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Sous Vide Supreme Review
Now you can cook like Thomas Keller, Heston Blumenthal and Ferran Adria with The SousVide Supreme, the world’s first water oven designed specifically to bring the gourmet restaurant sous vide cooking method into home kitchens. The result is lusciously silky chicken, juicy, perfect and evenly cooked steaks just like from a master chef. This machine is the size of a bread machine.
This baby just came out, and it’s the very first sous vide machine made for the home market. Yes, for the home market, which means it doesn’t cost thousands of dollars anymore ($449.00). I’ve borrowed a machine for two weeks to give it a test run.
In case you haven’t heard of sous vide, I’ve provided a ton of information and links at the very end of this post.
I wonder if Thomas Keller gets fingerprints on his sous vide machine.
But that’s easy to fix.
My demo unit comes with a lot of fun stuff inside.
Including a manual – most important for people who actually READ instructions….but I don’t.
Thank goodness it comes with an instructional DVD
Some spices
More spices. These look pretty cool – they are spice sheets that you just drape over your protein and it acts as a marinade (and makes it easier to vacuum seal since it’s not a liquid) I haven’t tried the sous vide spice transfer sheets, but that’s my next project.
A rack for holding your food submerged in the water.
So, let’s start with some steak…and heavy sprinkling of steak seasoning that I got from the Sous Vide Supreme package.
Specifically Canadian seasoning from Colorado.
Fill the machine up with water
Turn it on
Set the desired temperature. I wanted steak between medium-rare to medium, so I set it for 135F.
Oh wait…one more glory shot of the steak before he takes a long bath.
You gotta measure the meat. don’t laugh. Measuring the meat determines how long you cook.
Put the meat in the bag.
Suck the meat. Hey quit giggling.
Bag goes into the Sous Vide Supreme…but oops…the bag rack should be positioned another way so that the steak is fully submerged in the water.
Oh much better!
And then the waiting begins…90 minutes to 8 hours is the window and I let these steaks go on for 4 hours.
Remove from bath.
Take ‘em outta the bag. They look kinda dull….but then again, if I took at 4 hour bath, I’d probably look like that too.
Pat the surface dry — because we gotta sear both sides!
Sear on your grill or in a cast-iron pan…just quickly on both sides over the hottest heat you have.
Beautiful.
Perfectly cooked and even throughout. Precise temperature edge to edge.
Tender, like roast beef on the interior and that oh-so-perfect crusty seared edge.
Sous Vide Supreme: Soft Boiled Eggs
But wait! There’s more. Give ‘em a warm bath of 146F for 45 minutes.
Hard boiled eggs are sooo last year.
Get ready for some egg pr0n. Normally, when you soft-boil an egg, you’ll get runny yolk.
Look what happens.
You ready?
Wait for it….
It’s creamy.
Velvety, luscious.
What is Sous Vide?
Sous vide is pronounced “soo-VEED” and it’s a French term that means “under vacuum”. The concept is to cook the food at precisely the temperature that you want to serve the food so that the food item is perfectly cooked throughout. Steak becomes medium-rare from edge to edge versus having a “bulls-eye” effect of well-done ring, medium ring and then a rare center. Cooking food slow and low creates silky, tender textures. When you vacuum seal spices, herbs and marinades with the food, the pressure allows the flavors to penetrate deeply.
Other benefits for the home cook…you don’t have to watch the time. Since there is little risk of overcooking, you can leave the food in the Sous Vide Supreme for a few hours at the desired temperature and it will still be perfectly cooked.
Slate: The Joy of Cooking with Plastic BagsWashington Post: Sous Vide cooking for 400, feeding Katrina evacuees
Practical Guide to Sous Vide Cooking (a little more technical for you geeks)
Cooking Sous Vide
Sous Vide Cooking blog
SF Gate: Cooking in a vacuum
New York Times: Under Pressure
Cookbook: Cooking Under Pressure by Thomas Keller
Cookbook: Cooking Sous Vide: A Guide for the Home Cook by Jason Logsdon
Cookbook: Sous Vide by Viktor Stampfer
Cookbook: Alinea by Grant Achatz
Reviews of Sous Vide Supreme:
Eat Me Daily
New York Times
7×7: Heston Blumenthal endorses Sous Vide Supreme
Serious Eats
“A Week Of Sous Vide”
eGullet: Sous Vide Supreme thread
Foodie in Disguise review
Four Hour Workweek
Chicago Foodies
Print Recipe
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13 Responses to “Sous Vide Supreme Review”
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lowlight @ HCW — 12/14/09 @ 1:40 pm
Those egg pictures just squeezed out an extra donation from me! Thanks for offering this, and spreading the word about this good cause.
