sous vide

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JR.
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Re: sous vide

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My frozen meals taste like real food too... :lol:

JR
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Re: sous vide

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Another successful experiment with my variant on sous vide.

Yesterday I made my version of chili. I buy a box of 2 alarm chili spices as a decent value for the mix and amount of spices.

I cooked a chuck roast for the meat content. The night before I cut up the vegetables so I didn't have to deal with sharp knives in morning before my coffee. For vegetables I cut up two bell peppers, one each red, yellow, and white onion, one anaheim pepper (not as hot as jalapeno but a nice extra heat), one sweet potato cubed into small pieces. The veggies sat over night in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

First thing in the morning I fired up the crock pot (actually a Cuisinart) and cooked the meat for 2 hours on low heat. Simultaneous to cooking the meat I cook beans in a covered pan on the stove. I start with about a cup of dried beans that I soak over night. I cook the beans separately because I like to rinse them before adding to the chili. When I see how much they stain my stainless steel pot while cooking, I prefer to drain off that liquid. You can eliminate this step, by just buying a 1# can of pre-cooked beans.

My slow cooker beeps after the programmed 2 hours. I decant the liquid into a fat separator. Trim any obvious fat or gristle from the meat, and then seal it into a plastic freezer bag. I separate the fat from the gravy and use the gravy to cook a cup of brown rice (in the same pan as my beans were cooked in). I return the left over separated fat into the plastic bag with the meat, for the long slow cook.

I add 1# of canned tomatoes, the precut vegetables, and chili spices, into the cooker. I rest the plastic bag of meat on top of the veggies for the slow cook.

When the rice is finished I add the rice into mix (under the bag of meat) and set the timer for a few more hours (5 +/- ?) on low. After that I reduce the heat from low to simmer timed to finish about an hour before i normally eat dinner. My cooker automatically shift to "Warm" at the end of programmed cook time and will heat for another 8 hours. When ready to serve, and put into freezer containers.

I remove the meat from the plastic bag and cut into 8 portions (I discard the extra liquid fat and bag). The meat is so tender it falls apart. I top off the Pryrex freezer containers with the cooked vegetables. Yesterday I froze seven meal servings and ate one, so 8 dinners from one cooking session.

My slow cooker is fancier than I need with browning capability (up to 350'), boiling, steaming, yadda yadda... I don't even use the "hi" slow cook setting (only low, simmer, and warm), so if I were buying today I'd get a cheaper model. I like the timer but don't need the faster/higher temps. Browning meat tastes good but is actually less healthy.

I did some experiments with slow cooking at lower "simmer" setting and vegetables didn't seem adequately done... so slow cooking at "low" is right temp setting for me, but I can afford to cook in low then simmer for fewer hours before switching to warm until I'm ready to consume so the experiment continues.

The plastic bag seems to prevent the meat from drying out like it did previously because the fat seeps out into the vegetables over a few hours. Next I will try this freezer bag technique with a leaner cut of beef than chuck to see if it works as well at keeping the meat juicy. (You will note most restaurants add gravy or sauces to cooked meat. )

JR

PS: if you are skinny with low cholesterol you can keep the fat in the gravy when making the rice. I used to.
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JR.
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Re: sous vide

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After a few weeks cooking several different recipes using this technique I am pleased with the results.

#1a I slow cook the meat for 2-2 1/2 hours on low heat by itself.
#1b I simultaneously cook the beans that have soaked overnight in a covered pot. (I cook on slow heat and once it is boiling I remove the heat and let it simmer until after the meat is done.

#2a I drain the gravy from the meat into my fat separator. Trim excess fat from the meat, then place it inside a zip lock freezer bag.
#2b Put pre cut vegetables into slow cooker. I use onions (red, white, sweet sometimes all three), pepper (bell, jalapeno, aneheim, serrano, to taste), sweet potato and/or carrots, sometimes summer squash. Set heat for 4 hours on low heat. I cut vegetables the night before, but you could cut vegetables while meat is cooking.
#2c rinse the cooked beans and put them in with vegetables.
#2d add 1# of canned tomatoes (chopped, crushed, or whatever) on top of vegetables.
#2e clean out residue from beans and put about 2/3 cup of brown rice into pan. Cover with separated gravy but hold back the fat.
#2f return the left over separated fat into the zip lock bag holding the meat. Seal with most of the air squeezed out. Set the bag of meat loosely on top of the vegetables.

