Sous Vide Cooking at Home Setup Guide

Heat Source (during cooking): Oven
Heat Adjustment: Manual
Lowest cost: $33
Mid-cost: $60

Method: The key elements in this method is the size of the pot (amount of water), the thickness of the pot (a big heavy cast iron pot would be ideal because it heats up and cools down slowly due to its mass), and how low the temperature controls of your oven go down to.

Preheat the oven to the lowest temperature above the target temperature which will be the lowest temperature setting in most cases (the lowest setting on my oven is 77°C (170°F)). Fill the 3/4 of your pot with hot water and warm it on the stove to the target temperature. Clip the probe (I use a binder clip for this purpose) of the probe thermometer to the side of the pot with the probe tip submerged in the water. Be careful not to get the junction between the cable and the probe wet (most low cost probe thermometers do not have sealed junctions between the probe and the cable and getting them wet is the most common way of damaging them). Place the food in the water, cover the pot as best as you can (the thermometer probe may get in the way a little), and put the whole thing in the oven on a rack set near the bottom. Over time, the water temperature should rise above the target temperature due to the oven being warmer than the target. At that point, turn off the oven and wait until the temperature drops back to the target temperature. Turn the oven back on at this point and repeat for the duration of the cooking time.

Having a probe thermometer is very useful in this scenario since it allows the temperature to be checked without opening the oven which can drop the temperature considerably. If the oven door is never opened, temperature changes are relatively slow, so be aware that even after you turn off the oven, the water will continue to warm up (although slower and slower) until the oven temperature drops below the water temperature. If you take this into account and turn off the oven a little early and turn it on a little early, you can get a relatively stable (within 1-2 C°) water bath with human intervention only every 5 to 15 minutes depending on the volume of water (the more water the slower the temperature changes) and the oven.

Heat Source (during cooking): None
Heat Adjustment: Manual
Lowest cost: $40
Mid-cost: $70

Method: The ice chest is first filled with hot water a couple C° above the target temperature (for example, 60°C/140°F). This isn't as easy as it sounds since the volume of water can be quite immense. The easiest way is to first fill a large pot full of water and pour it into the ice chest. Then, boil a large pot full of water and pour it into the chest. Close the lid of the chest to slow down the heat loss (mainly due to evaporation), and repeat until you have enough water. You'll need more hot water than room temperature water due to the heat loss from the ice chest as you wait for the water to heat up. After stirring briefly, measure the temperature of the water and adjust by adding more hot water or cold water until the desired temperature has been reached (a couple degrees above your target temperature). Place the probe of the probe thermometer into the water while being careful that the junction between the probe and the cable does not get wet (that's the number one reason why the probes die). One way to help prevent water from getting into the probe is to place it in a large waterproof bag while taking care that the opening of the bag is outside of the cooler (try taping the opening to the side of the cooler so it doesn't slip in when you open or close the lid). Program the thermometer to sound an alarm once the water temperature drops below the target temperature. Place the bagged food into the chest and close the lid. It's probably a good idea to heat some more water so it will be ready when the water temperature drops below the target temperature. Add hot water as necessary throughout the entire cooking time.

Because of the nature this particular technique, I don't recommend foods that require long cooking times (certainly not 24-72 hour long recipes!).

Heat Source: Range
Heat Adjustment: Manual
Lowest cost: $45
Mid-cost: $72

Method: A large, heavy (or heavy bottom) pot on a burner with a thermometer clipped to the side can work effectively for many sous vide applications. The two options that I have listed above are inexpensive starting points, but, if you already have a large, heavy pot (such as a Dutch oven), then that will probably work better than the two entry-level examples shown. Simply take your large stock pot or Dutch oven, place the silicone steamer insert on the bottom, and fill it 3/4 full of water and bring it up to the target temperature over a burner. If you overshoot, you can bring the water temperature back down by adding small amounts of cold water from a cup. Some patience will be needed to adjust the burner's magnitude to maintain an even water temperature (chances are you will not succeed, but you should be able to keep the temperature somewhat stable and be able to walk away for a few minutes at a time). If you clip the probe of the probe thermometer to the side of the pot (I do this by running the probe through the tabs of a large binder clip), you can program the thermometer to alert you when the temperature rises outside of the desired range as well as below the desired range. Once the water temperature is stable, place the bagged food into the water to begin heating.

One variation of this method is to use a portable induction cooktop that has the ability to keep water at a warm temperature. The induction cooktops that I've used have rather coarse granularity (15-30 F° increments) and do not result in exactly consistent water temperatures (both consistent over time and consistent with the digital setting). If you attempt to use the cooktop's temperature setting, I recommend testing the temperature with a thermometer over a thirty minute period to get a feel for the water temperature at a given setting. Different pots and different settings will result in different water temperatures, so it may be possible to get the water temperature in a range that is useful for sous vide cooking.

