First beef tenderloin

[blksabbath]

We gave away our giant wooden swing set to some neighbors a few streets over.  We didn't want or ask anything for it, but the guy came back by and dropped off a big tenderloin and a bottle of wine.  Can't refuse that!
!

Trimmed it up and decided to cook two nice size chunks...about 3lbs total.  I tied them up with butchers twine, seasoned with kosher salt, Penzy's Chicago Steak Seasoning, and a little olive oil.  Then vacuum sealed and into my diy souls vide set at 115F.  Water temp was at 120F when the went in, but dropped to about 100F with the meat in there.  They cooked for almost 2 hours and the water temp returned to 115F for about the last 1/2 hour.




I did one full chimney into the baskets in the center.  Did some veggies in a basket, then did the meat.  The internal temp out of the sous vide was right at 110F.





This following pic was after the first flip.  I continued to flip, rotate, and baste with olive oil and the sous vide juices from the bags about every 2-3 minutes until the center was 125F then pulled both, put on a plate, cover with foil and let them rest.  I took a quick reading about 5 minutes into the rest and was at 127F.



They were for a friends bday dinner, so I didn't slice them until we got to his house.  I had to reheat under his broiler for about 5 minutes, turning every minute or so.  Finally cut them up and served with a horseradish cream sauce.  I'm not kidding, but this probably the best steak/beef I have ever eaten.  My friend and his family were blown away.  Unfortunately I don't have cut pics, but I will tell you the center was just pink, not red....probably just a touch under medium rare. The outside was browned and had a nice thin crust of seasoning.

Everyone needs a sous vide.  It took 30 minutes to make and cost about $20 if you already have a crock pot or other way to heat a container of water.  There are a ton of tutorials out there for making and using them.




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[Mr.CPHo]

Hmmm, you've piqued my interest with your sous vide.  Is vacuum sealing a must? Or would ziplocks be ok?


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[blksabbath]

I used zip locks before I got a vacuum sealer.  They work but not as well.  You have to make 100% sure that the top is complete closed or you will fill your bag with bath water and probably ruin whatever you are carefully attempting to cook.

Before I built the controller, I played around with using an insulated cooler with zip locks and hot water at the appropriate temp.  You have to baby sit it and add more hot or cold until the temp stabilizes.  I have cooked strip steaks this way and you can get great results, just more work.

[MINIgrillin]

That's pretty cool. Could you share info on the diy sou vide.

[Travis]

That's pretty cool. Could you share info on the diy sou vide.

I'm definitely interested too. Nice lookin cook. I've never done a whole tenderloin. What a great gift from your neighbor


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[blksabbath]

This is the Instructable I used:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Sous-vide-cooker-for-less-than-40/

There are a ton of others out there, but this one is about as basic as it gets.  I got the actual controller/sensor off of eBay for $11 shipped.  Whatever controller you get, make sure that it runs on household voltage (110V) and can display in degrees Fahrenheit.  Mine can actually heat or cool, which is handy if you brew beer and want it to control the temp of a fermentation fridge.  Here's one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LED-Digital-110V-Temperature-Controller-Temp-Sensor-Thermostat-Control-Relay-US-/361270663293?hash=item541d68d87d:g:0REAAOSwqu9VLgaF

I had all of the other parts on hand, but any hardware store will have them in the electrical isle.