An experiment with sous vide leftovers
Dedicated to Global Warming
For making this week one to avoid a lot of cooking with heat
An experiment with sous vide leftovers. The forecast for the week just past was for each day to approach and exceed 40 °C/104 °F. As much as I love summer and detest winter, these temperatures are hot, and without humidity, the oven-like heat is unbearable.
Cooking for one Facebook group
There’s been a bit more interest in the Facebook group “Cooking meals for one“. If you’re interested in joining the link is here. Please know though you have to be ‘approved’ by an administrator (me) or a moderator (a fellow group member who I have known for more than 40 years). I see maybe six to ten requests a day and most do not answer the questions so I decline their membership of the group.
Back to the experiment
Rather than doing a lot of oven or stovetop cooking (apart from one night) I went with cold leftover meat. I’m not counting Saturday night when I used the smallest piece of lamb rump straight out of the sous vide water bath.
I’d been thinking about this experiment for some time. Chicken is always a risk and I know there are people more risk averse than me when it comes to sous vide cooking and poultry. I’m pretty comfortable that 76 °C/168 °F for two hours sufficiently pasteurises the chicken including thigh meat which is usually thought to be a higher risk than breast meat because of proximity to the alimentary canal and because the thigh often has the cloaca still attached. I wasn’t concerned about the sheep meat (lamb rump) at all. One hour at 57 °C/134 °F would be fine.
Australian lamb rump in packaging 
Australian lamb rump relieved of packaging
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I bought all the ingredients from Coles. No, Yummy Lummy is not sponsored by anyone.I cooked four meals with the leftover chicken maryland pieces and lamb rump.
Tuesday night
I pulled out one of the pieces of lamb rump and opened the vacuum bag. I patted the surfaces of the meat dry with kitchen paper. After thawing a sheet of puff pastry, I brushed the surface with egg wash and then added a good layer of chopped parsley.
I coated one side of the sheep meat with some pâté and placed it pâté side down on the sheet of puff pastry. On the lamb I placed a slice of Tasmanian Heritage Double Brie and then rolled it in the sheet of puff pastry. I cut off the ends, brushed on more egg wash, and crimped the ends with a fork. While the egg wash was damp, I sprinkled on some sesame seeds and poppy seeds.
I baked the lamb in a small toaster oven at 200 °C/400 °F for 40 minutes.
Yes, this was delicious.
A shepherd’s creamy surprise. Sous vide lamb rump smeared with pâté and rolled in puff pastry with Tasmanian Heritage Double Brie. Baked for 40 minutes at 200 °C/400 °F. Served with asparagus and broccolini. #yummylummy #foodphotography #foldio #hypop #sousvide #lambrump #pate #brie #creamysurprise 
A shepherd’s creamy surprise. Sous vide lamb rump smeared with pâté and rolled in puff pastry with Tasmanian Heritage Double Brie. Baked for 40 minutes at 200 °C/400 °F. Served with asparagus and broccolini. #yummylummy #foodphotography #foldio #hypop #sousvide #lambrump #pate #brie #creamysurprise
Wednesday night
I pulled out one of the pieces of chicken maryland and opened the vacuum bag. I discovered the chicken was covered in congealed jelly. It was salty and tasted of chicken. This was an added bonus I wasn’t expecting.
I used my hands to shred the meat from the leg and thigh bones and made sure I kept the jelly too. I added the meat to some fennel, red onion, Danish feta, avocado, bird’s eye chilli, cherry tomatoes, parsley, spring onion, crushed peanuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, lime juice, and olive oil.
This was a really nice chicken salad meal.
Thursday night
If it worked with chicken, it would work with sheep meat right?
I pulled out the last piece of lamb rump and opened the vacuum bag. I dried the surfaces with kitchen towel and using my new Dick (brand name) butchers knife, cut thin slices of lamb and added it the same salad stuff I used for the chicken on Wednesday night.
Like the chicken salad, the lamb salad was also delicious.
Perfect for a 41 °C/105.8 °F day. Cold sous vide lamb rump spicy fennel salad. #yummylummy #foodphotography #foldio #hypop #sousvide #lamb 
Perfect for a 41 °C/105.8 °F day. Cold sous vide lamb rump spicy fennel salad. #yummylummy #foodphotography #foldio #hypop #sousvide #lamb
Saturday night
So, a week after cooking, I pulled the last piece of chicken maryland out of the refrigerator and liberated the jelly covered meat from its vacuum bag. It smelt fine. It looked fine. It felt fine. I added it to some coleslaw which also had some Danish feta, bird’s eye chilli, crushed peanuts, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds.
Again, a nice meal.
Questions and answers
Is it safe to eat sous vide leftovers?
Well, this experiment was pretty half arsed. I wouldn’t call it a properly controlled experiment. That said, everything looked and smelled fine. Everything tasted great. I feel fine.
