I am ~8 hours into my rib cook and slightly concerned about the amount of air in my bags.
I have the temp at 155 (confirmed via separate thermometer) and it took about an hour to get to temp after putting the meat in.
I noticed air in most of the bags at about an hour in, and it doesn’t look like the bags are swelling.
Should I be concerned? I usually see a little bit of air, but not like this. Did I just do a terrible job of vacuuming before the seal?
by VegasAdventurer
9 Comments
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You just have some gassy meat. If you’re really worried about it, weigh the bags down with some plates. The air will eventually hit temp too. That’s how ovens work, after all.
I would be concerned. I’m very picky about my butcher and I’ve never had gas released during sousvide. This includes: beef, lamb, pork, tuna, scallops, elk
Maybe lacto-fermented meat is OK, but in my case it never happens, and I would worry if it did.
I just use ziplocs when doing back ribs especially so I can vent and them and close them back up.
I’m not sure why they’re off gassing. With your setup, would it be possible to open the tops of the bags, clip them to the side of the container, and have the meat under the water level? If not, a fast switch to freezer bags –
Odds are it’s okay. Gases expand at higher temperatures, so if your vacuum sealer isn’t the world’s best vacuum and leaves some air in there, it can drastically expand once heated. When you pull it out of the sous vide, it’ll shrink back up. My vacuum sealer is just okay, and this happens to me. The only way I’d be concerned is if you’ve done this exact some procedure before (same meat, same bags, same vacuum sealer, same cook settings) and it’s drastically different
I’d be a bit concerned. Air isn’t a great conductor, I’d be worried they’re not getting to/staying at temp. I’ve never experienced that much off gassing
I’ve had puffy bags at higher temps, but usually only when it’s heavily seasoned.
What’s on the ribs?
You should be concerned about the lack of circulation. The air may be exacerbating it based on this picture, but you generally speaking *some* off-gassing in ribs can happen and is expected. Some people open and reseal mid cook, but I don’t. I also haven’t see this much air before, so 🤷