Hagar’s Ramblings

[tvc184]

I haven’t cooked sous vide in…. 3 days. 

[tvc184]

19 hours ago, Hagar said:

My son sent me this, as he, like his Dad, is a connoisseur of steak.  I prefer mine charbroiled but still, hard to mess up this beautiful piece of meat.

You can sous vide and char broil.

This guy’s  technique sucks but……..

If you do a sous vide correctly, you can finish it by charring on a grill, over charcoal, in a cast-iron skillet, or steel skillet with a torch.

I found a little bit of humor that you pay a good bit extra for a tomahawk steak because of the long bone but then this guy cuts off the bone.

 

[Hagar]

5 minutes ago, tvc184 said:

You can sous vide and char broil.

This guy’s  technique sucks but……..

If you do a sous vide correctly, you can finish it by charring on a grill, over charcoal, in a cast-iron skillet, or steel skillet with a torch.

I found a little bit of humor that you pay a good bit extra for a tomahawk steak because of the long bone but then this guy cuts off the bone.

 

It is ironic, but all I can figure is the bone adds esthetic value.  I prefer boneless, but that long bone adds a caveman look.  And yes, I’d prefer slapping it over charcoal or open flame.

Tell me, what does the Sous Vide (under vacuum) add?  Is it for the meat, or taste?  I don’t think I’ve ever consciously had a steak, or other piece of meat, done that way.

[tvc184]

3 hours ago, Hagar said:

It is ironic, but all I can figure is the bone adds esthetic value.  I prefer boneless, but that long bone adds a caveman look.  And yes, I’d prefer slapping it over charcoal or open flame.

Tell me, what does the Sous Vide (under vacuum) add?  Is it for the meat, or taste?  I don’t think I’ve ever consciously had a steak, or other piece of meat, done that way.

Yeah but he paid $20 extra for the bone and then threw the bone away. 

[tvc184]

3 hours ago, Hagar said:

It is ironic, but all I can figure is the bone adds esthetic value.  I prefer boneless, but that long bone adds a caveman look.  And yes, I’d prefer slapping it over charcoal or open flame.

Tell me, what does the Sous Vide (under vacuum) add?  Is it for the meat, or taste?  I don’t think I’ve ever consciously had a steak, or other piece of meat, done that way.

Sous vide is for perfection.  The example a steak 1.25” to  1.5” thick cooked exactly medium rare edge to edge. There is no trick or grill-master secret to cooking medium well to well done. Just keep cooking by any method until most of the juices are cooked out.

I grew up eating well done T-bone steaks that my parents could afford about once a month and they were about 1/4 inch thick. A little bit of salt and plenty of black pepper and they were quite tasty. An inch and a half steak cooked like that would be shoe leather in my opinion. If someone likes it like that, great. There is no trick to cooking it however.

Rare, medium rare and medium or a completely different issue. There are all kinds of methods to try and get the perfect medium rare steak as an example but not many people can do it every time or maybe even consistently. If someone can then that is awesome. Over a charcoal flame, in a cast-iron skillet, on a griddle, reverse sear in an oven, etc. There are plenty of methods however heat and timing are critical. If the cook time is too short, you have it more rare than you wanted. If it’s too long then it might be more cooked and tough than what you wanted. And is your cast iron skillet is your cast iron skillet 350° or 450°? If you’re going by timing, that matters.

Even for a perfectly cooked medium rare steak over charcoal or on cast-iron, maybe the center 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch might be medium rare. On either side of that it goes from well done at the surface to medium well to medium and fades into medium rare. So if you have a 1.25”thick steak, about 1/4 inch is what you were looking for.

With sous vide it is about 1.25”‘medium rare or all the way through. There is no guesswork for doneness.

Even though his method in the video  is crude and absolutely not exact, what the  guy did was correct. The bag keeps the meat sealed and the water controls the temperature throughout the steak. In a real sv cooker, you control the temperature to the degree. If you want to set the temperature about 128° - 130° for rare, set it and forget it or 134° - 136° for medium rare and so on. The steak can never cook more than the temperature of the water surrounding it. The timing is also not critical. I could leave a sv steak in the water cooking for 90 minutes and up to about three hours. The steak will never get hotter and it will never cook anymore than the temperature you set it for. It will get more tender the longer you cook but that could be a bad thing. Cooking a sv ribeye for about five hours might turn it almost into baby food because it gets so tender. Let’s say for example somebody wants to eat about 5:30 PM. At about 2:45 PM to throw some steaks in the sous vide cooker and walk away. At 5:30 PM  people are not ready so you just leave them in the water bath. 6 PM rolls around and people are ready, take the steaks out and sear them for a few seconds and they are ready to go. Try that with a reverse sear a steak in the oven or throw some steaks on the pit expecting company to be there in 5 PM and….. they aren’t but the steaks have already been cooked.

With sv, take the steaks out, pat them dry on the outside and then sear by whatever method you wish. You want some charcoal glowing white and want to toss the steaks  on the flame for a few seconds to get that char on the outside, do it. A screaming hot cast-iron skillet for about 20 seconds on each side, go for it. The internal part of the state, literally edge to edge besides this year you put on the outside, will be whatever doneness you wanted.

