Thread: just wanted to share tonight's dinner with you guys..

Also, learned to make outstanding chopped chicken livers from my mother's and grandmother's recipes. One that I never mastered was making Gefilte Fish. A long drawn out process - many hours simmering on the stove. She'd make them in huge quantities for a number of years because for a while they were popular items in our neighborhood grocery store among our non Jewish customers.

Ah yeah, last time I made tongue was few months ago - it's something like $6/lb but almost always too big at around 3.5lb-4lb per tongue which is how it's packaged (if not mistaken by company called rumba). I asked a couple of times if they'd consider cutting it and selling me part of it, say half, the answer once was 'I'm too low in the hierarchy to make such a decision', and 'It's sunday afternoon and there is not much shopping anymore, we may do it but has to be when the store is busy'.

So, few months ago I saw a small package that was a bit under 3lb and got that - still a lot of beef but better
It's pretty easy to cook - just boil it may be with some vegetables and spices, then shock it in ice water and it peels very easy. I like it chilled and may be make a tomato/wine sauce with almonds and something sweet, say raisins, to pour over it. Or lingua tacos Sooo good!

I like brain too (I've had goat/sheep/pork), but never seen it for sale.

Maaaan, lingua tacos are so good. I would give skeptics a bite of mine and tell them afterward that it was tongue, most people won't notice a difference...

Rib-eye steak/entrecôte with thymed fava beans and a creamy chantarelle sauce.
Seared the steak on a cast iron grill pan, then sous vide cooked it at 58c/136f.

Originally Posted by str8fencer

Rib-eye steak/entrecôte with thymed fava beans and a creamy chantarelle sauce.
Seared the steak on a cast iron grill pan, then sous vide cooked it at 58c/136f.

Do you sear before AND after sous vide or just before? I usually sear after and have had good results doing it that way. But many of my books suggest searing before and after.

Originally Posted by OCDshaver

Do you sear before AND after sous vide or just before? I usually sear after and have had good results doing it that way. But many of my books suggest searing before and after.

I sear before. I have not tried searing after, I really don't want to overcook and find the flavors from the maillard reaction is strong enough just searing beforehand.. but I am reading Modernist Cuisine right now, so that might change

I seared the hell out of a ribeye last night,ribbed cast Iron pan (done outside),near red hot pan, 4 mins per side black, crispy

Originally Posted by str8fencer

I sear before. I have not tried searing after, I really don't want to overcook and find the flavors from the maillard reaction is strong enough just searing beforehand.. but I am reading Modernist Cuisine right now, so that might change

I sear after because I want the texture of the meat to be that of just having been seared. I always worry that searing before might compromise that. Many of the books I've read on it suggest that you might not be able to get a good sear on the meat due to the fact that the surface is not as dry as it might otherwise be. But patting it dry on paper has it just as dry as it would be raw. From that perspective, I'm not concerned. My biggest concern is if there is a flavor difference that I'm missing out on. I guess an experiment is the only way to know for sure. It is often said that skin from chicken and fish will not crisp properly after sous vide because it will have absorbed too much water during the process. That too I feel is untrue as I have had good luck with both seared after sous vide. But I share the same concern about searing before AND after while trying not to overcook.

I sear before, since I want to allow the maillard reaction enough time to develop fully. If you do not sear before, you miss out on a lot of the flavors since the prolonged heat from the sous vide helps develop the flavors instigated by the early searing. Pretty much like sautèing under a lid. If you wanted to crisp it up and get rid of the extra moisture, you could fire the skillet up like pixelfixed, red hot, and give it just 10 seconds each side. However, technically speaking, I fail to see how the meat would be more moist after sous vide, since there is no liquid in contact with the meat.. Any juice found inside the pack after the sous vide cooking, actually was expelled from the meat. So it stands to reason that the meat, practically speaking, in reality is drier than it was before cooking, not the other way around.. In my experience it will crisp up just fine.

For crisping up chicken I bring out the old blowtorch, thats a lot of fun actually :P

Originally Posted by str8fencer

I sear before, since I want to allow the maillard reaction enough time to develop fully. If you do not sear before, you miss out on a lot of the flavors since the prolonged heat from the sous vide helps develop the flavors instigated by the early searing. Pretty much like sautèing under a lid. If you wanted to crisp it up and get rid of the extra moisture, you could fire the skillet up like pixelfixed, red hot, and give it just 10 seconds each side. However, technically speaking, I fail to see how the meat would be more moist after sous vide, since there is no liquid in contact with the meat.. Any juice found inside the pack after the sous vide cooking, actually was expelled from the meat. So it stands to reason that the meat, practically speaking, in reality is drier than it was before cooking, not the other way around.. In my experience it will crisp up just fine.

For crisping up chicken I bring out the old blowtorch, thats a lot of fun actually :P

I don't think the concern about the moisture is that of absorbing outside moisture because as we know, it doesn't come in contact with outside moisture. I believe the concern is that the skin cells of the chicken or fish would absorb to much of the meat juices and make browning difficult. Again, not a problem I've encountered. I've come to realize that some things are simply not as good cooked sous vide. I prefer rack of lamb done in an oven. Green vegetables taste great cooked sous vide but look terrible. On the other hand items like sausage and duck confit are great cooked sous vide. I would never be without one again. This NY strip was cooked sous vide, the vegetables were not.