Dorkfood DSV Sous Vide Controller

JMSetzler · Aug 11, 2013

[ame]http://youtu.be/TaQEM6e9rLw[/ame]

I finally got the chance to try sous vide cooking with the Dorkfood DSV controller hooked up to my crockpot to create a water bath to make a perfect medium-rare ribeye. I set the controller to make a 130° water bath. I seasoned the steak and put it in a vacuum seal bag and let it cook in the water bath for two hours (more time than actually required.) At the end of the bath I seared it off on both sides and cut it open. This steak was probably the most tender I have ever cooked and the cook consistency was perfect....

Great stuff!

devious · Aug 11, 2013

That's pretty cool!

DerHusker · Aug 11, 2013

Thanks for the review. "Unfortunate"

ound:

aawa · Aug 11, 2013

That is a pretty cool controller.

One thing though. You threw it on the griddle and seared it. It seemed like it didn't want to sear heavily as there wasn't a lot of crust formed on it. Do you think that you would miss the texture of a grilled steak by cooking sous vide? Also to get a crust would you be able to get a cast iron pan scorching hot and then put some canola/peanut oil (for the high smoke points) or butter in and do it in there to get a better crust on the outside? Or even get 2 cast iron pans and basically have the meat between the both of them so that you get a nice even crust all the way around?

Blah64 · Aug 11, 2013

Ya really gotta try it with tougher cuts of meat like Chuck Roasts or Ribs. Or make egg dishes with it. Sous Vide is pretty awesome.

IamMadMan · Aug 11, 2013

Great Looking Steak...

Damn True · Aug 11, 2013

Here's an even lower tech method that a buddy and I worked up.

http://thedamntrueexperiment.blogspot.com/2011/03/beyond-french-laundry-sous-vide-for.html

JMSetzler · Aug 11, 2013

aawa said:
That is a pretty cool controller.

One thing though. You threw it on the griddle and seared it. It seemed like it didn't want to sear heavily as there wasn't a lot of crust formed on it. Do you think that you would miss the texture of a grilled steak by cooking sous vide? Also to get a crust would you be able to get a cast iron pan scorching hot and then put some canola/peanut oil (for the high smoke points) or butter in and do it in there to get a better crust on the outside? Or even get 2 cast iron pans and basically have the meat between the both of them so that you get a nice even crust all the way around?

I was using the sizzle-q griddle on my gasser to sear this. This was also the first time I had tried that. A little heavier sear would have worked better overall and I could have done that better with cast iron or a lot hotter griddle.

Blah64 · Aug 11, 2013

You definitely want to give the oil time to heat up.

My stove ain't the best, so I usually use a stove/pan to get some butter on it and combine that with a blowtorch to get the really hot sear quickly.

Also, some things to note:
-when cooking at higher temps, such as for that well-done steak you are going to do or vegetables, watch out for evaporation. Although, I don't have a crockpot, so maybe evaporation isn't a problem since it has a lid.

-Tender meats like steaks you don't actually want to leave in over 4 hours, because then the quality will start deteriorating.

My set-up is a giant cooler for the tub (so I can fit lots of stuff, or big things), then the dorkfood is connected to an immersion water heater, and then I have an aquarium bubble blower to act as a circulator. The circulator keeps the temps more even, and then the larger volume of water actually maintains the temperature better.

shirknwrk · Aug 11, 2013

I sprang for a Sous Vide Supreme... great for slow cooking tri-tip before finishing on the grill. Only drawback to Sous Vide is that it is difficult to get smoke taste unless you smoke the meat before you seal it for the water bath... (or put a teaspoon of liquid smoke in the vac-seal bag). As for steaks, Sous Vide makes it easy to get med rare (or rare, if you like) pink without the strip of well done meat between the crust and the center. Just set the water bath temp for 120° for 30 min... then sear on the grill. Mmm... wall to wall pink!

Blah64 · Aug 11, 2013

My Sous-Vide setup (immersion water heater is the heating element):

I just use normal freezer gallon bags for short cooks (under 4 hours), making a vacuum with the water displacement method. I use ziploc 'vacuum seal' gallon bags for the long cooks. So much cheaper than having to buy a vacuum sealing machine.

And my thread on the short ribs that I just finished and ate today:
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=168300

The smoke taste actually isn't that hard to get with Sous-Vide. You just cold-smoke the meat for a bit before you vacuum seal. If you can't cold smoke, then just smoke as low as you can.

JMSetzler · Aug 11, 2013

Blah64 said:
My set-up is a giant cooler for the tub (so I can fit lots of stuff, or big things), then the dorkfood is connected to an immersion water heater, and then I have an aquarium bubble blower to act as a circulator. The circulator keeps the temps more even, and then the larger volume of water actually maintains the temperature better.

What kind of immersion heater are you using?

Blah64 · Aug 11, 2013

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000R051DE/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1"]11-1/2" Max Water Depth Water Heater - Amazon.com[/ame]

Dorkfood DSV Sous Vide Controller

JMSetzler

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devious

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DerHusker

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aawa

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Blah64

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IamMadMan

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Damn True

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JMSetzler

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Blah64

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shirknwrk

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JMSetzler

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Blah64

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