Sous Vide - Sounds weird.. changes the game..

[CouesPursuit]

I do a poor man sous vide on all my individual deer fillet dinners in a pot while monitoring the temp. Following to eventually take it to the next level. 

[Outdoor Writer]

1 hour ago, dmoto said:

I could see fryers working as long as the temp control is accurate. My only issue would be the volume of the fryer. If I'm doing a large batch of tri tips, ribs, etc (for instance I did 6 tri tips and 9 racks of ribs for a houseboat trip to Powell) it wouldn't work so well. Using a sous vide "tower" allowed me to do huge batches in a 75 qt cooler.

Obviously they wouldn't work for that kind of power cooking. 😎Temp accuracy is easy to check with a decent thermometer and adjust accordingly. 

[muledeerarea33?]

I bought the unit for 60 bucks on sale and the used tub and lid for 5-10 bucks.  I can do an 18lb brisket but not much more with my set up. How much is a deep fryer and big a hunk of meat will it fit?

[Outdoor Writer]

16 minutes ago, muledeerarea33? said:

I bought the unit for 60 bucks on sale and the used tub and lid for 5-10 bucks.  I can do an 18lb brisket but not much more with my set up. How much is a deep fryer and big a hunk of meat will it fit?

There are a couple in the 10 qt. or 5 ltr. range that cost about $50 or so. But  not sure any of them would handle an 18Lb. brisket, tho. 

 

 

[stanley]

39 minutes ago, Outdoor Writer said:

Obviously they wouldn't work for that kind of power cooking. 😎Temp accuracy is easy to check with a decent thermometer and adjust accordingly. 

Ya, fryer might work but I think one of the basic tenants of the sous vide methods is precision.  Checking temp and adjusting accordingly over an extended period of time would likely result in small deviations from the precise level of constant tempurature called for.   Again, could work, but seems like risk of varied result would be a bit high.    I think water circulation is also one of the elements sought with sous vide..     My $.02....

[Outdoor Writer]

1 minute ago, stanley said:

Ya, fryer might work but I think one of the basic tenants of the sous vide methods is precision.  Checking temp and adjusting accordingly over an extended period of time would likely result in small deviations from the precise level of constant tempurature called for.   Again, could work, but seems like risk of varied result would be a bit high.  My $.02....

I might be bit dense, but it seems a digital temp controller on a deep fryer should work just as accurately as one on a SV unit, no? 

[stanley]

5 minutes ago, Outdoor Writer said:

I might be bit dense, but it seems a digital temp controller on a deep fryer should work just as accurately as one on a SV unit, no? 

I imagine it could.  Give it a try.  

[Outdoor Writer]

3 minutes ago, stanley said:

I imagine it could.  Give it a try.  

I would have to buy another fryer. The one we have cooks my french fries nearly every night. 🤣

[Prettyman]

2 hours ago, MULEPACKHUNTER said:

One thing not mentioned I do a lot with this method is take a whole roast frozen and toss it in the machine in the morning and let it ride all day. At dinner time just sear it off hot and slice and serve. Nice and easy.

Another fun one is to take frozen steaks and toss them on the smoker for an hour then bag them up and sous vide them for another 2 hours at 129 then sear them off and serve, that one is really good.

Definitely a major benefit to this type of cooking! When breaking down meat from the store I usually pre season most of it before sealing with the food saver. This makes it SUPER easy to just drop it in the pot and have meat ready at dinner time,

[Prettyman]

19 minutes ago, Outdoor Writer said:

I might be bit dense, but it seems a digital temp controller on a deep fryer should work just as accurately as one on a SV unit, no? 

I like where you’re going with this, but one thing to consider is that in order to exchange hot for cold efficiently, the sous vide circulates the water. Stagnant warm water with a big chunk of 40 degree meat would probably take twice as long to cook, maybe more, as the temp around the food would try to equalize. 

[Outdoor Writer]

8 minutes ago, Prettyman said:

I like where you’re going with this, but one thing to consider is that in order to exchange hot for cold efficiently, the sous vide circulates the water. Stagnant warm water with a big chunk of 40 degree meat would probably take twice as long to cook, maybe more, as the temp around the food would try to equalize. 

Aaaaa, didn't realize the circulation part.  I thought the units were just heating elements with temp controls. 

 

[MULEPACKHUNTER]

The circulation is better but my big high end unit doesn't circulate and its been great for 13 years. Heck you could just try it in your oil. No reason it shouldn't work as well or better than water as long as the temp is right. oil aint going to hurt the freezer bag. I doubt that temp controller is going to kick on within 2 degrees though. Im guessing 10 to 15 drop then it will kick back on and most likely over temp it.

[Outdoor Writer]

2 minutes ago, MULEPACKHUNTER said:

The circulation is better but my big high end unit doesn't circulate and its been great for 13 years. Heck you could just try it in your oil. No reason it shouldn't work as well or better than water as long as the temp is right. oil aint going to hurt the freezer bag. I doubt that temp controller is going to kick on within 2 degrees though. Im guessing 10 to 15 drop then it will kick back on and most likely over temp it.

The digital controller on mine looks like it would be a lot more accurate than the one on that pot type. Maybe I'll try it with oil on a simple burger. Heck, could even use the basket. Does it have to be vacuum sealed or is a ziplock OK? What temp for burger?

[Prettyman]

40 minutes ago, Outdoor Writer said:

The digital controller on mine looks like it would be a lot more accurate than the one on that pot type. Maybe I'll try it with oil on a simple burger. Heck, could even use the basket. Does it have to be vacuum sealed or is a ziplock OK? What temp for burger?

Vac seal is not necessary. We use zip locks all the time. I like my burgers med rare at best so I’d be heating them to 130 in the bag before a QUICK hot sear. Should only take about 30-45 min to do a little 1/2lb hamburger. 

[Outdoor Writer]

50 minutes ago, Prettyman said:

Vac seal is not necessary. We use zip locks all the time. I like my burgers med rare at best so I’d be heating them to 130 in the bag before a QUICK hot sear. Should only take about 30-45 min to do a little 1/2lb hamburger. 

This isn't exactly relevant, but...

About 25 years ago when I was running our Outdoors Network Forum, I used to hold an annual Steenkin' Peeg Hunt (javelina) where I invited about 10 guys from all over the country to come out and hunt, usually on either the San Carlos or Whte Mt. reservations so we could get permits easily. Corky Richardson, his dad George and one of their friends helped out with the guiding. Anyway, to the point, I spent a week before the hunt preparing many of the meals, that were then frozen and finished in camp. I would cook a big roast beef, slice it and freeze in ziplocs. It was then a simple matter to pop the bags in a pot of water to heat. Add gravy, mashed potatoes, some corn or green beans, and voila. Did the same with pork chops and turkey breast. 

My kitchen: