I got my Anova today!

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zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
111,593
30,855
146
The Food Lab's Complete Guide to Sous Vide Smoked Brisket:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2016/08/...de-sous-vide-barbecue-smoked-bbq-brisket.html

Recipe:

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2016/08/sous-vide-barbecue-smoked-bbq-brisket-texas-recipe.html

I may give this a try. Never had a brisket that I liked tho (burnt ends are another story altogether!).


Since you bumped this, I should mention that I tried this ^ about 3 weeks ago, but I went with the chuck instead of actual brisket (in Kenji's followup recipe and test--because it is both nearly impossible to find actual brisket and because of the cost differential).

....it was god damn awesome. I'm no brisket expert, but I have had the best (Franklin's) and the previous "one-of-the-bests" (The Salt Lick), and the beef chuck sous vide smoked brisket is somewhere in between. (I tossed it on the smoker for ~4 hours @250 and did not use liquid smoke or Prague/pink salt in the bag, and it still developed a nice smoke ring).

Most brisket I have had at "the good places" tends to be a bit dry and bland to my taste, and so Franklin's was quite the revelation. I never thought that it could be that different and, honestly, that it should be the only way to do it. Kenji's recipe allows for an extremely easy and repeatable way to approximate Franklin's brisket.

...now I need to try the pork shoulder, the idea of which offended me at first
 

PJFrylar

Senior member
Apr 17, 2016
974
619
136
Well I did buy the Anova on Kaido's suggestion. Seeing the thread bumped earlier today reminded me I owe the thread a picture. I made some Korean BBQ ribs the other day. Don't mind the mess on the first image, I did the final post-cook brush on the plate.



 
Reactions: shortylickens

GagHalfrunt

Lifer
Apr 19, 2001
25,284
1,997
126
Made some Sou Vide burgers the other day. Got some 80/20 ground beef from the local butcher and made a few 8oz patties - Cooked them at 133C for 2 hours then seared them for ~30s per side. Soooo good.

That just seems wrong. Two freaking hours for a burger? If you can't make a perfect burger on a stove or grill in 10 minutes, LEARN!! It's not hard.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
50,093
6,360
136
Well I did buy the Anova on Kaido's suggestion. Seeing the thread bumped earlier today reminded me I owe the thread a picture. I made some Korean BBQ ribs the other day. Don't mind the mess on the first image, I did the final post-cook brush on the plate.

Yum! How are you liking it so far?
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
50,093
6,360
136
Most brisket I have had at "the good places" tends to be a bit dry and bland to my taste, and so Franklin's was quite the revelation. I never thought that it could be that different and, honestly, that it should be the only way to do it. Kenji's recipe allows for an extremely easy and repeatable way to approximate Franklin's brisket.

Hmm, good results with chuck? tbh, I have never ever met a brisket I actually liked. It's probably my least-favorite cut of meat. Will have to try this...
 

PJFrylar

Senior member
Apr 17, 2016
974
619
136
Yum! How are you liking it so far?

I'm liking it. The first time I used it the time needed to heat up the water was a nasty surprise, mostly because I was the last one to the gathering and I was making the carne asada for the tacos. Was a bit awkward waiting for the water to heat up so I could start cooking. I will say though, I've never gotten a poor result from the anova. Everyone has seemed to be a fan of the results. A cast iron pan for finishing seems like a must though. The clean up between a plastic tub of water and a single cast iron pan has proved to be rather easy as well.
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
111,593
30,855
146
Hmm, good results with chuck? tbh, I have never ever met a brisket I actually liked. It's probably my least-favorite cut of meat. Will have to try this...

Indeed! i was skeptical, but you can read Kenji and his BBQ-afficionado's testimony on the very page that you linked. The appeal, obviously, is that it is vastly cheaper and that 98% percent people can actually acquire equal cuts of chuck compared to real brisket (flat & point). The results with chuck were close enough to Franklin's that, even if I lived in Austin, I would no longer have a rational reason to wait in line for ~4 hours on any chosen morning or put my name on a 3 month+ waiting list for a pickup order. Granted, I've already done that myself so I can feel confident in this claim--I'd still recommend anyone else go through that wait to try Franklin's. It is absolutely worth it.

The warm-up for left-overs isn't quite there, though. I guess I need to lower the temp even further than 200 and let it warm up longer...or something. It either takes too damn long or just overcooks the meat.

as to the burgers: I agree with Gaghalfrunt. I don't doubt that sous vide burgers are fantastic, but at some point the standard solution is perfect and easy enough that there is little reason to opt for the long protocols for sous vide. As much as I love and prefer chicken breast sous vide, I still often prefer a simple and perfect roast chicken in the oven or flattened, boneless breasts seared in the skillet and set to rest. (for the latter, sous vide can certainly make this technique better and consistent, but the added time isn't always worth it).

Sous vide is just a great tool to add to the arsenal that allows more flexibility, especially when you are hosting a dinner and plan to prepare various meals for guests. I like to toss various meats in there and have them ready to go for when people arrive, then toss them on the grill for that final bit. Or the skillet, or whatever.
 
