SV and Water Ovens

[Polka]

Hey guys -- normally post in the smoking and sausage making forums, but am really getting interested in Sous Vide cooking --especially for poaching my sausages to correct temperature without fat-out.

The newer gadgets that are called Sous Vide / Water Ovens look like rectangular crock-pots designed to do sous vide. My question is do they work well? Do they actually circulate the water in the tub?

Thanks
Rex

 

[chopsaw]

Hey guys -- normally post in the smoking and sausage making forums, but am really getting interested in Sous Vide cooking --especially for poaching my sausages to correct temperature without fat-out.

The newer gadgets that are called Sous Vide / Water Ovens look like rectangular crock-pots designed to do sous vide. My question is do they work well? Do they actually circulate the water in the tub?

Thanks
Rex

Bear has a dedicated water oven . I don't think it circulates , but the water is always changing hot to cold , but I'll let him fill you in on that for sure . If you're interested in doing sausage I would think you would be better off with a stick type , depending on the size of the water oven . I've done bologna , hot dogs , cotto salami and such using a cooler due to the size of the chubs , and or the volume of the sausage .
It really works great for those type of sausages .

 

[pc farmer]

The stick type circulates water.

 

[mike243]

Well I am new to SV and bought a cheap 1 to try it out, mixed results so far but time has been tough, its a non blue tooth and wifi so I have been hesitant about leaving the house for any amount of time. I have ordered a new wifi model from inkbird that is due in on Monday, I hope to be able to step up my testing without the risk of loosing food where a power outage could cause the unit to quit and not start back. I am not sure a pump makes that much of a difference , only somebody that has had 1 for any length of time and has both could tell you of any differences imo. the net will be your best bet researching this , without having tried out both folks will just be guessing

 

[tropics]

I have a super cheap one! It is a stick type & it circulates the water.The water heats real quick and is right on the money.I think the Inkbird would be a good choice,the only thing I used mine for was some sausage
Richie

 

[dr k]

Well I am new to SV and bought a cheap 1 to try it out, mixed results so far but time has been tough, its a non blue tooth and wifi so I have been hesitant about leaving the house for any amount of time. I have ordered a new wifi model from inkbird that is due in on Monday, I hope to be able to step up my testing without the risk of loosing food where a power outage could cause the unit to quit and not start back. I am not sure a pump makes that much of a difference , only somebody that has had 1 for any length of time and has both could tell you of any differences imo. the net will be your best bet researching this , without having tried out both folks will just be guessing

You'll like the inkbird. It has a wifi connection loss alarm which will notify you if electricity goes out. Turn it off/on temp/time up down from anywhere. It works with a 2.4 gateway not the 5.

 

[Winterrider]

Have the stick Annova , Bluetooth is junk. Loose it from kitchen to bedroom. I use a covered container so no evaporation. Have done 30 hr cooks without a hitch.
You would be better off with a stick model that does circulate if doing chubs.
You should have something to keep them from stacking or laying on top of each other if using a cooler type container.

 

[Polka]

Thanks to everyone for your replies. Looking forward to Bear making a remark (I hope). I'll be looking for a typical stick type and bucket / chest for it. Appreciate your contributions! R

 

[zwiller]

I have researched SV extensively over the past few years. Here's my takeaways.

Some water ovens do circ and some don't. Surprisingly, it appears not that big of a deal. I went with a water oven mainly since it appears very much a crock and wife loves hers. I know for being married to her for 26 years no way she would not eat something out of the stick, container, blanket setup. The main reason I went SV is for the tender thing but I absolutely plan to use for sausage. Weisswurst for example.

One of the most problematic issues for SV is air lock. This affects most SV machines. Easy enough to remedy via straw or other tube. Not an issue for no circ machines tho AND not mine. Mine is pretty cool. Uses a magnetic stir bar on bottom and creates a vortex. I have not seen any others like it. This was main reason I bought it as I use a stir plate for homebrewing and they have been around a LONG time so the technology is robust.
In the end I say the main decision is gonna be based on batch size. You can definitely do larger batches with the stick (20 qts/5G) but I don't see any issues for me and imagine 5lbs of sausage or maybe more to work in mine. That said, gonna be a few years before I get to 5lbs as I am building recipes now and average batch is 1kg/2.2lbs.

Lastly, do not believe that vac sealing assists in salt penetration or flavor enhancement. It doesn't work much at all. You will still need to brine/inject etc for good results.