#3 cook the rice on low heat, until it absorbs all the gravy. When finished add the rice into the already cooking vegetables. Stir in the rice so it can continues to absorb liquid from the cooking vegetables. Replace the bag o' meat on top of veggies and let it finish.

#4 when the slow cooker is finished mine automatically switched to warm mode for up to 8 hours. When I am ready to serve. I turn off the slow cooker.
I remove the bag o' meat and divide it up between several pyrex freezer containers and one bowl for current meal. (Last night I filled 8 pyrex containers with "chicken au Johnny", plus one more serving for last night's dinner. Obviously 9 servings once a week will over load my freezer while some weeks I cook less than 7 servings. Not a precise science. After parsing out the meat, I discard the plastic bag with a bunch of fat left in it. If you are skinny and unconcerned about fat intake, you could reintroduce the fat to the veggies (it won't taste bad). I find that cooking the meat sealed in plastic bag, keeps it from drying out like it does when just mixed in with the veggies and rice for slow cooking. (This is the magic).

I bought a premium slow cooker but find myself using only low and warm... so I could have used a cheaper model. I like the large cooking container to make 8+ man sized servings. When I cook my salmon lunch (using a smaller freezer container) I cook roughly 20 servings or 3 weeks worth of lunches.
The salmon lunch recipe is similar but with more vegetables (including broccoli, etc). I use 3# of canned salmon so roughly 1# a week. Since the salmon doesn't need cooking I use the liquid from canned salmon, and 1# of canned corn to cook the rice in, after the beans are finished.

Good healthy and relatively easy... I typically cut up the vegetables at night and put in the fridge over night, so daytime cooking is relatively easy. I pick the back bones out of the canned salmon which takes some time, but since I only cook lunch every 3 weeks not a bad use of my time when divided by 20 servings.

JR

PS: For the record this is not sous vide... I am actually using a somewhat higher cook temperature than classic sous vide.
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mediatechnology
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Re: sous vide

Post by mediatechnology »

I just stumbled upon this thread...

Brian I'm very sorry for your loss.
You do have your internet family.

John: What about Reynolds oven bags?

The one thing I try to avoid any any food are phosphates.
Lots of frozen food is full of it - some isn't.
We used to order a lot of Schwan's which was full of it and my wife and I both developed an intolerance to it.
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Re: sous vide

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mediatechnology wrote:I just stumbled upon this thread...

Brian I'm very sorry for your loss.
You do have your internet family.
+1
John: What about Reynolds oven bags?
Reynolds also makes slow cooker bags, but I didn't see any at my store, and the freezer bags work fine for me (they are food grade). The Reynolds bags are higher temperature (nylon?) but as long as you don't use them in direct contact with hot metal (like bottom of cooker), the food doesn't get hot enough to damage normal bags.
The one thing I try to avoid any any food are phosphates.
Phosphates are naturally occurring in many foods that are part of a balanced diet. I don't drink colas that have lots of phosphates. Too much of anything (or too little) can be bad. I never heard of Schwan's. Do they add phosphates?
Lots of frozen food is full of it - some isn't.
We used to order a lot of Schwan's which was full of it and my wife and I both developed an intolerance to it.
Processed foods are notorious for lots of extra sugar and salt. I can't remember the last processed meal I ate. I occasionally consume fast food with company maybe twice a year if that.

JR

PS: I seem to recall answering this once before,,, maybe I didn't save my post properly? It seems we had a discussion about quinine in a response to that response.. Perhaps I am lucid dreaming (or demented), seemed real?
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mediatechnology
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Re: sous vide

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I never heard of Schwan's. Do they add phosphates?
Yes, they and most other frozen food, seafood and pork processors add lots of sodium phosphate, disodium phosphate and sodium tripolyphosphate.
There are a few other forms of phosphates also used.

