Sous Vide Thread

[Root]

Hanley, what's the problem with smoking on the kettle? I can't remember, do you have a smoke n sear?

Quality of the smoke. Incomplete/shitty combustion maybe.

Not an issue on hotter smokes...but tricky at ~225

Interesting. I never had a problem with this on the kettle w/ SnS. Smaller pieces of wood are generally good, like @Allentown says. Are you restricting airflow primarily with the bottom vent? If not, you should be.

[Hanley]

Are you restricting airflow primarily with the bottom vent?

Yeah, I am.

I'm probably just using pieces that are too big (and probably too many of them).

I get a delicious, sweet hint of smoke on hot smokes (~325). But sooty-ish bitter smoke on using cooler temps

[CamLeslie]

Ok bros, what about plastic from the bags? Is no one else concerned?

[Manveer]

Ok bros, what about plastic from the bags? Is no one else concerned?

Not really

[CamLeslie]

Ok bros, what about plastic from the bags? Is no one else concerned?

Not really

My wife is a legit medical doctor and she thinks it's probably not safe. So needless to say we don't have one, and probably won't be getting one anytime soon. I'm jealous though.

[Manveer]

Ok bros, what about plastic from the bags? Is no one else concerned?

Not really

My wife is a legit medical doctor and she thinks it's probably not safe. So needless to say we don't have one, and probably won't be getting one anytime soon. I'm jealous though.

The water isn't that hot (~130F for steak, ~140F for chicken). Ziploc bags are BPA free. I dunno man, I'll take my chances.

[damufunman]

Ok bros, what about plastic from the bags? Is no one else concerned?

Not really

My wife is a legit medical doctor and she thinks it's probably not safe. So needless to say we don't have one, and probably won't be getting one anytime soon. I'm jealous though.

The water isn't that hot (~130F for steak, ~140F for chicken). Ziploc bags are BPA free. I dunno man, I'll take my chances.

[Root]

Ok bros, what about plastic from the bags? Is no one else concerned?

Not really

My wife is a legit medical doctor and she thinks it's probably not safe. So needless to say we don't have one, and probably won't be getting one anytime soon. I'm jealous though.

The water isn't that hot (~130F for steak, ~140F for chicken). Ziploc bags are BPA free. I dunno man, I'll take my chances.

BPAs are only the most recent thing we've discovered that's bad for us. Before we knew that, we were like "well, it's all lead-free now, so it's safe!"

Remember when margarine was supposed to be healthier and then it turned out that it was all trans fats?

So in a few years, all this BPA-free plastic is going to be discovered to have some other dangerous thing that we'll regret ever using.

Eventually, we'll only use plastic if it's got electrolytes.

[Manveer]

Everything is a carcinogen. French fries, grilled meats, bacon, cured meats...

https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/cau ... fact-sheet

guessilldie.gif

[damufunman]

Everything is a carcinogen. French fries, grilled meats, bacon, cured meats...

https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/cau ... fact-sheet

guessilldie.gif

coffee

[Allentown]

My wife is a legit medical doctor and she thinks it's probably not safe. So needless to say we don't have one, and probably won't be getting one anytime soon. I'm jealous though.

I'm not saying your wife hasn't thoroughly researched it or anything, but simply being an MD does not indicate a more or less valid opinion on the safety of low temp cooking in BPA free plastic, you know?

[CamLeslie]

My wife is a legit medical doctor and she thinks it's probably not safe. So needless to say we don't have one, and probably won't be getting one anytime soon. I'm jealous though.

I'm not saying your wife hasn't thoroughly researched it or anything, but simply being an MD does not indicate a more or less valid opinion on the safety of low temp cooking in BPA free plastic, you know?

No. I don't know. I like you man but I'm gonna have to disagree with this one. Why would a medical degree preclude someone from having a more valid opinion about health related issues? While I agree my wife can be full of it at times, and after 4 years of med school and years of residency I have heard some pretty crazy stuff, she is more "in touch" with current health issues than I am and frankly more than about 99.99% of the population. People with a MD have highly sophisticated training and although we bash them a lot on this forum as knowing nothing about lifting and I don't disagree, they do know a lot about health.

