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Post by shayneh2006 on Jun 20, 2014 14:28:33 GMT 10
Question...
can you go to a supermarket and buy a slab of meat that's been factory vacuum sealed, then throw it straight into a sous vide cooker???
Because there is so much meat packaged this way these days, seems a waste of time and resources to remove the meat, only to reseal it straight after.
shayne
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Post by smokey on Jun 20, 2014 15:50:37 GMT 10
You sure can.
I've done it with silverside and packaged roasts.
The roasts, after SV just slice into steaks and sear or flame grill.
Another SV tip that I know you will love is to make your own fish in white sauce pouches.
It's a great way to portion off a catch with cooled glue and freeze ready for a bath.
Better fish, Better white sauce
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Post by chrisg on Jun 20, 2014 16:23:57 GMT 10
 Sounds almost like pre-packed meals Only joking, this SV thing has me interested, just if I add a kit to the kitchen at the moment I may have to move to the doghouse and we don't have a dog or a house for one, besides, it's cold out there Kitchen appliances need birth control, we keep out and do use regularly the obvious kettle and toaster, slow cookers,(two)turbo oven, dehydrator, juicer, blender, two food processors, bread maker, electronic scales, sandwich maker (for kid visits)and in easy access stab mixers and such. God alone knows what is in the cupboards that has a plug on it There's the inevitable radar range on the wall, and a benchtop dishwasher - if it weren't that I expanded the bench space by about two square metres we'd be doing food prep in the sink I kept the peace by creating outside cupboard space for "all the BBQ crap" which suited me anyway, but just where I'd put an SV rig and sealer before I do some more kitchen mods... Need to buy a TARDIS Cheers |
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Post by shayneh2006 on Jun 20, 2014 16:26:48 GMT 10
Cheers for the reply Mick and fantastic that the news was positive.
Aldi Have Pork neck/scotch in the seled bags ATM for 10 bux/kg.
Keen to see how one of these go in the water bath.
That, as well as a fruit shop close by that also has a basic meat section [(turn over is real slow) its where I got those latest Lamb shanks from in that recent recipe in the Lamb section] and sells low grade small Beef Rumps at $4.99/kg.
I have bought it before and its pretty chewy but not a bad taste.
I will be interested to see if the bath method improves it.
And yes, Chris Route 66, Hogs Breath style....... bring to temp and as you suggested, slice and sear over Charcoal on the kettle CI grate 
Oh, and it arrived today sooooo, keen to put her into action 
Shayne |
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Post by shayneh2006 on Jun 20, 2014 16:34:53 GMT 10
Sounds almost like pre-packed meals Only joking, this SV thing has me interested, just if I add a kit to the kitchen at the moment I may have to move to the doghouse and we don't have a dog or a house for one, besides, it's cold out there Kitchen appliances need birth control, we keep out and do use regularly the obvious kettle and toaster, slow cookers,(two)turbo oven, dehydrator, juicer, blender, two food processors, bread maker, electronic scales, sandwich maker (for kid visits)and in easy access stab mixers and such. God alone knows what is in the cupboards that has a plug on it There's the inevitable radar range on the wall, and a benchtop dishwasher - if it weren't that I expanded the bench space by about two square metres we'd be doing food prep in the sink I kept the peace by creating outside cupboard space for "all the BBQ crap" which suited me anyway, but just where I'd put an SV rig and sealer before I do some more kitchen mods... Need to buy a TARDIS Cheers Must have been typing when you posted this Chris.
Yes mate, I agree of all of what you said.
That is exactly why, I cringed the day the missus bought home a slow cooker. That day was 12 months ago and she has used it once,,,, as I refuse to.
A kitchen can get pretty cluttered in no time with a lot of crap that's not needed, that's for sure.
This SV, is deemed for my garage bench........... 
But after I push a few cooks out of it, the missus might weaken and let me house it in the laundry (at least I will then have a hot water supply  )
Shayne
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Post by smokey on Jun 20, 2014 16:47:03 GMT 10
Good stuff Shayne, I can't wait to see what you pull out of the bag.
