My goodness Tony, I almost hit the ‘report’ button on that one! 😳
I’ve neen wanting to get me one of these immersion cookers but am still having a hard time getting around the image of a cesspool of bacteria forming with such low temps and extended cook times! I know its unfounded fear but……. 😎
I’ve neen wanting to get me one of these immersion cookers but am still having a hard time getting around the image of a cesspool of bacteria forming with such low temps and extended cook times! I know its unfounded fear but……. 😎
Google is your friend here Bob. Temperature determines how long it takes for the bugs to die it's true. But lower temperature just means it takes longer. They all die eventually. There are all kinds of charts and tables out there to put your mind at ease.
I chose the wand type immersion cooker because I wanted to have the choice of container size. I have three different coolers I use. I can do up to four lamb legs at once in the big one.
Tony, I get along great with bagged veggies. They are the best for making a big pot of soup. No cleaning, paring or cutting. All the same size. Often costing less than fresh. What's not to like? Maybe I don't use them as you guys do but who cares, they're great. The peas, corn, carrot and green bean mix is a standby. I think of it as my feed 20 in 20. (20 people, 20 minutes prep).
I chose the wand type immersion cooker because I wanted to have the choice of container size. I have three different coolers I use. I can do up to four lamb legs at once in the big one.
Tony, I get along great with bagged veggies. They are the best for making a big pot of soup. No cleaning, paring or cutting. All the same size. Often costing less than fresh. What's not to like? Maybe I don't use them as you guys do but who cares, they're great. The peas, corn, carrot and green bean mix is a standby. I think of it as my feed 20 in 20. (20 people, 20 minutes prep).
We too have beans in a can. My wife loves the Maple flavoured pinto beans.
It's just that we don't have chili beans in a can in our stores, just kidney beans, so I always start with dry. Also, that way I'm not settling for someone else's idea of what a cooked bean should be.
Aaah... I understand your issue now...
We don't buy our canned beans flavored. No "pork and beans", no "chili beans"... we just buy the canned beans, usually just with salt added.
So, it's halfway there... as much as I like cooking with raw beans, my typical 'world-view" of making dinner is 8 hours... as in, "what do we make for dinner tonite?". (*) My daughter, the chef, has a longer view towards cooking meals so she will soak the beans overnight, as they should.
That said, I do have a couple of cans of lentils ( from the Persian store ) which I love to pan fry on the the drippings of roasted beef and pork. But we also have a lot of lentils of several kinds and I just simply love lentils... and garbanzos too.... ;-)
Yes, those frozen veggies are actually very tasty. They make fancy ones that you can use in the stir fry... we use them often... just reach into the freezer and pop them right onto the hot wok.... cook them just a little bit longer and then add the fresh ingredients... like mushrooms..... yum!
I was teasing you. ;-)
Oh, I've never made a whole leg of lamb... but I have made whole pork legs and even large turkeys... smoked first then finished very slowly on the BBQ... I guess you would need a very large sous vide container for those big cuts. Are the immersion style wands powerful enough? We bought my daughter a very large one last year and she uses it with rather large containers ( about 2x1.5x1.5 foot ).
(*) That's why I got a full freezer and secondary fridge in the garage, full of stuff. Ideally we'd have a walk in fridge and freezer... next house we build, I hope! We don't buy food for a meal, except for Christmas perhaps. We buy food to stock the freezer/fridge/pantry and then we use what we got in stock to cook meals.
We don't buy our canned beans flavored. No "pork and beans", no "chili beans"... we just buy the canned beans, usually just with salt added.
So, it's halfway there... as much as I like cooking with raw beans, my typical 'world-view" of making dinner is 8 hours... as in, "what do we make for dinner tonite?". (*) My daughter, the chef, has a longer view towards cooking meals so she will soak the beans overnight, as they should.
