Off topic: Rinker owners who grill!

Willhound

@MarkB you can get non BPA vac rolls. None of the cheap crap on Amazon....

randy56

Sous Vide is a really cool way to cook ... I just get concerned about cooking in plastic.

I feel safe, with vac pack bags, as we only go to 130 or so.
 

 

Is cooking with plastic safe?

When it comes to cooking, there’s very bad plastic and, uh, not-as-bad plastic. The bad plastic is polycarbonate, which releases the chemical Bisphenol A (BPA). This kind of plastic is found in cling wrap, plastic squeeze bottles, take-out containers, multi-gallon water bottles, and plastic plates. The not-as-bad plastics do not release BPA and count high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, and polypropylene among their ranks. The reason they're not necessarily “good” plastics is because a 2011 study found that when some were heated, these plastics —in fact, most plastics on the market, including those advertised as BPA free—release non-BPA chemicals that disrupt hormone activity. The amount of chemicals released, however, is unknown.

However, you shouldn’t use a single Ziploc bag when cooking in water temperatures above 158°F because the heat can cause the bag to open at the seams and expose your food to the water. Double-bagging with two Ziploc bags will avoid this, or using FoodSaver bags. To be on the safe side, do not wrap your food in saran wrap and then put in the bag—cling wrap is the very bad plastic.

LaRea

I did steaks sous vide again this weekend, and got it <almost> right.  

After dry brining 48 hours, I bagged them with rosemary and thyme, but no butter.  The butter made them flame up too much when I seared them.  It worked perfectly, but I forgot the crucial step of painting them with Kerrygold after the sear!  

No matter -- they were effing amazing.  I am 100% sold on the recipe of dry brine, cold smoke, sous vide to 130F and sear on the grill.  

randy56

Love when a plan come's together. Next summer ya can prep those steak's take em to the boat quick sear, and smell up the marina. 

Willhound

Willhound

Ok, you guys finally got me to take the step. @randy56 has been suggesting I try Sous Vide ever since I met him 4 years ago and now these posts.... 
A combination of the right price of the unit I wanted and that big Buck I shot 10 days ago finally got me moving. Venison leg steaks, coated in a dry rub Randy sent me quite a while back. I was saving some for this day. Smallest is 10.5 oz, largest is 14. Discovered none of my regular cooking pots were deep enough but luckily have a canning pot I could use. Will post results when done later.

LaRea

Ohhh, I bet that's gonna be nice!  

I used a plastic storage container.  It's not insulated, but it doesn't matter.  The heater kept up with it easily.  To keep the bags from floating up, I put a small baking rack on top of them (not shown in this picture). 

LaRea

The nice thing is, you can set it up anywhere.  Doesn't have to be in the kitchen.  All it needs is power (and wifi, if you're using a cell app to monitor it).  

randy56

I do all my SV in the garage, keep it out of the house. Great looking steaks' both of you. Anxiously awaiting Wills results.  

Willhound

OH MY GAWD! I will NEVER (if at all possible) ever cook a steak any other way ever again. Cut it with a fork melt in your mouth deliciousness. Thank you Randy for pushing me. 2 hours at 128F and then into a fiery hot cast iron pan with some grass fed butter to sear. And then a pat on top. It was dark and snowing so didn't feel like firing up the grill. Although apparently it is possible to find Kerrygold in Canada none of the 5 stores I visited today had it so settled for what is in the pics. I was so engrossed in the process (and several Bloody Caesar's while waiting on Sous Vide) that I completely forgot the Cremini mushrooms and small lobster tails I bought to go with the steak, but we only ate half so we'll do that tomorrow night. 

  

YYZRC

@Willhound look for President butter. Loblaws in Toronto carries it but not sure if their other banners do. Life changing. 

Willhound

YYZRC said:

@Willhound look for President butter. Loblaws in Toronto carries it but not sure if their other banners do. Life changing. 

Saw it at Loblaws. Didn't know what it was....

LaRea

For anybody still on the fence about cooking sous vide, now's a great time to try it. 

You can get into it for as little as $80.  That's what I paid for an Inkbird wifi-enabled heater that will probably last for 5 years of casual use.  I also bought a vacuum sealer and extra bags ($80), but you can use ziplock bags with a weight to keep the bags from floating.  

