sous vide grits

aaron.m.kent

Any time/temp recommendations for sous vide grits? Milk versus water?

Find more posts tagged with

Recipes Q's

Comments

brian_martin2001

I found this recipe: sous vide grits. Good luck!

Brandon_Byrd_40557

The time is going to range tremendously depending on the type of grit you're using and the size of the grind.

Brandon_Byrd_40557

The thing that makes me nervous about cooking grits sous vide is that you're not only cooking them, but hydrating them as well. Time and temp aren't nearly as important as the ratio of grits to liquid, since there's no evaporation when you're cooking in a bag. When you cook on the stovetop, you can add liquid to adjust consistency as things evaporate and the starches express themselves. You don't get that opportunity when cooking SV, and have to basically nail it from the start... or else move them to a pot later after they come out of the bag to add more moisture or let excess liquid evaporate. Regardless of what you do, I'd move it to a pot at the very end to add butter, cheese, or cream (or all three) and a bit of moisture to control for what gets lost as the grits absorb the fat.
In short, I cook dried grains conventionally rather than SV for the reasons just outlined. It's just easier to control hydration. I also don't see a benefit to SV apart from the fact that you don't have to stir or keep an eye on the burner temperature. But you have to keep your eye on so much else (that is much less predictable) that I don't see the benefit. If you have the patience to buy grits from the same supplier, and that supplier is very consistent with respect to grind size and starch content, and you can run controlled tests of your own to figure out the right ratios for the product you're cooking... then go for it.

I'll be over here stirring on my induction burner.

wolfiegirl

I'd skip SV as Brandon states. As for water vs milk, I use a combo of both or sometimes a combo of stock and milk. Hydration is key but also, as with risotto, stirring give grits creaminess. So SV some shrimp and get those grits ready!

matthewmicahhall

Your comments echo my experiences with polenta. The only real advantage is not having to babysit the pot. I had to dial in the liquid:solid ratio over a few different batches to find a desirable end result. I buy my cornmeal from the same source, and it seems to produce consistent results. Cornmeal, water, butter, and salt go into the bag, but grated cheese goes in post-cook since it always seems to separate out to produce a tacky glob that is difficult to stir back in to the polenta. So -- SV is somewhat useful if you're willing to make the initial time investment in recipe tuning and are consistent with raw materials, but I agree that it's not a game changer.

Related question -- has anyone tried grits, polenta, etc. in a pressure cooker? I'd be curious to find out if pressure makes any difference beyond the obvious reduction in cooking time.