That said, I do have a couple of cans of lentils ( from the Persian store ) which I love to pan fry on the the drippings of roasted beef and pork. But we also have a lot of lentils of several kinds and I just simply love lentils... and garbanzos too.... ;-)
Yes, those frozen veggies are actually very tasty. They make fancy ones that you can use in the stir fry... we use them often... just reach into the freezer and pop them right onto the hot wok.... cook them just a little bit longer and then add the fresh ingredients... like mushrooms..... yum!
I was teasing you. ;-)
Oh, I've never made a whole leg of lamb... but I have made whole pork legs and even large turkeys... smoked first then finished very slowly on the BBQ... I guess you would need a very large sous vide container for those big cuts. Are the immersion style wands powerful enough? We bought my daughter a very large one last year and she uses it with rather large containers ( about 2x1.5x1.5 foot ).
(*) That's why I got a full freezer and secondary fridge in the garage, full of stuff. Ideally we'd have a walk in fridge and freezer... next house we build, I hope! We don't buy food for a meal, except for Christmas perhaps. We buy food to stock the freezer/fridge/pantry and then we use what we got in stock to cook meals.
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I think the good late Dr. Gonzo (aka Hunter S. Thompson) would be at the receiving end of so many "reports"....
Actually, with bacteria, the FDA finally changed their rules to take time into account. It's not just the temperature but the combination of temperature and time.
Think of it as how much power got put into the pesky bacteria... if you cook something long enough and hot enough you will kill it.
For stuff like steaks cooked at no more than 129F for one hour per inch... or fish which should be cooked at no more than 115F for 20 minutes... you don't give the bacteria the time to become an issue.
My daughter makes some awesome soft eggs in the sous vide too, at a fairly low temp but a short time... They turn out delicious and we haven't kick off the bucket.
Give it a try, I think you will love it.
Braised beef ribs in a sous vide: (*)
In a plastic vacuum bag, mix boneless beef ribs cut into large cubes, two tablespoons of tomato paste, a few ice cubes (**) of frozen red wine, salt, pepper, herbs of your choice, crushed garlic, bay leaves ( optionally add two tablespoons of spanish smoke paprika).
Seal the bag and drop it into a sous vide bath at 140F. On Friday at 4PM.
On Saturday morning and evening, take the bag out and massage it a bit so things get mixed... then return to water.
Sunday at 4PM take it out, serve over rice with some veggies, a salad, french bread and a good strong red wine.
No need for a knife... the beef comes apart with the fork and it is not stringy at all.
(*) This recipe also works with pork carnitas.... vary the ingredients and hold for only 24 hours. Then you must finish it on a very hot grill. Makes the best tacos you've ever had... or Cuban style with cumin black beans and white rice....
(**) The reason for freezing the liquids like this is because the cheapy vacuum machines suck the air out of the bag and they can't handle liquids. I want to buy one of them fancy professional chamber vacuum machines but I need to find room in the kitchen for it first...
I have a medium priced Foodsaver unit that does moist. Just have to remember to empty the trough when you're done.
I also have one of those Foodsavers vacuum machines... but I destroyed one using too much liquid in my bags.
My end goal machine is a chamber vacuum machine, that way we can freeze rice, soups, jellies, etc... but like the 14" deli slicer, those suckers are big.
My end goal machine is a chamber vacuum machine, that way we can freeze rice, soups, jellies, etc... but like the 14" deli slicer, those suckers are big.
Chili beans refers to the bean not flavouring. They are kidney bean's little brother. South of the border you also call them red beans or Adzukis. Most people in western Canada use kidney beans for their chilis as they don't know what a chili bean is unless they buy them dry.
Well, if you're gonna cheat with chili. go all the way.... SoCal... such a variety of stuff... at Tokyo Central in Gardena... used to be Marukai.
Da Portugee sausage, btw, is worth the trip... and Zippy's, expensive, but so local...
Da Portugee sausage, btw, is worth the trip... and Zippy's, expensive, but so local...
beans and wheats/grains.. ( bread ).
You can start by looking here...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apicius
https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/29728/pg29728-images.html
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Oh.... Easter... just the two of us.
Roasted boneless turkey breast in its own gravy, rice, roasted veggies. A very nice bottle of Zaca Mesa from Santa Ynez Valley...
