Kosher Dosher...“I am a culinary Heretic"

The methodology of Sous-Vide-Cooking is tied to Time & Temperature. This post will be part of a series that includes many proteins and many variables. The final future post will conclude with a single amalgamated post called  "Neo & Morpheus explore Sous-Vide-Cooking and Food Safety."  This reminds me of the proverb, "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing." Before I begin, I wanted to explain what brought me here... I started playing around with this method of cooking in 2006. When I say playing around, I mean this in the loosest terms because I was clueless. I did not really get going until Doughlas Baldwin published  "A Practical Guide to Sous-Vide Cooking"   His extraordinary work changed Sous-Vide Cooking forever. His work is the go-to guide for everything Sous-Vide, and I am a huge fan. I was called out a few years ago for a Time and Temp I suggested. It was a recommendation for a T/T to retherm a steak, and a dogmatic per...

Why such a big burger? Because I have Mad-Skills, and I could make it look awesome. I used an 8-inch mold that was 1.75 inches tall.  Sous-Vide-Processed for 4-Hours and 14-Minutes at 131.f. Shocked in a large ice bath after a step-down cooling process. Out of the tub and placed in a container for 15-Minutes and flipped once. Coldwater added to the container for another 15-Minutes than finally a tremendous amount of ice. This stepdown cooling process will allow the protein to reabsorb moisture and improve texture. Refrigerated for about a week.  Rethermed for 90-Minutes at 128f than dried very well. I forgot to take a pic for perspective. This is an older pic of a Six-Inch Burger compared to a Four-Inch one. Imagine adding Two-Inches.....It's freaking Huge.  Adding mayor improves the Maillard and sear.  Another benefit to the mayo is the spice rub adheres.  I used two very large spatulas to transfer to a pan with 1/4 inch o...

I cannot believe that Cookbooks, Chefs, and people are still suggesting that we let a steak rest at room temperature before cooking. Many famous Chefs recommend a steak come to room temp before cooking. One would think they would know better. I would name them all here, but that would take up a whole page. Personally, I don't care if you use this method, but dogmatizing is something else entirely. Making promises of grandeur and indirectly diminishing traditional methods is where I draw the line.  This just came up again in at least 2-Food-Groups I Admin.  This practice is likened to people believing searing meat can create a thick enough crust lock-in meat juices.  Serious Eats ,  Serious Eats 7 Myths ,  Amazing Ribs  and  American Test Kitchen  have already debunked this folktale, but I felt a postscript was in need. Specificity is my forte, and I am hoping I can convince the  antagonists with real-data to hopefully revise their meth...