Do you have a Sous Vide?

Do you own a sous vide machine

  • Yes - water bath type.

    Votes: 2 6.7%

  • Yes - immersion wand type.

    Votes: 14 46.7%

  • No - why would I want one?

    Votes: 10 33.3%

  • I'm considering it.

    Votes: 3 10.0%

  • I'm not sure what they do.

    Votes: 2 6.7%
  • Total voters
    30
Morning Glory

Morning Glory

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Do you use a sous vide? I have one which I begged for as a Christmas present but I confess I'm not using it nearly enough. If you do own one, what is the type - is it water bath or immersion wand? If you don't own one, why not?

Mine is a water bath which could explain why I'm not using it enough. I have a very small kitchen so I keep the sous vide elsewhere and also the sealing device. So its not an immediately available thing.

Please add any tips, tricks and ideas to this thread. Recipes, as always, need to be posted as a new thread and linked back to this thread if you wish.
 
I have a water bath type and use it most weeks. The ability to hold precise, low temperatures over a long period of time opens up a new dimension to cooking, especially meats. This week I vacuum packed an off cut of gammon (with honey and mustard) and bunged it in before setting off for work in the morning. Ten hours later, it was ready for a quick sear in a hot pan, and resting. Meanwhile, a pouch of frozen parsley sauce went in, and was ready to serve after 20 min. With new potatoes and green beans cooked a pretty good meal was ready in about half an hour with minimal fuss.

It really comes into its own when cooking tougher cuts of meat, brisket, cheeks, shoulders, belly etc. Cooking low and slow - often as low as 56.5 deg C for several days will turn a cheap cut into a feast, breaking down connective tissues and fats in a way that couldn't be achieved in a normal oven, I even use it for Sunday roasts.
 
epicuric said:
I have a water bath type and use it most weeks. The ability to hold precise, low temperatures over a long period of time opens up a new dimension to cooking, especially meats. This week I vacuum packed an off cut of gammon (with honey and mustard) and bunged it in before setting off for work in the morning. Ten hours later, it was ready for a quick sear in a hot pan, and resting. Meanwhile, a pouch of frozen parsley sauce went in, and was ready to serve after 20 min. With new potatoes and green beans cooked a pretty good meal was ready in about half an hour with minimal fuss.

It really comes into its own when cooking tougher cuts of meat, brisket, cheeks, shoulders, belly etc. Cooking low and slow - often as low as 56.5 deg C for several days will turn a cheap cut into a feast, breaking down connective tissues and fats in a way that couldn't be achieved in a normal oven, I even use it for Sunday roasts.
Click to expand...

Sounds wonderful.

Russ
 
I have a Gourmia sous vide.

It does not require or even have an Internet connection. (the Joule has a mandatory internet or cell connection, which would NOT work where I live). Here comes a storm.... ooops no internet and even less cell for the next couple hours...

I love it, but there are only certain things I'm eager to cook with it. Chicken breast for one. Thicker cuts of meat work too.

I use it in my stew pot, rather than a dedicated pot. (The stew pot: chili pot, lobster pot, canning pot, and a couple other things...) No extra cost to purchase, since I already had.

It cost $60. So it's not a pricy item. When I bought it, since it was an apparently "undesirable" gold color, it even cost ten dollars less than the others from the same model/different color than Gourmia;s apparent "preferred" line. I didn't care... works fine. May even cost less now.

I have bought reusable silicon sous vide pouches, with a lot less to worry about with the plastics normally used. Eventually, fairly shortly, the cost will pay for itself on those.

I will say... for ideas, do pick up the FREE Joule phone app. You can use this without "logging in" to it, and you get a lot of cooking ideas, along with short videos as to how such and such dish cooks/slices at such and such sous vide temp. This has been helpful. (I run this app in advance, if a storm is coming, however.....)
 
