Cookaholics Bulletin Board

I decided to finally try sous vide steaks using my slow cooker and Thermapen. I had 6 oz. filets mignon, seasoned simply with salt & pepper. Amy kindly gave me a time/temp to shoot for.

The slow cooker held a pretty steady 137 degrees F (a little higher than I was shooting for but close enough) with very little fiddling. (I started with hot water and alternated between keep warm and off.) I finished the steaks with a sear in cast iron. I left them a bit too long on one side, but overall I was pretty well pleased with the results. I definitely couldn't do eggs in this pup, but I think for steaks it's a go.

I used FoodSaver bags; hope I didn't leach too many chemicals into my steaks. Anyone know if they are ok at that temp (I know, I could Google it, but I thought one of you might have done the research already).

Darcie,

They look great! And don't worry about FS plastic - it is rated safe for boiling food in, so that low temp. should be no problem.

Oops...accidentally posted the same photo twice. Extra pic removed!

Beautiful fillets Darcie, how long did you have them at the 137°? I have a West Bend oval slow cooker that I might try.

137º ? Hmmmm...I just thought of another budget SV: I could adjust the pilot in one of my ovens to keep it at that temp. when closed. It was 132º originally, and I turned it down as far as possible, w/o the pilot getting blown out by the woosh of air when the flame turns on each time, and it stays at 115 now. I could put an external thermometer in it to adjust it w/o opening, and to see if it stays very close to that for a few days. As long as my kitchen temp stays the same, that should stay the same.

It really depends on how you like your meat cooked, so I cook at about 135 for a half hour to get medium rare.

Amy

I had them in about 35 minutes. I was shooting for 135 but for some reason 137 was where it wanted to stay so I ran with it.

Dave - I'm not sure if you would get a vessel full of water to keep at that temp in the oven. I think it's important to use water - it's like thawing a chicken. If you thaw it in 40 degree air temp it's not going to thaw as fast as if you have it in 40 degree water. The heat transfer just isn't the same.

Amy,

For rare, would I heat to 123, to allow for a couple degrees rise when I sear it? I am one of those who likes beef quite rare, and usually aim for 125° - I wasn't thinking about that when looking at 137°!

Dave,

Kenji has good steak charts. If you like it really rare, you're about right.

Amy

Thanks Amy. I bookmarked that page for later reference.