Sous-vide cooker?

[malcolmk14]

Can anyone recommend a place to buy a good, reasonably priced sous-vide cooker? I've seen them online for about $300 but that's way too much for something that amounts to just holding water temperature for 24 hours. If I were cooking for many people maybe I would look into one like that but I usually cook for two, maybe four.

[afc wimbledon]

I wouldn't touch anything less than top end on these, and I'm not sure even then, get the temp out of wack at all and you are looking a lovely case of food poisoning.

I say this as someone who happily scrapes mould off the top of jam to put on my toast.

[freedogger]

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

I wouldn't touch anything less than top end on these, and I'm not sure even then, get the temp out of wack at all and you are looking a lovely case of food poisoning.

I say this as someone who happily scrapes mould off the top of jam to put on my toast.

Yep, go sous vide supreme or go home. We are very happy with the smaller model. You can make a lesser cut of meat taste like the best.

[Flaming Choy]

can try making your own. Apparently only $75 in parts.

http://seattlefoodgeek.com/2010/02/d...-for-about-75/

http://makeprojects.com/Project/Sous...n-Cooker/471/2

Or get a kit ($80) and a coffee Urn ($30)

http://lowereastkitchen.com/wp/?q=node/3

Or this controller apparently just need a crock pot or something plugged into it.

http://freshmealssolutions.com/index...&Itemid=100086

[Misterpants]

Question: What do you cook in these things (types/cuts)? What is it like when it comes out? Do you spice the meat?

I had never heard of such an implement and had to wiki it to find out. Seems like it kind of boils meat under vacuum to maintain cell walls and ensure even cooking.

[Sliver]

Yeah I have no idea what this is and I keep checking into this thread to see if somebody has posted pics or a description.

I realize I could have looked it up myself in the time it took me to type this.

[Kipper is King]

If I am not mistaken, the cooking method is called sous vide, and the device itself is an immersion circulator.

Usually, stuff is cooked inside a vacuum sealed bag for sous vide.

[malcolmk14]

Think underwater slowcooker. If you want medium-rare beef, you set the temperature to 138 degrees and let the meat sit in there for 2 to 24 hours (inside a vacuum-sealed bag). It's not going to overcook because the temperature never gets above 138 degrees.

You can cook fish, shellfish, vegetables, or virtually anything else that you can put inside a vacuum-sealed bag.

Absolutely you can spice the meat.

[BlackArcher101]

What's the flavor like with these things? A lot of flavor comes from the cooking process (ie grilling, fying, broiling, charring) so without that, what does a piece of meat taste like?

[rd_aaron]

Originally Posted by malcolmk14

Think underwater slowcooker. If you want medium-rare beef, you set the temperature to 138 degrees and let the meat sit in there for 2 to 24 hours (inside a vacuum-sealed bag). It's not going to overcook because the temperature never gets above 138 degrees.

You can cook fish, shellfish, vegetables, or virtually anything else that you can put inside a vacuum-sealed bag.

Absolutely you can spice the meat.

With this method you can make the steak medium-rare the whole way through. There will be no temperature gradient because as malcolmk14 said, it's not going to overcook as the temperature of the whole steak will be at 138 degrees.

[Hockeyguy15]

I feel like this along with slow cookers is cheating when it comes to cooking. I'm not saying I wouldn't try one, or eat something that was made using one. There is just a sense of accomplishment to me when I have cooked a perfect steak or roast or any type of protein. With the immersion cooker I think that would be taken away since it doesn't take any skill to turn the knobs to a set temp and throw a vacuum sealed bag into it.

[DownhillGoat]

Interesting. There was a poor-mans version of this in men's health last year that looked like a great idea. I had no idea you could get a cooker like that. I might have to take a look at one of these.

[Flaming Choy]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

What's the flavor like with these things? A lot of flavor comes from the cooking process (ie grilling, fying, broiling, charring) so without that, what does a piece of meat taste like?

