Sous Vide Supreme

Nostalgic in Brooklyn!

2011-05-12T09:45:00.000-07:00

My wifes new Etsy store, please visit her shop and buy something!

Voon New York

2011-02-10T09:20:00.001-08:00

On a side note, Check out my friends new jewelry store! Voon New York! All items are handmade in Brooklyn NY!

voonnyc.com

voonnyc.blogspot.com

The ramps and the egg!- 143f - 1 hour

2010-04-04T06:34:00.000-07:00

First signs of spring have come to the greenmarket! I got my hands on this springs first few bunches of ramps!!!! We decide to pair them up with some sous vide eggs and the result was amazing! Ramps are best eaten simply, just saute in olive oil till caramelized about 5-8 mins on med to low heat. and a touch of sea salt

After we cleaned and prepped them we also made some ramp and lemon zest compound butter and pickled ramps!

And our simple and perfect Easter breakfast~ SVS FTW!

Korean inspired Short Ribs (Gal Bi Gui) - 55.5c - 72 hours

2010-04-01T21:29:00.000-07:00

My wife and I sometimes have a hard time picking out a place to eat for a reasonably priced and delicious meal even being here in NYC. The one place we always can fall back on is BCD Tofu house in K-town. We love to get their Soon dooboo jjigae (tofu soup), a LARGE order of their man do (fried dumplings) and a sizzling plate of gal bi gui (prime short rib).

We happen to be shopping at fairway market and they had a sale on shortribs and we pick up about 5lbs worth bone in 8 inch pieces. We generously seasoned each piece with a homemade steak rub, salt and freshly cracked pepper and then sealed them into 2 sets of bags with some rendered duck fat, set the sous vide supreme to 55.5c and dropped them in.

The ribs came out cooked perfectly medium rare edge to edge. We then made a basic korean bbq sauce with the juices from the bag, preheated our oven to 450 and broiled the short ribs for a few mins to add color and caramelization.

The final dish was served on a bed of fresh kimchee, korean potato salad, blanched baby bok choy and topped with pickled cucumber and carrots.

Chai Creme Anglaise - 82c - 20 Mins

2010-03-09T08:16:00.000-08:00

Spiced Chai Ice Cream

We followed the guidelines from the FCI blog on Creme Anglaise: Sous Vide vs Low Temp and our results came out fantastic. With very little effort, we did have to add one step of scalding and steeping the cream/milk with our chai spices but it really wasn't a big issue.

1. Scald milk & cream (we used raw milk and cream) with chai spices. Let steep and chill.
2. Blend all remaining chilled ingredients (chai steeped milk/cream, yolks, sugar) at once in Vita Prep.
3. Vacuum bag mixture and place in sous vide supreme at 82 C for 20 mins.
4. Squeeze bag to agitate the contents while chilling under water or in ice bath.

The bag can is good for up to a week and can be kept in the fridge till ready to use.

Center Cut Pork Chop 60c 45 mins

2010-01-15T09:35:00.000-08:00

After reading a tweet from Chef Richard Blais "Sous vide pork chops with Brussels sprout, water chestnut and roasted grapes for dinner. Pork, 45 min at 60c after 30 min brine." He inspired us to try out our own pork chops in the SVS.

We let our chops sit in a brine (10% brine 100 grams salt to 1 liter water) for 2 hours, then packed them up with a knob of butter and set our SVS to 60c and popped them in. Since 45 min is not that long to wait, we went ahead and started prepping the rest of the dish, we paired the pork chops with fresh spinach, sauteed miatake and petite button mushrooms, and a pomegranate balsamic sauce(i received the balsamic from my sister-in-law in Toronto, she got from a local farmer market, thanks shobes!).

The pork chop was fork tender and paired well with the balsamic pomegranate reduction, all in all a very nice dish. The center of the chops were slightly pink, but a bit lean(hence our brine). In comparison, on new years we had dinner at the Vinegar Hill House and I had their famous roasted pork chop and it was delicious and juicy (very very good)~ our sous vide chop was a little leaner but was perfectly tender however to me it lacked the nice roasted flavors the one from Vinegar Hill had(they use a 700+ degree wood burning oven), tho I'd have to say the SVS its def a good alternative to the home cook.

Lamb Loin Chop - 52.5c 2 Hours

2010-01-14T08:52:00.000-08:00

Lamb Loin Chops

with roasted brussels sprouts, deep fried sweet potato and demi galce reduction

@52.5 Degrees for 2 Hours

Another SVS victory, after we found out our geico insurance policy went up by 10% due and accident where a man side swiped our open door, we decided to treat ourselves to some Sous Vide lamb. We conveniently had some lamb loin chops ready in the freezer that we got from fairway market ready to go, they were seasoned with salt, pepper and maggi seasoning (umami flavor enhancer) and vacuum packed last week!