Roasted boneless turkey breast in its own gravy, rice, roasted veggies. A very nice bottle of Zaca Mesa from Santa Ynez Valley...
If you google Columbian Exchange you can see lists and graphics of what went from the 'new' world to the 'old', and vice versa.
Tomatos, peppers, squash, corn, beans, potatoes, turkeys, cacao to the east; olives. grapes, wheat, pigs, cows, bananas, coffee, and diseases to the west.
Tomatos, peppers, squash, corn, beans, potatoes, turkeys, cacao to the east; olives. grapes, wheat, pigs, cows, bananas, coffee, and diseases to the west.
Here‘s the best vacuum sealer i‘ve ever used, get some good quality zipped freezer bags, put the little coffee straw (must be a good thick walled, hard plastic kind) in the corner of the bag zip it until it basically closed onto the straw and suck! Slide out the straw and zip it shut the rest of the way at the same time……….works great for anything except maybe raw chicken (your sucker don‘t need no salmonella!)
It works surprisingly well. 😎
It works surprisingly well. 😎
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Ah yes, the poor man's sealer. I do it for many things. The other manual way is of course to submerge the bag in water to force the air out. Good for short term things like sous vide.
I've done all of that... it works quite well. Specially when you use the "zip" ziplock bags.
But, it just so happens I want a toy.
After all, I already got like 22 stereo amps.... my SissySIT should be on the road to me today!
I wonder how good this one is ( I think of it as a class D vacuum sealer ):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GZH6Y36?tag=bravesoftwa04-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1&language=en_US
This is more like it for me... This is a full on Class A vacuum sealer! ;D
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001Q3LSW4/ref=sbl_dpx_kitchen-vacuum-sealers_B08GZH6Y36_0
But, it just so happens I want a toy.
After all, I already got like 22 stereo amps.... my SissySIT should be on the road to me today!
I wonder how good this one is ( I think of it as a class D vacuum sealer ):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GZH6Y36?tag=bravesoftwa04-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1&language=en_US
This is more like it for me... This is a full on Class A vacuum sealer! ;D
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001Q3LSW4/ref=sbl_dpx_kitchen-vacuum-sealers_B08GZH6Y36_0
Both look nice.
This one here https://www.amazon.ca/FoodSaver-V44...ocphy=9060807&hvtargid=pla-440500001481&psc=1 has done me fine for a couple years now.
This one here https://www.amazon.ca/FoodSaver-V44...ocphy=9060807&hvtargid=pla-440500001481&psc=1 has done me fine for a couple years now.
Yeah.. that's the one we have... we got it a Costco a few years ago... but we paid a lot less. Dang it, that's pricey.
So, tonite we had leftovers... it was fusion to the max.
We noted that if we rotated our plates 30 degrees we found ourselves in cultures 4000 to 8000 miles away! 🙂
Roasted turkey breast on mashed potatoes and gravy, tonkasu, arroz con pollo, melon and cucumber salsa, jicama salad (*), some dark and strange Korean stuff my daughter made last week, Trader Joe's corn chips, green salad, japanese noodle salad, etc.. you get the idea. I think we had more things... it was a cornucopia of colors and shapes.
We were hungry, kept the microwave busy... ;-0
(*) My wife concocted that one last night... jicama and carrots in Japanese Hot Mustard dressing...
So, tonite we had leftovers... it was fusion to the max.
We noted that if we rotated our plates 30 degrees we found ourselves in cultures 4000 to 8000 miles away! 🙂
Roasted turkey breast on mashed potatoes and gravy, tonkasu, arroz con pollo, melon and cucumber salsa, jicama salad (*), some dark and strange Korean stuff my daughter made last week, Trader Joe's corn chips, green salad, japanese noodle salad, etc.. you get the idea. I think we had more things... it was a cornucopia of colors and shapes.
We were hungry, kept the microwave busy... ;-0
(*) My wife concocted that one last night... jicama and carrots in Japanese Hot Mustard dressing...
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