Pulled Pork Sous Vide
I had this 6 pound pork butt left from the carnitas and as a Christmas present to myself an 
unused Sous Vide Magic system from Fresh Meal Solutions in Canada. A quick phone call to Frank Hsu, who owns it, to confirm some ideas and off we go. Hey, after India, how sick can I get?
The Sous Vide Magic takes a large capacity rice cooke and re-wires it so the temperature control comes from control box working off a sensor in the cooker. Temperature variation without stirring was less than a degree before adding the meat and returned to that after 1 hour. I guess I can add a bubbler to increase mixing if I want to do fish. Since this is a fraction of a PolySci chiller's cost, I'll work something out.
First fill the bath and turn the controller on. Let the temperature stabilize at 180 F.
2 3 -pound pieces of pork butt, deboned
2 slices onion
1 tsp sesame oil
salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder.
We took the meat and smoked it lightly in the backyard at low temperature (200 F) for 30 minutes. We then vacuum sealed the meat and have the spices into
our Game Saver's vacuum bags, triple sealing the bags and pulling a full vacuum on them. Put the bags into the water bag and use a plate or rock to hold them down. Let cook 10 hours. The bags will get all puffy but the seals hold. Remove from the cooker and immediately quench in a bath of 75% ice and 25% water for 10 minutes. Refrigerate overnight.
We opened the bags the next day and the pork was so soft we couldn't finish it on the grill like we planned. Instead of the forge burner (the goddess was home) , we used a hot skillet to broen the surface. The juices from the bag were separated from the fat and mixed with 1 cup of Saddler's BBQ sauce and heated to a simmer. The pork was pulled apart by forks, reheated in the sauce and served in a bun. It was probably the softest pulled pork we ever had (and that includes a lot of small BBQ places in rural Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Alabama.)
Next time we need to smoke it heavier in the beginning and to also use the forge burner. The surface wasn't crisp enough but 2800 F should do it.
unused Sous Vide Magic systemThe Sous Vide Magic takes a large capacity rice cooke and re-wires it so the temperature control comes from control box working off a sensor in the cooker. Temperature variation without stirring was less than a degree before adding the meat and returned to that after 1 hour. I guess I can add a bubbler to increase mixing if I want to do fish. Since this is a fraction of a PolySci chiller's cost, I'll work something out.
First fill the bath and turn the controller on. Let the temperature stabilize at 180 F.
2 3 -pound pieces of pork butt, deboned
2 slices onion
1 tsp sesame oil
salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder.
We took the meat and smoked it lightly in the backyard at low temperature (200 F) for 30 minutes. We then vacuum sealed the meat and have the spices into
our Game Saver's vacuum bags, triple sealing the bags and pulling a full vacuum on them. Put the bags into the water bag and use a plate or rock to hold them down. Let cook 10 hours. The bags will get all puffy but the seals hold. Remove from the cooker and immediately quench in a bath of 75% ice and 25% water for 10 minutes. Refrigerate overnight.We opened the bags the next day and the pork was so soft we couldn't finish it on the grill like we planned. Instead of the forge burner (the goddess was home) , we used a hot skillet to broen the surface. The juices from the bag were separated from the fat and mixed with 1 cup of Saddler's BBQ sauce and heated to a simmer. The pork was pulled apart by forks, reheated in the sauce and served in a bun. It was probably the softest pulled pork we ever had (and that includes a lot of small BBQ places in rural Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Alabama.)
Next time we need to smoke it heavier in the beginning and to also use the forge burner. The surface wasn't crisp enough but 2800 F should do it.
I am SOOO jealous; sous vide is something I always wanted to try. Right now it's all the rage back in Hungary--the local old pig variety, the Mangalica (they have a herd around Seattle, try a search for 'mangalitsa') is apparently perfect for this technique.
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I'll look. If Russ is good and practices, I'll show you this week when y'all come up.
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I use SousVideMagic too with a Tiger rice cooker. Great results for a small price. Rumor has it that the same company will be coming out with a very inexpensive air powered driven circulator SOON.
Can't wait to get one of those. The Immersion Circulator is way out of reach.
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The Poly Sci controller has amazing temperature control with high stability and an air driven system will not hold the same degree of control unless you preheat the air. I suspect for seafood and other items with very short cooling times it won't work. I tried using air to mix the water in my set up and the temperature definitely varied a lot across the pot. So I don't know if an circulator is going to work well for short time stuff. Would be nice to see a cheaper version.
Of course, a freind of mine in NYC is using steam baths to do this too. He got his very cheaply second hand.
BTW, Lynn, I am giving you the benefit of the doubt here. However, I did get two identical comments from the same IP address with the exact same wording and different names so I rather suspect a sock puppet. I would hope that is not true. If it isn't, then my apologies...
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That was my room mate who thought she was having trouble sending it so I helped out and accidentally I used my name instead.
Anyway, we both enjoy your site.
Cheers!
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My apologizes then. Like most bloggers, I get an unreal amount of sham comments. I'm glad you are both real.
Thanks for dropping by.
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