Chris, You can SV. In the garden shed, There is no contamination.
But Yeh, I hear you about the space invaders.
I should come up with some sort of roof storage roller thing that you just pull down from the pantry or kitchen..
I won't but if I could bugger off the space invaders things would be better.
Pshew pshew pshew. LOL
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Post by chrisg on Jun 20, 2014 16:51:18 GMT 10
We actually do use every bloody one of those things I listed enough that it would be silly to put them away, even the bread maker because the wife likes the aroma but hates kneading and if I'm in a hurry it does that chore for me (not really a chore at all but sometimes not enough time.) We both cook, a lot, so meals sort of move through a production line of so-called labour savers. They perch on top of the fridge, atop cupboards, atop the microwave etc and under the bench of the open unit I built. My biggest win was getting rid of the George Foremans and the electric frypan, hand-me-downs to the kids but I wonder if Sous Vide will make you take a different look at slow cooking ? They are definitely not interchangeable but you can produce some great meals in a slow cooker, one of ours is most always on the go, for stock, chutneys, soups or a dinner cook. Cheers Edit: Um, the shed Mick... I appreciate SV is all sealed up, the challenge with my shed is getting into it, also not powered at the moment - another chore I'm avoiding |
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Post by shayneh2006 on Jun 20, 2014 17:25:26 GMT 10
We actually do use every bloody one of those things I listed enough that it would be silly to put them away, even the bread maker because the wife likes the aroma but hates kneading and if I'm in a hurry it does that chore for me (not really a chore at all but sometimes not enough time.) We both cook, a lot, so meals sort of move through a production line of so-called labour savers. They perch on top of the fridge, atop cupboards, atop the microwave etc and under the bench of the open unit I built. My biggest win was getting rid of the George Foremans and the electric frypan, hand-me-downs to the kids but I wonder if Sous Vide will make you take a different look at slow cooking ?
They are definitely not interchangeable but you can produce some great meals in a slow cooker, one of ours is most always on the go, for stock, chutneys, soups or a dinner cook. Cheers Edit: Um, the shed Mick... I appreciate SV is all sealed up, the challenge with my shed is getting into it, also not powered at the moment - another chore I'm avoiding Mmmmmm, it might be that I hold a phobia towards them of the worse kind.
Now, what you are about to hear is a true story and its got to do with a kitchen appliance distributer........ and yes, it was B******e of Botany, Sydney .
I estimate this happened about 12 years ago.
At the time, I was subbying to a Builder and we specialized in office fitout, make goods and refurbs.
We had a few contracts there, mainly involving major works in the R&D office section, test kitchen, display room and warehouse.
In the R&D section, we also did a lot of shuffling, moving their shit around in order to work in an occupied situation.
We were there many months and got very friendly with the team, on a first name basis,,,,, (I could name the owner, and the daughter that was running the show at the time)
Heck, I was even invited to a party at the chicks place that was running the test kitchen
Quite ironic isn't it, considering whats goin on now.
Anyway, back to the R&D.
They had boxes of those slow cooker ceramic crock pot thing, with lids (less the electrical components) that they were going to bin, so silly me puts my hand up to take em home. Back then, I wasn't clued into slow cooking, nor did I care.
When opportunity arose, I saw dollar signs (I had about 30 of em) as coincidentally, I had a flea market plot booked for that coming weekend and gather I could get at least 10 bux a pop for these crock pots  .
The market day eventuated and by 9am, the stock was cleared.... and my customers were extremely happy with their buy.
That Sunday night, I decided to put one of the few I decided to keep for myself to the test, and prepared a Lamb Cassarole and popped it in the oven.
We were all watching TV when it happened..................
30 mins later, there was a BANG that came from the kitchen.
