Jason Logsdon's Blog, page 31
January 13, 2018
What's Your Passion?: Dailey Crafton from Levenaut Beer Company
January 12, 2018
Sous Vide and Modernist Cooking Blog: Do You Need to Use an Ice Bath After Sous Vide?
One of the more confusing aspects of sous vide is whether or not to use an ice bath. There are times that using one is very important, times that it can be useful for flavor development, and times it isn't needed at all.
Because of this, people can take ice bath usage out of context and use it when they don't need to. Here is a detailed look at when you should use an ice bath, and when it doesn't matter.
When You Need a Post-Sous Vide Ice Bath
The only time you really need to use an ice bath is when you are going to store food for later and it has come right out of the sous vide machine. For example, you cook 5 bags of chicken breasts, eat one for dinner and put the others into your freezer, in the sous vide bags, to eat later.
Read the entire entry...
January 11, 2018
Modernist Recipes: Sous Vide Farro Recipe
January 9, 2018
Sous Vide and Modernist Cooking Blog: Should You Put Butter in the Sous Vide Bag?
There is a lot of discussion about whether or not you should add butter, oil, or other fats to your sous vide bag. Here's a look at some of the issues so you'll know how to maximize your flavor. The butter argument depends on what type of protein you are cooking, so I'll address meat and fish separately.
Should You Add Butter to Sous Vide Beef or Chicken?
When it comes to simple but flavorful food nothing beats a perfectly cooked steak with melted butter on it. Because of this, many people put butter into their sous vide bags to "flavor" the meat. However, there are a few things at play here, especially for red meat like beef or lamb, but also to a lesser extent chicken and pork.
Read the entire entry...
Sous Vide and Modernist Cooking Blog: Is It Safe to Use Raw Garlic in Sous Vide?
There has been a lot of talk lately about whether or not it is safe to use raw garlic in sous vide. I figured I would address the concerns and go into a little more detail about the issue.
There are two key points when using raw garlic: flavor and safety.
Does Raw Garlic in Sous Vide Taste Good?
The first discussion point with using raw garlic, and the quickest one to discuss, is whether or not raw garlic in sous vide actually tastes good. Most of us are used to adding raw garlic when we cook meat so it is a natural transition to start including it with sous vide.
However, there is a major difference between cooking meat sous vide and roasting or pan frying it, and that is the low temperatures used in sous vide. Because sous vide meat is cooked using low heat, any garlic in the bag won't actually "cook" during the sous vide process. This obviously affects the final dish because raw and cooked garlic have very different flavors. This is also true of any aromatics like onions, shallots, or carrots.
Read the entire entry...January 2, 2018
Sous Vide and Modernist Cooking Blog: How to Sous Vide Grains like Farro, Bulgur and Quinoa
For a long time I never bothered to cook grains using sous vide, they were just so easy to make on the stove...or so I thought!
A year or two ago I began eating oatmeal for breakfast most mornings, and the cleanup of the pot started to become a hassle. I finally turned to sous vide to try and solve it and I loved the results. Not only was there no clean up, I also didn't have to watch a pot to make sure it didn't boil over or dry out. And I could definitely use that help when I'm sleepy in the mornings and not thinking straight!
From oatmeal, I branched out into other grains and now I cook the majority of them using sous vide. I just love the convenience and not having to worry about whether the pot is boiling, or too dry or any other factors.
It is also simple to mix and match grains in one container, as long as they cook for the same amount of time. This makes it easy to add some variety to my meals without much extra effort.
If you are interested in learning more about how to sous vide grains, then you can read more about it!
Read the entire entry...January 1, 2018
Sous Vide and Modernist Cooking Blog: Why is the Sous Vide Pulled Pork Temperature Different Than Smoking?
I'm new to sous vide and a little confused. I have smoked a ton of boston butts over the last 15 years and and my magic number is 203 for internal temp usually running 250-275 for 8 to 10 hours (no crutch). I used to cook lower and slower but the above mentioned seems to give me the best results on my smoker (nice bark, tender and juicy).
Back to sous vide. My question is why shouldn't I set my sous vide machine to 203 and run the same number of hours? Everything I have read including the article above has much lower temps. This doesn't make any sense to me since it seems you would still want to get to the same internal temp to get similar results.
If a shoulder is normally supposed to be cooked to an internal temp between 190-205 (see any meat chart) why would that be any different when cooking sous vide?
- Mick
Thanks for the great question Mick! There's a lot that goes into this and I'll try to clear it up below. Most of it comes down to what you are trying to accomplish texture-wise.
Read the entire entry...
