Weekend Update

[ptechnix]

Well it's a bit of a belated weekend update, but I've been rather busy all weekend. Going out to Nazimi on Friday night, Almond Bar Sat night, and Le Gerbe D'or on Sunday for brunch. Most of Sat was spent relaxing with the day kicked off with Waffles for brekkie. Unfortunately this were just the frozen kind as I don't have a Waffle iron. I miss the

Comments

[tyra8]

Oh my goodness...everything looks so good and I bet they taste even better! I'm so hungry right now!

[ptechnix]

Thanks! I hope you have something close by to snack on :)

[nakedpetals]

omg yum.

please come cook at my house when your over in Wellington =)

[ptechnix]

Hahaha, I'll make an extra sandwich for our road trip and drop it off at your doorstep on the way through in a couple of weeks! :D

[ourownact]

far out! are you sure you're not a chef with michelin stars under your belt?

[ptechnix]

Hahaha, I wish! The dish itself is not that hard at all, it was all just the messing around with the temperature that was the complicated part since I didn't have the right equipment!

[equinox_han]

i think - f* amazing - is an understatement. My man is a big big big big fan of duck, we both are, really. I think i'm going to pass out from this. and it's only 9am.

[ptechnix]

I never used to be a fan of duck, aside from chinese roast duck of course, but this has definitely changed my mind :)

9am, the perfect time for a savoury gourmet brekky bagel or croissant ;)

[kopibren]

Well done, M. The duck does look amazing. Tender duck is a delight, you reckon this technique works with any meat? I'll be keen to try it.

[ptechnix]

Thanks Bren :) The technique works with absolutely any meat, especially the cheaper tougher cuts. I think the prime candidates would be duck breast, chicken breast, rump steak, pork chops, etc. Or even fish such as salmon where you can infuse it with a bit of olive oil in the bag instead of poaching the entire thing with a huge amount of wastage.

Sealing bacon in with rump for more flavourful filet mignon, or smoking chips for a smokey flavour. I'm curious to try using it for asian foods like sous vide'ing char siew and honey soy chicken wings before grilling them for a stronger flavour.

Also the margin of error for a basic sous vide is massive. You can "overcook" for lack of a better expression your meat for hours with absolutely no difference because the meat won't exceed the temperature of the water which is the objective. The only difference between meats the the water temp and base cooking time of which are all formula.

[kopibren]

And the fact that the meat is sealed so you don't lose moisture makes it almost foolproof. Does the meat break down if you do that for too long? Maybe the vacuum prevents that.

I made a chicken tagine a couple of weekends ago and the effect was great. The actions were essentially poaching and of a convection oven at the same time, the chicken legs were really tender and flavourful by the end of it.

[ptechnix]

Definitely. The vacuum sealing is the key. You just have to be mindful of the way you treat your meat prior to the sous vide because of bacteria such as botulism which cultivates under oxygen deprivation. You can keep meat for far far far longer in the fridge to marinate because of the lack of oxygen, but just err on the safe side in regards to that.

I'm not sure if the meat really starts to break down per se, because the texture of the meat will naturally be quite different depending on what you're used to. For example, I eat my steak either blue or rare, so the different in texture of the fibres won't be too different at all. But if you're used to medium rare to well done, then the texture will be quite different to what you're used to. The meat will be medium rare through out from centre to edge, but the consistency will probably be that of rare I would think.

Only one way to find out I guess :) Make sure you take photos and post them up when you do so I can see how it turned out!