That is long winded but what is the advantage? The temperature in the middle of the steak is done exactly the same every time and throughout the complete steak not just a little strip in the center.

[tvc184]

 

[tvc184]

Watch the video at least to about the 5:20 mark to see the finished steaks. They did ribeye and picanha. This was sous vide at 129° and then finished over charcoal for a sear. Whether you like it rare or it maybe 135° for medium rare or 140° for medium, look at the consistency of the steak throughout. Look at how juicy. 

[Hagar]

8 hours ago, tvc184 said:

Watch the video at least to about the 5:20 mark to see the finished steaks. They did ribeye and picanha. This was sous vide at 129° and then finished over charcoal for a sear. Whether you like it rare or it maybe 135° for medium rare or 140° for medium, look at the consistency of the steak throughout. Look at how juicy. 

Thanks for the info.  I’m a warm red center guy, which only takes a few minutes on the grill.  When cooking beef ribs, I coat them with bbq sauce for a while before cooking.  Get grill HOT and the sauce creates a good char without overcooking the inside.  My son & I are the only two that like them this way, so when whole family is together, it turns into a balancing act, lol.  Others like pink center except SIL who likes his meat done (sacrilege).

[Hagar]

8 hours ago, tvc184 said:

Watch the video at least to about the 5:20 mark to see the finished steaks. They did ribeye and picanha. This was sous vide at 129° and then finished over charcoal for a sear. Whether you like it rare or it maybe 135° for medium rare or 140° for medium, look at the consistency of the steak throughout. Look at how juicy. 

Either one of those look absolutely fantastic.  I’ve never heard of picanha but it looks will sale.  😛😛😛

[tvc184]

6 hours ago, Hagar said:

Thanks for the info.  I’m a warm red center guy, which only takes a few minutes on the grill.  When cooking beef ribs, I coat them with bbq sauce for a while before cooking.  Get grill HOT and the sauce creates a good char without overcooking the inside.  My son & I are the only two that like them this way, so when whole family is together, it turns into a balancing act, lol.  Others like pink center except SIL who likes his meat done (sacrilege).

It isn’t really a time matter. Steaks don’t take long whether grilled, on cast iron or slightly slower, reverse sear then oven finish.

Sous vide obviously isn’t for everyone but any real time is about 5 minutes of setup a couple of hours before you eat.

 The benefit is the temperature you want it such as warm red center and nailing it every time. Then throughout the steak. Oh yeah, and tender. If you want to grind your teeth into a steak in order to eat it, don’t use sous vide  

I can sometimes knock it out of the park in cast iron coming straight from the fridge. That used to be my preferred method.  But sometimes…….. 

About a year ago I had a couple of ribeye steaks that I was going to make sous vide the next day. My wife on a spur of the moment decided she wanted them today.

No resting, no waiting for it to come to room temperature or anything else. Just SPG and straight to the pan.  It was a home run, deep into the upper pavilion in the outfield.  (left field side)

I tried it a couple of weeks later and overcooked it to medium and not medium rare.  It wasn’t bad but it could have been a good bit better.

[tvc184]

6 hours ago, Hagar said:

Either one of those look absolutely fantastic.  I’ve never heard of picanha but it looks will sale.  😛😛😛

And that is the consistency of the method. 

[Hagar]

Got a weird deal so I wanted to ask if any of you seen anything like this.

Our cat, Maise, about 50-50 indoor/outdoor was out and seemed afraid to come in.  After wife called her while she was hunched down on ground, looking at porch, she finally came running in.  Now she won’t go out.  Goes to door, sniffing, and is skittish about every noise.  About a month ago, our daughters cat (they live right next to us) quit going outside.  Was like that about 3 weeks.  Now goes out but stays close to front door.  Never seen a cat do this before.  Ours appears scared to death.

Anyone seen this before?

[AggiesAreWe]

1 hour ago, Hagar said:

Got a weird deal so I wanted to ask if any of you seen anything like this.

Our cat, Maise, about 50-50 indoor/outdoor was out and seemed afraid to come in.  After wife called her while she was hunched down on ground, looking at porch, she finally came running in.  Now she won’t go out.  Goes to door, sniffing, and is skittish about every noise.  About a month ago, our daughters cat (they live right next to us) quit going outside.  Was like that about 3 weeks.  Now goes out but stays close to front door.  Never seen a cat do this before.  Ours appears scared to death.

Anyone seen this before?

My best guess would be dogs or coyotes roaming the neighborhood.

[TxHoops]

3 minutes ago, AggiesAreWe said:

My best guess would be dogs or coyotes roaming the neighborhood.

Agreed.  
 

Second best guess is the cat isn’t fond of that Evadale smell…

[Hagar]

52 minutes ago, AggiesAreWe said:

My best guess would be dogs or coyotes roaming the neighborhood.

No dog problem, and haven’t seen any coyotes.  Do have foxes around, but there hadn’t been a problem with them.

