I am considering purchasing a Sous Vide Supreme, but I do not want to use any plastic in my cooking and would like to know if the following proposed usage of the appliance would be discouraged…
Use case: lengthy ultra-low-temperature-poaching of unpackaged proteins
Example: Fill a Sous Vide Supreme with water, heat it to 140F, drop in salted short ribs (not packaged in any plastic bag or any other container), remove them after 72 hours, and then separately consume both the liquid and the ribs.
This idea occurred to me after watching the ChefSteps video on making beef stock. It’s made directly in the Sous Vide Supreme water bath. The reason, though, that I’m not sure I can apply the same technique to poaching meats is because I’d be doing the meats at a much lower temperature than the stock, which is why my primary concern is about safety.
I have 3 questions about my proposed use case:
(1) Would there be any food safety concerns in using the Sous Vide Supreme to perform lengthy ultra-low-temperature-poaching of proteins by placing the protein directly into the water bath, i.e. not first inserting the protein into any packaging or any other container whatsoever? (I acknowledge that some of the flavor and nutrients would likely migrate out of the protein and into the water, but I would plan to consume that cooking liquid as a soup/broth later, so that’s not a reason to discourage me.)
(2) Would it indeed be safe to consume this cooking liquid after that 72 hour period? Perhaps I should separately bring it to a simmer before consumption.
(3) Here are my speculations on possible reasons consuming the protein or liquid after this process may have negative consequences on our health:
(a) At such a low temperature (140F) for such a long period of time (72 hours), since the air above the water bath will likely cause the upper surface of the liquid to be at an even lower temperature, there may be bacteria or toxins multiplying on the surface of the water bath’s liquid or on small food particles that float to the surface. Is that a concern?
(b) Do the fats that melt off the protein and end up in the liquid oxidize too much since they may be exposed to air for such a long period?
(c) Although I’d of course clean the water bath well before cooking in it, it wouldn’t be completely sterile. Is there a significant danger that the bacteria it contributes to the liquid would multiply to a dangerous point in that low-temperature environment over such a long time period?
I think it’d help me understand the risks better if I understood ALL the reasons why achieving an approximate vacuum is a required component of sous vide cooking. I realize one of the reasons for vacuuming the packages of protein is that air in the packages would conduct heat very poorly; Removing air from around the protein helps ensure the precise desired temperature can be consistently maintained on all surfaces of the product. But if I simply submerge unbagged protein directly in the water oven, there is no air around the protein. Apart from this and the flavor+nutrient migration out of the protein (which I’d accept assuming it’s safe to consume the poaching liquid), are the any other reasons achieving a near-vacuum is a required component of sous vide cooking?
