For those interested, sous vide circulator 2 for $249
dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
9 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (24)
bellsmom
9 years agodcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
9 years agoRelated Discussions
Went appliance shopping--didn't see much new! Sous Vide Oven?
Comments (14)So, from Pedro's graphs, it appears that the steam oven has a wobble of about 3-4 degrees, which is about what I'd expect from the discussion. Plenty good for making dinner, but not precise enough for when that's the difference between different levels of doneness. I think this is where the immersion circulator is revolutionary and wipes out a lot of the assumptions in the existing texts. Given the assumption that they really are as accurate as they're supposed to be (I tested once with my instant read, because I was using a big roasting pan and wasn't sure about the large volume, and it was fine, but that was nowhere near a scientific test), and have had tremendous results, but haven't had a fail to investigate. When looking at the old style commercial circulators with tanks and commercial or the original high end only CSOs, many thousands of dollars for either, for a specialty piece of equipment, it's a debate worth having. With an inexpensive immersion circulator and a $10 pot or bucket or cooler, easily gotten for free, as well, it just throws those arguments out. The immersion circulator can be classed with the torch, infrared thermometer, and grill press, as a kitchen gadget that's slightly pricey for a limited use item, but is just another tool in the kitchen. It's the price of sous vide grade vacuum bag rolls that's the kicker, nowadays, when a circulator costs about the same as any other countertop oven. I reuse the water for the washing up. :) Well, that paragraph is a mess. What I meant was that a lot of the discussions are from before the immersion circulator (and from a professional perspective) and I think it really changes things, especially for home cooks who already have a vacuum sealer. I didn't find what you were referring to in Cooking Issues, but it was very interesting. I did find the discussion of the pickling in vacuum interesting, but I don't know enough to know if the vacuum chamber is necessary or just what they had? Perhaps it builds a truer vacuum, and the pickler was talking about the pressure and pressure release boiling, so maybe that is different with a chamber than just sucking out the air. If so, that would be a reason for the small vacuum drawers, as well. I've been looking at sous vide turkey breasts. I did the roulades last year, and they were great. I found a lot of recommendations for on the bone, but they still remove the ribs. I don't want to fiddle around with that, though I could probably get the butcher to do it. Some of those drawers don't look like they'd hold a whole turkey breast on the bone, though I'm pretty sure it would fit in my bag material. Chanop, many thanks, again, for the great discussion and for providing so many interesting sources of input. It's a real treat!...See Morehot air sous vide revisited
Comments (4)Hi Islay, fwiw the first attempts at low temp were done w/hot air. I will take a stab at enumerating the pros/cons from my limited experiments. Air pros: 1. don't need to fill with water (more of a problem with a cooler than a pot) and shlep. Also better for water conservation if you are into that, or for making your operation more portable. 2. in water the bag is there to prevent exposure to water, as it will dilute the flavors. In air you are trying to retain moisture, so you can use saran wrap, oiled parchment, probably foil, etc. Air is more flexible there. You still want it to catch the juices though, so don't put the seams on the bottom. 3. preheat is nearly instantaneous since air is low mass, I don't even bother pre-heating, just drop the food in and plug it in, though heater power is a factor in pre-heat time. Less energy spent on the heat transfer medium only to pour it down the drain. 4. doubles as a precision dehydrator. Air cons: 1. The specific heat of air is much less than water. For a given set temperature it takes longer for the heat to be absorbed by the food to attain that temperature. 2. needs more complicated control scheme as temperature can change quickly, though this is a solved (affordably) problem. 3. very few people experimenting with it, and almost every recipe is geared towards a water bath these days, so while the temperature recommendation holds, the timings are way off. 4. Longer cook times will mean more energy spent on heating the food product (lots of variables). It is an interesting experiment in thermodynamics in any event. That is probably my main motivator :) edit: this site describes the heating difference pretty well https://amazingribs.com/more-technique-and-science/grill-and-smoker-setup-and-firing/thermodynamics-cooking-and-how After all your hand is made out of meat. "Put an empty frying pan and pot of water in a 200°F oven for an hour. Open the door and stick your hand in the warm air of the oven and count how long you can hold your hand in there. Perhaps a minute? Then plunge one hand in the 200°F water and place the other hand on the frying pan. After you get back from the hospital, ponder the fact that not everything that is 200°F transfers energy at the same rate."...See MoreDon't like sous vide?