Yes, the steaks blew my mind.  I need to try other stuff!

randy56

Glad it worked out for you. It's a very noticeable difference. Try a couple pork tender loins sometime. When we warm up the left overs, we just get the pan or skillet warm flip once so you do not over cook or dry out. Which is easy to do. When it is luck warm to the fingers, get it out of the pan. I'd rather have it juicy and tender than hot and dried out.

Try this orange juice when you get a chance, I like the high pulp. Best there is.

YYZRC

@randy56 the simply orange is better than Tropicana but still uses the dreaded flavour packs. 

https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/ask-an-academic-orange-juice

This knowledge ruined non-fresh squeezed OJ for me so beware. 

randy56

Surprised but not surprised of the OJ business. The tank in which the juice sits, sometimes for as long as a year.  Humm, did a little further research.

 https://www.toxinless.com/orange-juice

I like there lemonade also. Probably will still continue drinking it. Hope it does not make me sterile. recently read a book called How Not to Die by Michael Greger MD., FACLM where we learn what to eat to add years to your life. Discover the foods Scientifically proven to prevent and reverse disease. It was boring. But learned a lot. Made a few change's in diet. 

Willhound

What are these you might ask? Why, these are some of the 36 bottles of various spices and rubs I got on a deal for an average of $1 a bottle. I've used this brand before with good results and all fresh with 2024 best before dates. But seriously, has anyone actually thrown a dried spice out? Chicken rub, pork rub, Montreal Steak spice, onion and garlic powder, cumin, thyme, rosemary, dill, basil, sage, Italian spice, oregano, thyme, paprika, chili powder, ground chilies etc. 

randy56

That's a deal, seems like spices loose there punch after they been open about a year. Unopened different story. What did the wife say when she seen all that? LOL

Willhound

She was good with it. She likes my cooking and I also scored some Cinnamon and Cinnamon sticks that she likes in her tea and the odd hot Toddy.

Willhound

About to embark on my first attempt at homemade venison pepperettes. I believe they are usually called "Snack Sticks" in the south. Any tips or recipes anyone wants to share? found this one on the 'net, doesn't look too bad. I'll cut the recipe as I'm using 2 lbs ground venison with 1 lb ground pork to start. Don't like them too fatty, just enough pork so they don't crumble.

Willhound

I just came back from Cabela's after spotting this on sale for Cyber Monday. As someone in a FB pellet grill group pointed out to me, using a jerky gun to stuff pepperettes will just frustrate me. Found out when I got there that it's supposed to be online only but a nice young lady at customer service let me have the online deal since I was already there. Going to justify it by also making my own Italian Venison sausage this year.

randy56

Video: How To Cook A Steak Right in cast iron.

It's done in the house, in cast iron. It involves dry brining, mallard reaction, butter, garlic, rosemary, shallots. And carry over cooking. And Chef Jean-Pierre!!! It's about 17 min long. entertaining. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVcTvHTn6Dw

LaRea

Interesting video!  It would be tough to get a crust like that on a grill.  I never thought of using avocado oil instead of butter.

YYZRC

Be back in 10 minutes. 

aero3113

YYZRC said:

Be back in 10 minutes. 

Did you get lost?

MarkB

randy56 said:

Video: How To Cook A Steak Right in cast iron.

It's done in the house, in cast iron. It involves dry brining, mallard reaction, butter, garlic, rosemary, shallots. And carry over cooking. And Chef Jean-Pierre!!! It's about 17 min long. entertaining. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVcTvHTn6Dw

I switched to this method (a very similar method) about 8 months ago. I won't do my steak any other way now. It's always perfect.

LaRea

How would it work with 4-6 steaks?  

randy56

@MarkB I could see how you guy's up north would switch to this type cooking. Verses going out in the cold and charcoal or gas grill.  Great to hear this method is very successful. 

halifax212

@randy56. Great video post!  I'll have to try that on my stovetop this winter!  

MarkB

randy56 said:

@MarkB I could see how you guy's up north would switch to this type cooking. Verses going out in the cold and charcoal or gas grill.  Great to hear this method is very successful. 

I actually do this on my gas grill, which is located right next to my kitchen area sliding door. With a nice jacket on ... no issues, plus the gas fire keeps you warm.

I normally pan sear two to three minutes a side at 600F, closed lid.
Then I finish with direct on grill about 20 seconds a side for perfect medium rare.
It would be even better on my big green egg, to get that nice coal grilled taste ... but it's not worth the effort for something that is a 6 minute cook length.