Anyone have a sous vide cooker?

Home ▸ Archive ▸ Serious Business ▸ Anyone have a sous vide cooker?
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Jun 20, 2017 8:30 AM
I've been eying one for a while now and finally pulled the trigger the other day. It just came in last night so we haven't used it yet, but I want to start compiling recipes.

For those that aren't familiar, you're basically just cooking your food slowly in a water bath to the exact temperature you want it.
Jun 20, 2017 8:30am
F

friendfromlowry

Senior Member

6,239 posts
Jun 20, 2017 9:33 AM
I've never heard of one. Hope that helps.

What are you looking to cook first?
Jun 20, 2017 9:33am
Automatik's avatar

Automatik

Senior Member

14,632 posts
Jun 20, 2017 9:58 AM
I don't have one, but I've used one several times. It's ok, but overall not really worth it IMO.
Jun 20, 2017 9:58am
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Jun 20, 2017 10:22 AM
Automatik;1859636 wrote:I don't have one, but I've used one several times. It's ok, but overall not really worth it IMO.
What did you cook with it when you did use it? Everyone I've talked to that actually owns one swears by it.
Jun 20, 2017 10:22am
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Jun 20, 2017 10:23 AM
friendfromlowry;1859626 wrote:I've never heard of one. Hope that helps.

What are you looking to cook first?
We bought a bag of frozen chicken breasts and a bag of frozen chicken wings from Costco this weekend. Those will likely be my first attempts.
Jun 20, 2017 10:23am
Automatik's avatar

Automatik

Senior Member

14,632 posts
Jun 20, 2017 10:34 AM
justincredible;1859641 wrote:What did you cook with it when you did use it? Everyone I've talked to that actually owns one swears by it.
I've done steak, chicken, eggs, yogurt.
Jun 20, 2017 10:34am
S

superman

Senior Member

3,582 posts
Jun 20, 2017 11:25 AM
What is the difference between that and a crock pot?
Jun 20, 2017 11:25am
Automatik's avatar

Automatik

Senior Member

14,632 posts
Jun 20, 2017 11:28 AM
A lot.
Jun 20, 2017 11:28am
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Jun 20, 2017 11:34 AM
superman;1859650 wrote:What is the difference between that and a crock pot?
A sous vide will cook to the desired temperature and hold it there, without overcooking it.
Jun 20, 2017 11:34am
S

superman

Senior Member

3,582 posts
Jun 20, 2017 11:49 AM
justincredible;1859654 wrote:A sous vide will cook to the desired temperature and hold it there, without overcooking it.
Oic
Jun 20, 2017 11:49am
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Jun 20, 2017 11:51 AM
There is a great series on Lifehacker called "Will it Sous Vide" where the author experiments with different food.

http://lifehacker.com/tag/will-it-sous-vide
Jun 20, 2017 11:51am
Ironman92's avatar

Ironman92

Administrator

49,363 posts
Jun 20, 2017 12:27 PM
We use a crock pot probably 60-75x a year....maybe once a year is the food not done to our liking. Hope you enjoy your sue video cooker
Jun 20, 2017 12:27pm
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Aug 14, 2017 11:22 AM
Alright, it took a while but I finally got around to using this thing yesterday for dinner. We bought a strip steak from Kroger and sous vide'd it to medium-rare and threw it on the cast iron skillet to sear. It was an excellent steak, incredibly tender. It was also incredibly easy to use the sous vide, I wish I would have got around to it a lot sooner.

Here it is in the water bath. I forgot to take a picture of the finished product.
Aug 14, 2017 11:22am
Belly35's avatar

Belly35

Elderly Intellectual

9,716 posts
Aug 14, 2017 12:15 PM
justincredible;1866575 wrote:Alright, it took a while but I finally got around to using this thing yesterday for dinner. We bought a strip steak from Kroger and sous vide'd it to medium-rare and threw it on the cast iron skillet to sear. It was an excellent steak, incredibly tender. It was also incredibly easy to use the sous vide, I wish I would have got around to it a lot sooner.

Here it is in the water bath. I forgot to take a picture of the finished product.
For this example the steak; How long was the total process cooking time?

Ive heard of this method of cooking but never had anything prepared for me ... with a sous vide cooker...
Aug 14, 2017 12:15pm
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Aug 14, 2017 12:25 PM
I let this cook for about 2:45, though I could have cooked it for a little as two hours. Total time in the cast iron skillet was about 3 minutes.

I only seasoned with salt and pepper before vacuum sealing it. Next time I might try adding a sprig of rosemary on each side, and maybe some garlic. The steak had a nice amount of fat on it that melted like butter when eating it, it was not tough and gristly.
Aug 14, 2017 12:25pm
ernest_t_bass's avatar

ernest_t_bass

12th Son of the Lama

24,984 posts
Aug 14, 2017 12:46 PM
justincredible;1866575 wrote:It was an excellent steak, ...

I forgot to take a picture of the finished product.

Some may say, the burden of proof is on you...
Aug 14, 2017 12:46pm
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Aug 14, 2017 2:12 PM
You're just going to have to trust me, Ernest.
Aug 14, 2017 2:12pm
ernest_t_bass's avatar

ernest_t_bass

12th Son of the Lama

24,984 posts
Aug 14, 2017 2:49 PM
justincredible;1866621 wrote:You're just going to have to trust me, Ernest.
Yeah, well. I don't have to like it.
Aug 14, 2017 2:49pm
ernest_t_bass's avatar

ernest_t_bass

12th Son of the Lama

24,984 posts
Aug 14, 2017 2:50 PM
So after this water bath, then what?
Aug 14, 2017 2:50pm
Fab4Runner's avatar

Fab4Runner

Tits McGee

6,196 posts
Aug 14, 2017 3:11 PM
ernest_t_bass;1866623 wrote:So after this water bath, then what?
Then he seared it in a cast iron skillet and ate it.
Aug 14, 2017 3:11pm
C

chiefy jones

Senior Member

1,037 posts
Aug 14, 2017 3:13 PM
No
Aug 14, 2017 3:13pm
ernest_t_bass's avatar

ernest_t_bass

12th Son of the Lama

24,984 posts
Aug 14, 2017 3:32 PM
Fab4Runner;1866626 wrote:Then he seared it in a cast iron skillet and ate it.
So the water bath is the cooking?
Aug 14, 2017 3:32pm
iclfan2's avatar

iclfan2

Reppin' the 330/216/843

6,360 posts
Aug 14, 2017 4:24 PM
ernest_t_bass;1866635 wrote:So the water bath is the cooking?
Yes
Aug 14, 2017 4:24pm
salto's avatar

salto

Senior Member

2,611 posts
Aug 15, 2017 6:24 PM
Cooking a steak in water seems very Antifa.
Aug 15, 2017 6:24pm