[Hagar]

And wowsy!  Anyone else wonder what they were logging into?  This’ll take some getting use to, lol.

Most of us rarely get to know famous people.  I know a few infamous ones like @TxHoops, lol.  About the only famous person I knew was Johnny Preston (Courville) who sang the 1959 #1 hit for 3 weeks, Running Bear.  It was written by the Big Bopper who was from Beaumont.  Johnny was from Pt. Arthur.  I was working at a local Plant & we had Union construction workers, and at the time (labout 1970) Johnny was with Pipefitters local 195.  He was a great guy and had a beautiful voice.  While performing at a local club he sang RB & dedicated it to my wife.  We had a great time.  He passed away in 2011 of heart failure.  When folks talk of PA, invariably Janice Joplin, who, in my humble opinion, had no singing ability whatsoever, comes up.  Me, I’d rather think of Johnny.  RIP old buddy.

[tvc184]

21 hours ago, Hagar said:

And wowsy!  Anyone else wonder what they were logging into?  This’ll take some getting use to, lol.

Most of us rarely get to know famous people.  I know a few infamous ones like @TxHoops, lol.  About the only famous person I knew was Johnny Preston (Courville) who sang the 1959 #1 hit for 3 weeks, Running Bear.  It was written by the Big Bopper who was from Beaumont.  Johnny was from Pt. Arthur.  I was working at a local Plant & we had Union construction workers, and at the time (labout 1970) Johnny was with Pipefitters local 195.  He was a great guy and had a beautiful voice.  While performing at a local club he sang RB & dedicated it to my wife.  We had a great time.  He passed away in 2011 of heart failure.  When folks talk of PA, invariably Janice Joplin, who, in my humble opinion, had no singing ability whatsoever, comes up.  Me, I’d rather think of Johnny.  RIP old buddy.

I don’t know anyone famous for sure. I have met quite a few and even had one on one conversations with a few. I have spoken a couple of times to Johnny Preston. He seemed like a great guy. 

[Hagar]

3 hours ago, tvc184 said:

I don’t know anyone famous for sure. I have met quite a few and even had one on one conversations with a few. I have spoken a couple of times to Johnny Preston. He seemed like a great guy. 

Hey, you know me.  Oh wait, I fall under the infamous category with TxHoops, lol.  Yes, Johnny was a great guy.  Down to earth.

[baddog]

2 hours ago, Hagar said:

Hey, you know me.  Oh wait, I fall under the infamous category with TxHoops, lol.  Yes, Johnny was a great guy.  Down to earth.

When I think of famous people from Port Arthur, I think of Jimmy Johnson. Babe Zaharias attended Beaumont High with my dad, but she was born in Port Arthur. I think Janice Joplin made the scene because nobody else could sing like that. Lol

[Hagar]

4 hours ago, baddog said:

When I think of famous people from Port Arthur, I think of Jimmy Johnson. Babe Zaharias attended Beaumont High with my dad, but she was born in Port Arthur. I think Janice Joplin made the scene because nobody else could sing like that. Lol

Heavens yes, I was strictly talking of singers.  Johnny could sing.  Janice could………….scream - holler - blast - make you want to clear your throat.

[tvc184]

5 hours ago, baddog said:

When I think of famous people from Port Arthur, I think of Jimmy Johnson. Babe Zaharias attended Beaumont High with my dad, but she was born in Port Arthur. I think Janice Joplin made the scene because nobody else could sing like that. Lol

I actually spoke to Jimmy Johnson privately one time for a few minutes. It helped being in police uniform. Jimmy was at an event at the Holiday Inn in Port Arthur and I ran into him. He was more than happy to talk and have a conversation. 

[Hagar]

27 minutes ago, tvc184 said:

I actually spoke to Jimmy Johnson privately one time for a few minutes. It helped being in police uniform. Jimmy was at an event at the Holiday Inn in Port Arthur and I ran into him. He was more than happy to talk and have a conversation. 

That seems to be a trait of most of our SETX talent.  My son went to school with Tracy Byrd (I graduated with his mom) and he graduated with Clay Walker.  Both good kids who seem to remember their roots.

[tvc184]

6 hours ago, Hagar said:

That seems to be a trait of most of our SETX talent.  My son went to school with Tracy Byrd (I graduated with his mom) and he graduated with Clay Walker.  Both good kids who seem to remember their roots.

I have met Tracy Byrd also but no private conversation. I did chat with Mark Chestnut for a few minutes. He grew up across the street from my sister in law. 

[baddog]

A little ramble from me….

I hate it when I see an elderly person then realize that I went to school with them. 

[tvc184]

1 hour ago, baddog said:

A little ramble from me….

I hate it when I see an elderly person then realize that I went to school with them. 

All the time….

 I think I am pretty well preserved (about to be 67, still have my hair, have no facial hair and almost no wrinkles but just heavier) which can be interesting when someone remembers me but I can’t recognize what they have morphed into. That is especially true with women.  

Lose about 45 pounds and dye my hair and I can enroll in high school…. NOT!!