Kitchen Equipment: Sous Vide Supreme

Posted byChristian Bowers 4 Comments on Kitchen Equipment: Sous Vide Supreme

I have found a few undeniable truths from my time on this rock. Never go against a Sicilian when death is on the line, Amtrak runs late and scientists like numbers. Good news for the scientists, though. They just got their very own cooking method: Sous Vide. If you are not familiar, sous vide is a technique where food items are sealed in vacuum bags and slow poached in a circulating water bath. This method is ultra precise. Maniacally precise. The chat site eGullet has a thread on the subject that is over 119 pages long. People comparing notes on bag thickness, meat density and evaporation rates.  Care to know how to cook asparagus in one degree/one second increments? Not me.

The unit I was testing, Sous Vide Surpreme, worked perfectly. It held it temperature. It was big enough for a home hobbyist to play in. Wasn’t too expensive. It was shiny… and totally emotionless. I’m not against any piece of equipment that gets the job done but, I need some sexyness. Hot cast iron = Sexy. Percolating immersion water baths = pocket protector. I don’t want to cook by spread sheet. There were no smells, sounds and no visual cues regarding what the meat and vegetables were doing. Cook for 8 hours, cut open the plastic bag and hope for the best? Maybe it’s the caveman in me, but give me an open flame, heavy metal, splattering grease and I am a happy man. I’m not ready to cook in a vacuum.

Sous Vide Surpreme : $450

4 replies on “Kitchen Equipment: Sous Vide Supreme”

  1. I’m actually a big fan of Sous Vide cooking, and it certainly doesn’t need to be without soul. Because I’m poor I have to make do with ziplock bags, my lungs and a slow cooker. I can keep it going at a fairly consistent 50-55 C which is perfect to get a superbly rare steak.

    if you still have that baby, please do yourself a favour and cook yourself a big fat well marbled on the bone steak in it. Generously salt and pepper it, seal it up in the bag and leave it for a good 12 hours. Then sous vide it at 50 C for 4 hours and then blast your cast iron pan to as hot as it can go and sear the outside of the steak quickly.

    When you slice into your steak it will be perfectly rare pink from the very edge to the centre. It will be seasoned, not just on the outside, but the salt will have infused itself into the meat. It will have a nice crust from the quick flash in the pan. It will be warm all the way through. I guarantee you… it will be the best steak in Austin.

    and that’s just a steak … Next get some pork belly, mix sugar/salt in equal parts and throw in some BBQ rub. Rub this over the belly to totally cover it, seal it and refridgerate for a day or so. cook it at 55 C for 6 hours. Cut it into squares and quickly fry it off in a pan. then finish in a hot oven for about 30 minutes.

    Meanwhile you’ve made an asian style sauce of sugar, water, light soy, sesame oil and chilli bean paste in a pan. You’ve sliced some green onions and you’ve toasted some sesame seeds. The pork belly then gets a quick dip in the sauce, a sprinkle of sesame seeds and some green onion to garnish.

    Sous Vide is magic, but only in the right hands. To make Sous Vide food great you need to finish it … sear the steak, sauce the pork belly, get some Maillard action happening. Eat a piece of meat out of a bag without finishing it … you may as well be eating hospital food.

    not to mention all the other cool stuff you can do … want to make a perfect soft egg? temper chocolate exactly? a wonderful creamy custard? all can be done easily and perfectly every time.

  3. I understand and appreciate the benefits of this type of cooking. It was just not as enjoyable for me as traditional preparations. I also don’t use non-stick skillets, microwaves or a crock pots. Just a personal choice. The unit was impressive though. I would probably go with it rather than building my own.

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