Sous Vide At Home

If I could reasonably afford a polyscience thermal circulator I would buy it in a heartbeat. In fact, I've come close several times anyway. Until then, this is how I cook sous vide at home.

You may laugh and it is a little embarassing to advertise it the way I am now, but I've always had such great results. Fish, chicken, pork, various cuts of beef - they all benefit. I used to use ziploc bags but I finally bought one of those shitty food-saver vacuum pack machines. This is the only piece of equipment you would reasonably have to buy if you cook at home.

Here I'm cooking two pieces of pork belly cured in two different ways, attempting to maintain 70C.

Professional Sous Vide Set up:
Chamber Cryo-vac machine $1,500
PolyScience Circulator ~$1,000

Total: $2,500

Bags vary in price but are usually cheaper when purchased in large quantity.

Home Sous Vide Setup:
Food Saver vacuum machine $50-70
vacuum bags $10
12qt stainless steel pot $30
digital thermometer $15

Total: $105-$125

What do we lose from the cheaper setup? Mostly control and a good deal of consistency. Cooking a "roast beef" or something for an extended period of time that will be finished on a grill will not be made or broken by a 1-2 degree difference. Neither will a steak or piece of fish that only cooks for 8-15 minutes. They will, however, suffer if the water starts to boil without you noticing, which has happened to me several times. A thermal circulator will heat up to 7 gallons of liquid consistently to within .05C. It can run for days without care or attention, which is another problem: unless you are willing to stay at home for 12 or more hours at a time babysitting your food its not very practical. Most people aren't willing to leave home or go to sleep with the oven running. Solution: crockpot, If its big enough to hold what you're cooking and will keep food well below a simmer.

Getting down to business - pork belly.

Comparing notes from different cookbooks:

Under Pressure
Brine 24 hours. Sous Vide 82C 12 hours.

Big Fat Duck
Brine 48 hours. Sous Vide 60C 36 hours.

Alinea
Dry Cure 48 hours. Sous Vide 88C 4 hours.

Professional Charcuterie - Traditional Bacon
Dry Cure 10 days. Smoke 49C 10 hours.