So we just turned on our Sous Vide Supreme and decided to try them at 52.5 Celsius we were trying to reach a nice medium rare, but as you can see, we hit more of a nice medium.(Next time we will jump down to 50.0 Celsius for 3 Hours)

The final product was delicious the sous vide help maintain all the lamb flavor and maintain the balanced cooking throughout the entire piece of meat, the lamb was also amazingly melt in your mouth tender. It paired well with the roasted brussels sprouts, sweet potato and demi glace reduction.

Pears - 75c - 2-3 hours

2010-01-11T13:53:00.000-08:00

We tried poached pears with our SVS using a simple recipe of red wine, sugar and vanilla bean.

At first try we kept the pears in only for 1 hour, the pears were still to firm. As the liquids only gently seeped into the pears. They needed more time, although they had a beautiful lightly infused color, but the texture and flavor was still a bit off on being a classic poached pear.

2nd try we kept the pears in the sous vide supreme for 2-3 hours, the wine/liquid had fully infused the entire pear. We then cooled the pears in a ice bath and refrigerated them for a wonderful dessert anytime you want. It was deliciously tender, with a beautiful wine and vanilla flavor. The entire process in making poached pears was so brainless that you can have perfectly poached pears everyday!

Another plus we found by using the SVS to poach pears was that we did not have to use excessive poaching liquids to fully infuse the pears as found in normal poached pear recipes~ By using a minimal amount of poaching liquid the SVS still managed to fully infuse our pears with the precise flavor and also reaching the perfect texture, with less fuss.

In general using the SVS has made cooking such a seamless process, that with having a busy 9-5 (plus 1 hour commute) we have cut our ordering/eating out regime more than half. As we are now able to prepare meals while we are at work, and have them come out perfectly with only a few minutes of maintenance upon dinner time. The SVS has literally become part of our daily cooking scheme in our household, and we can't even fathom to look back! We may even consider purchasing a 2nd unit to maintain different levels temperature control!

Recipe

4 firm pears (Barlett, Anjou or Bosc)

1 cup red wine

4 tablespoons sugar

1 whole vanilla bean, split and scraped

Vacuum packed - we used the handy vac as it does a better job in sealing in items that are heavily poached in liquids.

Cook at 75 C for 2-3 hours.

Chill in ice bath and refrigerate.

Serve cold.

soy and ginger glazed sous vide salmon - 50c - 20 mins

2009-12-16T10:55:00.000-08:00

soy and ginger glazed salmon

this was one of the most perfect pieces of salmon i have every cooked/tasted, it had perfect texture, perfect temperature and amazing taste, all completed in a sous vide supreme~

1. held salmon in a 20 % salt and 3% sugar brine for 20 mins.
(200 grams salt per 1 liter and 30 grams sugar)

2. i reduced a soy and ginger glaze in a sauce pan for 5 mins, and let cool.
2 tbsp soy
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp honey
1/4 cup water
1 inch ginger sliced
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper

3. removed salmon from brine, washed each piece gently and patted dry. for an experiment i had separated the salmon into 2 bags. 1 just with the 20% brined salmon and the 2nd i added the ginger and soy marinade. vacuumed them up and dropped them in a 50 degree celsius water bath for 25 mins.

the result:
this was the marinated piece, beautiful color, it was also extremely tender and the taste of the soy and ginger glaze was infused throughout the entire piece of fish. as you can see there was no visible albumen or discoloration to the salmon.

the plain salmon was a little paler in color but still very very good, no albumen also!! it was as tender as the marinated piece and had a natural and rich salmon taste to it, very pure and perfectly seasoned right out of the bag. delicious!!

i further reduced the rest of the sauce down a la minute and topped the plain piece with the remaining glaze. we enjoyed the marinated piece of salmon over a bed of chinese broccoli, fried shallots and steamed white rice.

sous vide chicken breast - 60 degrees celcius - 1 hour

2009-12-15T22:00:00.000-08:00

sous vide chicken breast -

we simply placed the chicken breast into a 10% brine (100 grams salt to 1 liter water) for 20 mins. then washed and patted dry. seasoned with salt and pepper. vacuumed them up with a little butter and set the sous vide supreme for 60 degrees celsius. dropped our chicken in, after 1 hour we seared the breast in a hot skillet with foaming butter for 30 seconds on top side. the result was a very tender, moist, full of chicken flavor, and perfectly seasoned piece of white meat.

(sorry for mia piece of chicken breast that was taken before i was able to take the shot~)

Food Safety

2009-12-15T08:22:00.000-08:00

Sous Vide is french for "under vacuum" and is the method of cooking that has been implemented by many chefs past and present(more so coming to fame via Top Chef and present day modern chefs) the science of sous vide was created in order to fine a cooking method that allowed us to maintain the integrity of ingredients by cooking them at the exact temperatures evenly throughout the item being cooking. By using water heat and air tight vacuum bags at relatively low temperatures for an extended time meats, fruits, vegetables and other ingredients are cooked to exact doneness the chef/cook has indented.

