Sous Vide cooking

[Donuthole]

Hack My Life threw a sous vide party on one of their episodes. Set the hot tub to 104 degrees, cook in hot tub for 3 hours, and invite friends over for the last hour. Drinks above water while plastic packets are floating around under water.

What were they cooking at such a low temp (other than themselves)?

Uh, yeah, not only is it disgusting to cook food in chlorinated ass water, but nothing cooks at 104 degrees. You can’t even warm up something pre-cooked at that temp. That’s gotta be a joke/troll, right? Right?!

[Jeff Lebowski]

Disgusting. Hard pass.

[cowboy]

24 hours? I was under the impression that after eight or so hours the meat starts to disintegrate, resulting in a less than desirable texture. But if it's simply more tender, I may try this.

I may be wrong, but I think at 130 you're still good because the connective tissue and some of the proteins haven't denatured enough to turn it to goo. I've never gotten into sous vide, but I would think 125 to 128 with a good sear would be perfect.

[falafel]

I did some chicken breast yesterday for my maiden voyage. I'll be honest - it was bad. I did 5 chicken breasts for about 2 hours at 150* then seared for a 2 minutes per side on the stove. Chicken was "juicy but tough". When I cook on the grill, I usually pull them at 155 which is perfect. They rise to 160 or so.

Anything in this description highlight a major issue? Maybe the chicken was just crappy.

[Donuthole]

I did some chicken breast yesterday for my maiden voyage. I'll be honest - it was bad. I did 5 chicken breasts for about 2 hours at 150* then seared for a 2 minutes per side on the stove. Chicken was "juicy but tough". When I cook on the grill, I usually pull them at 155 which is perfect. They rise to 160 or so.

Anything in this description highlight a major issue? Maybe the chicken was just crappy.

150 is way too hot. You’re basically asking for leather at that temp.

[Donuthole]

Cooked some chicken breasts today. Didn’t have a lot of time to prep, so I threw in a prepackaged lemon and herbs marinade and cooked them at 138 for 2 hours. Finished on the grill. They were absolutely perfect and got devoured. My somewhat picky 6yo ate a bunch and commented on how she could cut the chicken with her fork.

Bump

[falafel]

150 is way too hot. You’re basically asking for leather at that temp.

Bummer. I read several sous vide recipes that said 150 was the right temp. I'll try yours.

[Donuthole]

Bummer. I read several sous vide recipes that said 150 was the right temp. I'll try yours.

Really? Are you sure that wasn't for bone-in? (That still seems high, but not as unreasonably high a if you were cooking boneless/skinless). 150 just seems crazy for a tried and true recipe.

[falafel]

Really? Are you sure that wasn't for bone-in? (That still seems high, but not as unreasonably high a if you were cooking boneless/skinless). 150 just seems crazy for a tried and true recipe.

https://www.adventuresofanurse.com/2...ast-sous-vide/ - 151*

https://www.chefsteps.com/activities...chicken-breast (makers of the Joule) - 149*

https://sousvideguy.com/recipe/sous-...hicken-breast/ (ranges from 140-160, but this guy "prefers" 150)

[Eddie]

https://www.adventuresofanurse.com/2...ast-sous-vide/ - 151*

https://www.chefsteps.com/activities...chicken-breast (makers of the Joule) - 149*

https://sousvideguy.com/recipe/sous-...hicken-breast/ (ranges from 140-160, but this guy "prefers" 150)

When in doubt, check out seriouseats.com. What I REALLY like about it is that he has tried meats at different temperatures for different lengths of time and can give you a pretty good idea of how long to cook at what temperature to get what you like.

https://www.seriouseats.com/2015/07/...en-breast.html

[falafel]

When in doubt, check out seriouseats.com. What I REALLY like about it is that he has tried meats at different temperatures for different lengths of time and can give you a pretty good idea of how long to cook at what temperature to get what you like.

https://www.seriouseats.com/2015/07/...en-breast.html

From that article:

Yet sous vide–style precision cooking often takes place well below the 140°F mark, in excess of four hours, and my own recommendation for cooking chicken falls in the 145–150°F range, well below the 165°F target we've all learned. What gives? Is it still safe to eat?

By all of these metrics, I was within, and often right on, the recommended temp and within the recommended time. Frustrating.

[Donuthole]

Possible problem #2: 2 mins per side is a lot, depending on how hot you have your searing pan. How hot was your pan?

[falafel]

Possible problem #2: 2 mins per side is a lot, depending on how hot you have your searing pan. How hot was your pan?

Dunno. Started it around high heat to warm up, but turned it down to med-high because I was afraid of getting burned. The main reason I left the chicken on 2 min each side was that it wasn't searing too quickly. Leads me to believe it wasn't that hot.

[old_gregg]

Dunno. Started it around high heat to warm up, but turned it down to med-high because I was afraid of getting burned. The main reason I left the chicken on 2 min each side was that it wasn't searing too quickly. Leads me to believe it wasn't that hot.

pan not hot bro

[falafel]

pan not hot bro

Yeah but is that the cause or the problem?