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I've heard of this technique before, but never tried the product of it yet. How do you control for food-borne diseases like Clostridium botulinum? (honest quest

I've heard of this technique before, but never tried the product of it yet. How do you control for food-borne diseases like Clostridium botulinum? (honest question). I'd be concerned that level of heat wouldn't kill it off. It sounds to me like this technique would really help with a complete and consistent cooking of the entire steak -- something I strongly favor. It's why I start with a low heat grill then ramp up to hot at the end. But my technique is imprecise and requires lots of attention. Does it also help the flavor by keeping the fats close to the meat in the bag? I'd think another side benefit is that the steaks would come out so tender a fork could cut them. I'd be curious to try throwing in some butter and seasonings into the bag, or at least for the final searing. A browned coating of butter seems to make lots of meats taste really great in my opinion (as opposed to a plant derived oil). But some people don't like the heavy oily taste it can imbue in the food.

tptacek 17y ago
Sous vide cooking (what I just described) is effectively pasteurization. At 131f, by the time a steak is cooked through, you'll have a better than 10D reduction in botulism --- in the fantastically unlikely event that your meat is infected with it (botulism is extremely rare). The sous vide guide (Google for it) will give you the math for this, but their numbers are keyed on salmonella, which is what you really need to look out for; botulism appears to be easier to kill. As far as aromatics go, cooking sous vide works on the same principal as cooking in a pouch. It amplifies most flavors, which is a good thing with few exceptions (garlic, notably, doesn't work SV).
- elblanco 17y ago
  Thanks for the reply, found the book. > As far as aromatics go, cooking sous vide works on the same principal as cooking in a pouch. Ahh, now it suddenly clicks for me. Too bad about the garlic.
  - tptacek 17y ago
    You use garlic powder to make up for it, and I tend to roast garlic on the side when I really need it. Also, you're saving all the liquid for pan sauces anyways, and you throw garlic into that. I don't find myself missing it.
    - joshu 17y ago
      Seriously, can you just please start a sous vide blog or something? I'm fascinated.

tptacek 17y ago

Sous vide cooking (what I just described) is effectively pasteurization. At 131f, by the time a steak is cooked through, you'll have a better than 10D reduction in botulism --- in the fantastically unlikely event that your meat is infected with it (botulism is extremely rare). The sous vide guide (Google for it) will give you the math for this, but their numbers are keyed on salmonella, which is what you really need to look out for; botulism appears to be easier to kill. As far as aromatics go, cooking sous vide works on the same principal as cooking in a pouch. It amplifies most flavors, which is a good thing with few exceptions (garlic, notably, doesn't work SV).

elblanco 17y ago
Thanks for the reply, found the book. > As far as aromatics go, cooking sous vide works on the same principal as cooking in a pouch. Ahh, now it suddenly clicks for me. Too bad about the garlic.
- tptacek 17y ago
  You use garlic powder to make up for it, and I tend to roast garlic on the side when I really need it. Also, you're saving all the liquid for pan sauces anyways, and you throw garlic into that. I don't find myself missing it.
  - joshu 17y ago
    Seriously, can you just please start a sous vide blog or something? I'm fascinated.