Floating hamburgers

[prudentsmoker]

I really like sous vide hamburgers (2# 80/20,envelope onion soup mix, 1/2 C H2O) but I always have to fiddle with them to keep them from floating using the immersion technique. Then a light bulb went off- you can put a few kitchen knives (not the pointy kind) in the bottom of the bag to weigh it down. Hope this helps others.

 

[Durangosmoker]

That's brilliant. And somebody will probably make a fortune selling sous vide bag weights.

 

[DivotMaker]

That's brilliant. And somebody will probably make a fortune selling sous vide bag weights.

If you remove all the air from the bag, it won't float.  A stainless butter knife will certainly work, but I don't understand how you are SV cooking with air in the bag? 

 

[Durangosmoker]

Removing ALL the air is sometimes impossible, especially for something like a hamburger, which has air within the meat, or lots of smallish pieces/slices (like pulled pork)  If it is bagged with some liquid, you have to seal it before the liquid is squeezed out of the bag, which means the air trapped within the meat remains.  Depending on the bag and the quantity involved, there can be enough air to cause flotation.

 

[prudentsmoker]

The knives in the bag weigh it down thereby removing the air.

 

[DivotMaker]

Makes perfect sense, Brian - thank you!  I've never done SV that wasn't vac-sealed, so this is good info!

 

[prudentsmoker]

You are most welcome!