DIY sous vide cooking setup experimentation
Discussion
Afternoon all
I have been doing a bit of experimenting this week with sous vide cooking.
Temperature controlled waterbaths are very expensive. By chance I have happened on a cheaper alternative- I am now considering developing this to make it more accurate.
I have recently got into home brewing beer and purchased (2nd hand) a load of brew equipment. Included in this purchase was an old 20 litre brew boiler with a rudimentary temp controller (range is off, on 1,2,3 and max so not accurate to degrees). after having a play with it I soon realised that i could hold the temperature roughly where I wanted it i.e. 55dc +/-1 or 65dc +/-1 and I had a go at some sous vide cooking. so far I have successfully managed slow cooked soft boiled eggs and perfect rare steak (using zip lock bag and a vacuum cleaner).
The only problems with the setup is that after 1/2 hour or so the temps start to wander meaning i need to stir the water and turn the setup off for 5mins before turning back on again to lower temps. The temps are also patchy throughout the boiler maybe varying between 1-2dc in different points, at the moment i just locate the thermometer near the thing I’m cooking but this won’t work with larger items. This is fine for cooking for a couple of hours but isn’t going to be accurate for long periods (eg 24hrs cooking meat)
What I am considering doing (on the cheap) is making a water movement device possibly using an aquarium aerator or maybe a propeller/ motor from a toy boat. I would then need (I think) a digital thermostat switch that could turn off and on the power to the boiler when the temp went above or below a certain threshold.
Does anyone have any ideas where I could obtain such a device? Any house hold appliances that I could get second-hand that would have an this inbuilt that I could modify.?
Any ideas or recommendations?
Cheers Pete
I have been doing a bit of experimenting this week with sous vide cooking.
Temperature controlled waterbaths are very expensive. By chance I have happened on a cheaper alternative- I am now considering developing this to make it more accurate.
I have recently got into home brewing beer and purchased (2nd hand) a load of brew equipment. Included in this purchase was an old 20 litre brew boiler with a rudimentary temp controller (range is off, on 1,2,3 and max so not accurate to degrees). after having a play with it I soon realised that i could hold the temperature roughly where I wanted it i.e. 55dc +/-1 or 65dc +/-1 and I had a go at some sous vide cooking. so far I have successfully managed slow cooked soft boiled eggs and perfect rare steak (using zip lock bag and a vacuum cleaner).
The only problems with the setup is that after 1/2 hour or so the temps start to wander meaning i need to stir the water and turn the setup off for 5mins before turning back on again to lower temps. The temps are also patchy throughout the boiler maybe varying between 1-2dc in different points, at the moment i just locate the thermometer near the thing I’m cooking but this won’t work with larger items. This is fine for cooking for a couple of hours but isn’t going to be accurate for long periods (eg 24hrs cooking meat)
What I am considering doing (on the cheap) is making a water movement device possibly using an aquarium aerator or maybe a propeller/ motor from a toy boat. I would then need (I think) a digital thermostat switch that could turn off and on the power to the boiler when the temp went above or below a certain threshold.
Does anyone have any ideas where I could obtain such a device? Any house hold appliances that I could get second-hand that would have an this inbuilt that I could modify.?
Any ideas or recommendations?
Cheers Pete
Edited by Pete Franklin on Wednesday 18th August 14:13
Well the Sous Vide Magic is generally considered the home brew solution. It won't stir the water though.
Tanguero said:
A simple on off thermostat isn't going to give you a stable temperature over a long period. You really need a PID Controller to do that. I am afraid I can't think of any domestic appliance that would have one though.
hmm i knew it wasnt going to be as simple as i thought.regarding the sous vide controller- i want to avoid spending that much if i can. i think the water movement can be solved easily. just need to figure out this temp control
I didnt photograph the steak or the eggs- i'll keep a photo log the next time i experiment. considering doing some duck breasts next.
I'll try and get some photos up tomorrow of the boiler setup. not really a lot to see its just a stainless steel brew boiler with a thermometer dangled in suspended by a piece of string accross the top. as i said it holds temps on its own pretty well at the moment but the control is limited to about 30mins before the temps start to creep.
meat looks very odd after cooking it this way- you dont aften see a steak perfectly rare all the way through with no maillard browning on the outside. You need to sear the outside in a very hot pan quickly to get the desired colour/ flavour. next time i might try using a blow torch.
