: splng
 
I am interested to hear of any new reports on those using their brewing gear to cook using the Sous Vide method. I am hoping to use my HLT to give it a whirl. Good excuse to set up one of my 'brown pumps' as a re-circ.
 
i do it regularly never had a bad flavour carry over. i dont even bother recircing ether.
 
Hlt would work great. We have used our rice cooker many times eith a stc to control it. if you are not doing a lot at once it is good as it is small enough
 
I just vac seal whatever I'm doing and chuck it in the esky and control the temp via the PID controlled HERMS and March Pump. Beef and ribs are amazing when done sous-vide. I finish them off in the smoker/bbq before serving. Definitely recommended. It's also fun telling your guests that dinner is cooking in the brewery!
 
goldstar said:
I just vac seal whatever I'm doing and chuck it in the esky and control the temp via the PID controlled HERMS and March Pump. Beef and ribs are amazing when done sous-vide. I finish them off in the smoker/bbq before serving. Definitely recommended. It's also fun telling your guests that dinner is cooking in the brewery!
Click to expand...
OMG, I need to be a dinner guest at your place :)
 
Like others I just use my STC and either a slow cooker or rice cooker, I use an aquarium air pump I had lying around to circulate the water. The slow cooker is 5.5L and was only just enough for 6 sirloin steaks. I'll use my urn in future for that quantity or greater. The STC isn't ideal, a PID would be much better, but throwing it all together with stuff I already had was pretty sweet. Also the air pump is what I had, i would definately get a brown pump if I was building a system up.
 
Any Braumeister users tried it with this cooking method?
 
I am doing a fair bit of sous vide in an urn lately. Found a great book on the subject and have had great success with steaks , roasts , chicken and 62.5 degree eggs are perfect. Just using a regular urn with a stc1000 and aquarium pump. If any of you guys are keen then the book under pressure is a really good read. Takes you through the science of it and suggests some great sous vide recipes. pm me if you need a link .
 
OK, I'm not trolling here but I do feel I need to say something. What the hell is this fashion with cooking everything in plastic, and why does nobody object?

Plastic is full of nasty, nasty crap. Cooking in it cannot be good for the human race. I'm sure someone will claim that the plastic is safe, that science knows everything there is to know about it and that we should eat more of it. Until science catches up and identifies the latest carcinogen or endocrine disruptor.

I suppose I'll cop it from all the no-chillers now too :ph34r:

Seriously, heat and plastics and food. NOBODY is bothered by this?
 
Not in the slightest.
I am quickly drinking myself to death. Also took enough drugs in my youth to kill River Pheonix four times over.

Fought and ****** and rode motorcycles all my life.




Don'tGiveAFlyingFuckAboutPlastiziersPunkin
 

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