Inexpensive Sous Vide Cooking

Here is an inexpensive sous vide cooking device that you can utilize in your kitchen that costs less than 100 dollars; The Dorkfood Sous-Vide Temperature Controller.

Sous vide cooking is a method that removes the guess work out of achieving the properly cooked temperature of meats, vegetables, eggs and fish. For example; when you traditionally cook a rare steak; you heat the surface of the meat to raise the interior temperature to 125 degrees; which overcooks the outer portion of the steak. With sous vide cooking; you immerse the beef into a water bath and raise the temperature of the water slowly to 125 degrees; cooking the steak evenly throughout.

I know what you are thinking; it’s a boiled dinner.

Well, yes and no.

You do use a water bath, but with a souse vide controller; it turns itself on and off; maintaining the proper temperature until the cooking process is complete. With a boiled dinner; you can’t effectively control the heat range and end up wasting a large amount of energy.

For those that prefer the taste of grilled food and want a char; you can use a blowtorch or a hot pan to finish off the meal after it is removed from the water.

The downside of souse vide cooking is the cost; most commercial sous vide units on the market are over 400 dollars. The Dorkfood Sous-Vide Temperature Controller retails for 99 dollars and is used in tandem with another cooking device that most people have in their kitchens; a manual control crock-pot.

C-NET did a quick review on the DSV.

One thing that has not been mentioned though is the use of a vacuum sealer; usually food is vacuum sealed before immersion into the water bath to help with the cooking process. According to Dorkfood; it is not required.

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Is A Vacuum Sealer Required?

Nope! You don’t need a vacuum sealer to get started but you may end up buying one after you fall in love with the sous vide method. Bagging prevents ingredients from losing moisture, texture, and flavor while in the water-bath (exceptions include eggs or cooking directly in a brine), but a vacuum isn’t strictly necessary. Ziploc® bags can work just fine for shorter cooking times (up to 4 hours) as long as you ensure that there are no large bubbles that could affect the cooking process. At some point, you may want to purchase a vacuum sealer- but you don’t need one to get started![/quote_box_center]

So if you want to impress your family with the perfectly cooked meal; take a look a look at the DSV.

Dorkfood Sous-Vide Temperature Controller

1. Precise temperature control that’s truly “plug & play”
2. Transforms inexpensive appliances into sous vide water baths
3. Monitors temperature using integrated probe
4. Switches integrated device on and off to control whatever is plugged in
5. The safe, affordable way to try sous vide

For those with more questions on sous vide cooking, here is an excellent free online guide.

A Practical Guide to Sous Vide Cooking