Sous Vide Sirloin (eventually!)
Discussion
A couple of months back I was given a sous vide. I have used it a few times and the results have been really good, but not spectacular, but then again I have to ask myself what am I expecting?I'm not one to take pictures normally, usually too tied up with other things, not really "my thing" or just too pished
1. Top side, not something I would normally buy, but it was reduced in Tesco, who can resist. It was OK, the colour was good and consistent all through, medium rare, flavour was better than expected but I thought it was too soft. It was probably the best top side I've had....from a sample of about 5.
2. Butterfly leg of Lamb. Very tender, a little over cooked/too high temperature for me, but again, very good but a little too soft. (pics if you want.)
3. Fillet steak. The best one yet and now starting to take notes! (must try and take pics) 2 steaks about 30mm thick, tiny amount of chopped garlic, thyme and olive oil in the bag 128* for an hour and then seared for 15-20 seconds a side in a red hot pan. Perfect consistent colour, juicy, great texture, wouldn't send it back!
4. Belly Pork......another reduction from Tesco (how sad am I?) I was hoping it was going to be in one piece but it was all wrapped up and I couldn't tell It was 6 pieces. About 1.5kg. Not to worry, off with the rind for crackling, which was consumed way before anything else! (JO) Garlic, rosemary, thyme, sage, (about a tablespoon in total,) a small spoon of olive oil and in the sous vide with it..........150*..........36hrs...........Fantastc flavour, as tender as could be but the fat, soft and full of flavour as it was............... was still............ fat,.......... IYKWIM... I wasn't sure what to do with it and we were hungry by this stage.....36hrs is a long wait for dinner
so I sliced each piece into 3 and grilled it for a couple of minutes, it was really good flavour but had "lost something"..........needs work 
5. Now on to the Sirloin, It's been bought, 2.1kg and I need your help, it doesn't look the best piece TBH and so I think flavour might suffer. We've got a couple of friends over for Saturday, we've all been through the mill the last few months and need a simple rost bif. My original intention was to buy my fav rib, but the butcher didn't have any
I have only (conventionally) roasted sirlion once before and been very disappointed but I had to buy something today because of work commitments.This is what I intend to sous vide....ATM.....130* for 12 hrs is winning...........anyone care to help me out with advice? Mainly with the cooking times and temps, the rare side of medium rare, I'm not bothered with rubs, marinades or unnecessary additions TBH, it will have a few herbs but that's all. Of course it will be seared etc.
Just to update.
I cooked the joint at 133* for 8 hrs. I couldn't find anything about timings for Sirloin this big. Plenty for steaks, but this wasn't a steak.
I had planned for 7 hrs but our guests were delayed. I guess this is one advantage of the sous vide, I just reset the timer & left it "cooking".
In the bag with it went some garlic, Rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper.
It came out pretty well in terms of doneness, I might knock a couple of degrees off next time. It was super tender and a really good texture, not too soft.
The flavour wasn't as good as I wanted, but I wasn't surprised. It tastes better this morning.
I cooked the joint at 133* for 8 hrs. I couldn't find anything about timings for Sirloin this big. Plenty for steaks, but this wasn't a steak.
I had planned for 7 hrs but our guests were delayed. I guess this is one advantage of the sous vide, I just reset the timer & left it "cooking".
In the bag with it went some garlic, Rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper.
It came out pretty well in terms of doneness, I might knock a couple of degrees off next time. It was super tender and a really good texture, not too soft.
The flavour wasn't as good as I wanted, but I wasn't surprised. It tastes better this morning.
Looks good, perhaps even a little too rare for me.
I'm sure sous vide is a great tool to have, I don't own one but would like to try it one day, but for a roasting joint like that I think I'd prefer to do a reverse sear type thing. Stick it in a low oven for several hours with a thermometer in the middle and stop when it hits a few degrees below your required level of doneness, take it out and cover with foil, turn the oven up to the max and then stick it back in for 15-20 mins to brown up the outside and finish cooking it in the middle.
I'm sure sous vide is a great tool to have, I don't own one but would like to try it one day, but for a roasting joint like that I think I'd prefer to do a reverse sear type thing. Stick it in a low oven for several hours with a thermometer in the middle and stop when it hits a few degrees below your required level of doneness, take it out and cover with foil, turn the oven up to the max and then stick it back in for 15-20 mins to brown up the outside and finish cooking it in the middle.
