In a previous post, I had recommended the 4130 NIST-Traceable Temperature Controller to control the temperature in a slow cooker. Unfortunately, that particular controller has a range that tops out at 60 degrees C / 140 degrees F, which is enough for cooking beef for long periods of time, but not enough for say, cooking duck confit, which for which a sous vide temperature of 80 degrees C is recommended. In addition, the 4130 is pretty expensive; almost $150. It’s possible to add a resistor to change the range of the 4130, but the temperature displayed by the controller is no longer correct, and you have manually create a conversion table between true temperature and the temperature as seen by the controller.
I’ve recently come across a cheaper and better possibility, the Ranco ETC-111000-000 Temperature Controller which is only half the price and comes with a much larger working range (-30 to 220 degrees F). The price with the AC cord already wired in is $75; and the version which just has a 120VAC SPDT relay is only $60.
A bit more about food safety. There has always been a lot of concern about bacteria growth and botulism, for good reason — and so therefore the recommendations for cooking temperature have a lot of safety margin in them — to the point now that the USDA recommends that steaks be cooked to at least 145 degrees F, which is well within what had traditionally been called “medium”, and chicken to at least 165 degrees F, which is enough to really destroy taste and texture. Sous vide cooking, especially some of the more low temperature variants, have raised a lot of concerns, to the point where a few years ago New York City (temporarily) banned it, causing a great outcry in the foodie community, since many top restaurants use sous vide techniques.
First of all, any recommendation about internal temperatures and food safety that doesn’t also factor in time is massively oversimplifying the problem. Here is a table taken from “Food Safety Hazards and Controls for the Home Food Preparer”, published by the Hospitality Institute of Technology in 1994:
| Temperature, F | Time, 5D kill | Time, 6.5D kill |
| 130 | 86.42 minutes | 112.34 minutes |
| 135 | 27.33 minutes | 35.53 minutes |
| 140 | 8.64 minutes | 11.23 minutes |
| 145 | 2.73 minutes | 3.55 minutes |
| 150 | 51.85 seconds | 1.12 minutes |
| 155 | 16.40 seconds | 21.32 seconds |
| 160 | 5.19 seconds | 6.74 seconds |
| 165 | 1.64 seconds | 2.13 seconds |
However, sous vide temperatures are not enough to kill bacterial spores, in particular C. botulinum, which is responsible for botulism. This requires temperatures far in excess of boiling water at sea level. For example, home canning protocols recommend holding the food product at 250 degrees F for at least 15 minutes. This is an issue in the restaurant business because very often food would be cooked sous vide, and then stored in the vacuum sealed bags for potentially weeks (yes, you could be eating an extremely expensive meal at a top-end French restaurant that had been cooked several weeks ago, and reheated just before serving; yummy, no?). If the food packages aren’t cooled quickly enough, and then allowed to warm to the danger zone, it’s possible that in the anerobic environment the C. botulinum spores could germinate and then start producing toxin. But, if you are cooking home sous vide where you are serving the food right after it has been cooked, this shouldn’t be a concern.
October 8th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Wow! I had never heard of this and now after reading a few articles via wikipedia and google, I’ll be sure to ask the next time I go to any 5 star places in Manhattan if they use this. one part industrial science, one part food science with a pinch of botulism for taste! Thanks for the heads-up!
October 9th, 2007 at 8:10 am
Most NYC restaurants don’t like killing their patrons; it’s bad for business and bad publicity.
So most of the high-end restaurants always had very strict safety protocols in place in terms of heating foods to high temperatures, quick chilling of the food after it’s been cooked, maximum temperatures and time for storage the sous vide “meals in a bag”, etc. The concerns raised by the New York City Health Department were largely resolved by a series of educational sessions so the health inspectors could understand that done properly, yes, it could really be safe, and there was a reason why restaurants in France, who had been doing this for decades, had been able to avoid killing off their customers. I just didn’t talk about this much because I’m much more interested in sous-vide-the-home-game; I’d have no concerns with walking into high-end Manhattan restaurant and eating something that had been cooked using sous vide.
