This is a photograph of the Anova Culinary Precision Cooker
Posted on by Gary

A revelation in cooking

A revelation in cooking

It’s been an exciting week for me. I discovered first hand the joys of sous vide cooking.

This is a photograph of the Anova Culinary Precision Cooker attached to the water bath
Anova Culinary sous vide precision cooker

Sous vide cooking

Earlier in the year I mentioned I’d purchased an Anova Culinary Precision Cooker (water heater and recirculator).

This week I took delivery of my new bucket and lid. It was made in China by Everie. Unfortunately, one of the tabs on the lid had broken off I assume during transportation. If I was inclined, I’d send it back, but I’ve waited for weeks to try sous vide cooking, so I’ll make do.

On the bottom of the bucket is a warning sticker that the plastic contains Bisphenol A (BPA) which is a chemical which has some œstrogen mimicking properties. I will be using vacuum bags that are free of BPA.

This is a photograph of the BPA warning on the sous vide bucket and lid.
The BPA warning on the sous vide bucket and lid.

Now a bucket and lid is one thing, but the heart of a sous vide system is the water heater/recirculator. I chose an Anova Culinary product mainly because Anova is a known brand for laboratory-grade water baths.

This is a photograph of my Anova Culinary Precision Cooker on my window sill.
Anova Culinary Precision Cooker on my window sill.

Rather than purchasing from the USA, I purchased my Anova Culinary Precision Cooker via the Australian on-line store. I was pleasantly surprised with the delivery time which was only a couple of days. If you’re reading this in Australia, it’s really important to purchase from the Australian store, not only so you can pay GST but also because you will want this product with a power plug compatible with our power outlets. Given you could be running this instrument for three to four days for some joints of meat, you will want sound electrical connections.

The bucket and lid were purchased via Amazon Australia.

I did my first sous vide cook on Friday night. It was a scotch fillet steak and it was amazing.

Lessons identified and learnt

I learnt an important lesson on Saturday night when I cooked lamb forequarter chops. Apparently, two hours is sufficient for lamb cutlets, but forequarter chops have a lot more fascia and multiple muscle bundles to contend with making the meat inherently tougher. It’s why this cut is best cooked for a lot longer. The taste was a good, but it was a little chewy.

Hannibal

Last Sunday evening I started to watch Hannibal on Stan.

It came as a recommendation from a couple of podcasting friends who are familiar with my fondness for cooking, eating and photographing my food.

I’m thinking about starting a small series of posts on Yummy Lummy based on the sorts of dishes I might cook if I was Dr Hannibal Lecter.

For example, I really like thinly cut liver marinaded in soy, whisky, olive oil, iodised salt, pepper, parsley and dried mixed herbs lightly fried with bacon, eggs and sautéed mushrooms in butter. I reckon it would go well with anchovy and garlic enhanced baked beans.

I also like brains and I’m longing to crumb some with a nutty (Queensland nuts (Macadamia)) panko covering and enjoy them with some mashed roasted pumpkin and sour cream.

While I’ve eaten lots of chicken hearts, I’m not that fond of them. I find the taste a little off-putting and the cardiac muscle is chewy.

Kidneys though, with chunks of steak, and bathed in a rich onion gravy is so nice in a pie.

Low-carb and low-fat living

A recent study out of California was published recently. It compared weight loss between two groups of overweight human beings. One group went low-carb and the other went low-fat. There was no statistically discernible difference between the two groups with genetic makeup and insulin sensitivity apparently playing no role. The important take-home message from this study is that the participants in both groups were told to consume nutrient-dense food that was not processed and minimal in terms of added sugar and refined flour products. The food had to be rich in vegetables.

No My Kitchen Rules (MKR) for me this year

Over the last few years I’ve been an avid viewer of My Kitchen Rules on the 7 network. Not this year though. At the beginning of this year’s MKR season, one of the hosts, viz., Pete Evans, went on Adelaide radio and declared iodised salt as a poison and that he recommended people use amongst other things, Himalayan rock salt.

This is a photograph of a packet of SAXA iodised salt flakes
This is not an advertisement for SAXA

This goes against current scientific evidence which reveals that a decline in the dietary consumption of iodine had a measurable effect on intelligence of Australian children. While excess salt is a problem for maintaining good cardiovascular health, when salt is used, it should to iodised salt, especially for the first 1000 days of life when brain development is at its peak.

While Pete Evans maybe a popular TV personality, in my opinion, he is dead wrong. Iodised salt is far from being a poison, if anything, it is saving the intelligence of our young Australians.

What I ate this week

Monday Dinner

Monday dinner. Baked crispy skin salmon served with fennel salad plus avocado, radish, mango, 💛 finger lime and lime 💚

This is a photograph of Monday dinner. Baked crispy skin salmon served with fennel salad.

Tuesday Lunch

Tuesday lunch. Leftover crispy skin salmon with some dill garnish.

This is a photograph of Tuesday lunch. Leftover crispy skin salmon with some dill garnish.

Tuesday Dinner

Tuesday dinner. Chicken thighs and chicken juice infused vegetables.

This is a photograph of Tuesday dinner. Chicken thighs and chicken juice infused vegetables.