I agree with you about reverse sear, I've done it once on a 3 rib roast and it was a great way to cook it. It easily went into number one position for taste and consistency of "doneness"
My problem was getting the oven temperature to be constant and in finding a thermometer that I could insert in the meat and leave in the oven. Does such a thing exist? The one I've got has a trailing lead and after a few uses I noticed that the temperature readings were no longer accurate, possibly because it was being crushed in the oven door.
The sous vide, from my very limited experience, has the advantage that the temperature is very constant and whatever you're cooking can be forgotten about, for hours or even days. Likewise, searing happens at the end.
I'll continue to experiment with it, I'm a bit surprised that there seems to be so little interest on here about it. I guess they're still a bit niche. Mine was a gift so no £ outlay
My problem was getting the oven temperature to be constant and in finding a thermometer that I could insert in the meat and leave in the oven. Does such a thing exist? The one I've got has a trailing lead and after a few uses I noticed that the temperature readings were no longer accurate, possibly because it was being crushed in the oven door.
The sous vide, from my very limited experience, has the advantage that the temperature is very constant and whatever you're cooking can be forgotten about, for hours or even days. Likewise, searing happens at the end.
I'll continue to experiment with it, I'm a bit surprised that there seems to be so little interest on here about it. I guess they're still a bit niche. Mine was a gift so no £ outlay
Sous vide really comes into it's own with cheap cuts tougher cuts. Try pig and ox cheek, pork belly, ribs and shoulder, those cheap roasting joints sliced thinly and beef ribs.
Salmon works well so play about with fish and eggs poached in their shell are amazing too.
Mashed potatoes are meant to be great but I had a bag splitting disaster so not tried it since.
Salmon works well so play about with fish and eggs poached in their shell are amazing too.
Mashed potatoes are meant to be great but I had a bag splitting disaster so not tried it since.
ChrisnChris said:
I'll continue to experiment with it, I'm a bit surprised that there seems to be so little interest on here about it. I guess they're still a bit niche. Mine was a gift so no £ outlay
I think the lack of response is largely because those who do or have use sous vide may have reached the conclusion that for home use its a lot of effort for what are often questionable results.I used SV extensively in a catering environment and restaurants but very rarely at home.
If you want to experiement with it try confit duck SV, thats one use where it has real benefits and for a couple of quid you can get the polyscience app which will give you precise times and temps for almost anything.
Another really good use of SV is for cooking vegetables, SV asparagus and carrots are really good.
ChrisnChris said:
My problem was getting the oven temperature to be constant and in finding a thermometer that I could insert in the meat and leave in the oven. Does such a thing exist? The one I've got has a trailing lead and after a few uses I noticed that the temperature readings were no longer accurate, possibly because it was being crushed in the oven door.
Yes it does. I have a 'Heston Blumenthal' one which cost around £5 I think, probably from the cookware section at Waitrose.Possibly my most used kitchen gadget as it takes the guesswork out of doneness.
ChrisnChris said:
4. Belly Pork......another reduction from Tesco (how sad am I?) I was hoping it was going to be in one piece but it was all wrapped up and I couldn't tell It was 6 pieces. About 1.5kg. Not to worry, off with the rind for crackling, which was consumed way before anything else! (JO) Garlic, rosemary, thyme, sage, (about a tablespoon in total,) a small spoon of olive oil and in the sous vide with it..........150*..........36hrs...........Fantastc flavour, as tender as could be but the fat, soft and full of flavour as it was............... was still............ fat,.......... IYKWIM... I wasn't sure what to do with it and we were hungry by this stage.....36hrs is a long wait for dinner so I sliced each piece into 3 and grilled it for a couple of minutes, it was really good flavour but had "lost something"..........needs work
I've found that on the whole, fatty cuts that need some of the fat rendering out, like pork shoulder and belly and some fattier lamb cuts are better served low and slow in an oven rather than sous vide. My best results have always been with steaks, duck, fish and eggs. so I sliced each piece into 3 and grilled it for a couple of minutes, it was really good flavour but had "lost something"..........needs work Mobile Chicane said:
ChrisnChris said:
My problem was getting the oven temperature to be constant and in finding a thermometer that I could insert in the meat and leave in the oven. Does such a thing exist? The one I've got has a trailing lead and after a few uses I noticed that the temperature readings were no longer accurate, possibly because it was being crushed in the oven door.
