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You can also use a beer cooler or other thermo-isolated container, filled with hot water at the correct temperature (kitchen thermometer), and a bunch of plasti

You can also use a beer cooler or other thermo-isolated container, filled with hot water at the correct temperature (kitchen thermometer), and a bunch of plastic baggies (plus something clever with tape). It's not quite as set-and-forget as a real sous-vide machine, you need to readjust the temperature (measure, adding more hot water, and stir a little, measure) about every 20 minutes or so (depending on the volume of water, obviously). You need to know what you're doing, but I've gotten really great results with this DIY method :)

danieltillett 12y ago
I have used this method before and it works great. It is really useful for large parties where you are not sure when everyone will want to eat. Just throw everything in the cooler (heater I guess) and when everyone says let's eat throw everything on the bbq for a couple of minutes to sear.
- tripzilch 12y ago
  Agreed, but if you did it right (that is, heat the meat through and through at the correct temperature[0]), really you shouldn't sear it for more than 15-20 seconds on both sides. The meat is already done, searing is just for the Maillard reaction creating a browned crust on the outside, adding flavour. Any additional heating beyond that just increases the size of the transition between (hot) brown crust outside and (less hot) perfectly done meat inside, and it is that transition layer that makes a steak tough. Which is exactly the (somewhat) hard thing about cooking a proper steak, the very thing you're trying to solve with sous vide. That is the reason why they sometimes attack a sous vide steak with a butane torch. It's not only because it's cool :) [0] 53 degrees Celsius is for rare steak. Rare should not be "undercooked" (flesh proteins denature at about 50C) and with sous vide you can make sure this is indeed the case.
  - danieltillett 12y ago
    By a couple of minutes I meant ~60 seconds a side - basically just leave it on long enough to get the level of Maillard browning my guests like. This is one of those things that helps to have all the guests crowd around while you do this as they can then tell you when to take it off the grill. Yum!

danieltillett 12y ago

I have used this method before and it works great. It is really useful for large parties where you are not sure when everyone will want to eat. Just throw everything in the cooler (heater I guess) and when everyone says let's eat throw everything on the bbq for a couple of minutes to sear.

tripzilch 12y ago
Agreed, but if you did it right (that is, heat the meat through and through at the correct temperature[0]), really you shouldn't sear it for more than 15-20 seconds on both sides. The meat is already done, searing is just for the Maillard reaction creating a browned crust on the outside, adding flavour. Any additional heating beyond that just increases the size of the transition between (hot) brown crust outside and (less hot) perfectly done meat inside, and it is that transition layer that makes a steak tough. Which is exactly the (somewhat) hard thing about cooking a proper steak, the very thing you're trying to solve with sous vide. That is the reason why they sometimes attack a sous vide steak with a butane torch. It's not only because it's cool :) [0] 53 degrees Celsius is for rare steak. Rare should not be "undercooked" (flesh proteins denature at about 50C) and with sous vide you can make sure this is indeed the case.
- danieltillett 12y ago
  By a couple of minutes I meant ~60 seconds a side - basically just leave it on long enough to get the level of Maillard browning my guests like. This is one of those things that helps to have all the guests crowd around while you do this as they can then tell you when to take it off the grill. Yum!