sous vide
[soo VEED]
French for "under vacuum," sous vide is a cooking process in which food is encased in an airtight plastic pouch (typically vacuum sealed) and cooked for a long period of time at a (precise) low temperature.
Using traditional methods of cooking, you might put a steak on a 750 degree grill, attempting to get the center of the steak to a perfect medium-rare temperature of 130 degrees, without cooking the outside of the steak until it's gray and lifeless. To make it even more difficult, even when you take the steak off the grill, the temperature of the center continues to increase due to the heat of the meat surrounding it.
The magic of sous vide is that you cook the entire piece of meat at the precise temperature you like. To cook a steak to the perfect medium-rare temperature of 130 degrees, you cook the steak in 130 degree water. It takes a lot longer to get a steak to 130 degrees by cooking at 130 degrees, but the benefits are worth it.
1) It's impossible to over-cook. No part of the steak can get over cooked.
2) The entire steak, from "coast to coast" is exactly how you like it.
3) Timing is easy. I usually cook my steaks for somewhere around six hours. If your guests are late, an extra hour (or three) doesn't make any difference.
4) The fat in the steak is always perfectly rendered. It's absolutely amazing how great inexpensive cuts of meat turn out when cooked sous vide for six hours.
There are many sous vide cookers out there. I'm more of a do-it-yourself (cheap) kind of guy, so I built my own sous vide cooker for less than $40. The fancy, $500 cookers have water circulators and tenth-of-a-degree precision, but from my experience, that isn't necessary. For $40, you can make absolutely incredible steak!
[soo VEED]
French for "under vacuum," sous vide is a cooking process in which food is encased in an airtight plastic pouch (typically vacuum sealed) and cooked for a long period of time at a (precise) low temperature.
Using traditional methods of cooking, you might put a steak on a 750 degree grill, attempting to get the center of the steak to a perfect medium-rare temperature of 130 degrees, without cooking the outside of the steak until it's gray and lifeless. To make it even more difficult, even when you take the steak off the grill, the temperature of the center continues to increase due to the heat of the meat surrounding it.
The magic of sous vide is that you cook the entire piece of meat at the precise temperature you like. To cook a steak to the perfect medium-rare temperature of 130 degrees, you cook the steak in 130 degree water. It takes a lot longer to get a steak to 130 degrees by cooking at 130 degrees, but the benefits are worth it.
1) It's impossible to over-cook. No part of the steak can get over cooked.
2) The entire steak, from "coast to coast" is exactly how you like it.
3) Timing is easy. I usually cook my steaks for somewhere around six hours. If your guests are late, an extra hour (or three) doesn't make any difference.
4) The fat in the steak is always perfectly rendered. It's absolutely amazing how great inexpensive cuts of meat turn out when cooked sous vide for six hours.
There are many sous vide cookers out there. I'm more of a do-it-yourself (cheap) kind of guy, so I built my own sous vide cooker for less than $40. The fancy, $500 cookers have water circulators and tenth-of-a-degree precision, but from my experience, that isn't necessary. For $40, you can make absolutely incredible steak!
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1: Parts
The heart of the sous vide cooker is a digital temperature controller. You can easily find them on eBay for less than $25, including shipping. Just be sure the controller you buy operates at 110V, and can display temperature in degrees Fahrenheit (if that's what you want). http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=temperature+controller+110v&_sacat=0&_odkw=temperature+controller&_osacat=0&_from=R40
Notice how the controller has 8 screw terminals (second picture).
3 & 4 - These terminals give the device power to operate.
7 & 8 - The temperature sensor connects to these terminals.
1 & 2 - When the controller senses that the temperature is below the set temperature, it closes this relay. When it's at (or above) temperature, is opens this relay. We'll use these two terminals to route power to an outlet.
Other parts
Box - We'll also need an enclosure to put everything into. I used a 4x4x4 electrical box I purchased at Lowes for $9.
Outlet - I like a single outlet. I got this one from Home Depot for $3. I had to cut the tabs a little to make it fit in the box.
C14 receptacle - This is a plug like you find on computers. Get these from eBay, too. They should be less than $1 each. http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l2736&_nkw=c14+receptacle
C13 power cord - If you don't have one around, you should be able to pick one up for a couple of bucks. Check eBay or MonoPrice.com.
#4-40 x 3/8" screws - You'll need a couple of screws to connect the C14 receptacle to the box.
14 AWG wire
Wire nut
3 female disconnects - Optional, but very helpful
Notice how the controller has 8 screw terminals (second picture).
3 & 4 - These terminals give the device power to operate.
7 & 8 - The temperature sensor connects to these terminals.
