Circulation is something that everyone seems to forget when it comes to DIY sous vide. Get an aquarium water pump as I did using the osPID as a controller.
http://www.unmaintained.com/index.php/ospid-sous-vide-open-source-high-tech-cooking-on-a-budget/
I can understand why sous vide might be interesting for meat-eaters. But is there any reason a vegetarian would bother getting one of them? Iāve had a sous vide egg before, seemed like a really fancy way to make a poached egg but not really any better. Is there anything else that sous vide does particularly well?
Iāve actually gotten pretty good temperature control (+/- 1 deg F, verified with a separate thermometer) with a crockpot and a temperature controller. I think it helps that I have a large crockpot, so thereās lots of room for water to naturally circulate around the steak (or whatever other meat you have). As far as bubbling vs. natural convection vs conduction, my theory is that youāll get good enough conductive heat transfer with a crock pot through all sides to maintain a fairly uniform temperature profile. Iāve certainly never seen anything so large as a +/- 5 deg F range as Debaser42 did.
Tried the cooler version on some steaks this weekend: http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/06/video-how-to-cook-your-steak-sous-vide-in-a-cooler.html I didnāt let the water come all the way to boiling, you only need 130Ā° right? I checked once on the way to boiling and it was at about 150 so I dumped it into a small plastic cooler I had in the garage. I only had to add add a little boiling water a couple of times to keep it above 130. I finished them on the grill. I was very pleased with the result. I looked up the plastic issue later and the internet assured me it was okay. My Ziplocā¢ bags I used claimed to contain no BPA. Nobody got sick!
I use that very same temperature controller with the aid of a heating band and freezer to keep homebrew beer and mead at a happy 18.3 C. I will have to try this between batchesā¦
I usually aim mine (cooler variety) for about 131F and generally donāt have to throw any water in to keep it from dropping below 128F. I cook relatively thin slices of chicken that way, though. One thing to note for people trying out sous vide for the first time, careful with what spices you use.
The slow cooking really brings out the flavor in them. Which can be a problem in some cases.
For example, celery is apparently nigh intolerable. From experience, paprika turns into a firestorm in your mouth. Which may be a good thing depending on what youāre going for.
Add the salt (if at all) when you pan sear it afterwards. Pepper is probably fine. Butter apparently saps the moisture out of chicken at least so Iād avoid that bit.
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