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Sous vide is a method of cooking (mostly meat) where you seal food in a plastic bag and immerse it in water maintained at precisely the temperature you want the finished dish.

For example, a steak would be medium rare, at 57.5 C. So you cook the steak AT 57.5 C for long enough to bring the whole steak to that temperature, and it ends up being perfectly cooked throughout. If you cook it for longer than required, it doesn't overcook, because it never gets too hot.


A little over a year ago, I started exploring information about 'at home' sous vide cooking. As with so many things, there is a (huge) wealth of information available on line (and in books. Can you believe it? ) I really couldn't have done this project without all the info available with the touch of a few keys. Thanks internet !!

One site in particular (that is a new link. the original site lowereastkitchen.co is down temporarily, but this is the same folks with a different path) intrigued me because they had a build it yourself kit, which involved a relatively small amount of electronics knowledge, and made use of a readily available coffee urn, as the heat source / water bath, and was far less expensive than commercially available products. I like to tinker, and not spend money, so it seemed perfect. Unfortunately, they stopped selling the kit, in favour of developing their own commercial product. (which looks like it would be pretty darn good)

Anyway. Late last year, I went back to exploring DIY options (of which there are many) and after being informed and inspired by a lot of different great resources, I ordered all the stuff I would need to build my own set up. All the components slowly made their way from various parts of the globe, and over the last few weeks I have been putting it all together. The opening picture is the first meal created with the working set up, and what follows is a brief visual tour of my process. I am looking forward to lots more experimenting!


Here are the main components of the controller. It consists of a controller (PID), which together with a temperature probe and a relay, monitors and controls (very accurately) the cooking temperature of the water bath. (The water bath can be a wide variety of devices. I went with a coffee urn)





So, cut some new openings in the speaker box, replace the grill with a custom cover, and then put it all together ...








Coffee urns are designed to heat fast and then go into warming mode. Great for coffee, but not very helpful for sous vide. I needed to rewire this...




... so that it will only operate at 'full power' (when the controller supplies electricity.)




Ready to go!




Steak gets cooked at 57.5 C for at least 1 hour





Beets, risotto, and asparagus, all for different times / temps, and then fast chilled for rewarming later.



It has been a fun learning experience, and I am sure it will continue to be.



Here are a few commercial sous vide options. There are lots more sources, but this is a good cross section of styles.

Sous Vide Supreme (controller and water bath, all in one)

Dorkfood controller (add your own water bath. Rice cooker, slow cooker, coffee urn, etc)

Anova immersion circulator (add your own container. Stock pot, cooler, polycarbonate box, etc)

Here are a couple of projects that got me started on my mission.

DIY immersion circulator.

Another DIY controller

I think for a first try, it turned out pretty well. But, I am already planning the next incarnation. So, stay tuned...