New to Sous Vide... Halibut, trial one.

I have now been reading a bit about sous vide.

I have also heard people say that white fish is not ideal for sous vide and also heard of people doing it. I want to try some nice steaks of Halibut. I know how touchy white fleshed fish can be just in the cooking process.

If I pack together (maybe 4 6oz portions) will the proteins rejoin during cooking and stick together? Should I do it separate?

Is a fat always needed? I see lots of recipes with oil or butter.

What temp/time? How do I know how to adjust this based on thickness?

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Comments

Mason_Perry_34060

I always use EVOO or butter with my fish, I have done cod and sole both white fishes and they turn out fine. I have yet to do halibut but I would add a fat like oil or butter. I would cook it at 140F for 20 minutes for pieces about 1 inch thick, if they are thicker more time should be added.

Chris_Young_80640

@Brandon — White fish are great when cooked sous vide. Adding a fat is not strictly necessary. If you have multiple portions of fish in the same bag, however, it's a good idea because it prevents them from sticking together. The temperature is really a function of preference, but most people like between 113–122 °F / 45–50 °C for their fish like halibut, cod, and so on. The time is mostly a function of thickness. For a very thick portion of around 1" / 2.5 cm you will need about 30 minutes to reach core. For 1/2" / 1.25 cm this will be more like 12 to 15 minutes.

Here's an demonstration: http://www.chefsteps.com/courses/accelerated-sous-vide-cooking-course/improvised-sous-vide-cooking-pot-on-a-stove-method

Mason_Perry_34060

@Chris that sounds better, I took the 140F from the polyscience chart and it seemed high compared to other fish I have done.

Mason_Perry_34060

@Brandon if you can snap some pictures and let us know how it goes that would be great, I would like to try Halibut soon.

borgech

@Chris do you suggest brining halibut steaks prior to sous vide? Also, I am guessing that an acceptable finishing technique would be quick searing or torching? Thanks!

grant

You can use the same brine from the salmon for almost any fish. It will really help the texture as well as flavor.

borgech

Thanks, @Grant! Just to clarify: cooking at 45-50* won't require chilling down post sous vide?

Johan_Edstrom_5586

At 45 you'll be fine if you are looking to pan sear in butter. It will in fact be really good eats.

grant

Agreed. Just make sure you sear hot and fast. The smaller the piece of food is, the greater the surface area/mass ratio and the more likely you are to over cook it. So the smaller the portion, the hotter/faster the sear usually is.

Jacob_Iverson_54605

How many seconds per side?

Jack_Mayer_85396

@Brandon - you might want to only sear the "presentation side"