Wanting to get a sous vide machine and was hoping someone had some recommendations?
Anyone Sous Vide?
Ljayjacobs on 19/03/2013 - 10:48
Comments
I have a temp controller that I hook up to my slow cooker, and use that, from time to time :)
You could just poach it in a bit of glad wrap. Its basically just a plastic bag and a water bath.
I bought the temperature controller from http://www.sousvideathome.com.au/ (use the Google archive or email them because they're reconstructing their website). The controller was $125, plus $20 for a cheapass rice cooker from Kmart (which has to be dumb because the controller cycles the power to the cooker to keep it at the right temperature), plus $178 for a vacuum sealer from HN.
Works well. Can control within 0.1 degrees as long as you like. The all-in-one machine from Breville is >$600 though.
Note: you NEED to google for the pasteurization chart for sousvide because you need to cook your meat long enough to kill the bugs. Tender meat does NOT have to mean food poisoning!
Sounds like you took the expensive path :p.
The temp controller is the STC-1000, $20 shipped from hong kong. To wire it up you need an extension cable ($2 reject shop), a junction box (less than $10 from jaycar).
For a vacuum sealer, oo.com.au usually have one for $60 or so, and bags are pretty cheap too.
So you could probably hack something together for less than $100!
This is probably the best recipe I have used for sous vide :)
http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/12/the-food-lab-deep-fried-s…For a really cheap way to cook things like steak to the perfect med-rare, just use an reasonably sized esky and a thermometer, coupled with the zip-lock bag technique gamogo5 is describing :).
The esky will hold its temp pretty well, especially if it is big. Hot water out of the tap is usually more than hot enough for steak (54 degrees or so).
Vacuum sealers are great for sous vide, but not essential. When cooking at lower temps, you can use heavy-duty zip-loc bags. Just place your product in the bag and zip seal it 3/4 the way. Then slowly lower the bag into the water. As you submerge the bag, the water pressure will force the air out of the bag. Lower it all the way to the 3/4 zip seal, then finish sealing the bag.
Agree. They say you get better results with the vacuum sealer, but your way works well (and is less messy if you've got marinades etc. in the bag since you're not mucking around with paper toweling around the pump), Just use a thick bag - a proper ziploc, not some cheap freezer bags. Also, can use a straw to suck out excess air if you really need to.
The only issue with ziplock bags is if you don't get all the air out, then your food floats, and won't cook properly. But if you immerse it properly, and take your time, the good old archimedes principle will ensure there isn't any air in there.
Hi guys,
I've tried this technique before and it worked just fine. Basically you use an Esky, get it to the proper temperature and top it up every now and again. Won't get hot enough for vegetables, but fine if you want to test what all the fuss is about with a piece of meat.
http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/04/cook-your-meat-in-a-beer-…
Well worth a look.
Thanks for the responses.
Yeah I tried the esky trick, but want to get into more accurate cooking with eggs and other meats.
Saw the PID temp controller on Ebay, but for some things you need to keep them on for a long time so not too confident on leaving the machine on while I'm not at home.
Anyone got a polyscience? I know they are over $1k but they seem to be used in every commercial kitchen.
I've done the esky thing, and considered the expensive sous vide machines, but I ended up taking a gamble on a piece of Chinese medical equipment. The one I got was kind of like this one. (http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Brand-New-Lab-Waterbath-Water…) I believe they're often used for things like keeping leg wax at the right temperature.
My experience has been pretty good. The instructions were 100% chinese, but I worked out the limited controls just fine, and sometime later had a Chinese colleague confirm there wasn't anything I missed. The temperature seems to remain very accurately within about +/-0.1 degrees C. If I had to complain about it, it'd be the following:
- When it initially arrived, the power cord had a strong chemical smell to it. I just threw it away and used a standard computer cord instead.
- Over the months there has been a very small spot of rust form at the base of the temperature probe. The rest of it is stainless steel or aluminium.
- The lid is obviously designed to accommodate a variety of sized pots, hence a number of concentric lid sections. I just wrap the whole lot in a tea towel, to keep them together and improve the lid seal.So for around A$200 I got a quite effective sous vide machine, plus a story to tell about my Chinese medical equipment kitchen. Just remember to search for "water bath", which doesn't attract the price overhead of "sous vide".
can also find these on ebay, protection with paypal is always a plus
For home use or commercial?