While we can thank Pralus, Goussault, Kellar, Bocuse and many of today's modern chefs for being revolutionaries of the sous vide technique, we can also add Dr. Michael and Mary Dan Eades to being pioneers in bringing sous vide home to the home cook.

As Sous Vide becomes more mainstream we have to take note on proper food safety and handling. A good guide for reference about safety, the danger zone and proper handling can be found here, by Douglas Baldwin. Food safety and handling are mostly overlooked by the home cook and with more complicated cooking techniques such as Sous Vide are being replicated at home by cooks we must follow certain guides to maintain proper food safety and handling.

Food safety is the first lesson culinary students learn in the classroom to my last as each student had to complete a qualifying certificate in food protection via NYC health board. Food safety and handling are also strictly enforced in each professional kitchen I worked in. The government also has a general food safety information website found here.

This leads us into acknowledging while working with the sous vide supreme home cooks and all chefs alike must keep up with proper cooking temperatures and time guides to prevent the spread of bacteria and other food borne illness.

From what we have seen the Sous Vide Supreme manual provides basic guides for cooking temps which we have found a bit on the high side, to play it safe I assume. Baldwins guide also uses a generally safe guide to cooking, but being chefs today and as we get more and more adept in cooking with our Sous Vide Supreme we are willing to take a little more risk in our cooking temperatures, so I hope all the new budding Sous Vide Supreme chef's out there will do a little more research and think about food safety proper handling, as we move forward.

Sous Vide Moves From Avant-Garde to the Countertop

2009-12-09T08:59:00.000-08:00

ONCE you sous vide, you never go back.

Here is the current NYTimes review. Even Chef Richard Blais (from Top Chef fame) is promoting the new machine via his twitter and offering a $25 discount with code: "blais".

We have had our Sous Vide Supreme machine over 2 weeks now, all I can say is we have been happily sous vide'ing everything we can get our hands on, so for us Christmas has come early this year. Hope everyone is enjoying their water ovens as much as we are!

sirracha soy garlic pork ribs - 55 degrees celcius - 72 hours

2009-12-03T08:59:00.000-08:00

72 hour sirracha soy harlic pork ribs

2.5 lbs of organic pork ribs

10% salt brine (100 grams salt per 1 liter and 30 grams sugar)

rub
1.5 tbsp paprika
1.5 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp fines herbs
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp sugar

soy garlic glaze
1 red onion
1.5 tbsp grated ginger
6 cloves garlic (peeled and smashed)
4 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
4 tbsp honey
2 tbsp sirracha hot sauce
1/2 cup banana ketchup
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup brown sugar

brine pork ribs in 10% brine for 6-12 hours.
remove from brine and wash and pat dry, season with dry rub and vacuum pack.

heat sous vide supreme to 55 degrees celsius (i think i might go up to 57 degrees on the next batch). place ribs in bottom or middle wire rack and set timer for 72 hours.

in a pot add oil and saute onions for 5 mins, then add remaining ingredients and simmer for 10 mins. Place sauce into blender and puree till smooth. strain through wire sieve and discard excess.

pre-heat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit, cool completed 72 hour ribs in ice bath to stop cooking. pour any cooking juices into bowl and clean ribs under cold water.

in skillet place ribs and glaze with soy ginger sauce and any remaining cooking juices. cook and baste for 15 mins or till done.

click here for gallery of pics.

lobster roll - 59 degrees celcius - 40 mins

2009-11-28T11:40:00.000-08:00

lobster roll

1 1.5 lb lobster (partially cooked, broken down and shelled)
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp melted butter
fines herbs
cilantro
halla egg bread
meyer lemon (juiced and zested)
salt and pepper

pre-heat sous vide supreme to 59 Degrees C.
break down and shell lobster must be partially cooked to shell easily, place in bag with 4 tbsp butter and vacuum seal.
place in sous vide supreme for 30-40 mins

once done cool in ice bath.
in bowl mix lobster, melted butter, fines Herbs, lemon juice, zest and salt and pepper.

heat pan with butter and toast halla bread.
plate on a bed of cilantro, then toasted bread and top with lobster.

perfect egg - 63.5 degrees celcius - 1 hour

2009-11-26T10:29:00.000-08:00

Which came first? the Chicken or the Egg?
Today came our first perfectly cooked egg. After gently cracking the egg shell we discared any loose whites and ended up with the perfect custard like egg white and yolk.

Heat up Sous Vide Supreme to 63.5 Degrees C
Gently place eggs in water oven for 45mins to1 hour
turn down Sous Vide Supreme to 55 Degrees C
let rest for 5 - 10 mins

Crack egg into bowl or over large spoon.
discard loose whites

*optional drizzle egg with beurre noisette (brown butter)

plate.enjoy.

sous vide supreme unboxing

2009-11-25T10:20:00.001-08:00

i just received my sous vide supreme from the eades appliance technology LLC, it came in a very sturdy tightly packaged box. i have not yet tested out any of the recipes but here are some unboxing snaps i took last night.

more after the break.

please click here for full unboxing gallery.