Comments (73)Artemis_ma, I had 146 written originally, but have changed it to 148 – thank you. OT: I woke up in the middle of the night last night, literally sat up, and almost said aloud “that is artemis ma’s kitchen!” Forgive me, I didn’t remember your reveal post, but I guess it’s been in my subconscious all the while… I love your kitchen (said that a while back, but worth repeating). I even remember a family member had made or found an incredible crazy-looking langolier-like (from a Stephen King book) metal creature sculpture with eating utensils which I adored! I hear you, I’m now in TN, where the humidity makes me soaked after 10 minutes outside. I loved NM, the heat so dry… but DH is here, so I am : ) Plllog, you have a good point. I was thinking if there were followers, or later someone searching, they’d like to hear a newbie’s experiences, but yes, this is a long thread now, and many might skip over some of this invaluable information accidentally. I’ll start a new thread but include reference to this one. I’m (again) saving your comments. I need to write all this out in a notebook – writing it again will help me remember without having to look up things every time. I put a towel over and around the container with my long-cook meat yesterday and had been watching the water level like a mother hen : ) Sherri, I’ll keep your comment in mind about fast sears. See? These types of learning experiences are so helpful and I feel others can also benefit! That’s what I’d read Islay! Endive with butter and ginger? Instant gratin? My brain is in joyful overload! Bragu, I’d never have thought of that combo, ever… will now! Sleeve, I think I will start a new thread.. Yes, I will put sous vide in the title : ) “In a 'part-2' thread I'd like to hear some recipes.” – Last night I was thinking the same thing! I’ll make that request and share what I’ve got thus far (which isn’t much, but it’s a start!). Ha! There’s a very happy dog at your home! Did you smile or grumble? I’d have done both! Ah, so you use it for lunches and tacos! Or were going too.. Oh my, that London broil… I hope I’m not sous vide’ing (OK, how do you say it???) the round sirloin tip roast too long… oh well, trial and error! Sleevendog, I know I sound dense, but to clarify: You had a London broil that had been sous vide earlier, then you smoked it 45 minutes at 180-200 F to finish? Because, I’m thinking I can get (even in this heat) the weber and pellet tube at 200 F… I have yet to pre-sous vide and freeze anything – because I need to get my times and temps down before doing several at once. This is so embarrassing, but it’s the only way to learn: I looked for a London broil last Tuesday - but I was also looking for Top Round (which I also couldn’t find). Now I understand London broil is Top Round or Flank Steak or the way it’s prepared??? I bought the ‘round sirloin tip roast’ because it was cheap, and have never bought one before (it’s about the same thickness I think as Sleeve’s London Broil pic). It’s my understanding the top round is more tender than the sirloin tip, but the sirloin tip has some flavor. I’ve stared at photos of cow cuts, read multiple beef articles and my brain is now sous vide! If anyone can clarify what a London broil is, I’d appreciate it!...See MoreSous Vide thoughts about when people don't like it
Comments (12)Yes, crispy brown comes from dry heat. There are a few ways of doing it, but as you surmise, it happens outside of the actual sous vide cook. The advantage is that it's cooked 100% through and through to the temperature of your choice while sous vide. There's no perfect sear with blue raw meat happening. For a steak, it's often sous vide cooked, all the way through, then removed from the pouch, juices dried off, then seared in a screaming hot pan. You don't have to hold back the searing temperature, because the meat is thoroughly cooked. This is how the famous "edge to edge" is achieved. There's the dark caramelized sear edge, but no ring of brown, dryer interior and pink center. Just the desired doneness, color and texture all the way. You can make red meat "well done" this way, as in killing pathogens, while still having the soft texture of medium rare. You can also cook it at a higher temperature if you want a firmer texture. It's the temperature setting you're cooking to, not the time, though, of course, higher temperatures still take a bit longer. For other uses you can also do "reverse", where you