My Sous Vide adventure has started

[MajorChode]

TreasonousBastard's post got me to thinking about trying Sous Vide at home.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x76813

I was kicking around the idea of building my own PID(programmable temperature controller) setup for Sous Vide. I had already done this for my espresso machine years ago, so this is not uncharted territory for me. While I could build my own controller easily enough, it would still take a bit of time, effort, and money. I decided instead to just buy the controller, and the one I opted for is this one:
http://freshmealssolutions.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=15&Itemid=31&TreeId=1

By the time I build my own controller I wouldn't be saving all that much, if any, and I would have a hard time duplicating the professional looks of the commercial controller. For $159 with free shipping it's hard to go wrong. If anyone is interested, I can explain how you can build your own.

With the controller ordered, there's still a few pieces of the puzzle left. Luckily I already have a Foodsaver vacuum, so I have that base covered. If someone wants to do this on the cheap, there are a number of hand pump options that are far less expensive than the Foodsaver. On the other end of the economic spectrum, the vacuum chamber setups are even better because they allow you to vacuum pack liquid along with your food. This is a nice option, but very expensive.

The next piece is the water bath, and some way to heat the water. Luckily I also have this base covered. I already have a GE roaster oven which should work fine. I may want to upgrade to something better later on, but first I'll see how this works.
http://www.gehousewares.com/Browse_Product.aspx?category_id=9

I plan on buying a fish tank type air pump at the local pet supply house for water circulation. I haven't priced them yet, but I figure that part should be around $30 or less. I'll also need some type of screen to hold the food submerged. Stainless steel gutter screens at the hardware store should work for that.

The next piece is purely optional. I am going to need some way to brown the meat. Certainly I could just use traditional methods like a very hot pan or a very hot oven, but this will require more dirty dishes and more clean up and I think takes away some of the advantages of Sous Vide. I could use my trusty propane torch, but I really don't like using it for food things. For one thing, propane torches don't work very well when you aim them downward and propane can infuse some off flavor. I've always wanted an Iwatani butane torch anyway, so I bought one. If anyone is interested in one, I recommend VeryAsia.com. They are about $30. A six-pack of fuel will run you another $12. Total shipped price for both is about $46. The nice thing here is the torch has lots of other applications besides Sous Vide. Certainly you can buy butane torches at most hardware stores, but the Iwatani seems much better suited to the application.

Now certainly you can buy a dedicated Sous Vide cooker for around $500, but then I would have another kitchen appliance that takes up room and more expense involved. As I already have the GE roaster, which is the biggest piece of my puzzle, I'm not really adding any more space requirements, other than the small space needed to store the controller when not in use.

If anyone is interested, I'll keep you posted on my progress. As I just ordered the controller and it's coming from Canada, I expect at least a week and maybe two before it gets here.

[Duer 157099]

1. I'm interested in how you progress with this

I have a stir/hot plate that I've wondered whether I could adapt for such a purpose.

[MajorChode]

4. I think you could do so very easily

Appliances that won't work are those that have electronic controls and I don't think that is the case with your hot plate. As long as you can unplug the device and it will turn off and plug it back in and it will turn on, you should be able to control it with a PID. The PID works by using a solid state relay to pulse the input voltage to the device in such a way that much tighter temperature control is maintained compared to an analog thermostat.

If anything, I think a hot plate would be a superior device to use because you have the ability to adjust the current to the heating elements. This gives you a lot more control compared to something like my roaster which is simply on or off. The only disadvantage is that all the heat is going to come from underneath, so you'll definitely need some type of circulation like a fish tank air bubbler or a recirculating pump designed to work at those temperatures.

[Duer 157099]

5. The plate has a stir function built in

So, you put a magnetic stir bar in the bottom of the tank to keep the water circulating.

I'd have to test the temperature control, but it might be stable enough to just use it as is.

[MajorChode]

6. It will be hard to do temperature control without a PID

Even if you can get a stable temperature before you put the food in(which will be a good trick all by itself), once the food goes in the temperature is going to drop and you'll have to adjust the heating element upwards to avoid a really long temperature ramp up. Then you'll have to pick just the right time to turn it back down to avoid overshoot. Adding cold water or ice can help with that. The idea is to hold the water temperature within about 2 degrees F on either side of your target temperature. So yes I think you can do it, but it's just going to be difficult and you probably won't want to do foods that have long cooking times.

[TreasonousBastard]

2. Interesting. The only question I have is whether the heating elements in...

the roaster are capable of such tight temp control. My crockpots end up with temps all over the place, most likely due to the overall design rather than "loose" temp control.

I guess you'll find out soon enough.

[MajorChode]

3. I don't think the heating elements are an issue

The issue is whether you can match the PID's programming to match the heating elements in the roaster and the size of the water bath. The PID is a smart temperature controller and it's actually smart enough to turn on the heating element before target temperature has been passed. In other words, let's say you are trying to maintain 140 degrees and the current temperature is 140.5 degrees and falling. The PID may start to turn on the heating element at 140.25 in order to prevent or minimize any overshoot.

I have a bit of experience with PID programming, so I'm optimistic I can get the thing to work reasonably well. The biggest unknown is what the temperature will do when you put a piece of food into the water bath. Since the piece of food will rarely be the same size and same temperature, it will be a bit tricky to program the PID so that overshoot or slow temperature ramp up is not a significant problem.

