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Old 02-18-2015, 15:47   #61
(1VB)compforce
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And yes $200. + shipping owns it. I think the savings is $6-800. dollars iirc
This is a good deal if anyone is looking... It was about $630 for mine
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Old 02-19-2015, 00:51   #62
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Have fun with it, you'll be amazed by the results and texture of meats when cooked this way. Especially, if you are a rare to medium rare guy.
I started this thread, so I figured it was time to jump in and do it. Thank you for the info on the refurbished cookers, Chef. (Good timing, too. My wife wants to spend +/- $5,000 on a new range. She couldn't refuse me. )

Pat
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Old 02-19-2015, 05:26   #63
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PSM, How big a range do you need? If you forward the exact information and requirements for your particular set up, off grid I believe, I would like to research that for you.

My purpose in doing so is to gain knowledge and expand my design consultancy. If I've understood your explanation of how your system works, and what special needs, limits, apply to solar, I will be better suited for the future, although my instinct is commercial cooking equipment future is inductive, as it only use energy when in use, unlike gas or propane.
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Old 02-19-2015, 17:48   #64
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PSM- Look to see if any JuCo's or cooking schools or local health agencies have HACCP classes. (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points)
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Old 02-19-2015, 17:52   #65
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PSM, How big a range do you need? If you forward the exact information and requirements for your particular set up, off grid I believe, I would like to research that for you.

My purpose in doing so is to gain knowledge and expand my design consultancy. If I've understood your explanation of how your system works, and what special needs, limits, apply to solar, I will be better suited for the future, although my instinct is commercial cooking equipment future is inductive, as it only use energy when in use, unlike gas or propane.
PM sent!

Pat
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Old 02-19-2015, 17:57   #66
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PSM- Look to see if any JuCo's or cooking schools or local health agencies have HACCP classes. (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points)
I've got my CIA NPC 6th Edition handy. I'll revisit the Food and Kitchen Safety chapter.

Thanks!

Pat
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Old 02-20-2015, 06:00   #67
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I gave this a try last night. I used a digital thermometer, pot, and zip locks on the stove top. I set the water temp to 140. It maintained well and was easily regulated, electric stove. 2 hour cook time, then Pan seared with olive oil. Seasoning was sea salt and pepper. The steaks were cooked uniformly throughout and very tender. I cant say that this method beats the taste of a steak cooked over charcoal, but I do think that this was the best "indoor" steak I have had. I also cooked asparagus, as a side, in the water bath and it was great.
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Old 02-20-2015, 07:14   #68
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I gave this a try last night. I used a digital thermometer, pot, and zip locks on the stove top. I set the water temp to 140. It maintained well and was easily regulated, electric stove. 2 hour cook time, then Pan seared with olive oil. Seasoning was sea salt and pepper. The steaks were cooked uniformly throughout and very tender. I cant say that this method beats the taste of a steak cooked over charcoal, but I do think that this was the best "indoor" steak I have had. I also cooked asparagus, as a side, in the water bath and it was great.
I'm sure it came out fine, but that is a very unsafe way to do sous vide. If you are going to do it stove top, you should use a thermal circulator. http://smile.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_...mal+circulator

The problem with the way you did it is that the heat is coming from the bottom. The deeper in the water you temp, the hotter the water is. It will cook unevenly and you can end up with pockets in the meat that never reached a safe temperature, especially if you are going for the "just cooked" temps that are the purpose behind this technique. Chicken or pork cooked the way you did is a real risk for food borne illness. A circulator moves the water so it stays roughly even throughout and solves this problem. The sous vide supreme that you see us talking about does the same thing through a deliberate design to promote convection in the water. You don't get the same results from a round pot.

Also, the precision of the thermometer you used is plus or minus 3 (2.6) degrees. The thermometers used in sous vide are lab grade thermometers with a variance of no more than one degree. As you go for less cooked/rarer meat, it's easy to slip into that unsafe territory because of the thermometer variance.

I applaud your attempt and certainly would encourage you to try sous vide, but just wanted to make sure you are staying safe when you do. I'd hate for anyone to get sick because we hadn't pointed out the food safety aspects. (TS did point that out when I was talking with him earlier in the thread). Penn (I assume), TS and I all have food safety certifications and have solid knowledge of/professional instruction in the differences in cook times and bacterial degradation at various temperatures. It's worth reading up on if you are going to keep doing sous vide, if for no other reason than the effects of even minor food borne illnesses are unpleasant to say the least.
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Old 02-20-2015, 07:34   #69
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+1 with 1VB, you got a free ride this time, chance favors your technique to increase the risk of E-Coli and Salmonella typhi greatly. Especially, if you sear after the fact.

Buy the equipment. There is a sale right now, the info is in this thread. You can get a model for $199 in red or black.
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Old 02-20-2015, 18:07   #70
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Thank you both for the warning. Is there a safe way to try this method without purchasing any equipment?
I was worried about food borne pathogens but I tried to minimize the risks.
Some of the things that I did to help minimize the risks were.
1, Smallest pot possible
2: least amount of water as possible to minimize heat striation
3: Thin steaks for extended time, (not sure about this one, trying to thoroughly heat )
4: Due to work, my Thermometers are Scientific and NIST traceable.
5: Steaks were individually bagged, and stacked atop of each other. Clean wash cloths were used between each bag to promote heat transfer to the water. One cloth was placed on the bottom of the pot so that the bottom bag would not contact any direct heat.