Would you do it again?
Put it this way, yesterday I spent the afternoon cooking chicken thighs, a pork cutlet, and a pork tenderloin sous vide ready for this week.
Did you do anything special in terms of preparing the meat?
I added a lot more salt than I normally would. I didn’t notice the taste to be extra salty, but the flesh of the chicken and lamb were well flavoured.
As always, I used iodised salt because only stupid ignorant people like a certain Australian celebrity chef would use Himalayan rock salt and all the heavy metal impurities.
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Final thoughts
- Do you like congealed meat jelly?
- Do you like seeds and nuts in your salads?
- Do you think shepherds would like lamb wrapped in puff pastry with pâté and Tasmanian Heritage Double Brie?
I always like to see what salads you make Gary – always look great.
Thanks, Sue. I like a crunchy salad 😃
I like congealed meat jelly and nuts and seeds in salads are terrific, adding taste and crunch. A shepherd would think he or she had died and gone to heaven if a plate of lamb in puff pastry was placed in front of him or her…
I’m doing something similar tonight with pork loin. Hopefully pig farmers would be pleased 😃
I love how vibrant your salads look!
Thanks, Rose. I like to think if the food looks good, it’ll also taste good 😃
Love the sound of your lamb rump done in pastry. It looks delicious. Unfortunately I am doing a low carbohydrate diet at the moment so it wouldn’t fit in with that. Maybe in the future.
Heather, I empathise. From time to time I go low carb to take the ‘edge’ off some weight. This week, I have a pork loin which I reckon is begging for a puff pastry blanket 😃
Interesting experiment Gary. I’m going to have to read that iodised link. I have about half a dozen salts on at the go at any one time and none of them apart from one says iodised.
Dear Lorraine, while I’m not about endorsing any brand, a well-known brand like Saxa makes iodised salt in all sorts of forms which I reckon cooks love, like, flakes, coarse crystals, and table salt. I have all three varieties and use them all the time. I know it won’t help me but I like to adhere to principles.
I’ve written on my diary blog about iodised salt before
This is the first time https://garydlum.com/2017/11/25/iodine-deficiency/#Iodine_deficiency-2
and this is when I mention Chef Pete Evans https://garydlum.com/2018/02/25/revelation-in-cooking/#No_My_Kitchen_Rules_MKR_for_me_this_year
Forgive me for being presumptuous, but should you and Mr NQN consider children, supplementation with iodine is worth discussing with your GP, Obstetrician, and midwife.
I learned a lot from your post. Well Done! 🌟✨💫
Thank you 😃
Your chicken Maryland on Wednesday – did you eat the chicken cold? I am not sure about congealed jelly you find with meats. I thought that was when any sauces or juices coagulated. Definitely like seeds and nuts in my salads, and it’s a good way to boost nutrients that you need. Not sure if I would like pâté but I would have brie any other day 😀
I ate the chicken cold with the congealed juices (jelly) 😃😃😃
Pâté and brie are great together 😃😃😃
Wow, you ate the chicken cold after it was cooked and in the fridge for a night. Great cooking skills there 😃 Brie makes a meal so much better 😃😃
Brie like butter and bacon makes everything better 😃😃😃
Double layer of brie always makes things better 😃
And triple brie is three times better 😃😃😃
Out of curiosity, why would you only use iodised salt?
Great question Linda. On my other blog I’ve mentioned it a couple of times, but this is probably the best piece
https://garydlum.com/2017/11/25/iodine-deficiency/#Iodine_deficiency-2
I’d ignore the Tweets. For reasons not easily written here, most Tweets from that account have been deleted.
Yikes! I did not know about this. Thanks Gaz!
My pleasure Linda. Prof. Eastman has done so much to rid the world of cretinism.
The world needs more people like him.
Especially today when fads and trends seem to rank as highly as real science in the minds of so many people.
Yes, so true. I confess our house has fallen to the fad. We have some kind of fad salt and the common old table salt is relegated to the back of the pantry. I still use a pinch of it now and then, in baking and so on. But rarely in meals. I will now bring it forth and push the fad sea salt/rock salt/whatever back. 🙂
Well done Linda. Should you desire another child, iodine supplementation is highly recommended.
The nice thing about modern life is that you can get salt flakes and coarse salt crystals now which are iodised. It’s cheaper than the fancy salts 😃
Oh my! How I laughed out loud at your second sentence 🙂 That ship has well and truly sailed…hahaha!
Well, I didn’t want to make any assumptions 😃😃😃😃
🤣😂👍
My comment about a certain TV celebrity is further explained here
https://garydlum.com/2017/11/25/iodine-deficiency/#Iodine_deficiency-2
Truth is, iodised salt won’t help me at my age. But it’s the principle.