I'll try and get some photos up tomorrow of the boiler setup. not really a lot to see its just a stainless steel brew boiler with a thermometer dangled in suspended by a piece of string accross the top. as i said it holds temps on its own pretty well at the moment but the control is limited to about 30mins before the temps start to creep.
meat looks very odd after cooking it this way- you dont aften see a steak perfectly rare all the way through with no maillard browning on the outside. You need to sear the outside in a very hot pan quickly to get the desired colour/ flavour. next time i might try using a blow torch.
Pete Franklin said:
Tanguero said:
A simple on off thermostat isn't going to give you a stable temperature over a long period. You really need a PID Controller to do that. I am afraid I can't think of any domestic appliance that would have one though.
hmm i knew it wasnt going to be as simple as i thought.regarding the sous vide controller- i want to avoid spending that much if i can. i think the water movement can be solved easily. just need to figure out this temp control
You can pick up a Hong Kong sourced PID Temperature Controller on flea bay for about £25.
Pete Franklin said:
cheers for the heads up about PID, £25 may be within budget, i'll check it out later (no ebay at work).
do you know if that PID is likely to be a plug and play sollution?
I think most work on a relay basis, so you really want a separate heating element, rather than trying to wire it up to your main electric hob. Ebay (and sometimes Lidl) sell single ring induction burners for under £20, and these will be better than a standard electric ring anyway for heat dispersion (heats through the whole pot, rather than just the bottom.do you know if that PID is likely to be a plug and play sollution?
Funnily enough, I considered a children's bath toy as a stirring solution too, but in the end came up with a partially fitting lid (so I can turn the power down a wee bit), and it seems to be able to hold temps of between 45 and 60 indefinitely without too much trouble (I don't have an auto temp control system). Still need to play with the set-up for hotter temps though.
There are some quite nice recipes on this site: http://www.britishlarder.co.uk/sous-vide-british-l... although some of the recommended temps seem rather hot.
Regarding the above setup- thats still a bit too expensive for me at the moment. I'm interested in the ebay pid controls though, does anyone know how easty they are to wire up?
@Nefarious: Cheers fort the info and i'll keep all informed on my progress in this thread, one thing though- my setup isnt on the hob- its a brewboiler with its own element. therefore its just the fine temp control that i need.
Sorry still no photos, i started snapping when i was making salmon mi cuit on friday but critically forgot to photograph the finished dish (drooling too much). I lightly cured the salmon in a sugar salt brine for ~20 mins before cooking for 30mins at 50dc
One thing you have to be careful about i have found is serving the food very promptly, otherwise it cools quickly due to the lower cooking temp. I cooked the salmon with the skin on but then took the skin off to fry till crisp and in this time the salmon cooled to tepid temperature. flavour and texture were very good though, the brine gave the perfect seasoning and the texture was melt in the mouth. the other benefit with the brining is that it draws out the albumin before cooking so that the flesh stays pink and pure (no white gak on the surface).
I'm going to try a large 4cm thick pork loin steak this evening. i'll try and remember to photograph the procedure equipment and results and then post them in this thread.
@Nefarious: Cheers fort the info and i'll keep all informed on my progress in this thread, one thing though- my setup isnt on the hob- its a brewboiler with its own element. therefore its just the fine temp control that i need.
Sorry still no photos, i started snapping when i was making salmon mi cuit on friday but critically forgot to photograph the finished dish (drooling too much). I lightly cured the salmon in a sugar salt brine for ~20 mins before cooking for 30mins at 50dc
One thing you have to be careful about i have found is serving the food very promptly, otherwise it cools quickly due to the lower cooking temp. I cooked the salmon with the skin on but then took the skin off to fry till crisp and in this time the salmon cooled to tepid temperature. flavour and texture were very good though, the brine gave the perfect seasoning and the texture was melt in the mouth. the other benefit with the brining is that it draws out the albumin before cooking so that the flesh stays pink and pure (no white gak on the surface).
