Tong Family

OK, I finally had a sous vide meal with my buddy Paul, I can see why geeks all over the world buy these things, some notes:

• Buy a sous vide controller. The Anova immersion controller is less than $200, but the big boys get either a $1,000 Fusion Pro immersion controller or a dedicated water bath machine. Both Sweethome.com (a branch of the wirecutter.com franchise), America’s Test Kitchen (they do Cook’s illustrated) and Amazon reviews agree.
• Get at least a 5cm thick steak (2 inches)
• Cook at 132 degrees for 120 minutes
• Use ping pong balls over the top to control temperature loss
• Use a ice cooler for the water as it retains the water temperature way better than a pot
• Vacuum Sealer. Invest in a fancy chamber vacuum sealer to you don’t lose juices but the thing is absolutely huge. Like many things, the better sealer matters. The VP-112S seems like a good choice. If you have trouble rationalizing this gigantic machine, use it to vacuum seal leftovers or your clothes for those camping trips or business trips 🙂 although Both Serious Eats and Sweethome.com point out that you can also use the air displacement method and a simple ziplock bag. You basically put the item into water and the water pressure forces the air out of the top of the ziplock.  Cook’s illustrated liked the Weston Professional Advantage but this if you want a simpler heat sealer but this isn’t reviewed on Amazon.com
• Sear the meat for two minutes flipping every 15 seconds. You an also use a micro flamer as well.
• Or you should get a Komado grill and heat it to 600 degrees F to get a quick sear. Something like the Big Red is about 50% cheaper than the Big Green Egg and works just as well.

And for the true nerds a meat injector and poly science smoking gun are wonderful too.