[MajorChode]

7. The owners manual for the controller lists a similar roaster

The manual lists settings of P-25ºF I-3600 D-920 for the 18 quart Nesco roaster oven. The Nesco oven is almost identical to my GE oven. Both have 1425 watt heating elements. At the very least, their settings should get me very close and will probably save me hours of trial and error.

Just from looking around the internet a bit, it seems like roaster ovens are a pretty popular option due to the large amount of water they hold.

[MajorChode]

8. I picked up another piece of the sous vide puzzle

After reading through one of the excellent discussion groups on the subject, I realized I was going to need an accurate thermometer to calibrate my temperature probe. The controller I ordered is supposed to be calibrated at the factory, but I feel better checking this myself since the margin between food poisoning and culinary bliss is quite small. My local CVS pharmacy carries german made glass oral thermometers that are reported to be highly accurate. It was only $8 and I have an instant read thermometer that I can calibrate with it also, so it's a good investment.

[MajorChode]

9. OK, my sous vide controller arrived via Canada today

I have it programmed with the recommended settings and it's currently in the testing phase right now. Instead of an air pump, I just bought a fish tank type circulation pump for $20. It works well so far, but I'll see how long it lasts at these temperatures. I tested the water temperature with my German basal thermometer, and it was within .3 degrees. As the system is supposed to be calibrated at the factory, I expected a high degree of accuracy and so far I'm not disappointed. The recommended settings seem to be doing well with my 17L roaster. I've been experimenting by dumping in a quart of cold water to simulate food going in and so far everything seems to be doing very well. I got about 1.5 degrees of overshoot on the recovery, but I don't consider that bad at all.

I have some chicken breasts in a brine right now. I'll try cooking those at 146 degrees and see what happens.

[The empressof all]

10. You are a brave man

Just check the internal temp on that chicken....You don't want to make yourself sick on your first adventure with this.

[MajorChode]

11. I don't really have too many worries at this point

Pasteurization can either be achieved with high temperatures at a short duration or lower temperatures for a longer duration. Douglas Baldwin covers this subject at great length in his guide. Brining meat reduces pathogen counts significantly, and cooking at 146 degrees for several hours will reduce them more. It's somewhat harder to kill ALL the pathogens in a piece of meat, and this is rarely the goal in cooking because if you did the meat would be significantly overcooked. Even if I didn't brine my chicken, I wouldn't worry about the pathogen level too much.

My thickest chicken breast is 55mm, so according to the chart it should be done in 2:41. I'll probably cook it for an hour more than that just to be sure because an extra hour shouldn't adversely affect the outcome.

I have a digital instant read thermometer and I will check the internal temperature to make sure it is 145 degrees or so in the center. This is mainly just to insure that Douglas Baldwin's cooking times are adequate, but I don't have too many worries about that because I've read accounts of dozens of people who have used his charts with great success.

[MajorChode]

12. Here's my results so far

Temperature stability was excellent. When I put the food in, the temperature dropped, followed by an overshoot on recovery. This was expected. After about 45 minutes, the temperature stabilized and held to within 1/2 of a degree, which I consider excellent. After taking the chicken out of the bag, I browned the skins with a torch. The chicken turned out very well. The chicken breasts were cooked all the way through perfectly. The internal temperature read 144 degrees, but the texture of the meat was no different than if I had roasted it to 165. The difference was the meat was moist all the way through and the juices were clear. I added a couple of tablespoons of liquid smoke to the brine and I put some fresh rosemary in the packages. Both of these flavors were evident, but not overpowering.

So far this cooking method exceeds my expectations. I think my next experiments will be with vegetables.

[MajorChode]

13. An update on my progress

Well, so far everything has been exceeding my expectations. After tweeking the PID settings, the temperature stability is quite impressive. The unit recovers quickly when food is put into the water bath, overshoot is minimized, and once the temperature stabilized, it's within at least .2 degrees every time I look at it and generally it's spot on my programmed temp. The little fish tank circulation pump is still holding up well after many hours of use.

Tonight I made steak cut from top round, which naturally is a very cheap cut of beef. I simply seasoned the meat, vacuum packed it, and placed it in a 132 degree F water bath for 24 hours. Then I browned it with my Iwatani torch. The results were incredible. The meat was medium rare throughout except for the very outer layer that was browned with the torch. There was no trace of red juices that you often get with a traditionally cooked medium rare steak, but the meat was not at all dry. It was tender enough to easily cut with a butter knife, and I would compare it to a piece of sirloin cooked to perfection. However, it was actually better than a piece of sirloin because cuts of beef like top round actually have more flavor. My family liked it even better than ribeye, but the dog was disappointed as there was almost no scraps for her.

For Memorial Day, I'll be cooking baby back ribs. I took two full ribs, cut them in half, brined them, then seasoned the meat side liberally with BBQ rub, vacuum packed and froze them. The nice thing about this method is you can prepare everything in bulk ahead of time, then you can just take the packages directly from the freezer to the water bath. They will thaw in about 20 minutes, so it doesn't affect the timing of something you're cooking for hours anyway. I'll cook the ribs for 24 hours at 155 degrees F, then I'll brown them with my Iwatani torch.