Sous Vide Supreme and other home options: 2009-10

[mtigges]

The sous vide magic can be larger, and is more versatile (as you also have a rice cooker). The SVS is nicer looking; it has its pid built in and just isn't a large vessel with wires hanging out of it, which I for one, find unsightly in my kitchen.

The SVM is less expensive. So, ultimately, it comes down to your priorities. I bought the SVS.

If I ever envisioned doing shortribs for more than six, I'd probably opt for the SVM. Though, there are ways to still do it with the SVS.

Mark.

[jk1002]

I think if you can swing it take a look at the new polyscience that is coming out (800$). Also the SWIDD should show up at some point in the US (450 Euro in Europe right now).

The one benefit I see with the Supreme is that it actually looks like a kitchen appliance and doesn't make you look like a mad scientist when guests come over.

There are no other products on the horizon I believe. In Europe there is one more contender with a small tank called Domnick but that is 700 euro or so and doesn't circulate.

So you can custom built, get the supreme, the fresh meal magic or the polyscience.

I would definitely recommend to start off with a pot and thermometer first. I actually didn't like the sous vide egg (white is disgusting) or the chicken breast for which I bought my polyscience circulator. I still pan-sear my steaks and roast my chickens.

Cheers

JK

[nickrey]

I have the SVM and a rice cooker.

This gives me both a reliable sous vide system and a rice cooker, the latter of which I use for cooking rice. This means I save space on gadgets as compared to if I had both a SVS and a rice cooker.

Edited June 22, 2010 by nickrey (log)

[Chris Amirault]

Breaking out the SVS today for two dry-aged steaks (NY strip and porterhouse). Aiming for about 4h at 55C per Dave & Nils at FCI/cookingissues.com, minimal seasoning. I'll be taking pictures and notes as I go.

[Chris Hennes]

Are you adding any circulation (e.g. an aquarium bubbler, etc.), or just using the machine as-is?

[Dave the Cook]

Personally, I wouldn't bother with a circulaor until I'd established that the SVS didn't work as advertised.

I'll be watching closely, Chris. I'm this close to pulling the trigger on a SVS.

[Chris Amirault]

No bubbla.

[Chris Hennes]

How many steaks are you putting in there? I wouldn't think circulation would be terribly necessary for steak anyway, just curious. When are you going to try fish? That's much more sensitive.

[Chris Amirault]

Two steaks: a NY strip and a porterhouse. Fish down the road.

A few minutes ago I took some IR thermometer readings throughout the interior of the SVS, and they matched the LED readout within +/- 0.2C. That's pretty impressive.

Just beeped at me: 30 min to get the full bath up to 55.2C. Steaks going in for 3h.

[jk1002]

55 is cutting it close with the 4 hours, thats surfing around danger zone.

Did you check the baldwin tables? Your not aiming for breaking down toughness with the 4 hour range, pasteurizing it might be quicker, just cooking it mostlikely will be quicker.

[Chris Amirault]

You think bumping it up to 56C for the last hour will matter?

ETA: Even the SVS folks think 56C for 2-4 hours is good for medium rare. They're only 3 cm thick.

[jk1002]

It depends how exact that SVS really is. Personally I am rather safe then sorry.

I recommend reading the Baldwin guide or to buy his book and then form your own opinion. 54c for 4 hours is a bacteria bomb in my opinion and I don't see how your steak would need that time unless it's super thick which it is not.

Cheers

Edited July 18, 2010 by jk1002 (log)

[Chris Amirault]

jk1002, I've read both the Baldwin and the Arnold/Noren Cooking Issues posts several times, and I decided to put my faith in the CI guys. Ended up with 55C for two hours and 56C for the last hour. A tiny bit overcooked, so next time I'll keep it at 55C and reduce the time some. And we're all still breathing.

But back to the topic at hand.

I thought that the SVS performed admirably. Following my usual practice, I ignored the booklet and instructional DVD and just started poking buttons and filling up the chamber.

