The Old Bear

Back in 2008 my boss asked me to come up with a short film. He said,"We've got an antique bear and an antique piano. Come up with a 60 second short using only them.". I came up with a concept then plunked down with the incredible animator Joe Gorski and we fleshed out and storyboarded the short. Right after that I got a new job and left for Australia. My only contributions were the initial concept, some storyboards and the bear model. The entire short was done in my absence by an incredible team. Years later I finally saw the short and was floored! They took my ideas and made them exponentially better. Here are a few of my original boards and the final short. Despite my minimal involvement, its the project that I love most out of everything I've worked on.

How to sous vide without a sous vide

How to sous vide without a sous vide.

A video posted by Jason Baldwin (@jasonsbaldwin) on Aug 6, 2015 at 7:37am PDT

Sous vide is a cooking technique where food is vacuum sealed and submerged in temperature controlled water. This allows for heating to an exact temperature without moisture loss or overcooking. It's so good it'll turn you into a Republican.

It's delicious

Traditionally it requires a vacuum sealer and sous vide setup (tank, pump, heater, thermostat) which is spendy. The same result can be achieved with a cooler, thermometer and ziplock bag. Here's how:

-Dry rub (optional) Salt is the enemy of sous vide as it'll toughen the meat. Prepare a dry rub with imitation salt, Umami or Porcini Powder, then add a pat of butter.

-place meat in ziplock bag and submerge in water till it's about to pour into the bag, then seal. This forces out the air. 

-After removing sealed bag, heat water to 3-7 degrees hotter than the meat's ideal cooking temperature to account for the heat lost transferring to the cooler. (Additionally, the water temperature will drop 1 degree an hour for low temperatures, and faster for higher, so adjust accordingly.)

-place meat in cooler and add enough heated water to fully submerge.

-close top and wait 1 or more hours. (The meat has to reach its ideal internal temp. It can't overcook, so longer is better.)

-remove meat from bag and quickly sear each side on a very hot grill.

note, do not remove with bare hands. The water is super hot.

It's amazing! I got the technique from seriouseats, so for more info, read HERE.