Don't ya just hate a whining turtle?

[Ka Honu]

No? Maybe this will convince you:

I've had my sous vide circulator for a couple of months and after a number of cooks I'm about ready to put it on the market.

I've found that the "quick cooks" (an hour or two for steak, chicken breast, etc.) are great. Unfortunately my longer cooks (6-72 hours for chuck steak, country ribs, short ribs, etc.) seem to change the texture of the meat in a way I really don't like. Mushy meat is just wrong and depending on the cut, the longer cooks seem to push it somewhere unacceptable in that direction.  I've been using Choice grade meats and my normal settings are the temp for medium or medium rare using the minimum amount of time in the recommended range.

It could be the method itself or maybe the learning curve is too steep for reptiles. In any event, I'm looking for some suggestions on what I'm doing wrong before I consign this thing to Craigslist.

Mahalo.

[Pam Gould]

I never did understand why you would cook anything that long but that's me. Seems like you can't cook that much at a time for a crowd anyways. I'll give you a Dollar for it.  Pam ;*))

[spuds]

I want to try it,and can see the doodad has uses for sausage too,so sure I'll get my moneys' worth.I imagine its a bit like sour dough bread,takes a good while to get up to par,ie,steep learning curve.

[cookiecdcmk]

Ka Hona:  I have experimented with cheap methods trying to duplicate Sous Vide cooking.  My wife just did not like the textures on the meat just like you mentioned about being mushy.  I liked the flavors, but did have to sear some of the meat to make it better.  My wife has the votes to over rule me using this method.

[sliding_billy]

I'll up Pam's bid to $2.  Seriously, how much would you be looking to get?

[Northshore]

Asked a chef about it, his opinion was only for thick cuts or meat,fish poultry you do not want browned.
He claims a 2-3 inch t-bone, rib steak or sirloin done to 130 then seared or a minute or two is great. 

[CDN Smoker]

Mr Turtle, i don't think of it as whining more like a Critic of a product. If you are having a difficult time with it I'm sure I will be the same and don't need a new toy.

I tried the dry bag aging, I'm still not sold. I do want want to try again but under a more controlled environment and a much thicker loin.

[LostArrow]

Paul , I'm still forming my option on this cooker type.
Fortunately I've only got $100 in mine.
I like it for seafood, ok for chicken breasts, ok for steaks or chops when the weather is too nasty to grill.
I don't like steaks or chops as well as cooked over a charcoal fire.
It's been great for scallops , I always tended to under or overcook them on the grill.
Rare tuna , med-rare salmon cooked then seared in a cast iron skillet were very good.
In fixture I'll probably use mainly for seafood .

[ACW3]

My sister is a trained chef.  I asked her about sous vide cooking a while back.  She had nothing but great things to say about cooking seafood.  After that the praises got to be mighty small.  I really like what I have been seeing with the seafood.  Not totally convinced about other protein, however.  Still researching and asking questions.

I'll see Sliding Billy's bid and raise it to $5.00.

Art 

[muebe]

Turtle I just made some short ribs and lowered the 72 hours to around 56 hours. I found that the texture was much less tender. They did not fall apart when searing and had a great texture/flavor.

I hope you give it more time and experiment a bit before putting your circulator back on the market.

[Wing Commander]

I was told by a cook, that he never uses temperatures under 140°F on SV-cooking, because the meat becomes mushy otherwise.

[Smokin Don]

Looks like you are just being honest Turtle!! Many of us who try something new and put some money and time  into the venture want it to be successful and are not always honest about the outcome. Glad to see you are. I just never could see the SV cooking myself. Don

[smokendevo]

I don't own one but I used a home made on once for beef ribs. Only once and that was the last time.

Heres some good pro & cons

Pros:

Sounds cool, and oh so French.

Prevents waste.

Prevents overcooking.

Two words: portion control.

Three words: internal temperature control.

You can train a monkey to do it.

Preserves flavor of fruits and vegetables rather than having flavor and nutrients wash away in the cooking liquid.

Cons:

You can train a monkey to do it.

It’s unnatural — you’re cooking food in plastic for chrissakes!

Alters natural flavor and texture of food.

It does so by altering the natural exchange of heat and fluids inherent in any cooking process.

It turns to seafood to mush.

Beef becomes some odd, never-before-seen-in-nature form of medium-rare throughout the meat (not just the center), and attains an odd, compressed, texture.

Marinates the hell out of whatever has been so encased.

Nothing gets crispy, browned or charred. (Chefs will tell you they “finish” things under a broiler, but it ain’t the same thing.)

Finally, the biggest con: YOU’RE PAYING TOP DOLLAR FOR FOOD THAT’S PREPARED THE SAME WAY AS BIRDSEYE AND STOUFFER’S!

[Ka Honu]

Thanks for all the responses - seems like I (and more importantly, SWMBO) are not the only disappointed doubters. Interesting that one of the main "does well" foods is fish which, since we eat most of our fish raw or barely seared, never really got a chance.  We've agreed to have a "fish off" with a couple of types of seafood prepared both in and out of the bath. More as it happens.

Also, if necessary I have it presold (for more than $5) to a friend whose son will love it as a graduation gift.]

[Las Vegan Cajun]

M2C  So far the meals I've cooked with my Anova SV have been a big hit around my house.  Mrs. LVC cannot get over how tender and juicy the meats have turned out using the SV, and I have to agree.  I haven't done any very long cooks with it yet, nor have I tried seafood, but the steaks, chicken, and pork chops have all been great.