As noted, it took 30m for cool tap water to get to 55C. When I put in the steaks, dropping the temp to 54C, I realized I had to add more warm water to get to the top of the porterhouse bag, dropping the temp further to 52C. It quickly got back to 55C and held there. All IR thermometer readings confirmed the temps throughout the interior of the chamber.

The unit was a bit warm on the top and sides, but less so than I would have expected. (By the end of the night, long after it was unplugged, the reservoir was still quite warm, suggesting excellent insulation.) It was about as easy to use as one could imagine, frankly; the biggest challenge was avoiding puncturing the FoodSaver bags with the sharp porterhouse bone.

When I removed them from the bath, I finished them on a superhot charcoal grill at about a minute per side. I took photographs but there's not much to see, and it doesn't really pertain to the SVS's performance. But, all at the table agreed: best steak ever.

[Merridith]

Chris Amirault, I have the SVS and I do a one inch strip or rib steak for an hour at 55c. It is delicious. I would suggest that you use the hottest water possible to fill up the machine with and then it will take it much less time to heat up. My hot tap puts out water at about 59 or 60 C so it cools down to the lower temps very quickly and stays there +/- .5. P.S. Forgive my shameless self promotion but I write a lot about using the SVS on my blog www.fabulousfoodfanatic.com

[Chris Amirault]

Thanks, Merridith. Now that I've made three things -- dry-aged NY strips, pork bellies, and St. Louis pork ribs -- to great success, I can see that I'm changing the way that I think about shopping and proteins in general. Just got back from the store and wasn't daunted by two very thick pork chops, for example.

[mmille24]

I'm thinking about getting a sous vide supreme, but here in Ireland, they are about 800 dollars. Does anyone think that's worth it/

[Chris Amirault]

That's about what a decent oven and range would cost in the US, and while I'm getting a lot of use out of my SVS I don't see it replacing my stove!

[nickrey]

... the biggest challenge was avoiding puncturing the FoodSaver bags with the sharp porterhouse bone.

You can wrap a small piece of paper towel around the end of the bone to make it less likely to puncture the bag.

[jk1002]

Is the Addelice available in Ireland? That might be a tad cheaper. Some things can actually just get done with a pot and a stove, or even a beer cooler (Ghetto Sous)

Edited August 23, 2010 by jk1002 (log)

[Chris Amirault]

... the biggest challenge was avoiding puncturing the FoodSaver bags with the sharp porterhouse bone.

You can wrap a small piece of paper towel around the end of the bone to make it less likely to puncture the bag.

I used the aluminum foil tip from up-topic: conducts heat better than paper towels do.

[runwestierun]

I got a SVS in March and I am surprised at how much I use it. I bought it so I could make mind-blowing modernist entree proteins, but I find now I use it in the most mundane ways. It's become a sort of futuristic crock pot. I make chicken breasts for chicken salad (63.5 for 80 minutes). I cook proteins from the frozen state. I'll even cook kind of elderly borderline freezer burned things in it because the cooking process won't hurt it any further. While the SVS cooks regular proteins spectacularly, I've found withered things turn out, well, regular.

The only thing I don't like is the pool of condensation around it. Anyone else get this or is there something wrong with mine?

[Merridith]

I also get the pool of condensation - I just put an absorbtive cloth but the side of the machine and this takes care of it. It just happens when I cook for long hours, of course. It is annoying and, actually, I think it is the result of a design flaw. I think the stainless should have more of a lip at the top edge to funnel the condensation back into the bath. I find that I have to add water about every 12 hours to make up for the loss.

Though I love my SVS machine and have been cooking some great things, this is one reason I would pause about buying it again - maybe the immersion circulator is less of an issue in this way, and it takes up less room for storage??? I don't know?

[Chris Amirault]

When did you buy yours? I don't have these problems at all, so I wonder if they've made a change.

[pikawicca]

I don't have this problem, either. I got my SVS in June.

[Merridith]

When did you buy yours? I don't have these problems at all, so I wonder if they've made a change.

I bought mine last February. Perhaps the Drs. Eades would like to replace mine with one that does not leak? I know that they read this thread.

Edited August 24, 2010 by Merridith (log)