Sous Vide 101 (and 202, 303)

It’s not overthinking. It’s confirmation. If heat/mech methods achieve the same results as Father Time, then why is everyone so reluctant to embrace it?

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Lack of understanding?

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Stubbornness perhaps too. I can see hesitation in investing in a costly high shear setup, but if you can accelerate the process by 90+% with Sous Vide (heat) and USC/aggressive shaking efforts, why the fork not?? Ah, humans.

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I just chuck mine in the cupboard, I have a mini USC but I don’t use it to “speed steep”, I quite like the strong flavours you get from a premature mix.

I do however have 3 250ml bottles trying to last their full steeping time, just to see

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Well, I have plenty in the dark cabinet, so I will be able to make a one on one direct comparison to get a feel for this crazy ride. While I can and do tolerate the time method, I would switch in a second if this works out.

It’s one thing to have reliable mixes waiting in the darkness, but for SF testing and new recipes, a month of waiting is truly maddening and easily the reason I am not a better mixer. Patience… I was not gifted with it in abundance.

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Ever had a vape on an old e-liquid and thought “wow, that tastes incredible” ? or picked up an old atty with some juice still in and got a completely different hit?

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Have had good and bad experiences with extremely old juice.

So, I assume your driving toward the untouched part of this deal… oxidation. Does it do more than weaken and darken nicotine?

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That’s awesome…

As to Father Time, I can only assume (perhaps erroneously) that it is oxidation changing the flavor for better or worse?

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I steep for as long as I can, usually only 1-2 weeks, then serve a 60ml with nic, so around, 58 grams of one shot to 10ml of 18mg nicotine.

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Great thread all! I apologize for being absent for a bit. I’ve been in the middle of technology wars. Gearing up to produce an album over the next year and every step is a battle for the hill. Too many to detail but suffice to say a lot of trial and error combined with a lot of worthless tech service banter.

I’m going to try some of the methods I see here next batch up. I love my Sous Vide especially for finer cuts of steak. Just invert the normal cooking process. 142°F for four hours (I apply rub before I put the steaks in the freezer), Pat dry, add a little butter or olive oil and sear at ~ 600°F for 1.5 minutes per side. I like a wood fire the best. Heaven.

I’ve never tried over 40°C on e-juice but per @anon96069639 research, I will try 60°C this next time with no nic. This makes a lot of sense to me as regardless of what method I have tried I still see some separation of liquids per viscosity in the finished product. To try to explain this, I see “streaming” as I tip the bottle back and forth. As @anon96069639 contends, I find VG a poor solvent that does not play well with others.

In regard to the USC, although I understand the process of cavitation, I have no way to measure the effectivity on e-juice. It does expedite the explosion of suspended gasses after mixing e.g. magnetic stirrer and or homoginizer.

Per the homoginizer, I have limited ability per having only a 10mm probe which will not create enough “vacuum” to address a 120ml batch in a flask. Maybe increasing temp from 40°C to 60°C will be the key to getting more effective homogenization or “complete blending” as there are no solids involved that I know of.

I’ll try to keep an eye on this thread, right now I have to re-enter the tech wars. Rehearsal is tonight and my goal is to have the rehearsal area re-configured to accommodate the addition of a control room before we get together. Pulling wire, moving equipment, firmware upgrades and software configuration. Lofty goal.

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Don’t ever apologize for an absence, my hairy brother. Life happens, we all know that.

I am as excited to try the Sous Vide steak as I am to use it for the DIY mixing. I am going to get my money’s worth out of that machine one way or another!!!

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Yeah shortfills you only add nicotine and one shots are either a combination of flavours in say, a 30ml bottle or in a larger bottle at a set % you just add the right amount of PG VG omitting the nicotine and let it steep, I buy 250ml bottles

For example:

Sir Milk A Lot comes as 52.75ml concentrate (21.1%)

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If you want to knock your guest’s socks off, serve with this on the side…

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You are an excellent resource for great recipes… And it makes perfect sense. Humans, I would imagine, are probably gamey and filled with a lot of off flavors that require strong rubs and flavorings to reduce that. So, you’ve undoubtedly compiled a great list of recipes to combat it. That one too looks pretty dang awesome.

Let me ask another time about oxidation as it relates to mixing…

Am I correct in saying that oxidation plays no role in the maturation process of ejuice making? And in fact it really only harms it?

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Fuck yeah it is! lol
I love Arby’s ‘Horsey Sauce’ which is exactly what you describe/reference. A creamy horseradish.

Not sure I’d ruin a great steak with it lol, but I wouldn’t be adverse to using a higher caliber version of the same! :wink:

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That recipe and close derivations of it are exactly what you will get in a high end steak house. If you make it, you will see the difference. Oh and of course taste it as well.

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Hang on there, partner. I’m a low country kind of fellow. My system can’t handle much high class stuff.

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That is hilarious. Glad to see you join the club!!! The other thing I love about it is that for large cuts of meat the timing isn’t critical after it’s fully cooked. If guests are late, no problem. Let it sit in the Sous Vide. Pull it and sear it when they get there.

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Put on the ritz and let it roll, brother. Nuttin like us country boys comin up with a feed that knocks the city folk on their ass.

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Hey, what do you use as Sous Vide bags?

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