 

[Bearcarver]

Thanks to everyone for your replies. Looking forward to Bear making a remark (I hope). I'll be looking for a typical stick type and bucket / chest for it. Appreciate your contributions! R

Mine is the "Sous Vide Supreme".
It's not a circulator. Instead the heat comes from all around the bottom & the sides.
I have never seen it farther off than 0.6°.
I got it because we had room on the counter for something that doesn't look ugly, and no room in our cabinets, plus I didn't want to have to get a container & SV Stick out every time I want to use it. The only weakness I can think of is I'm limited to size up to my tank size.
Mine makes ZERO noise, so I guess it could be a problem if you tend to forget you have something cooking. LOL
I keep it right next to the kitchen sink, so I can fill it with the Sink hose sprayer, and I can dump it right into the sink when done using it.
That's about all I can think of.

Bear

 

[Polka]

Do you suppose that it will handle 5# batches of sausage in the bag(s)?

 

[Bearcarver]

Do you suppose that it will handle 5# batches of sausage in the bag(s)?

I never tried to do that, but maybe this will help:
Temperature controller: The SousVide Supreme’s sophisticated temperature controller—a proportional-integral-derivative (PID)—keeps the water bath within one degree Fahrenheit of its ideal temperature for hours or even days, producing gourmet meals with enhanced flavors and nutritional benefits. The temperature can range from 86ºF to 210ºF (30º to 99ºC). Best of all, cooking in the SousVide Supreme is hands-off, making it easy to prepare gourmet-quality meals at the push of a button that can be finished in minutes at the end of the workday. Just set it and walk away.
Power: 120V, 60Hz, 850W. Average energy use is equivalent to a 60 watt light-bulb.
Interior: Stainless steel.
Working capacity: 11.2 liters / 3 gallons. Cooking capacity: 20 four-ounce pouches of food.


Bear

 

[Polka]

20 - 4 oz bags of food = 5# if my math is correct. Thanks a million Bear, and everybody!

Rex

 

[Bearcarver]

20 - 4 oz bags of food = 5# if my math is correct. Thanks a million Bear, and everybody!

Rex

That sounds like a lot to me, but I never put a lot in mine at once.
I like to give it plenty of elbow room in there.
I don't like anything jammed together.
I'm sure you can do a lot more than I would but I get nervous when things don't seem right, and 20 bags of 4 ounces each just seems like a lot to me.

Bear

 

[BuckeyeSteve]

One of the most problematic issues for SV is air lock. This affects most SV machines. Easy enough to remedy via straw or other tube. Not an issue for no circ machines tho AND not mine.

I'm not familiar with this problem, and it hasn't happened to me. Please explain, is this related to the water level dropping?

 

[Polka]

Bear -- gonna be about 4 or 5 quart sized bags, about a pound each.
R

 

[Polka]

Must admit, zwiller, I don't have a clue either. Would you please elaborate? Thanks R

 

[zwiller]

Sorry for delay somehow missed these posts...

Air lock and volume dropping are different things. Air lock occurs when a bubble of air gets trapped in the device and prevents circulation. I also saw people claim that water hardness can build up and create this issue too. Volume dropping is simply evaporation. Sticks and their containers do not mate well and are not air tight so this causes evaporation. I've read instanced where folks had to top off the water for long runs. People use towels or foil to remedy. Not 100% sure but pretty sure Bear's SV Supreme is the only SV that is air tight (probably under patent) Mine had some evaporation over 24hrs but not much.

If I ever get to running 5lbs sausage, I will just batch it. Probably 2- 2.5lbs runs. Sausage will SV fast so no biggie. I am with Bear and think you don't want to cram.

 

[BuckeyeSteve]

Air lock occurs when a bubble of air gets trapped .

Sticks and their containers do not mate well and are not air tight so this causes evaporation. I've read instanced where folks had to top off the water for long runs. People use towels or foil to remedy.

I'll have to watch out for air lock. So far hasn't been a problem.

I just did a 17 hour cook with plastic wrap covering the top of my stock pot and sealing the opening around the SV. There was no water loss to speak of.

 

[hoity toit]

Hey guys -- normally post in the smoking and sausage making forums, but am really getting interested in Sous Vide cooking --especially for poaching my sausages to correct temperature without fat-out.

The newer gadgets that are called Sous Vide / Water Ovens look like rectangular crock-pots designed to do sous vide. My question is do they work well? Do they actually circulate the water in the tub?

Thanks
Rex

I have both types and they both do well. The crock tub type I have does not circulate however with the smaller size it does not need to.

HT - my 2 cents