While phosphates may be part of a balanced diet in moderation it is also the active ingredient in Fleet enemas.
Besides causing cramping, bloating and general discomfort phosphates destroy the textures of some meats.
I can spot it immediately in catfish, shrimp and chicken.
Chicken with it added - once you've been off the stuff for awhile - tastes soapy.

The phosphate families, high fructose corn syrup and dough conditioners and increasingly GMO are our big "avoids" on labels of stuff we purchase.
We generally buy food at the health food store but increasingly we're seeing more and more mainstream grocery items eliminating these additives.

We buy or eggs from a neighbor about a mile away, have been growing a few of our vegetables and have found a meat market that's been in business since 1895 who primarily sell prime to restaurants.
What we found by buying very high-quality beef is that despite being twice as expensive we eat much less of it because it's very rich.

Heinz, Kraft, McDonalds, Monsanto etc. are all suffering huge losses in sales and customers because people are waking up to the fact that they feel better when they don't eat these additives.

In the case of Monsanto farmers have just stopped buying their seed.
Monsanto recently announced layoffs.
After suing every farmer that got in their way they're learning what a bitch Karma can be.

Yes we discussed quinine when you mentioned drinking brine to avoid leg cramping.

If you want a real "kick" and energy boost try this: http://www.amazon.com/Oxy-gen-Aloe-Cher ... B00APQTSHK
It's food-grade H202 buffered with Aloe Vera.
This stuff will clean out arterial plaque.
It's based on the work of Ed McCabe: http://www.oxygenhealth.com/
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JR.
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Re: sous vide

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Interesting i think new labeling laws just came into effect in January.

The pork shoulder roast I'm cooking today has a label that says 4% salt water... but it doesn't say what kind of salt.

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Re: sous vide

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Phosphate brine is also used on beef brisket in a lot of Bar-B-Que restaurants.

The "natural" labeled pork is usually their way of saying it doesn't have phosphates.
It may have just been 4% salt. If it has phosphates the label usually says.

We buy uncured bacon and sandwich ham.
A lot of the cleaner sandwich ham uses celery salt.
I've only been able to by a naturally smoked ham without phosphates once.

I try to avoid any food from China: Some of the farmed Tilapia and Catfish is fed animal waste and packaged with carbon monoxide to preserve color.
Its possible to get clean meats and seafood if you know where to look but I don't go anywhere near Walmart or Costco.
Safeway (branded Tom Thumb here) are starting to get a clue and stocking quite a bit of clean (labeled) food.

The produce/healthfood/vitamin store we buy from makes it easier but they don't stock a wide variety of animal protein.
I may have to learn how to butcher my neighbor's chickens.
He can't sell me meat but he can sell live chickens.
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Re: sous vide

Post by Gold »

mediatechnology wrote:Phosphate brine is also used on beef brisket in a lot of Bar-B-Que restaurants.
He can't sell me meat but he can sell live chickens.
There is a house near where my land is in the Adirondacks that has a yard full of ducks and geese. I'm hoping they will sell one or two. I love duck. Gotta get the cabin up first. We are going to meet with the builder at the end of the month. We have excavation booked for May 19th after the theoretical thaw. It's been a warm winter so the ground will probably be ready earlier. Duck eggs are good too.
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Re: sous vide

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Gold wrote:
mediatechnology wrote:Phosphate brine is also used on beef brisket in a lot of Bar-B-Que restaurants.
He can't sell me meat but he can sell live chickens.
There is a house near where my land is in the Adirondacks that has a yard full of ducks and geese. I'm hoping they will sell one or two. I love duck. Gotta get the cabin up first. We are going to meet with the builder at the end of the month. We have excavation booked for May 19th after the theoretical thaw. It's been a warm winter so the ground will probably be ready earlier. Duck eggs are good too.
When I was a kid growing up in NJ, my mom had chickens..(you can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl). Since we were one of the few (only) families in the area with any kind of livestock, I recall one easter when some local family thought it would be cute to buy the kids a couple baby ducklings, but that got old fast, and mom ended up with the ducks... The chickens were kept inside the fenced chicken coop, but the ducks were free range. I recall stepping in the mess they made in the yard after feasting on some berries. :roll:

I don't recall when mom cooked them but she surely did... They weren't remotely cute or missed.

JR
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