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Mountain Cat said:
I use it in my stew pot, rather than a dedicated pot. (The stew pot: chili pot, lobster pot, canning pot, and a couple other things...) No extra cost to purchase, since I already had.
Click to expand...

so its a 'wand' type one which you immerse in a pot?

Mountain Cat said:
I have bought reusable silicon sous vide pouches,
Click to expand...

I didn't know there were such things. How do they 'unseal' so that they can re-used?
 
morning glory said:
so its a 'wand' type one which you immerse in a pot?



I didn't know there were such things. How do they 'unseal' so that they can re-used?
Click to expand...

Yes, the wand type things are the immersibles, connect them to the side of whatever water vessel you are using to sous vide in (as long as the walls of the water vessel or pot can fit the dimensions of the clamp, and do it.

The silicon bags don't get vacuum sealed with a vacuum sealer - they are like "zip loc" bags - don't know if you have that brand over in Britain - but they seal by zipping and locking. Basically, you seal them for sous vide by using water displacement... put your food in the bag, submerse it slowly, and push the air out leaving the opening above the water surface. Submerse slowly so the air goes out pretty much on its own. Before it goes too low (and water comes in), slowly use the seal and just simply watch what you do. I actually used this method with regular Zip Loc plastic bags before I got the resuables.

I'll admit they're a little of a pain to clean but it is do-able, and you'll be 1) cooking in something much more inert than plastics, especially at high temps and 2) a bit more environmental than plastic bags that WILL have to be thrown out after.

I found my silicon resuables on Amazon.
 
I have an Anova circulator that I use with a Cambro container.

SousVideSetUp.jpg


I use it about once a week -- I am using it tonight for a pork tenderloin. I'll cook it to 145F, and give it a quick sear.

I love sous vide for steaks. Perfect every time!
 
I have the immersion wand. I picked the Joule over the Anova for it's more power and greater reliability. As far as internet or cell service, it does need an app but bluetooth works great. I actually repurposed an old iPhone just for this device.

It has made my weekly meal prep a dream and since we eat a lot of chicken in my house, has allowed for the tastiest juiciest chicken I have ever had. Being able to cook it to 150 and have it be safe to eat has made all the difference in texture. Also the breakfast egg cups are insanely good. I have yet to do a large roast, but I will soon.

The one thing I was not as keen on was hard boiled eggs. I found I get a better result with a traditional boil.
 
Planethoff said:
It has made my weekly meal prep a dream and since we eat a lot of chicken in my house, has allowed for the tastiest juiciest chicken I have ever had. Being able to cook it to 150 and have it be safe to eat has made all the difference in texture. Also the breakfast egg cups are insanely good.
Click to expand...

I want to know more about both things you mention, so questions: What cuts of chicken are you cooking? What are 'breakfast egg cups'?
 
Planethoff said:
I have the immersion wand. I picked the Joule over the Anova for it's more power and greater reliability. As far as internet or cell service, it does need an app but bluetooth works great. I actually repurposed an old iPhone just for this device.

It has made my weekly meal prep a dream and since we eat a lot of chicken in my house, has allowed for the tastiest juiciest chicken I have ever had. Being able to cook it to 150 and have it be safe to eat has made all the difference in texture. Also the breakfast egg cups are insanely good. I have yet to do a large roast, but I will soon.

The one thing I was not as keen on was hard boiled eggs. I found I get a better result with a traditional boil.
Click to expand...

I wasn't aware that the Joule had more power, and not sure what that means in relation to keeping a tub of water at one temperature. As for reliability, my Anova has served me well, including a few 24-hour cooks.

All immersion circulators do the same thing -- keep a water bath at a constant temperature. Anyone thinking of buying one will do just fine with either an Anova or a Joule.

BTW, I don't use the wifi features. I turn my circulator on, set the temperature, and look at the clock when I put the food in the bath. If I want to get my iPhone involved, I set the built-in timer. That's honestly how simple sous vide cooking is.

CD
 
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