I thought his was a crazy idea. A year ago, a relative asked if we would like one as a gift. I declined.
But it’s been sitting in the back of my mind ever since. So I did a little research.
The idea is to cook the food at the final desired temperature. This can take one or more hours. But there is no perfectly done moment, like there is when grilling. You can prepare the food ahead of time and it can just sit in the warm water for hours if need be. It never boils. As with other slow cooking methods, the end result is very tender.
You can cook from frozen using food in the cryovac it came in. Or you can vacuum seal it. Or you can put it in a freezer zipper lock bag. Submerge the bag up to the top, and let all the air out and no water in, and seal it.
Set the time and temp on the Sous Vide device. When the water is at temp, add the food. Let water circulate on all sides- don’t pack tightly.
So I bought the top recommended brand per Cook’s Country / Cook’s Illustrated / America’s Test Kitchen. I got the white model. Of course, immediately after that, the stainless steel model went on sale for less than we paid. Sigh.
Since we weren’t at home, where we have a vacuum sealer, we used the freezer bags. First cook: Catfish! Came out very tender, perfectly done. But I must admit I’d prefer my catfish fried.
Second cook: Carrots. Added a little butter, sugar and salt. Excellent results.
Third: Chicken thighs.
OMG!!!. I’ve never had such tender chicken. Exquisite.
Tonight, we will try steak. Guaranteed to not be under or over cooked.
For chicken, steak, pork - after cooking, put on a very hot griddle to brown it and put a bit of a crust on.
I can’t recommend this highly enough. It is wonderful. I’m considering getting a second one.
I bought the Joule. It connects via BT or Wi-Fi to your smart phone. The very simple app lets you cook different ways. You can set the time and temperature directly, as when using a third party recipe. Or tell it the kind of meat, and it will ask how thick it is. Then for steak it will show you pictures of rare to well dead. You pick the pinkness. It then sets the time and temperature for you. Your phone tells you when done. You can open the app anytime and monitor progress. It doesn’t matter if you’re an hour late getting to eat it.
We plan to fill a pot with ice and water and a couple of frozen steaks. Leave it plugged in but off. Call up the app say, 4 hours later and tell it to cook for 5 hours or so. Presto, walk in the door after work and the food is ready. Better than a crock pot.
Some folks prepare complete servings and freeze them, and use the Sous Vide to warm it up. Longer but better than by microwave.
There’s a lot more, but enough for now.
Anyone else here have a Sous Vide? Your experience?
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SatelliteGuys app!
(btw all had smoked, I never have (tobacco, but didn't inhale)) 
