Sous Vide

Then cast iron seared and butter basted filet. Forgot to get a pic before I tucked in. Jap poppers, bacon wrapped asparagus, and fried baby potatoes to boot!

Looks perfect....

I like using my sous vide.

I need to use mine more. Do you use tap water or something else in yours?

I use tap water.

Just curious, why would the water type matter?

I've read that distilled is better for the heating element from a longevity standpoint.

I see.

It doesn't matter. Distilled water can actually leach more ions out of the metal causing it corrode faster. But, I doubt you would see any noticeable difference. Remember water is the "universal solvent" so the more pure it is, the more it can strip away minerals, metal ions, etc.

Plus, My anecdotal evidence shows tap is fine. I have used mine for almost 5 years without having any issues. I probably cook with it 2-3 times a month.

Tap water. No more than something like that gets used it should last forever....even with hard water. Water heaters last 6 plus 24/7 years under warranty and do not have water being cycled continually when on like the sous vide machine.

Are your steaks more tender that way or have more flavor? Never tried it.

Both. Your meat is all one temperature from edge to edge. So, instead of having a rare center, medium rare inner edge and medium outer edge, the entire piece of meat is medium-rare. It makes a consistently cooked steak every time. It is the absolute best way to cook a steak.

Especially comes in handy when having to prepare large meals. I’ve done 25 filets in a big crawfish pot before. Beats babysitting them individually.

I'm not sure why I don't bring that up more as a positive. That is probably one of my favorite things about it. Cooking for large groups becomes so simple. Put the meat in a sous vide, prepare all the sides, then sear the meat and serve up everything hot.

Last year I did a wild game Christmas. I had one sous vide in an ice chest with a couple of backstrap and several duck breasts at 129°F. Then another set up with a whole hog ham at 150°F, a doe hind quarter in a roasting dish submerged completely in lard at 275°F in the oven for a few hours, and a prime rib my wife made me smoke for people that didn't want game meat. It was her side of the family (I married a city girl). It sounds like a lot of work but the sous vide made it a breeze since I never had to worry about overcooking the meat. I didn't even have to watch it. The best part was all of these city folk demolished the game. My prime rib came out excellent, but it was the only thing left after dinner.

I have a hog hunt at the end of the month. Next thing i'm going to try and sous vide is a whole hog. If I can snag one small enough.