Well, about five minutes after my tax refund hit my checking account I ordered my Sous Vide Supreme!
For those of you who don't watch the cooking shows or follow the food scene, sous vide is cooking under vacuum, and usually at very low temps. Conventional grilling of, say, a steak involved very high heat. By the time the middle of the steak is medium rare a good portion of the rest of it is well done. Sous vide typically uses a very low "Delta T", or very small gradient between the desired end temp and the cooking temp. Generally that means if you want a steak done medium rare (about 133 degrees) you cook it at that temp.
The kit I got included the Sous Vide Supreme water oven, two books, some seasonings and the Sous Vide Supreme Vac Sealer. The sealer is basically like a Foodsaver and comes with a few bags to get you started.
I began by setting the bath to 130 degrees. While it was heating I seasoned two sirloins with
Montreal Seasoning and placed 'em in the bag. I chucked in a couple TBSP of butter 'cause, hey- who doesn't like butter?
Then in they go into the water bath.
The nice thing is you set the timer and walk away. I opted for about an hour and a half. This is longer than necessary but is sufficient to pasteurize the meat. After all, I didn't want to kill myself the first time out!
An hour in I checked the temp of the water in several spots with two calibrated Thermopen K-type thermocouples...the temp was flat-out dead on! Very impressive. Of course this wasn't a big load but the convection maintained the temp flawlessly.
Enough jawin', and on with the pics!
Here are the steaks right out of the water. Not much to look at, eh?
But notice the doneness...
The first one I browned with my Iwatani torch- BONZAI!
The other I seared in a screaming hot pan:
Check out the perfect edge-to-edge doneness! You can't do that on the grill or broiler!
Plated up...
And with a few Portobello mushrooms, sauteed in bacon fat and deglazed with jus from the pouch and some wine...
Lastly, here's the actual machine. I've got it heating up to do some soft boiled eggs @ 146 degrees F...
I'll tell you, that was an amazing steak! Incredibly "beefy" and cooked perfectly. A hot pan worked a little better than the torch, but I didn't want to burn the pepper. I don't think I'll ever willingly cook a steak at home without my SVS.
I already had the camera packed up before the eggs were done, and now I'm kicking myself for not getting some pics. I've
never, ever seen an egg like that!
Absolutely flawless soft boiled but with a thick, custard-like yoke. Damn, shoulda' got a pic!
Based on my first shot at cooking in the SVS I would have to give it an unqualified thumbs up!
This baby is gonna change
everything! 
