Sous vide first, then freeze?

[Desk Jockey]

I read a few articles and posts on this concept elsewhere. Curious what rocksldiers have to say.

Has anyone had ever experimented with Sous vide cooking something and then freeze it to use later? I am thinking thaw it out, seer and serve. I expect it won’t be as good but I wonder if it would be bad.

thoughts?

 

[JakeSCH]

My question is "why"? I am sure you CAN make it good as long as you are paying attention and don't overcook it. However, I would be tempted to toss it back in the sous vide to get the internal temps up before the sear.

I sous vide frozen steaks in 120 for a couple of hours and then toss on the cast iron or BBQ for 30 seconds to a minute on each side right before I am ready to eat.

 

[Patton]

Same as JakeSCH- I've seasoned backstrap, added a little bit of butter and rosemary and then vac sealed/froze. Can pull out and put right into the sous vide cooker; defrosting optional. I'm sure that allowing to defrost or not would alter the taste one way or the other.

 

[KChunter71]

I could see doing to for hunting meals. Let it thaw in the cooler and sear to your desired temp. I’m guessing they bring it to rare temps and stop

 

[Desk Jockey]

I was thinking about some faster prep times if I Sous Vide ahead of time. Also, I like to make some quick meals like curries. Brown stew chunks and simmer in a bottled sauce for 20 mins. It works fine with reasonably tender store bought beef or chicken but game needs a longer cook. I was thinking about doing a sous vide on stew chunks and then freezing it for later use.

 

[JakeSCH]

I was thinking about some faster prep times if I Sous Vide ahead of time. Also, I like to make some quick meals like curries. Brown stew chunks and simmer in a bottled sauce for 20 mins. It works fine with reasonably tender store bought beef or chicken but game needs a longer cook. I was thinking about doing a sous vide on stew chunks and then freezing it for later use.

That makes a lot of sense and I think its worth trying! I've actually done something similar with elk ribs, but instead of freezing I had in my fridge for a couple of days before I put on my BBQ. Still turned out well.

 

[BBob]

Do it often. Bulk cook, freeze, rewarm 1-2 servings in sous vide later. If it's meat then sear after re-warming.

Website is a bit dated but this guy has just about everything you would want to know: https://www.douglasbaldwin.com/sous-vide.html

 

[CoffeeGoat]

Do it often. Bulk cook, freeze, rewarm 1-2 servings in sous vide later. If it's meat then sear after re-warming.

Website is a bit dated but this guy has just about everything you would want to know: https://www.douglasbaldwin.com/sous-vide.html

Here too, I regularly sous vide bulk meals and save for later. Meats do well this way, par cooked bacon is a standard item in our house - sous vide for 36 hours to break down the connective tissue, quick sear and you're Golden.

It's actually the preferred method for the sous vide barbque method, sous vide for your desire time, stash it in the fridge, and then a couple days later finish in the grill.

One side benefit is that it's already vacuum sealer so it's easy to defrost or warm up. Though it's got all the water in it so it isn't light.

 

[Matt1214]

I’m a professional chef by trade.... I’d only Sous vide and Freeze if it’s fully cooked. Like a stew or something. But for that I’d just cook normally, cryovac, freeze. No need to Sous vide first then cook more later

 

[gadrahthaar]

I read a few articles and posts on this concept elsewhere. Curious what rocksldiers have to say.

Has anyone had ever experimented with Sous vide cooking something and then freeze it to use later? I am thinking thaw it out, seer and serve. I expect it won’t be as good but I wonder if it would be bad.

thoughts?

I do this all the time for camp food. That way you can travel with precooked meat: less risk of keeping cold enough, cleaner mess if spilled bag, faster campfire prep/cook time. At home, I find that you run a risk of losing texture. So, a nice steak might come out "feeling" like a hamburger steak. Not sure if that helps

 

[Eyetothewest]

Here too, I regularly sous vide bulk meals and save for later. Meats do well this way, par cooked bacon is a standard item in our house - sous vide for 36 hours to break down the connective tissue, quick sear and you're Golden.

It's actually the preferred method for the sous vide barbque method, sous vide for your desire time, stash it in the fridge, and then a couple days later finish in the grill.

One side benefit is that it's already vacuum sealer so it's easy to defrost or warm up. Though it's got all the water in it so it isn't light.

That’s an awesome idea