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Sous vide hack


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So, I think I read that one can hack a sous vide using a crockpot and vacuum sealer?  Anyone ever done this?

 

How about with a pressure cooker that also does warm, brown, steam, and slow cooking?

 

I am looking to cook some grassfed beef and elk cuts that are probably not the most tender (flanks, skirts, etc).  I'd also love to be able to cook them in advance.

 

Any help is appreciated.

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The sous vide hack I've seen is here:

http://www.dorkfood.com/Dorkfood-Sous-Vide-Temperature-Controller-DSV/dp/B0088OTON4

 

But you need a very basic crock pot - the fancy ones with timers won't work.  I've got the equipment to do this, but I haven't tried it yet.  It is going to be my valentine's experiment, so I'll be able to let you know how it works come Saturday.  Hopefully it'll turn out or dinner will be a major bust!

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You just need to check what temps the pressure cooker is set for each of those settings. You need a setting that will stay at 135 to do rare meat.  I don't have a pressure cooker, so I'm not that familiar with them.  I know my crock pot is 170 at low and 200 at high.  Both of those temps are way too hot for sous vide cooking unless you buy a separate controller to regulate the temps.  I used a crockpot and purchased a separate controller for a year or so.  The crockpot had a manual switch that you set to low or high.  Then the controller had a thermometer with a little processor attached to it.  You plug the crock pot into the controller and the controller into the wall.  The controller will turn the crockpot on and off to keep the temp at whatever you set it to.  (This is why you can't use an electronic crockpot.  Turning it on and off will reset your settings.)  I had to drill a hole through the lid of the crockpot to mount the thermometer.

 

My controller worked pretty good for a year or so and then the wires wiggled loose.  I started getting crazy results and finally broke down and bought a real sous vide.  It wasn't cheap (almost $400) but it works awesome.

 

If your oven goes down to 135, that is another hack you can use.

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