I'm going to try a large 4cm thick pork loin steak this evening. i'll try and remember to photograph the procedure equipment and results and then post them in this thread.
Ok so as promised heres tonights pork (including my high tech setup) not the most refined meal but i was rushed off my feet with other jobs
The pork and aromatics
Wrapped up, air expelled, butter added
My super high tech sous vide machine, complete with thermometer tied to bit of string
After an hour and a half at 60-65dc mmm looks apetising...
This is a bit better: fried off fast in a load of butter
And we cut her open to reveal the moist innards
I served it with a tomato and pepper based vegetable stew with fresh pickings from my garden larder
To be honest i think this could have benefited from being cooked at a lower temp for a lot longer, maybe about 55dc but my partner wont eat pork that looks medium rare. apparently pork really benefits from brining when cooking it this way might try that next time as well.
Still it was nice and tender and very moist and the flavour definately benefited from the process.
So far the fish was the best meal cooked this way. I'll get pics up next time i do it
The pork and aromatics
Wrapped up, air expelled, butter added
My super high tech sous vide machine, complete with thermometer tied to bit of string
After an hour and a half at 60-65dc mmm looks apetising...
This is a bit better: fried off fast in a load of butter
And we cut her open to reveal the moist innards
I served it with a tomato and pepper based vegetable stew with fresh pickings from my garden larder
To be honest i think this could have benefited from being cooked at a lower temp for a lot longer, maybe about 55dc but my partner wont eat pork that looks medium rare. apparently pork really benefits from brining when cooking it this way might try that next time as well.
Still it was nice and tender and very moist and the flavour definately benefited from the process.
So far the fish was the best meal cooked this way. I'll get pics up next time i do it
Edited by Pete Franklin on Tuesday 24th August 22:51
Old thread updating alert!
Have been googling diy sous vide and spotted this topic. Wonder if anyone else has been trying this with success?
I'm a bit anti-plastic where food is concerned and am trying to work out if some sort of steel case for the food inside the water would work instead. Probably a daft idea I know...
Have been googling diy sous vide and spotted this topic. Wonder if anyone else has been trying this with success?
I'm a bit anti-plastic where food is concerned and am trying to work out if some sort of steel case for the food inside the water would work instead. Probably a daft idea I know...
BBYeah said:
Old thread updating alert!
Have been googling diy sous vide and spotted this topic. Wonder if anyone else has been trying this with success?
I'm a bit anti-plastic where food is concerned and am trying to work out if some sort of steel case for the food inside the water would work instead. Probably a daft idea I know...
A few threads on here. I use sous vide quite a lot at work for meats and some odd things with veg and fruit.Have been googling diy sous vide and spotted this topic. Wonder if anyone else has been trying this with success?
I'm a bit anti-plastic where food is concerned and am trying to work out if some sort of steel case for the food inside the water would work instead. Probably a daft idea I know...
As for the plastic, as long as it is food grade I have no issues and is necessary to allow the water even contact area around the product being cooked. Hence the need to remove the air from around the item.
I followed up this thread with this: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=1&a... I use the setup at least once a week and regularly for batch cooking things like pork belly etc. Setup has since undergone improvements such as a cage around the element and thermocouple and I have replaced the pump with something that can withstand higher temps.
I agree with tony. You need something flexible to shrink wrap to the food. The whole point is that the water convects heat very efficiently and the absence of oxygen stops oxidisation which changes flavour of the food.
I agree with tony. You need something flexible to shrink wrap to the food. The whole point is that the water convects heat very efficiently and the absence of oxygen stops oxidisation which changes flavour of the food.
Edited by Pete Franklin on Sunday 8th July 16:33
I have become interested in Sous Vide, could this be used as a sous vide?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6-Hole-6-Orifices-Orific...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6-Hole-6-Orifices-Orific...
dazco said:
I have become interested in Sous Vide, could this be used as a sous vide?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6-Hole-6-Orifices-Orific...
Could be but it's not stirred which is preferable (although not essential) but the fact it has six "pots" implies it is for lab not food use. Not that it makes any difference really other than the practicality of not having a lid etc but you can buy a proper "home friendly" water bath for £250 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6-Hole-6-Orifices-Orific...
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/15918/SousVide-Supreme-D...
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