Sous vide in a Costco bag?

Costco sells a lot of stuff in vacuum sealed bags. Chicken, both regular and organic, is a good example. My immediate thought was to sous vide in the original sealed bag. I called their customer service line and spoke to someone who didn’t know what sous vide was, but assured me after reviewing a manual that Costco fresh meat was not packed for sous vide. I raised the question of whether that applied to sealed bags of chicken as well as meat that they cut and wrap in plastic, and they assured me that it applies to all fresh meats. My confidence level is low because it was apparent that the person with whom I was speaking had no idea what sous vide was.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this, because it would make things very easy? Sous vide in the bag with no prep time, a quick dry rub, and then sear on the grill or in an iron fry pan. After looking at the USDA Pasturization Analysis, it appears that 9.2 minutes at 145 degrees is sufficient to kill the salmonella buggers. See data and graph here: How to Cook Sous Vide Chicken Breast | The Food Lab.

Any thoughts?

Don’t do it.
The seal on the bag may not be strong enough for the sous vide. Also there are some nasty meat juices in those bags.

We have sous vided right in the Flannery wrap, but I don’t think we have for Costco.

If you have time, I bet the real answer would be in asking them if the product in question can be “boiled in the bag” and if the answer was in the affirmative, go with a sous vide trial!

Let us know what you learn!

Suzanne is right, of course. Don’t do it.

If the seal is faulty then some water might get in if the bag is fully submerged. I assume that would be readily apparent.

If the juices are heated to whatever the temperature of the sous vide, wouldn’t that make them as safe (or risky) as the meat itself? I don’t really know the answer to that, and it is raised by one of the previous comments.

Isn’t the real concern whether the material used to wrap the meat is safe at the higher temperatures used when sous viding (is that a word?)? I think that would be my concern. It is a bit of a pain to take them out and reseal, but it does provide the opportunity to add aromatics.

We’ve tried it, they leak.

It wasn’t from Costco, but I’ve opened sealed chicken that smelled like a sewer. Also, some plastics aren’t intended to be heated in the preparation of food (leach various undesirable things into the food). Not sure which type of plastic is used for the vacuum sealed meats.

-Al

Yes, I think that is my biggest concern. Using foodsaver or other bags that are meant for sous vide is much safer.

i’ve cooked plenty of bone in thighs and legs in the original Costco bags SV (165 deg 90 min) for my dog. I mix the deboned meat with cooked brown rice and canned pumpkin. Not sure I’d eat it but my golden sure loves it!
no leakers yet but I’m pretty careful cutting the bags apart

Jay I am with you and I have done it. But I knew it was cryovac material with no BPA or PVC. I would also know enough to sniff after cooking just in case. Even then, it is totally pasteurized.

It does help to salt and rebag though. The meat will be more moist and the reduction from the sauce will be improved.

We used them for sous vide and they awfully leak. I think the manufacturer didn’t expect people to use them for this purpose.
As for me, I prefer using bags where is written “for sous vide” or “sous vide bags”. I can really rely on them.
Lately, I like manufacturers like Platinum Pure and FoodSaver

I wouldn’t do it either. Sounds like a recepie for disaster.

If the bags are freezer safe supposedly that’s good enough. I’ve only done it with bacon that had pretty heavy freezer safe plastic. Sounds like you should rebag though unless you’re a mutt.

I eventually got a response from Costco advising me that they did not recommend that the bags be used for sous vide cooking so I have never actually done so. I am not a big fan of sous vide cooking but I do like it for carrots. I bought a bunch of carrots and put them into vacuum sealed bags with different combinations of flavorings and spices, varying from sugar and lemon to butter and fresh sprigs of rosemary. I then froze some of them directly in the bag and use them up while on COVID house arrest. They were all excellent. If I ever do another Berserkerfest at my house (after I get Alzheimer’s and forget how much of a pain it is), maybe I will make 20 or 30 pounds of sous vide carrots.

Wha da ya mean if?

please don’t