I don't mean to jump all over you but I hear this all the time. My doctor said X, but they aren't the expert so I googled it and I know better.

I do agree with her that the idea that plastics are safe, regardless of BPA content, is a little presumptuous and frankly I wouldn't be surprised in several years if we find out that they [plastics] are linked to all sorts of stuff. I mean plastics with BPA were assumed to be safe up until a couple of years ago.

All that being said, I chewed tobacco for many years, I don't wash my hands after handling raw meat, I eat stuff way past the expiration date and I want to get a sous vide. I was merely stating that someone close to me, who is involved in health field with years of targeted training, has raised concerns about cooking in plastic bags.

[Manveer]

My wife is a legit medical doctor and she thinks it's probably not safe. So needless to say we don't have one, and probably won't be getting one anytime soon. I'm jealous though.

I'm not saying your wife hasn't thoroughly researched it or anything, but simply being an MD does not indicate a more or less valid opinion on the safety of low temp cooking in BPA free plastic, you know?

No. I don't know. I like you man but I'm gonna have to disagree with this one. Why would a medical degree preclude someone from having a more valid opinion about health related issues? While I agree my wife can be full of it at times, and after 4 years of med school and years of residency I have heard some pretty crazy stuff, she is more "in touch" with current health issues than I am and frankly more than about 99.99% of the population. People with a MD have highly sophisticated training and although we bash them a lot on this forum as knowing nothing about lifting and I don't disagree, they do know a lot about health.

I don't mean to jump all over you but I hear this all the time. My doctor said X, but they aren't the expert so I googled it and I know better.

I do agree with her that the idea that plastics are safe, regardless of BPA content, is a little presumptuous and frankly I wouldn't be surprised in several years if we find out that they [plastics] are linked to all sorts of stuff. I mean plastics with BPA were assumed to be safe up until a couple of years ago.

All that being said, I chewed tobacco for many years, I don't wash my hands after handling raw meat, I eat stuff way past the expiration date and I want to get a sous vide. I was merely stating that someone close to me, who is involved in health field with years of targeted training, has raised concerns about cooking in plastic bags.

Do you store food in plastic Tupperware or plastic (Ziploc type) bags?

[Allentown]

No. I don't know. I like you man but I'm gonna have to disagree with this one. Why would a medical degree preclude someone from having a more valid opinion about health related issues? While I agree my wife can be full of it at times, and after 4 years of med school and years of residency I have heard some pretty crazy stuff, she is more "in touch" with current health issues than I am and frankly more than about 99.99% of the population. People with a MD have highly sophisticated training and although we bash them a lot on this forum as knowing nothing about lifting and I don't disagree, they do know a lot about health.

I don't mean to jump all over you but I hear this all the time. My doctor said X, but they aren't the expert so I googled it and I know better.

I do agree with her that the idea that plastics are safe, regardless of BPA content, is a little presumptuous and frankly I wouldn't be surprised in several years if we find out that they [plastics] are linked to all sorts of stuff. I mean plastics with BPA were assumed to be safe up until a couple of years ago.

All that being said, I chewed tobacco for many years, I don't wash my hands after handling raw meat, I eat stuff way past the expiration date and I want to get a sous vide. I was merely stating that someone close to me, who is involved in health field with years of targeted training, has raised concerns about cooking in plastic bags.

I will say MDs are, nearly universally, more qualified to speak to the treatment of most illnesses. And I'm not going to be shocked if the collective "we" find out plastic isn't great for us. But I work with plenty of people involved in the health field, with targeted training, who are often wrong about the very topic they are practicing, let alone a topic in which they (may) not have had relevant experience. Like I said, I don't know her experience on the topic, just that she is a legit medical doctor. My wife's a DVM and she thought it was a good idea to get a second cat to keep her first cat busy. We now have one cat, and it wasn't the one we had first.
Honestly, your wife's degree needn't come into it at all-
A friend of mine, for example, is concerned about cooking in plastic- has anyone looked into the possible health risks? Granted, we know grilling probably isn't the safest meat prep method either.

