ChefKevin

The temp. of the water should be set at 148F which is why you need accurate control over temp for certain items such as a $70 Foie Gras lobe. You will be trying to achieve an internal temp of around 140F which should take between 20 to 30 minutes depending on the size. After removing from the bag brown the outside quickly in a very hot pan. Here is a picture of my water baths which I consider a nessasary piece of equipment for Sous Vide cooking. The average stove top cannot possibly be as accurate as this lab equipment which will maintain temp within 1/2 a degree. If cooking an item such as duck breast the difference between 131F and 136F is extremly noticable when using extended cooking times to make the duck breasts tender. I have cooked shortribs for 38 hours at 154F and they were awesome.

Job well done on the salmon. When you get your foodsaver, sweat some shallots in butter, when soft add some white wine and cook off the alcohol. Chill the mixture in the freezer till it gels. That will prevent the liquid from getting sucked up into your new foodsaver . Add the semi frozen sauce, fish and some fresh dill to your vacuum bag and seal it. I cook salmon at 116F for around 20 minutes in my water bath. For presentation purposes you can brown the sufaces of the fish quickly in a hot pan with a little butter.

You only need to probe your food when you are establishing cooking times based on internal temperatures that are lower than higher waterbath temps. If you are cooking the food in a waterbath regulated to the exact internal temp. of the food than carefull timing is not critical. If you need to check the internal temp than you need a very fine thermal-couple used in the food processing industry for thin prepared foods such as hamburgs. They are available on the web but usually sell for around $80.00 just for the probe not including the readout equipment. The probe is fine enough to penetrate the closed cell square adhered to the bag without releasing the vacuum.

Beef cheeks would be awesome done Sous Vide.

We have Ikea cabinets in our pantry and love them! If you are handy at all and own a screwdriver you can assemble your own cabinets. The uppers install on a metal rail, once you install the rail, hanging the upper cabinets is a piece of cake. The cabinets come in 3 inch increments and the design department will help you with your order. The drawers are full extension which is great. Then all you need is to have someone do the countertops. Good Luck.

Although a stove top or oven at low temp. might work your best bet is to check out the many used lab equip. websites for a precision water bath. They will maintain a temp. within .5 degrees. If you are serious about Sous Vide cooking then having the right equipement is nessasary for sucsess. Many books and articles will mention a circulating water heater but a water bath will work fine as long as you do not overcrowd it. I have 2 waterbaths which I run at different temps. for multiple items at once. Proteins are a natural for Sous Vide but veggies require higher cooking temps that can be acomplished on any stove top. The other thing that is nice about the water baths I have is the stainless steel lids to prevent the evaporation of water during long cooking periods. For all you non-believers out there if you have not tried Sous Vide than you don't know what your missing. Please do not refer to it as "BOIL A BAG".