Hi all, can I pick your brains about something? I’m hosting a fairly big BBQ on Monday, and I’m super excited about preparing everything in my ANOVA (which has completely transformed BBQing for me!). I’m wondering, though: I’d like to offer corn on the cob, chicken, pork, lamb and beef. So, I was thinking of starting with the thing that cooks at the highest temperature - that’s the corn, cooking that at ca. 83C for a couple of hours, some time on Sunday. Then I’ll lower the temperature to around 65 for the chicken for a few hours, then 62 for the pork. That’ll take care of Sunday. On Monday morning, I’ll put in the beef and lamb at around 52 or so (will research the correct temperatures before I start).
My question is: should I leave everything in there once I lower the temperature? So, cook the chicken first at 65, then continue with it at 62 overnight together with the pork, and then leave it in at 52 the next day with the beef and lamb? Will anything get mushy (in particular the corn)? Or should I just take it all out when the next batch goes in, and just gently re-heat it to 52 for a couple of hours before I slam it on the BBQ? I suppose I’d ideally need five different ANOVAs, but the budget doesn’t stretch to that…
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Happy cooking, Monika
I’m guessing by the 62C you’re going to be after a ‘pullable’ finish on your pork. It can be achieved at 54C but will take a longer time. So your lamb, pork and beef could all be done at the same temperature, just add them sequentially for the finish that you want on them. Might take 3 or 4 days for the pork, but you get a pulled finish and still the lovely, succulent pink blush. Anyway, that’s what I’m experimenting with.
I’d be inclined to shock and chill the cooked products and then reheat them at the lowest temperature rather than keeping them in the bath the whole time.
If you follow J. Kenji López-Alt at The Food Lab, he indicates there will be a change in texture the longer several foods sits in the cooker. He recommends not “cooking any longer than the maximum recommended time for each cut and temperature range.”
@Ember recommendation to cook ahead of time, shock chill and then reheat with the Anova at a later time is a better approach. It’s how I often do poached eggs as suggested in Serious Eats and others.
Update: BBQ was a great success, and even the weather was kind. (The forecast was for torrential thunderstorms, but it was mostly dry with an occasional light drizzle that everyone quite enjoyed - until just after dessert, when the heavens opened!) In particular the lamb chops were fantastic! I did as you recommended, cooked everything at the appropriate temperature, shocked it in ice water and put it back in the fridge, and then just dumped everything in a 51C water bath an hour before the event (including the corn). Perfect!