1 & 2 - When the controller senses that the temperature is below the set temperature, it closes this relay. When it's at (or above) temperature, is opens this relay. We'll use these two terminals to route power to an outlet.
Other parts
Box - We'll also need an enclosure to put everything into. I used a 4x4x4 electrical box I purchased at Lowes for $9.
Outlet - I like a single outlet. I got this one from Home Depot for $3. I had to cut the tabs a little to make it fit in the box.
C14 receptacle - This is a plug like you find on computers. Get these from eBay, too. They should be less than $1 each. http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l2736&_nkw=c14+receptacle
C13 power cord - If you don't have one around, you should be able to pick one up for a couple of bucks. Check eBay or MonoPrice.com.
#4-40 x 3/8" screws - You'll need a couple of screws to connect the C14 receptacle to the box.
14 AWG wire
Wire nut
3 female disconnects - Optional, but very helpful
Visit Our Store »
Go Pro Today »
The easiest way to check the wiring to the controller is to wire it without connecting the outlet. See "Step 5: Wiring", but omit the outlet. Connect the load/hot from the C14 to #3 on the controller, and connect the neutral from the C14 to #4. If everything is OK, you'll hear a click as the relay opens and closes at the set temperature. If you get that far, you know you have #3 and #4 correctly identified.
all through ebay seems to only show °C versions.
No. Keep looking for one that does Fahrenheit.
I see some out there if you search for, "temperature controller fahrenheit"
Thanks!
Great instructable...just finished putting mine together, but had a little trouble with the wiring schematic. Didn't seem to work as shown...although you seem to be using the exact same willhi PID. I found this schematic which had the wiring a little different and it worked fine.
http://www.thermomart.com/download/DWH7016C.pdf.
Okay, going off to cook something now...
Cheers,
-Chef Juke
Does anybody know how altitude affects temp?
Where can I "paypal" a few bucks for sharing?
Sacramento - 7:30 sharp
(forgive me if this posts more than once - I'm having tech issues)
I do have a technical question that I'm not sure how to resolve however that I'm hoping you have some insight on. Until now, I've been using my controller with an old presto multi-cooker. Recently I decided to step up to a steam table (food warmer) for more capacity and insulation but now I'm wondering if I need to worry about the capacity of the controller and heat dissipation in switching the larger appliance. Both are listed at 1200 watts, but I'm guessing the new food warmer will draw more amperage than the little presto. This is especially important since I'm getting ready to begin a 72 hour short rib recipe.
Beautiful pictures. You didn't say where you live and what time dinner will be served. ;-)
I think you'll be OK on the current draw.
current = power / voltage
Since both are 1200 watts (power), and you're plugging them both into your 110V, you can expect both to draw approximately 11 amps.
-Burke
◆Cooling, heating function:
Cooling Mode: When the measured temperature is higher than or equal to the set value + hysteresis, the relay picks up to start the output; When the measured temperature below the set value, the relay off and close the output.
Heating mode: When the measured temperature is higher than or equal to the set value, the relay off, turn off the output; When the measured temperature below the set value - hysteresis, the relay picks up to start the output.
◆ Cooling, heating mode setting:
Press "SET" key and hold more than 3 seconds to enter the menu display, the screen appears "HC" code, press the "SET" key to display the working mode, press the "▲" or "▼" to adjust the display, C means cooling mode; H means heating mode.
I have some steaks to cook tomorrow. I'll post some pictures then! Thanks again, I'm so excited!
Based on some other DIY Sous Vide projects I've seen, I decided to add a an aquarium air pump to the project to help circulate the water. I changed the single outlet to a double outlet and wired one up to always be on to plug the pump into.
Great job!
>> Now to build a DIY Vacuum Sealer so the setup will be complete
Some people use Ziploc vacuum bags (http://www.ziploc.com/Products/Pages/VacuumFreezerSystem.aspx)
I was lucky and got a nice vacuum sealer from woot.com (just happened to have one when I needed it).
Yep. Exactly.
I've been doing scrambled egg in a similar device. It takes 20 minutes, but it's actually easier, you just drop the ingredients in a polythene bag, and squidge it around a couple of times during cooking.
Eggs are even more interesting. If you control the temperature precisely, you can achieve some interesting results. Check out this article... http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/05/sous-vide-101-slow-cooked-eggs.html
But you can set the temperature to what you want. Baldwin has tables, and you can dial in the temperature according to how long you want to wait.
What is the advantage of boil in a bag steak? You are still going to need to sear it and there is a real risk of over cooking. Broiling it or any other traditional high temperature method of cooking seems the way to go then.