I raced in looked around then thought,,,, "the Oven"
Opened the door no s**t, there was gravy on all inner Over surfaces,,,,, and my crock pot looked like someone had gone to it with a lump hammer 
I hope my customers had a better experience than I 
Shayne
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Post by smokey on Jun 20, 2014 18:19:29 GMT 10
I've made plenty mistakes, Thank God I had a good builder I was contracting with doing similar to what you did.
They must have seen potential is all I can say.
Some of the crapy jobs I've done in my early days make me cringe. But I'm better for it now.
Now I'm just paid for my knowledge and walk around failing other peoples mistakes.
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Post by chrisg on Jun 20, 2014 19:33:51 GMT 10
Crockpot ceramic centres are really not designed to go in the oven Shayne, never meant for anything much above 200 F, and take a while to rise to that temp plus are sitting in a metal heat sink Monier used to actually say DON'T put the ceramic in the oven. I'd say the thermal shock just shattered the ceramic, and not at all surprised tbh. It's sort of a trade off in the manufacturing process, the sort of earthenware we can stick in the oven has nowhere near the wall thickness of a typical slow cooker, even the thinner ones as discussed in my thread about the beasts. So when they are fired the thicker ceramic will have been less "cured" plus hitting a hot oven would not give it time to expand (millimeters, but enough) without putting very high stress upon it. At a different scenario you would not put that sort of cookware onto direct heat. Ceramics are just different, what you can do with metal you can't with ceramic, until it is thoroughly cured. But whereas metal will deform, ceramics will shatter and because of their composition composites will delaminate, sort of slow motion shatter. I've had a lot to do with the evolution of their use in aircraft bodies, didn't mean to, consequence of doing IT work for high tech companies and having a degree in exotic aerodynamics. Composites ARE different but there are very direct correlations to basic kitchen ceramics The number of "shatter-fails" one company had in their hugely expensive autoclave before they produced suitable parts for the JSF/F-35 was very sobering Cheers |
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Post by shayneh2006 on Jun 23, 2014 19:40:37 GMT 10
Right, I am under way,,,, for a trial run I mean. I have it setup temperarily so I can monitor it closely.  Its cold in Syd ATM, so I figured because the lid that it came with has bugger all thermal qualities, I might just help it by putting a poly-styrene box over the top. I gather this will keep the heat in a bit and possibly minimize the cycling of the heating element. Soo, for trial, I am cooking 2x 750gr pouches of Shin Beef @ 140F  The info page that came with this said it will be ready in 10 hours min, 48 hours max. Just as long as its right to go (missus want Steak and Mushrooms pies for dinner)by tomorrow arvo, ill be happy. Ps, never made pies before so if all goes to plan, expect a recipe for it, SV style  Shayne |
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Post by shayneh2006 on Jun 24, 2014 15:09:01 GMT 10
Well.................
""I AM CONVERTED""
I just pulled out the first piece of this poor quality (I have bought this before and it POOOOOR) 6 bux/kg Cabramatta shin Beef and what it has been transformed into is nothing of bloody amazing.
This is what it looked like this morning after 12 hours in 
Then, I removed the first piece just a short time ago (21 hours) and have left the other piece in until tomorrow night (48 hour) to see if there is even a further improvement.
The appliance itself has stayed reasonably true to temp, fluctuating 0.2 of a Celsius degree each side of the set temp
Shayne
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Post by nath on Jun 24, 2014 15:19:30 GMT 10
Nice!! What are your thoughts on excess blood in the package? Would this have any adverse affects? Damn I want a sous vide now
Nath
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Post by shayneh2006 on Jun 24, 2014 15:36:56 GMT 10
Nice!! What are your thoughts on excess blood in the package? Would this have any adverse affects? Damn I want a sous vide now Nath Nath, no probs with the juices in there.
All I did was snipped the corner off the bag, then poured it into my Labradors dinner bowl.....
He's gunna be cheering tonight
And so are we..... with home made meat pies on the menu tonight.
Shayne
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Post by nath on Jun 24, 2014 17:53:49 GMT 10
looks great Shayne, mmmmm piessss |
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