Sous vide has been gaining a lot of popularity recently but, outside of the internet, I often hear “What is sous vide?” followed by “Ok, so how do you do that?”. There are countless resources that can answer those questions much more thoroughly than I, but in this post I’ll share with you the method I’ve been using for about 2 years now.
TL;DR: Get a crock-pot, buy this temperature controller, make great food.
What is sous vide?
To paraphrase Wikipedia, sous vide (French for “under vacuum”) is a method of cooking that involves vacuum-sealing food in plastic bags before cooking it for a long time in a heated water bath. There are many advantages to sous vide, including easy preparation and cleanup, incredibly consistent results, and improved texture/flavor for many ingredients.
One of the main features that is oft-touted when cooking sous vide is the (near) inability to overcook food. The temperature of the water bath is electronically controlled, so the internal temperature of the food can never rise higher than the set temperature. Similarly, there is significantly less loss of moisture and fat in the sealed food, which creates very moist and tender results.
Sous vide can be used to cook almost any food. It is particularly suited for cooking meat and vegetables, but can be used for less obvious recipes too–soup, creme brulee, pickles, eggs, and sauces among many others.
Ok, so how do you do that?
Easy! There are some pretty fantastic off-the-shelf solutions available today than can get you started with no setup, including Anova and SousVide Supreme. However, this is a DIY post, so I’m going to (briefly) explain how I built my own sous vide cooking appliance for about $12.
Honestly, if you own a slow cooker (preferably an old analog version), you’re halfway there! The only other thing to do is add a temperature controller. I used this one from eBay, but if it isn’t available just searching eBay for “temperature controller” will bring up a thousand more. This particular controller works well for a number of reasons: it runs on 110VAC, has a built-in relay, and it includes a relatively accurate sensor–all for about $10.
In addition to the controller, you’ll need a regular power outlet from any hardware store, and the end to an old power cable (if you can’t find one, cutting the end off of any cheap extension cable works too).
Setup
Putting everything together is really simple. You can see from these pictures the plastic box I used to contain everything–really any sort of box or container will do. The temperature controller has labelled terminals on the back, so it should be pretty obvious where everything goes. Basically, you connect your cut-off power cable to the marked terminals on the controller, your power outlet to the next set, and the included sensor to the final pair. Put it all in your container to make it look neat.
Assuming everything was plugged in correctly, you should be good to go! The controller most likely came with a manual, but it is also fairly straightforward to operate. Pressing the “S” button will allow you to set the temperature, pressing again to confirm. I wish I had taken more in-progress pictures when I first built mine, but that was almost 2 years ago now.
This controller will only turn a device on or off based on temperature–it will not allow you to set a timer! You’ll have to use something else for that. Just fill your crock-pot with water, turn it on, and let the temperature controller do the rest.
Preparing Food
Now you’re ready to cook sous vide! Sealing your food can be done in a variety of ways. The best way is to buy a proper vacuum sealer, if you don’t already own one (they are very useful tools to have in the kitchen). I’ve found several over the years at Goodwill for around $5, and they seem to pop up regularly. Even a new entry-level FoodSaver sealer on Amazon is about $65. Rolls of vacuum bags can be found cheaply on Amazon as well, at $15 for 100ft.
Side note:
If you don’t have a vacuum sealer on hand, you can still achieve perfectly acceptable results with regular sandwich bags–preferably quart size or larger freezer bags. Freezer bags tend to be thicker, which makes them more durable when cooking at higher temperatures. If you’re going to go this route, season your ingredients first and place them in the bag. Next, with the bag still open, slowly submerge the it in the water bath. This will force all of the air out of the bag. When you reach the top, seal the bag with as little air remaining inside. Unfortunately it is nearly impossible to get all of the air out with this method, but I’ve used it several times and can confirm the results are still totally fine.
There’s not much to it at this point–one of the appeals of sous vide. The way you season or marinate your food before cooking it will remain largely unchanged. Just seal the food in the bag, making sure to remove as much air as possible, and place in the water bath. The temperature and time will be dictated by the type of food you are cooking. There are tons of sous vide recipes online now with recommended cooking times for practically everything.
Additionally, when cooking meat, many people will suggest searing your meat before (sometimes after) putting it in the water bath. I tend to sear meat after cooking–sous vide meat can often have a strange exterior texture straight out of the bag (caused by the texture of the bag) so I sear it to make it look visually more appealing. Flavor and aroma should never be an issue.
Up next
Stay tuned for part 2! I’ll be sharing some of my recent sous vide recipes and experiments, including making pickles and custard.
If you would like some more in-depth information on sous vide cooking, I would recommend checking out ChefStep’s great introduction, and subsequent recipes.
Thanks for reading! See you next time.
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