sear first and then seal sous vide and cook with the circulator. I forget when that is done. That wouldn't be for crisp, of course. You can use sous vide ("under vacuum") to hurry marinades. That's just sealing it in the bag with the vacuum machine, not cooking it. One of the catering joys of sous vide is that on Wednesday, when you receive your poultry order, you can prep Friday's skinless chicken breasts, including the flavorings and herbs, vacuum seal and refrigerate them, then put them in the circulator to cook a few hours before service. When you're approaching time to plate, you can remove them to a sheet pan and put them in the oven for five minutes to brown, or just plate them with a sauce. You're never going to get crisp skin sous vide. All the moisture is held inside, which is great for the flesh, but doesn't dry the skin, which is what makes it crisp. You're not going to get fond, either. There's no Maillard reaction. But you can also just roast off some trimmings and make a pan full of fond. This is where cooking sous vide at home parts with catering. There isn't enough fond in catering to do the job so you're making it anyway. At home, it's a side benefit. Other than to try recipes before serving to company, I don't bother with sous vide for just us. There's no point when I have so many other tools. If you go to the Anova website, you can find all kinds of recipes using their circulators that seem a bit ridiculous, like making cakes in mason jars. As experiments in what you can do, however, they're interesting, and could inform a decision later. The great thing about an immersion circulator that you use with your own vessel, like I have, is that you have an instant spare oven. But what if one kid has football practice, another has show choir, and the third has cub scouts. Besides screaming, you need to chauffeur them and feed them after the boys get home and before the girl leaves. There's drive thru. Ugh. Or crockpot. Or, if like me you have two circulators, you can set your chicken and potatoes to cook sous vide before the scout meeting and have your salad ready, and by the time coats are off and backpacks stowed, everybody's eating a wholesome, perfect temperature, dinner together, whenever you got home, and all your time going to eating it and talking to the kids, rather than fixing the meal up (even microwaving or other reheating takes time) and being late to choir. It's just a tool. There are other ways to achieve what you need to achieve, and people have been cooking for thousands of years without it. I think it was invented a bit over 200 years ago....See Moreplllog
9 years agodcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
9 years agoplllog
9 years agodcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
9 years agoplllog
9 years agoarley_gw
9 years agodcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
9 years agoplllog
9 years agoplllog
9 years agokitchendetective
9 years agojakkom
9 years agoplllog
9 years agodcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
9 years agoplllog
9 years agodcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
9 years agoplllog
9 years agofoodonastump
8 years agoplllog
8 years agonancyofnc
8 years agodcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
8 years agoplllog
8 years ago
Related Stories
HEALTHY HOMENatural Beds: How to Shop for a Greener Mattress
Before bouncing from store to store, start here to find the right chemical-free mattress for you
Full StoryHOUZZ CALLShow Us the Best Kitchen in the Land
The Hardworking Home: We want to see why the kitchen is the heart of the home
Full StorySAVING WATER11 Ways to Save Water at Home
Whether you live in a drought-stricken area or just want to help preserve a precious resource, here are things you can do to use less water
Full StoryKITCHEN DESIGN5 Home Cooks Share Their Favorite Family Recipes
Peek inside the kitchens of these Houzz users and learn how to cook their time-tested, passed-down dishes
Full StoryBEDROOMSRest Easy: Myth Busting for Bedding and Mattresses
We put to bed some of the misconceptions that may be keeping you from a good night's sleep
Full StoryKITCHEN DESIGN12 Items Worth a Spot on Your Kitchen Counter
Keep these useful tools and accessories out in the open to maintain high function without spoiling the view
Full StoryEVENTSNovember’s Hottest Home Design Events
See what’s on the Houzz list of things to see and do this month
Full Story
bob_cville