[Root]

Say hypothetically I find two legit real medical doctors. One says that we know for sure that BPA free plastic is totally fine and healthy. One says that it's probably dangerous to our health but we haven't figured out exactly why.

Which one's opinion is more valid than mine? Both?

[Allentown]

Say hypothetically I find two legit real medical doctors. One says that we know for sure that BPA free plastic is totally fine and healthy. One says that it's probably dangerous to our health but we haven't figured out exactly why.

Which one's opinion is more valid than mine? Both?

Depends which one you are married to.

[CamLeslie]

simply being an MD does not indicate a more or less valid opinion on the safety of low temp cooking in BPA free plastic, you know?

Do you store food in plastic Tupperware or plastic (Ziploc type) bags?

Explain how your question addresses my critique of the bolded statement. He said that being a doctor doesn't qualify that person to make statements about health. You are asking me about plastic bags. The only part I disagreed with was the doctor part.

Also the answer is no. We use all glass, I guess they have plastic lids though.

Honestly, your wife's degree needn't come into it at all-

I cited her as a person of authority. You are saying she shouldn't necessarily be one. That's ok, I get it, I used to think that way too, but then I married one, saw how much training they got and changed my mind.

It's not like I came out and said SOUS VIDE IS GONNA KILL YA! I asked if anyone was concerned, no one was, I said I was bummed we don't have one, now Allentown, who seems like a super nice guy, and I are disagreeing about whether a MD gives people authority.

Which one's opinion is more valid than mine? Both?

Both. No question. Despite the apparent contradiction, their opinions are more valid than yours. No offense

[Manveer]

simply being an MD does not indicate a more or less valid opinion on the safety of low temp cooking in BPA free plastic, you know?

Do you store food in plastic Tupperware or plastic (Ziploc type) bags?

Explain how your question addresses my critique of the bolded statement. He said that being a doctor doesn't qualify that person to make statements about health. You are asking me about plastic bags. The only part I disagreed with was the doctor part.

Also the answer is no. We use all glass, I guess they have plastic lids though.

My question wasn’t intended to address the bolded statement. You and Alain can argue that point. I was just curious.

[Cinic]

Also the answer is no. We use all glass, I guess they have plastic lids though.

I am one of those who SV and don't worry about the plastic. Honest question here - how far do you take the no plastic thing?

Most consumer coffee makers have plastic that comes in contact with brew temp water.

K-cups and the vast majority of Keurig brewers are made of plastic.

Starbucks type coffee cups have some sort of liner to let the paper cups hold up during use.

Aluminum cans are internally coated with resins to prevent corrosion.

I get the worrying - but it seems hard to escape.

[Allentown]

I cited her as a person of authority. You are saying she shouldn't necessarily be one. That's ok, I get it, I used to think that way too, but then I married one, saw how much training they got and changed my mind.

It's not like I came out and said SOUS VIDE IS GONNA KILL YA! I asked if anyone was concerned, no one was, I said I was bummed we don't have one, now Allentown, who seems like a super nice guy, and I are disagreeing about whether a MD gives people authority.

Authority outside their area of expertise. My cousin is an anesthesiologist who thought using sunscreen was more dangerous than not using it. Like I said- your wife might very well be up on the latest research on long term health effects of eating food cooked at a very low temperature while stored in plastics. I don't know what your wife works on. I'm just saying, I'd put as much weight on the opinion of my family practice doc, or my son's Ped, as I would on, say, @Savs opinion on the safety of sous vide. Another example- there was a hot chick in my anatomy class who got accepted to med school who put complete faith in the astrology column of the school newspaper.
I'm also working on eliminating as much plastic containers in our house as I can, especially for my lunches which I microwave- I don't know if there are any dangers associated with eating food microwaved in plastic containers, but I'm more confident there are fewer dangers with glass. I also want to use as little plastic as possible- I don't think it is as sustainable a material as glass. Annoyingly, I am also cheap, and am unwilling to use more than one drawer in my kitchen for storage containers, so I have more 10 year old plastic containers that stack well than glass containers. The lids for the glass containers also seem to go missing 2x quicker than the ones for the crappy plastic containers.