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Just pulled sous vide roast beef (made with eye of round) and I'm very happy with it. Its lean, flavorful and tender. I sous vide at 131 for about 45 hours

I used this recipe

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02-13-2015 , 01:51 PM

#3027

Shark Doctor

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Sous vide question:

Can I use cling film/saran wrap to incase the meat instead of a plastic bag?

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02-13-2015 , 01:58 PM

#3028

yimyammer

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Shark Doctor

Sous vide question:

Can I use cling film/saran wrap to incase the meat instead of a plastic bag?

Seems risky but if you are sure you can get it completely sealed and not allow the water from the bath to penetrate inside, then it should work but it sounds like way more trouble than spending a few bucks on some freezer bags

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02-13-2015 , 02:00 PM

#3029

Daddy Warbucks

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Kinda. It depends. You can do it for stuff like torchons, where the shape doesnt really lend itself to a bag, but overall if its for any length of time, i wouldnt recommend it. For almost all situations a bag is preferable.

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02-13-2015 , 02:07 PM

#3030

Shark Doctor

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I have more than enough freezer bags at home, just not big enough for this roast that I'm thinking about throwing in the water bath. Do I have any other options other than going out and grabbing a 'food saver' set?

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02-13-2015 , 02:10 PM

#3031

Daddy Warbucks

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I DEFINITELY wouldnt use it for a roast! Options are going to buy some 5L freezer bags, or possibly cutting it down into smaller portions.

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02-13-2015 , 02:45 PM

#3032

Shark Doctor

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Alright, that settles it. Thanks.

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02-13-2015 , 07:22 PM

#3033

Shark Doctor

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Last sous vide question (probably not) :

Say I'm making a steak in a freezer bag; are there things I should and should not put in the bag, with intentions of marinating the steak?
(ie. Butter, salt, pepper, oil)

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02-13-2015 , 07:45 PM

#3034

Daddy Warbucks

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You're not "marinating" per se, but you want things that are aromatics in the bag that naturally compliment the flavour of the beef. Things like fresh thyme, dried porchini mushrooms, S+P, (yes to lots of) butter all work well.

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02-13-2015 , 09:01 PM

#3035

donjonnie

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what are torchons?
i googled it and got pictures of dishtowels.
i dont know why you would want to but i think a freezer bag would work fine if you wanted to sous vide a dishtowel so thats propably not what you are talking about.

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02-13-2015 , 09:44 PM

#3036

Shark Doctor

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Daddy Warbucks

Infusing is maybe a better word.
My biggest query was with oil and butter; what kind of positive or negative impact occurs with and without butter/oil, for a typical sous vide steak?

Thanks.

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02-13-2015 , 09:56 PM

#3037

Daddy Warbucks

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Quote:

Originally Posted by donjonnie

i dont know why you would want to but i think a freezer bag would work fine if you wanted to sous vide a dishtowel so thats propably not what you are talking about.

How are your dishtowels? I'm guessing tough and chewy right? Like a cheap cut of meat? You're starting to see where i'm going with this??

But seriously, thats odd, when i google torchon all the first results are about foie gras. A torchon is a tube shape, like a salami shape. The only time i've used cling film is with a chicken breast torchon, where you roll it on itself, then torque the ends until it bunches up into a dense tube, then you SV and sear later.

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02-13-2015 , 09:58 PM

#3038

Daddy Warbucks

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Shark Doctor

Infusing is maybe a better word.
My biggest query was with oil and butter; what kind of positive or negative impact occurs with and without butter/oil, for a typical sous vide steak?

Thanks.

Well it plays the same role as when you're cooking with it, the object is primarily to facilitate heat transfer. Then you also have flavour within the oil itself which would get imparted into the protein (just the same as you would with a marinade/braising liquid), so mostly we use neutral fats like butter or peanut oil.

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02-13-2015 , 10:25 PM

#3039

Faluzure

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Torchons afaik are traditionally made in dish towels (rolled into a cylinder), but we have other methods now, like plastic wrap.

Oils also help meat keep a better shape after vacuuming.

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02-13-2015 , 10:58 PM

#3040

Shark Doctor

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DW, and others:

would you suggest always adding oil or butter in the bag when sous viding? and what's your typical mix for a steak?

Thanks.

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02-13-2015 , 11:02 PM

#3041

yimyammer

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I haven't done a ton of sous vide nor am I an expert but I never add oil or butter to the steaks I've done. I'm not sure what purpose it would serve. You'll need to sear the steps after SV and thats when I use the oil and butter (for basting)

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02-13-2015 , 11:04 PM

#3042

Shark Doctor

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yim: that's what I typically do as well; just thought there might be an added benefit to adding butter in the bag.

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02-13-2015 , 11:06 PM

#3043

yimyammer

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There may be some that I am unaware of and if so, I assume people will chime in and enlighten us

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02-13-2015 , 11:12 PM

#3044

wallacengrommit

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I did a steak SV last week, quick sear in oil over high heat, let rest a bit, then bagged with some butter. 57c (134.5F) for an hour. Pat dry, season, another quick sear, steak to a rack, dump the bag juice and butter mixture into pan, add wine, garlic and thyme, reduce, reduce, and more butter, strain out the garlic and thyme, serve sauce on the side. Amazing.

Basically, I copied this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6Gesq3CeeA

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02-13-2015 , 11:18 PM

#3045

Shark Doctor

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wallace:

okay, so they added butter into the bag! but why?

also, wrt that video: it really annoys me that they didn't sear the sides.

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02-13-2015 , 11:21 PM

#3046

yimyammer

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Love chefsteps, amazingly high quality site with tons of free content

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02-13-2015 , 11:30 PM

#3047

Faluzure

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http://www.chefsteps.com/activities/...e-presentation

Always add oil/liquid

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02-13-2015 , 11:30 PM

#3048

wallacengrommit

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I think the butter added flavour. The steak was in a butter and steak juice bath for an hour, and though I have not done a side by side comparison, I think it added flavour. The juices when added to the pan were clearly butter flavoured, but yeah, that isnt likely to be the reason for the butter in the first place, as it is so easy to add at any time.