I cook most fish (including prawns) to 45C / 113F. That is below the sterilization limit. That is perfectly OK within food safety guidelines so long as the cooking time is not too excessive (i.e. so long as it is less that a couple hours). I would NOT cook thick pieces of fish this way because the cooking time would be so long that some spoilage could result.
Beef and other red meat I cook to 130F / 54.4C. This is what I would term ᅢテᅡᆵᅢツᅡ﾿ᅢツᅡᄑmedium rareᅢテᅡᆵᅢツᅡ﾿ᅢツᅡᄑ but there is a lot of disagreement on mapping subjective terms like that to temperatures. Depending on the situation I might cook it to sterilization, or I might not.
Tough red meat ᅢテᅡᆵᅢツᅡ﾿ᅢツᅡᄑ such as flat iron steak, short ribs etc I will cook at either 130F/54.4C or 136F/58.8C, from 24 to 72 hours depending on the cut and how tough it is. This gives time for the collagen to break down and make a tender result.
Tender cuts of pork, such as tenderloin I generally cook to 140F/60C. Trichinosis is killed at 137F, and anyway has been eliminated from the food supply in the US and many other places. I would cook wild meat a bit more, and/or pre-freeze it.
Chicken and turkey also gets cooked to 140F/58C, and I make sure that I follow the sterilization times.
Duck breast goes to 130F/54.4C. Duck confit is 180F/82.2C for 8-12 hours ᅢテᅡᆵᅢツᅡ﾿ᅢツᅡᄑ pork or lamb confit is the same.
Rack of lamb at 59C (138) here... Rack of Lamb
The thighs are cooked very similar to the manner in which you'd cook a duck confit. You might want to try making it even closer to duck confit - see the duck confit thread. Basically, you salt the thighs/legs and let them sit (brining also works). Then cook with several tablespoons of buttor or oil in the bag. I'd try 170F to 180F for 8 to 10 hours.
For shrimp, I know many of the sous vide fans go low and short.... but my family said the shrimp I did at 140 for 25 minutes were the best they ever had..... We tried 117, etc.... just not the same. Put them in a bowl, tossed with a good bit of salt, pepper and oil, shell on, then put them in the bag in a flat layer with some garlic and a few chives....
Had 7 dinner guests and decided to do a sous vide sampler. From left to right, 1/4 of a chicken breast with cream dill sauce, a rib off a rack of lamb, a leg quarter from a cornish game hen, slice of New York strip with beef gravy, and a slice or two of a turkey tender with a tarragon cream sauce.
eric said, over 14 years ago |
eric said, over 14 years ago sous-vide FYI, freezing wild game is not effective because of some animals species have organic antifreeze that preserves the larvae despite going to -30C for a week. There's cases in Europe etc if memory serves. Wild game (esp bear/foxes/walrus) must be cooked thoroughly to be safe. Domestic pigs are fine, although, funny enough free range pigs have a much higher amount of trichinosis or chryptosporidium I forget which (5%?) Smoking/curing improperly is likewise unsafe. Please look up FDA guidelines for curing/smoking/freezing if you have any doubt. Thx! Your cooking looks delicious! I loved your tip about the shrimp ^_^ |
eric said, over 14 years ago sous-vide FYI, freezing wild game is not effective because of some animals species have organic antifreeze that preserves the larvae despite going to -30C for a week. There's cases in Europe etc if memory serves. Wild game (esp bear/foxes/walrus) must be cooked thoroughly to be safe. Domestic pigs are fine, although, funny enough free range pigs have a much higher amount of trichinosis or chryptosporidium I forget which (5%?) Smoking/curing improperly is likewise unsafe. Please look up FDA guidelines for curing/smoking/freezing if you have any doubt. Thx! Your cooking looks delicious! I loved your tip about the shrimp ^_^ |
Warren said, over 18 years ago sous-vide Here's a link to Nathan's chart for times on fish...http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=39023&st=150# |
Whoops, need to clarify that the species of trichinella may matter as well. "Trichinella spiralis and Trichinella nativa are both common wildlife parasites in Finland. However, they differ substantially in their resistance to below 0°C temperatures in their natural hosts. T. nativa can live in frozen fox meat for years, whereas T. spiralis dies when frozen." <"Comparative analysis of Trichinella spiralis and Trichinella nativa proteins by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis", _Parasitology_Research_ (Volume 98, Number 4 / March, 2006)