Putting a lid on the pot is a personal choice, just remember that if you stabilized the temperature without a lid, then placing a lid on will increase the temperature (and vice versa). So, be consistent - if you use the lid, use it all the time; if not, keep it off.

Heat Source: Built-in
Heat Adjustment: None
Lowest cost: $52
Mid-cost: $182

Method: This option takes a little luck to get working and is less flexible than the previous two because the temperature of the water bath can't be altered because no external control source is available (unless you sit there and toggle it on and off). If it does work in your situation, it does allow the operator to walk away and not have to "tend the fire".

Before attempting this, fill your cooking device with water and set it on the "keep warm" setting and walk away for a few hours. Measure the temperature to determine the equilibrium temperature of your device. Each device will be a little different. For example, my small rice cooker settles at 64°C (147°F) while my industrial rice cooker settles at 85°C (185°F). For this technique to work, we're at the mercy of whatever the "keep warm" temperature is for your device and are limited to the cooking applications for that temperature. Here's a rough guide ("unpasteurized" is noted where the water bath temperature is not high enough to kill the most common pathogens over time; these food items should be heated to the desired temperature and consumed within four hours total cooking and eating time by the non-immune compromised):
38-43°C (100-109°F): very rare to rare tuna (unpasteurized)
39-49°C (101-120°F): very rare to medium-rare salmon (unpasteurized)
49-55°C (120-130°F): medium-rare to medium fin fish and shellfish (unpasteurized)
55-60°C (131-140°F): beef
57°C (135°F): pasteurizing eggs (but keeping them uncooked)
60°C (140°F): pork and chicken (pink but pasteurized)
63-65°C (145-149°F): poached eggs
70-80°C (158-176°F): rendering fat (lard, tallow, etc.)
80°C (176°F): duck confit
82-85°C (180-185°F): root vegetables

You can also try to alter the settling temperature by removing the lid to the device thus providing two possible cooking temperatures.

Once you've determined the temperature your device "keeps warm" at, you can simply run the device at full power to that temperature and then switch it to "keep warm". Wait a few minutes for the temperature to settle (check with a thermometer) and insert your food.

Heat Source: Bucket heater
Heat Adjustment: External PID Controller
Lowest cost: $119
Mid-cost: $179

Method: This is the lowest cost solution involving a type of controller called a PID controller. Essentially, the controller turns on and off the device plugged into it at a rate dictated by a feedback loop algorithm. You can think of it as turning the device on full power when the temperature is much lower than the target, then reducing the power level as it gets closer, then turning off the device as the temperature overshoots, and then gently controlling the power level to maintain the temperature. In reality, external heating devices are usually only on-off devices, so the PID controller approximates variable power by pulsing the power on and off. The longer the pulses, the higher the power; the shorter the bursts, the less power is provided. Since heating elements take time to cool off and warm up, this does a good job of approximating the range from 0-100% power. The PID controller in this section and the ones below can be programmed to better match the cool down and heating rates of your cooking device (in this case, a bucket heater, and, in the case below, a rice cooker). The PID controllers listed here are all rated to handle 1800 W which should be sufficient for most heating devices. If you are using a different PID controller, please check the maximum power rating as a fire hazard can present itself if the heating element used draws more power than the controller is designed for.

These PID controllers also come with thermocouples (used to measure temperature). The thermocouple probes are sealed and watertight, so unlike the Polder probe thermometer, there is little fear that water will destroy your thermocouple (unless the seals fail).

Fill a large container with water. This can be a large stock pot, Dutch oven, ice chest, or any other large container. Insert the bucket heater (following the directions according to the heater - many need to be fully submerged to work properly) into the water being careful to position it so the heating element does not touch the container directly if high heat can damage the material of the container (such as the plastic in an ice chest) - you can use a block of wood or something heat resistant as a barrier is needed. Plug the bucket heater into the output of the PID controller. Place the thermocouple connected to the PID controller into the water (preferably away from the heating element). It is important that the thermocouple be in the water when using the PID controller. Otherwise, the PID controller's feedback loop will have the wrong temperature feedback (probably in the air on the counter next to your cooking vessel) and try to run your heating device nonstop in an attempt to raise the temperature. This can be a dangerous (fire warning) situation. (Boiling off all the water in your cooking vessel is not going to end well.) Plug the PID controller into the wall socket, turn it on, and program it for the desired temperature. If the water volume is too large, the bucket heater may not be able to bring the temperature up in a reasonable amount of time. In this case, you'll need to either use less water or a more powerful bucket heater.