Reactions: slag

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
50,093
6,360
136
I'm liking it. The first time I used it the time needed to heat up the water was a nasty surprise, mostly because I was the last one to the gathering and I was making the carne asada for the tacos. Was a bit awkward waiting for the water to heat up so I could start cooking. I will say though, I've never gotten a poor result from the anova. Everyone has seemed to be a fan of the results. A cast iron pan for finishing seems like a must though. The clean up between a plastic tub of water and a single cast iron pan has proved to be rather easy as well.

Yeah, I finish everything with either a cast-iron skillet or my Searzall. Or broiler if it's something like ribs, but I usually do those in my Instant Pot (~20 minutes).
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
50,093
6,360
136
I've only tried salmon, however it usually turns out excellent. I've been meaning to try out other fish.

What's your salmon procedure? Do you use fresh/frozen, skinless/boneless?

My local Sam's Club sells frozen boneless/skinless filets in individual vacuum packs. I need to throw one into the Anova one of these days...that'd be the perfect zero-prep fish meal!
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
50,093
6,360
136
Indeed! i was skeptical, but you can read Kenji and his BBQ-afficionado's testimony on the very page that you linked. The appeal, obviously, is that it is vastly cheaper and that 98% percent people can actually acquire equal cuts of chuck compared to real brisket (flat & point). The results with chuck were close enough to Franklin's that, even if I lived in Austin, I would no longer have a rational reason to wait in line for ~4 hours on any chosen morning or put my name on a 3 month+ waiting list for a pickup order. Granted, I've already done that myself so I can feel confident in this claim--I'd still recommend anyone else go through that wait to try Franklin's. It is absolutely worth it.

The warm-up for left-overs isn't quite there, though. I guess I need to lower the temp even further than 200 and let it warm up longer...or something. It either takes too damn long or just overcooks the meat.

as to the burgers: I agree with Gaghalfrunt. I don't doubt that sous vide burgers are fantastic, but at some point the standard solution is perfect and easy enough that there is little reason to opt for the long protocols for sous vide. As much as I love and prefer chicken breast sous vide, I still often prefer a simple and perfect roast chicken in the oven or flattened, boneless breasts seared in the skillet and set to rest. (for the latter, sous vide can certainly make this technique better and consistent, but the added time isn't always worth it).

Sous vide is just a great tool to add to the arsenal that allows more flexibility, especially when you are hosting a dinner and plan to prepare various meals for guests. I like to toss various meats in there and have them ready to go for when people arrive, then toss them on the grill for that final bit. Or the skillet, or whatever.

Interesting, if I'm ever in the area I'll have to check it out. Is there really a waiting list for pickup?! Also yeah, I've just never tried chuck cooked that way yet...hmm. Your good review = weekend project!

A lot of stuff I've made in the Anova was fun to try, but I prefer other methods. For example, Kenji's rib recipe on Anova's website calls for a 36-hour cook at 145F (or 12 hours at 165F). I can do them in my IP in 20 minutes (like, literally fall-off-the-bone) & then sauce 'em & throw 'em in the broiler for a few minutes to caramelize the sauce. And even that, I rarely do, because it costs $19 for store-bought raw ribs & it's $20 at any local BBQ place (even Outback), so I'm only saving a dollar by DIY (one of the few items where it doesn't save a good chunk of money by cooking at home!).

For chicken, I mostly use the bash & skillet method (pound down a BSCB in a ziploc bag, then skillet-cook it in a cast-iron pan to make a delicious cutlet). But I've been finding more & more uses for the sous vide chicken, which comes out very plain but also very moist...like for paninis, it's unbeatable...to the point where I'm thinking about getting a real panini press because that's what I make for lunch sandwiches pretty much every day. Also good on salads, pizza, etc. With burgers, well, I do a lot of different methods...charcoal is ground bison, greenstyle or 5-guys style is the Smashburger method, mixed or 80/20 ground beef is hardwood charcoal, Asian turkey burgers are pan-fry, etc. So sous vide is just another interesting way to fire them up (although I do Smash most often because it's only ~3 minutes per patty).

My goal with sous vide is to eventually have my top favorites vacuum-sealed in my upright deep freezer (individual BCSC, salmon, steak, burgers, etc.) so I can (1) buy in bulk, and (2) simply toss in the Anova container as needed.
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
111,593
30,855
146
Yeah, I finish everything with either a cast-iron skillet or my Searzall. Or broiler if it's something like ribs, but I usually do those in my Instant Pot (~20 minutes).

Never has a sentence been crammed with more hipster food smuggery.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
50,093
6,360
136
Never has a sentence been crammed with more hipster food smuggery.

Haha! Hey, the old west used cast-iron skillets before they were cool And hey, the IP is a legitimate cooking tool!

I will give you the Searzall one tho, that is totally a hipster cooking device
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
111,593
30,855
146
What? Hipsters don't use cast iron. Chefs do.

