Welcome, guys!
Here's the info on the oxtail: Oxtail Cooked Sous-vide For 100 Hours – Stefan's Gourmet Blog (I've done it with neck bones because I went to the Mexican market and they were dirt cheap)
Here's the info on the oxtail: Oxtail Cooked Sous-vide For 100 Hours – Stefan's Gourmet Blog (I've done it with neck bones because I went to the Mexican market and they were dirt cheap)
Yeah, there's not much broth left once you coagulate the liquid and drain it, although when I've done this long cook with beef neck (I didn't do this recipe in specific), I had a decent amount of liquid that I reduced with a puree of sauteed onions and mushrooms.
You probably could add a bit of water to the bag before starting if broth is a priority, or go with a traditional braise. I've done beef sous vide with some sundried tomato paste and pre-sauteed onions before as a "Bolognese" base (please be generous with the air quotes) that I added to tomato sauce with the remaining ingredients. Benefit for me was being able to start the beef the night before and finish the meal quickly.
P.S. Scott, looks like you're no longer in limbo, soon back in your own kitchen?
You probably could add a bit of water to the bag before starting if broth is a priority, or go with a traditional braise. I've done beef sous vide with some sundried tomato paste and pre-sauteed onions before as a "Bolognese" base (please be generous with the air quotes) that I added to tomato sauce with the remaining ingredients. Benefit for me was being able to start the beef the night before and finish the meal quickly.
P.S. Scott, looks like you're no longer in limbo, soon back in your own kitchen?
Yes, but the freezer is completely full of moose and lamb.
I sort of prefer the types of cattle that where common a century ago. In the types that are most interesting, the fat content in the milk is at 8% or slightly above, and they thrive out in the forest, eat leaves, bark, heath, grass and so on. The more natural equivalent of concentrated feeds for these cattle is oat grain, and leftover barley grain after malt production.
The meat is more "marmorated" and has flavor.
I sort of prefer the types of cattle that where common a century ago. In the types that are most interesting, the fat content in the milk is at 8% or slightly above, and they thrive out in the forest, eat leaves, bark, heath, grass and so on. The more natural equivalent of concentrated feeds for these cattle is oat grain, and leftover barley grain after malt production.
The meat is more "marmorated" and has flavor.
Great! I've convinced a few people to try food rarer than they otherwise would when it's done SV and they gain an appreciation that it's not raw in the middle.
What did you end up doing timing/temp wise?
P.S. Tangentially related to SV: I figured out that cereal bags heat seal really well in a Foodsaver. You can't get the same level of vacuum that you can with the dedicated bag material, but I can often get close enough by "helping" the vacuum pump out by squeezing down on the food. It works well enough for most SV applications that aren't the long braises, but more so we've been vacuum bagging (washed out cereal bags) a lot of things that we'd otherwise put into ziplock bags. Hits two out of the three R's of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
Our biggest disappointment with sous vide cooking has been Pork Tenderloin. It comes out perfectly cooked, and with an ideal texture, and flavorless. All of the roasted Pork Tenderloin recipes (in the oven) are 100x better tasting and, honestly, we prefer to "take the risk" of imperfectly known, somewhat unpredictable final meat temperature, in exchange for excellent flavor.
By the way mister KLA is right: a sous vide burger is a transcendant object, a wonderful delight to the senses. We finish them in a Lodge cast iron "Chicken Fryer" pan, heated to the smoke point and held there for an additional 90 seconds before tossing in the burgers for encrustation.
By the way mister KLA is right: a sous vide burger is a transcendant object, a wonderful delight to the senses. We finish them in a Lodge cast iron "Chicken Fryer" pan, heated to the smoke point and held there for an additional 90 seconds before tossing in the burgers for encrustation.
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"Bone-in" pork tenderloin cooked in a slow oven -- you're never gonna get the fragrance and taste sous vide.
Me, I use an abundance of caraway seed, mixed with brown sugar, cardamon and cumin smeared on the fatty-side of the pork.
Making accommodations to familial circumstances the beast is probably a wee-bit over done for more modern tastes, but it keeps peace if only the smallest evidence of pink is evidenced in the final product.
Accompaniments -- pierogies, brussels sprouts etc.
I realize that cuts of meat have different names in different places, but do you mean "pork loin" rather than "tenderloin"? Pork tenderloin has neither bone nor fat. Which may accountfor the absence of flavor when cooked sous vide.
Never even tried doing pork tenderloin SV, since it cooks so nicely out on the grill (and doesn't need the tenderizing SV can provide), but good to know I'm not missing anything!
I've only done SV burgers once, and I'm pretty sure it was a flop mechanically (I screwed up), but probably worth trying again.
In the end it's a tool: for someone who enjoys the slow cooking methods and has the wherewithal to make it happen, I see limited benefit. The convenience factor and exploring much longer, lower temp "braises" than I otherwise tried has been the biggest advantages I've realized. Certainly doesn't replace the basics.
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