Once the water has reached the desired temperature, place the bag of food into the water, preferably away from the heating element.

Please note that PID controllers can be off by a few degrees (even though it may be precise (that is, it keeps the temperature within a degree), the accuracy could be off and 55°C might be 53°C in reality), so double check the reported water temperature with a measurement of the actual water temperature using a calibrated thermometer. (Again, I really like the Thermapen.)

Heat Source: Built-in
Heat Adjustment: External controller
Lowest cost: $131

Mid-cost: $261

Method:This setup requires an electric rice cooker, slow cooker, or food warmer (an electric device that is designed to keep a food pan or hotel pan hot for service) with a simple mechanical switch or dial that turns the device on. Advanced electronic versions of these appliances will not work because the PID controller will attempt to turn the device on and off rapidly to control the heating elements. In electronic rice cookers, for example, turning the power off and then on does not cause the device to start cooking, but, instead, puts the device into a "wait" state where it waits for user input to program it or start it. Luckily, mechanical switch controlled devices are still readily available, and, as an added bonus, most are cheaper than their electronic counterparts.

In the rice cooker example, fill the interior vessel with water and place in the rice cooker. Most rice cookers automatically turn the mechanical switch off when the vessel is removed, so depress the switch once the filled vessel is back in place. Insert the thermocouple of the PID controller into the water along with the silicone steamer insert (to protect the food from the heating elements at the bottom of the rice cooker). (I actually don't run my rice cookers with the steamer insert normally because, once the water is at the target temperature, the bottom of the rice cooker does not get much hotter than the surrounding water so long as the water is free to circulate around the food pouch.) Place the lid on the rice cooker and turn on the PID controller. Program the controller to the desired target temperature. Once the water bath has settled at the target temperature, place the food bag into the rice cooker.

Using a device with a lid saves power and water. Because the water isn't evaporating directly into the environment, water loss is prevented and heat loss is reduced which causes the PID controller to turn on the cooking device for less time. In fact, the rice cooker with PID controller is the most efficient (in terms of water and power consumption) sous vide setup I have tested. (The average measured power draw to sustain a temperature of 55°C (131°F) in my large rice cooker with the Auber PID controller is about 8 W!)

Auber Instruments has suggested that a rice cooker is superior to a slow cooker because the heating elements in a rice cooker are at the base while the slow cooker heats from the sides. Apparently, heating from the bottom causes natural convection currents to circulate more effectively than heating from the sides. I have not done any testing to confirm or refute this theory.

Another reason I like rice cookers is that the interior vessel can be removed and carried over to the sink to be poured out and washed. Many slow cookers also have this feature.

Heat Source: Submerged heating element
Heat Adjustment: External controller
Cost: $300
Method: Fresh Meals Solutions sells these kits that enable you to use their heating element along with an air bubbler (that agitates the water) in a water bath (either the large polycarbonate container in their kit or a pot or vessel you already own). Treat this system as you would the previous method: fill the vessel with water, insert the heating element and thermocouple (and bubbler), turn on and program the PID controller to the target temperature, and insert food when stabilized.

Heat Source: Built-in
Heat Adjustment: Built-in
Lowest cost: $300
Mid-cost: $400

Method: For many readers, this will be the best solution. The three products listed here are complete standalone appliances. They are essentially a vessel for holding water, a heating element, and a PID controller all built into one device. (There's no thermocouple to forget to put into the water and minimal fire hazard since all the devices have auto-shutoff in case the water fully evaporates, etc.)

The smallest of these is the new Sous Vide Supreme Demi which has a 9 L water bath vessel. It's 20% smaller than the bigger and 50% more expensive Sous Vide Supreme (11.2 L). Neither of the Sous Vide Supreme models come with removable interior vessels (a slight cleaning problem if a bag bursts, but not insurmountable).

The Sous Vide Magic Water Oven is the largest of these at 14 L and has air bubbling for circulation/agitation as well as a removable interior pot for easy clean up.

Usage is simple - just fill to the specified water level, program the target temperature, and insert the food when the device beeps telling you it has stabilized.

Costco.com is currently running a great Sous Vide Supreme Demi deal which includes the appliance along with a vacuum sealer, two boxes of bags, and Douglas Baldwin's excellent book, Sous Vide for the Home Cook, all for $350.

Sous Vide Supreme is also offering a package deal which includes their full-size water oven, vacuum sealer, Sous Vide for the Home Cook, and a copy of Modernist Cuisine (the greatest set of books on cookery I have ever read).