I think some people season the meat when in the vacuum bag so it's sorta marinating/poaching in spices/butter/whatevre you put in it. For meats usually it's given a quick searing after the sous-vide process to crisp up skin/add extra flavor/add contrast to textures/heat.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

Interesting. There was a poor-mans version of this in men's health last year that looked like a great idea. I had no idea you could get a cooker like that. I might have to take a look at one of these.

It is possibly the only accesable part of the whole avant garde spanish school of nouvo cuisine for home use, that said if you eff it up you can kill yourself and there have been some high end resteraunts with full professional kit that have given their customers food poisoning.

[Hockeyguy15]

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

It is possibly the only accesable part of the whole avant garde spanish school of nouvo cuisine for home use, that said if you eff it up you can kill yourself and there have been some high end resteraunts with full professional kit that have given their customers food poisoning.

How could you eff it up? If it's for home use you could start cooking something whenever you wanted and cook it for 24 hours since it will never over cook since it's a constant temp. I'm not saying your statement is wrong, I am just curious how you actually can mess it up.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by Hockeyguy15

How could you eff it up? If it's for home use you could start cooking something whenever you wanted and cook it for 24 hours since it will never over cook since it's a constant temp. I'm not saying your statement is wrong, I am just curious how you actually can mess it up.

The most common mistake is not eating the food quick enough, the whole process relies on you keeping the tempreture constant pretty well on to your plate. As soon as it comes out of its bath bacteria starts to multiply as there is no inherent heat to protect it, nor do you create a charred outer shell with a coating of oil.

Some recipes call for 72 hour cooking at a very low temp, the slightest screw up on the tempreture creates a bath of bacteria, so the equipment needs to be tested constantly to keep it safe.

This is up there with blow fish sushi in terms of the consequences if you screw it up.

[ma-skis.com]

I hear eggs are unreal in a machine like this,

steak and chicken makes me a little curious though I wonder what a fully med rare steak would taste like... so a med rare steak where you skin the outside layers?what color would it be?

[Hockeyguy15]

Thanks afc, I will stick to BBQ'ing.

[Misterpants]

Wow, don't know if I could enjoy a meal from this contraption. I think the whole time I'd be wondering if I was eating Campylobacter Surprise. The first time I used this I'd probably stick close to home base for the evening.

[eyes wide shut]

Just stumbled across this old thread, figured i would add one cent.
If you go to some of Calgary's top restaurants (i.e. Rouge, Teatro, Q-Haute, and many others) a lot of their top dishes will be cooked using this method. If you look at the top 100 restaurants in the world, you will see many of the chefs are advocates of this process (i.e. Thomas Keller).

I could go on for pages on the topic, but this is a hockey site.

I will say that if you ever get a chance to have Sous Vide fish, try it. Especially Salmon. it takes on a texture and flavour that you have never experienced. Lamb is our household favourite (and yes i do put the racks under the broiler afterwards (some people will use a kitchen torch to instantly sear)). It is also the perfect way to do short ribs as you can do them to medium rare, but still tender and juices intact, unlike the alternative of braising.

as far as the bacteria concern, a lot of it is about pasteurization (for items other than fish). it is not enough to bring an item up to just over pasturization (which begins at 132F = a rare medium rare) but to hold it there for a period of time i.e. beef roast for minimum 6 hours, and up to 12 hours (then it does not overcook, but becomes mushier (unless it is a tough cut)). Once you know these basics, it is easier and quicker to prep than any other method (there is a good ipad app to reference time vs temp). My house will buy a few roasts, season, vacuum pack, and freeze. Then when you want one, toss it in the water bath in the morning, and at any time that evening, pull it out, sear and serve.

As far as the comments about accomplishment of cooking, this method introduces a new spectrum to play with as now that you are not likely to over or under cook the food, you can focus on the texture and the difference that 1 degree of temperature makes and duration as different connective tissues, fats, enzymes, etc react to these changes. An egg is a great example as you can pasteurize an egg, but keep it below the temperature where it turns to a solid, or to the point that it is a jelly, or the white is solid and yolk is jelly (i hate boiled eggs, so i have only read about this).

i guess that might have been my 3 cents of info on the topic.