I just wanted to try the method and did not want to invest in a dedicated cooker to do this.

The Beer cooler method scares the hell out of me.
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Old 02-20-2015, 20:39   #71
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Thank you both for the warning. Is there a safe way to try this method without purchasing any equipment?
I was worried about food borne pathogens but I tried to minimize the risks.
Some of the things that I did to help minimize the risks were.
1, Smallest pot possible
2: least amount of water as possible to minimize heat striation
3: Thin steaks for extended time, (not sure about this one, trying to thoroughly heat )
4: Due to work, my Thermometers are Scientific and NIST traceable.
5: Steaks were individually bagged, and stacked atop of each other. Clean wash cloths were used between each bag to promote heat transfer to the water. One cloth was placed on the bottom of the pot so that the bottom bag would not contact any direct heat.

I just wanted to try the method and did not want to invest in a dedicated cooker to do this.

The Beer cooler method scares the hell out of me.
The short answer is no. There are some hacks out there using a crock pot and a circulator but the current sale on the sous vide supreme puts it in the same price range as the circulators so it works out the same or cheaper to buy the real equipment if you get them on sale. Here's how it's done for those that are curious: http://www.howtogeek.com/93983/hack-...s-vide-cooker/

Take a look at your thermometer. You see the dimple on the post? The actual temperature is taken about 2/3 of the way down from that dimple toward the point. See the picture below for reference. The dimple is meant to be the minimum depth that you sink the thermometer into whatever you're measuring. When you temp the water with a thermometer like that unless it is a true scientific thermometer that supports multi-layered readings, you are only taking the temp at one level, not an overall average.

Also, when you cook sous vide, you want space between the bags so that water can move between them. That keeps the temperature even throughout. Your washcloths would cause it not to move and so would be cooler at the center. They defeat the purpose of sous vide. In the supreme, there is a rack that ensures that there is space between the bags. You'd be better off just letting the bags float freely.

What you are describing isn't sous vide, it's a lower temperature version of the old boil in a bag meals. There's a world of difference. The point in sous vide is to cook low and slow with all indirect heat at precise temperatures to get perfect results every time. 99% of the time when you cook meat sous vide, you are cooking it in the high 120s or low 130s (for beef) in the low to mid 140's (pork) and high 140s to low 150's(for chicken) and 115 for fish. To put that in perspective, the FDA numbers are: 145 for beef, pork and fish and 165 for poultry.(http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/mintemp.html) When you are cooking sous vide, you are going a great deal lower, but for a longer time than the recomendations are based on. You better know what you're doing when you make a conscious decision to go under the "safe temperatures" For example, the tenderloin in the second picture was done at 132 for 40 minutes for a whole tenderloin cut into thirds (about 5 pounds total).

When you're doing sous vide, you're flirting with the safe zone. A couple degrees off or 5 minutes too short and you'll be spending the evening in either the bathroom or the emergency room. Do you really want to take chances with it?

edit - for TS and Penn, yes, I know the minimum temps that are used commercially are different than the ones cited. I'd rather post the official government "home use" numbers for something like this.

FWIW, I started out with a crock pot hack myself about 1 1/2 years ago. There's a huge difference when you get the right equipment. I learned the importance of the food safety part of it the hard way, really quickly.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg therm3.jpg (51.9 KB, 13 views)
File Type: jpg Tenderloin.jpg (51.8 KB, 20 views)

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Old 02-20-2015, 21:16   #72
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Thank you.
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Old 02-24-2015, 12:10   #73
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Got my SV Supreme yesterday and made boneless chicken thighs last night. Nothing fancy, just salt, pepper, garlic, and butter. When it was done, I tossed them on the grill for about a minute a side while my wife reduced the juices with some tyme. Tasty. The biggest change seems to be the prep.

Ribeye tonight!

Pat
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Old 02-24-2015, 23:35   #74
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Ribeye tonight!

Pat
FAIL! Sorta. I SVed them at 133° for med-rare knowing that I'd sear them after. After searing on the grill they came out medium which is fine with my wife but not for me. The searing went about 3 minutes because I was going for a photo-op cross hatch on the top. Maybe searing first is better?

Pat
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Old 02-25-2015, 07:06   #75
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It's not a true fail if you still ate them.

Here is the method we use.

Grill white coal hot with some flame and the grills are within 2" of the coals.

1.Oil and season the meat.

2. Place the meat on the grills very close but not touching. This concentrates the heat and flame as the fat melts onto the coals.

3.Turn the meat every minute or so, on all side, that means the edges are sear too. we are not interested in "cooking the meat", we are interested in getting it seared, marked, transferring and infusing the meat with the wood and charcoal flavor.

4. When that is completed, we immediately put the meat in the appropriate size zip lock bag, and drop them into an "Ice bath", to stop the cooking process.

Our goal is an edge to edge sear, not a cooked state, R, MR, MED, or WD. Once cooled 10 minutes or so, we drop them into the Sous Vide @ 139.5^F for 40 Minutes. The results is perfectly executed grilled Filet's, NY Sirloins, or Rib eyes, that will recalibrate your understanding of what a great steak taste and texture should be.
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