sygyzy — 12/14/09 @ 3:17 pm
I am very impressed that you chose the two most compelling advantages about sous vide to demonstrate to the uninitiated. Great job! As a minor quibble, your steak cooking time is way too long. While it’s true that SV is very forgiving, it doesn’t take 4 hours to cook a steak to that temp. It should be more like 45 mins. I don’t know the specifics but there is a point where it’s too much.
French Cooking for Dummies — 12/14/09 @ 7:03 pm
wow…I had never seen sous vide cooking… I’m astonished by that medium rare steak after spending 4 hours in a hot bath… and OMG this creamy egg yolk looks so good! You’ve just opened my eyes, I need to try that
lauen (healthy delicious) — 12/14/09 @ 9:04 pm
that egg is total food porn. and those steaks…. *giggle* This thing looks so fun. I wish it was about $100 cheaper.
Winnie — 12/14/09 @ 10:36 pm
I find this piece of equipment truly fascinating! I am definitely bidding on it…
Kiran — 12/15/09 @ 12:12 pm
Very great and humble effort Jaden
Katie — 12/15/09 @ 8:33 pm
I’ve seen them use this technique on many cooking shows (like Top Chef) and wondered what it would taste like, or look like. It’s pretty interesting!
Tuty — 12/15/09 @ 10:03 pm
Great illustration Jaden. You are hilarious as usual
savoryseduction — 12/22/09 @ 3:34 pm
This comment is directed at sygyzy: she did not overcook the steaks, because the sous vide prevents meats from being overcooked. There is a maximum amount of time you can leave the meat in to prevent from eating something unacceptably mushy, however it cannot overcook.
Steamykitchen; great work
Glad to see someone else enjoying this!
katiek@ kitchensidecar — 1/8/10 @ 6:00 pm
For a second there, that beef did look a bit anemic (after the 4 hour spa bath). I want one so badly! In SF, chris constantino sous vides a whole entire pig’s head for porcetta di testo which melts those bits o’ cartilage together. I’m so into that.
Also, I poached eggs at low temperatures (~140 F) to get that slow cooked-ness, but on the stovetop. I’m it could’ve been that more pornier if it were sous vide’d. Jealous.
TotalHilarity » Blog Archive » Food blog: Should you sear steak? — 1/26/10 @ 5:43 pm
[...] steaks slowly, in the belief charring spoils the flavour, and Thomas Keller and Heston do theirs sous vide. Others, like beef fanatic John Torode prefer to sear steak very briefly, then finish it off in the [...]
Special Magic Kitchen – SousVide Supreme — 3/24/10 @ 10:10 am
[...] Steamy Kitchen blog is also a good resource if you are thinking about buying the SousVide Supreme. The author tested [...]
High Tech (Easter) Eggs « SousVide Supreme — 4/2/10 @ 3:01 pm
[...] Easter is this weekend and all eyes will be on the egg – which is one of the coolest foods you can cook sous vide. The egg is full of complex proteins which firm up at different temperatures, so because of the precise temperature control you get with sous vide, you can create textures you just can’t replicate with any other technique. You can even set the yolk before the whites – some calls this a “reverse boiled egg” – for an amazing thick custard-like middle, with velvety whites on the outside. Scrambled, soft boiled, dipping in toast – with sous vide you get a complete range, and one degree difference can change the entire texture. Hours of experimental fun! So, in honor of the egg this holiday weekend, we’ve rounded up some of the best-of-the best sous vide egg photos from our friends online using the SousVide Supreme. Don’t miss our own little unofficial scientific experiment at the end for a cooking play-be-play. Awesome creamy results by Steamy Kitchen [...]