Wednesday Dinner

Wednesday dinner. Bacon and cheese wrapped chicken maryland served with leftover fennel salad and avocado 💚 plus finger lime and a slice of lime

This is a photograph of Wednesday dinner. Bacon and cheese wrapped chicken maryland cooked with the MEATER®️ and served with leftover fennel salad and avocado 💚 This is a photograph of Wednesday dinner. Bacon and cheese wrapped chicken maryland cooked with the MEATER®️ and served with leftover fennel salad and avocado 💚

Thursday Dinner

Thursday dinner. It was pay day so I had baked chorizo spam and leftover fennel salad which had been spiced up with some bird’s eye chillies and lime juice. Finely chopped dill and parsley plus the poppy and sesame seeds adds some more flavour and texture. 💚

This is a photograph of Thursday dinner. It's pay day so I'm having baked chorizo spam and leftover fennel salad which has been spiced up with some bird's eye chillies and lime juice. Finely chopped dill and parsley plus the poppy and sesame seeds adds some more flavour and texture. 💚

Friday Lunch

The staff special chicken schnitzel with hot chips and gravy.

This is a photograph of Friday lunch. The staff special. Chicken schnitzel with chips and gravy.

Friday Dinner

My first sous vide cooking effort. You can read about it over on Yummy Lummy.

This is a photograph of Friday dinner. Sous vide scotch fillet steak with baked spicy creamy cheesy vegetables.

Saturday Breakfast

Chorizo spam and fried eggs.

This is a photograph of Saturday breakfast. Chorizo spam and fried eggs.

Saturday Lunch

Nugs and special sauce from Maccas. I only recently realised I can get Big Mac special sauce with my McDonald’s McNuggets.

This is a photograph of Saturday lunch. Nugs and special sauce. I only recently realised I could get Big Mac special sauce with my McDonald's McNuggets "Nugs".

Saturday Dinner

Sous vide lamb forequarter chops with sriracha flavoured stir-fried kale slaw.

This is a photograph of Saturday dinner. Sous vide lamb forequarter chops with Sriracha flavoured creamy stir-fried kale slaw.

Sunday Breakfast

Sriracha flavoured cheese omelet.

This is a photograph of Sunday breakfast. Sriracha cheese omelet. This was a revelation adding a squirt of sriracha sauce to the cheese before it melted.

Sunday Lunch

It was a dull and dreary rain soaked day in Canberra so I celebrated with chicken kiev.

The photograph is of Sunday lunch. Chicken Kiev on a dull raining day in Canberra.

Sunday Dinner

Sunday dinner. Sous vide porterhouse steak and mashed cheesy sriracha pumpkin.

This is a photograph of Sunday dinner. Sous vide porterhouse steak and mashed cheesy sriracha pumpkin.

Final thoughts

I hope you have a great week. Let me know what you think about sous vide cooking in the comments.

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13 Replies to “A revelation in cooking”

  1. I’ve been thinking about this ever since reading it earlier today. If you leave the meat in water til you can remotely turn it on, won’t that pre cook the meat if the water is warm??? Room temp changes during the year.
    The whole flame thrower thing still suggests too much danger!

    1. In Canberra, room temperature rarely gets above 30 °C/86 °F and I’d probably avoid doing it on hot days. The cooking time doesn’t include the heating time which may take about 20 minutes. For a two hour cook, if I got home at 5.30 pm, I’d start the cooker at 2.30 pm knowing everything would be okay when I got home in time to sear the meat.
      A flame thrower would be awesome.

  2. I have never cooked this way Gary, but I have seen the method used on cooking shows…thanks for your comments on salt and Pete Evans – from what I read he can make some not well researched comments.

    1. Thanks Sue,
      Sous vide can be used for vegetables too to maximise tenderness of produce like carrots sealed with honey and other flavourings.
      One of the benefits of NAPLAN testing has been a revelation that the IQ of school kids has been affected and it looks like it coincides with some changes in the dairy and food industry. For example, the diary industry moved from iodophor disinfectants to chlorine based systems, and food fads have focussed on exotic salt flakes and crystals as if they are somehow magical without realising the ‘extras’ may not possess any nutritional nor health benefits.

  3. The research on low carb and low fat diet is interesting. Processed food is literally everywhere and is hard to avoid all the time. Even schnitz and nuggets are processed but a little bit doesn’t hurt.

    I had no idea you could get Big Mac sauce with the nuggets. Can you just rock up and say you want nuggets with Big Mac sauce? 😃

    1. Thanks, Mabel, it’s really hard to avoid all processed foods.

      I just asked for six McNuggets and Big Mac special sauce in a tub. It was easy. I reckon you should go for it.

    2. Even cheese is processed and how can we not eat cheese 😀

      I think I will have to get McNuggets and the Big Mac sauce a go. I wonder if the staff will say no 😂

    3. I will always eat cheese.
      Give it a go. Nugs and special sauce works well 😃😃😃😋😋😋

    4. I will give it a go and let you know how it goes.

      They should do some cheesy sauce with nuggets. There is the Loaded fries but I tried it and didn’t suit my taste 😃

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