Julie G wrote: ↑Mon Jan 24, 2022 9:02 am
I'm intrigued and want to learn more about sous vide. I know you're not cooking in plastic; are you using silicone or glass instead? I found this Wellness Mama
Sous Vide article helpful. Tell us more about how you are doing it.
floramaria wrote: ↑Mon Jan 24, 2022 10:05 am
After reading this last night, I spent hour reading about sous vide cooking, both in other threads here and elsewhere online. Like Julie, I am interested in knowing more about your set up for sous vide cooking.
Hi Julie and floramaria!
I bought the
Joule sous vide cooker for $150 during Amazon Prime Day. It was on sale again during the last APD, so that's just a heads up if you want one discounted. The only other accoutrement I've bought for it are these silicone pouches. So the total is under $200. This set up might not work too well if you're feeding more than two people. We haven't had many visitors during the pandemic, so I haven't been incentivized to invest in more sous vide equipment.
So I've mostly been cobbling my own system together from things on hand. The
silicone pouches I bought two of to use instead of plastic are the exception. I use my big SS stock pot that wasn't getting any other use (since I cook soup now in the Instant Pot). I put a metal trivet in the bottom so that the pouch doesn't rest on the bottom of the pot and water circulates well underneath the food. I clamp the Joule onto the side of the pot. Then I put the food and flavorings into the pouches. If I'm cooking chicken breast, steak or a pork chop I hit with a heavey SS
SS meat whammer. I then clip the pouches to the sides of the pot using bag clips and leaving them with as little air as possible as I immerse them. After that, since the dang things float, I rest the heavy SS meat whammer on top to hold them down, trying to use the edges of it so as much of the food has water circulating over it as possible. Vegetables are especially floaty and I often need to use both the meat whammer and my small granite mortar to hold them down.
One of the great things you may have read about it is that it's very easy and, as with a crock pot you don't have to watch your food. If you're out running an errand, or just plain running, and the timer finished, the food will stop cooking and stay warm.
I've noticed the higher quality of meat I'm using the better.
It can take some getting used to the way the meat looks when you eat it without searing it. There's no grilled, roasted or seared crust to it. That is, is doesn't look cooked the way we're used to that. It's just wonderfully tender and may show any herbs, rubs, lemon slices, other other enhancements you've added.
There are other sous vide companies, notably Anova. They may be as good and cheaper. I'll just say that when buying the Joule, especially since it was 25% off on APD, I went with the possibility that with sous vide cookers you may get what you pay for. I can't base that on any experience or hearsay whatsoever. Along the way the clamp on my 1-2 year old Joule started coming off, so that wasn't very high end behavior, but the company immediately sent me a brand new one. I suspect it was a weakness they discovered after it went to market and the new one seems to have a tighter clamp.