Of course chefs do. I use them. Of course people who like to cook use them. Of course hipsters use them. it's the hip thing to have. At least, hipsters own cast iron and they want you to know it. I'm not sure if they use them or not because I suspect they are too concerned about ruining that perfect seasoning that they developed over the last month of careful oiling, heating, wiping, oiling, and re-heating.

But it's recently become one of those "Uh oh--this guy is being very specific about how he loves his cast iron pan" hipster sort of things.
 

slayer202

Lifer
Nov 27, 2005
13,679
119
106
Indeed! i was skeptical, but you can read Kenji and his BBQ-afficionado's testimony on the very page that you linked. The appeal, obviously, is that it is vastly cheaper and that 98% percent people can actually acquire equal cuts of chuck compared to real brisket (flat & point). The results with chuck were close enough to Franklin's...

I hate having to start this 2 days in advance but without having tried Franklin's that is some pretty darned high praise. I'm gonna have to give it a shot
 

agent00f

Lifer
Jun 9, 2016
12,203
1,243
86
Indeed! i was skeptical, but you can read Kenji and his BBQ-afficionado's testimony on the very page that you linked. The appeal, obviously, is that it is vastly cheaper and that 98% percent people can actually acquire equal cuts of chuck compared to real brisket (flat & point). The results with chuck were close enough to Franklin's that, even if I lived in Austin, I would no longer have a rational reason to wait in line for ~4 hours on any chosen morning or put my name on a 3 month+ waiting list for a pickup order. Granted, I've already done that myself so I can feel confident in this claim--I'd still recommend anyone else go through that wait to try Franklin's. It is absolutely worth it.

The warm-up for left-overs isn't quite there, though. I guess I need to lower the temp even further than 200 and let it warm up longer...or something. It either takes too damn long or just overcooks the meat.

as to the burgers: I agree with Gaghalfrunt. I don't doubt that sous vide burgers are fantastic, but at some point the standard solution is perfect and easy enough that there is little reason to opt for the long protocols for sous vide. As much as I love and prefer chicken breast sous vide, I still often prefer a simple and perfect roast chicken in the oven or flattened, boneless breasts seared in the skillet and set to rest. (for the latter, sous vide can certainly make this technique better and consistent, but the added time isn't always worth it).

Sous vide is just a great tool to add to the arsenal that allows more flexibility, especially when you are hosting a dinner and plan to prepare various meals for guests. I like to toss various meats in there and have them ready to go for when people arrive, then toss them on the grill for that final bit. Or the skillet, or whatever.

The appeal of sous vide burger is that it's safer to use lower temp without fresh ground.

For beef, the best or at least most distinguished cut is back ribs, particularly if you can get a butcher who doesn't skim it all the way to the bone. 2 days or so with some salt/pepper/bullion at bit above 60 to fully gelatinize, and I usually finish on a shitty portable bbq that flares like crazy, 1 min per side. To get the flare going and add a little something extra, I put some lard on top and seal the lid; it will smoke like the house is burning down. The effect is similar to the fat dripping that run off burger patties onto hot coals which gives bbq burgers their distinct flavor. To be extra fancy you can add some wine/mushrooms to what remains in the bag for a sauce.

French laundry does med rare 3 day bricket but IMO this is better.
 

Kyle

Diamond Member
Oct 14, 1999
4,145
11
91
Picked up some prime ribeye cap steaks from Costco that I'm going to try tonight ....the strips are rolled up and tied in to a think circular steak so I think sous vide should work well to get it cooked all the way through to medium rare. Package had 3- I think the next one I'm going to unroll and just either sear the thin strips or maybe grill.
 

agent00f

Lifer
Jun 9, 2016
12,203
1,243
86
Picked up some prime ribeye cap steaks from Costco that I'm going to try tonight ....the strips are rolled up and tied in to a think circular steak so I think sous vide should work well to get it cooked all the way through to medium rare. Package had 3- I think the next one I'm going to unroll and just either sear the thin strips or maybe grill.

Let me know how that goes, I saw those too and they looked good but the only packs they had were 4 for 80 or so.
 

Kyle

Diamond Member
Oct 14, 1999
4,145
11
91
It turned out amazing- cooked it at 134 for a couple hours and finished in the cast iron skillet- a little higher temp than I normally would but figured w/ the fat content it wouldn't dry out at all. I may still unroll the next one I try, but really this was one of the better steaks I've ever had so I might leave as-is. I haven't really liked the previous sous vide steaks I've cooked, but they were quite a bit thinner, so finishing on the stove or grill would end up over cooking them. This one I could have left on a little longer for a better crust, but overall it was really great.



 

agent00f

Lifer
Jun 9, 2016
12,203
1,243
86
Good to hear, going to pick one up. Higher temp and some time might make sense for these since the connective tissue could use a little help to break down. On the thinner steaks you really have to turn up the heat much as possible, like torch, or if on the range use highest smoking point oil right at its limit.
 
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