So what if I’m paying $50 for an man dish that is prepared like a reheat-and-serve TV dinner? If it tastes really good, and the ambiance and service is impeccable, that’s what’s really important. In terms of the use of industrial science, that’s probably better than some of the other alternatives about what happens behind the kitchen doors. If you haven’t read Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain, I’d recommend it. It will dispel many of the romantic myths that many folks have about the restaurant business.
October 9th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
Hi Ted, I re-read my comment and realize that they did not come across as I had intended. I am looking forward to the experience of eating food that uses a technique that aims to maximize both flavor, texture and nutritional value! The botulism remark should have had a smiley! I’d expect 5 star folks to not kill me like a chef preparing fugu. And if anyone would be a good candidate to try sous-vide-the-home-game, i’d be a kenel-hacker-type person who loves tinkering with the fiddley-bits
Here’s hoping I see “Ted’s Sous Vide roast beef with root vegtables HOWTO” with proper “OPEN FOOD” licensing!
October 9th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
Well, check out my previous post for a description of how to cook Roast Beef using Sous Vide. One change that might be worth experimenting with is to try extending the time, which should hopefully make the roast beef even more tender — although if it goes too long it could become too mushy. I’d probably go for 8 hours, and then 12 hours and see how it turns out.
The other change I would suggest (although I haven’t tried it myself yet; it’s on my todo list), is to start the process by running a blow torch over the meat before sealing it in the bag; this will kill off the surface bacteria, but more important, create lots of flavor chemicals via the Maillard reaction which will then have a chance to migrate into the meat and flavor the entire piece of meat during the cooking process. Then, at the end, after removing it from the plastic bag, I’d run the blow torch over the meat a second time, to crisp up the outside.
Unfortunately, at the moment the only blowtorch I own had last been used to melt some asphalt repair compound, and some got on the outside of the torch — so I don’t trust it for use in food preparation, the last time I tried making this recipe last weekend. I need to go to Home Depot and get myself a new blow torch, just for cooking purposes. (Also very useful for making a creme brulee, for example.
October 9th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
Instead of a blowtorch, why not sear the meat on a very hot cast iron pan? We don’t do sous vide cooking (yet), but that’s a technique we’ll use sometimes — searing a cut of meat first, then putting it in the oven to finish.
Plus, it gives you a panful of fond that you can use for a sauce!
Of course, it’s not as fun as a blowtorch, I’ll hand you that.
October 9th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
What I did for the sauce this time around was that I used the juices that that was in the bag plus all of the juices that came out when I sliced the roast beef. I then added eight ounces of demiglace (reconstituted from a paste of instant demiglace that I bought in the supermarket), and then thickened it with some white roux. (2 tablespoons of butter heated until it foams, whisk in 2 tablespoon of flour, cook for three minutes.)
What I did this last time was just 10-12 minutes in a convection oven set at 550 at the end. You’re right, using a hot cast iron pan would also work; a blowtorch is just a lot more fun!
October 9th, 2007 at 8:07 pm
Since I’ve never eaten anything Sous Vide, what can you say, at least of the beef you mention, has been the difference in the taste, aroma, consistency, etc.? Does it taste like other ‘chef’-cooked beef you’ve had?
October 9th, 2007 at 10:57 pm
Hmm…. It has a stronger, deeper beef flavor, although that’s partially due to the home dry aging in the refrigerator. The meat is definitely much more tender and juicier, and best of all, most of the meet is beautifully medium rare, with just a hint of medium just at the edges where the outside has been browned. Basically, it’s tender almost like like a fillet mignon, but with much more flavor.
March 1st, 2008 at 1:52 pm
I know of a temperature controller specially designed to cook sous-vide with a rice cooker. Check it out
http://freshmealssolutions.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1
April 7th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
I use the technique, but keep the food at temperature for up to 18 hours. Because it can’t overcook, it makes little difference if it is cooked 3 hours or 18. I would like to thank Ted for providing the time / temp chart.
April 15th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
I KNEW there had to be a way to do this. Thanks! I just ordered the temperature controller. Can’t wait to try it.
April 23rd, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Monday was my first time using the controller and it worked, but I learned I need to use more seasoning. If you want to read about my whole experience it’s here: http://web.mac.com/scottinhawaii/sybarite/Blog/Entries/2008/4/22_Sous_Vide_at_home._It_can_be_done..html
Thanks Ted! The roast beef is next.