Yes it does. I have a 'Heston Blumenthal' one which cost around £5 I think, probably from the cookware section at Waitrose.Possibly my most used kitchen gadget as it takes the guesswork out of doneness.
All interesting thoughts and everything confirms my own experience, fatty meats etc.
I tried the eggs, I wasn't sure what to expect & it (I only did one, multiples would have been the same) was very under cooked & ended up in the frying pan, it took me by surprise!
Confit duck sounds interesting and veg worth a shot. I guess fish gets hurled under a "hotter than the sun" grill for a few seconds to finish.
I looked for the thermometer referred to, I used to have one, it was my mum's, but it went the way of all things. And thinking about it.....I'd have to clean the oven door
I only tested my trailing thermometer with boiling water and it would read anything from about 60-90 definitely something wrong.
My guides so far on reverse sear and sous vide, have mainly been these for anyone interested;
https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/sous-vide-tim...
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpFuaxD-0PKLolFR3...
https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/win-the-holid...
https://www.seriouseats.com/2015/11/how-to-make-po...
https://www.seriouseats.com/2009/12/the-food-lab-h...
https://www.seriouseats.com/2013/10/sous-vide-101-...
Anyhow, I'll still continue experimenting when the opportunity arises & probably resurrect this thread instead of starting a new one.
I tried the eggs, I wasn't sure what to expect & it (I only did one, multiples would have been the same) was very under cooked & ended up in the frying pan, it took me by surprise!
Confit duck sounds interesting and veg worth a shot. I guess fish gets hurled under a "hotter than the sun" grill for a few seconds to finish.
I looked for the thermometer referred to, I used to have one, it was my mum's, but it went the way of all things. And thinking about it.....I'd have to clean the oven door
I only tested my trailing thermometer with boiling water and it would read anything from about 60-90 definitely something wrong.
My guides so far on reverse sear and sous vide, have mainly been these for anyone interested;
https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/sous-vide-tim...
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpFuaxD-0PKLolFR3...
https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/win-the-holid...
https://www.seriouseats.com/2015/11/how-to-make-po...
https://www.seriouseats.com/2009/12/the-food-lab-h...
https://www.seriouseats.com/2013/10/sous-vide-101-...
Anyhow, I'll still continue experimenting when the opportunity arises & probably resurrect this thread instead of starting a new one.
Half the cr&*p on the web on SV is done by someone at home who thinks they know what they are doing.
As you say, do your own experimentation and research. Come up with your own conclusions and specs.
For duck try legs with normal confit seasonings at 80c for 6-7 hours. Skate is amazing SV, just finish in a hot pan with beurre noisette, red wine vinegar, parsley and capers.
You can even cook the skate from frozen if you need to. I used to get wings, vac pac and freeze with butter and seasoning ready to dip at 70c for about 20 mins.
As you say, do your own experimentation and research. Come up with your own conclusions and specs.
For duck try legs with normal confit seasonings at 80c for 6-7 hours. Skate is amazing SV, just finish in a hot pan with beurre noisette, red wine vinegar, parsley and capers.
You can even cook the skate from frozen if you need to. I used to get wings, vac pac and freeze with butter and seasoning ready to dip at 70c for about 20 mins.
21TonyK said:
Skate is amazing SV, just finish in a hot pan with beurre noisette, red wine vinegar, parsley and capers.
You can even cook the skate from frozen if you need to. I used to get wings, vac pac and freeze with butter and seasoning ready to dip at 70c for about 20 mins.
Hmm, got some skate in the freezer You can even cook the skate from frozen if you need to. I used to get wings, vac pac and freeze with butter and seasoning ready to dip at 70c for about 20 mins.
The last of the sirloin, cold tonight with salad & enough for a sarnie tomorrow lunch, getting a bit tricky to slice, 10 portions in all. £35
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