I've been a fan of Chefsteps videos for a while now. Last year my wife ordered the Joule. Chefsteps' sous vide device. It was a crowd funded thing so after many setbacks and my Christmas present turning into a birthday present and then an anniversary present...it arrived yesterday! It's my first endeavor into sous vide so I can't compare it to any of the other products out there but figured I'd brag on my much belated Christmas present!

If you haven't heard of Chefsteps check out their youtube channel or their website. Most of their stuff is way out of my league but It's fun to try the things I'm equipped to do.

Info on the Joule below.
https://www.chefsteps.com/joule

I've got salmon cooking now and will update with pics later. The gadget is fun to play with. I turned it on while sitting on a stoplight on my way home. Fun stuff!

Let us know what you think. I'm going to get an immersion circulator on Black Friday. Either an Anova or the Joule.

Congrats!

It's been amazing to see how competitive this market segment has become. I just looked on Amazon and there are a couple of new brands I've never heard of going for as low as $99.

The design of the joule looks interesting. It looks like you're just using the magnetic base for support. How solid is that? I would worry about knocking it over.

Not sure what I think about the control being all via app. I've never gotten around to getting the app for my Anova... probably because I still mostly use my first generation Nomiku.

Van Buren Boy said:

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Let us know what you think. I'm going to get an immersion circulator on Black Friday. Either an Anova or the Joule.

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You are going to be hard pressed to beat the $139 deal ANOVA had on the Bluetooth version last week.

I got our Bluetooth Anova on their Mother's Day sale for $129.

The magnetic base it stout. That stockpot I use is a heavy sob and I can pick it up using the joule magnetic base.

Yesterday I made fried chicken. Threw some pickle juice in the bag for the sous vide bath. Breaded it with the recipe they used plus some extra cayenne and a dash of msg for grins.

https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/can-t-f-it-up-fried-chicken

Looks like it has a clip on the side to use in a plastic cambro. Is that right?

Correct, there's a clip if you wanted to use it on a plastic or non-magnetic pot.

Nice.

My joule should be arriving soon...just shipped.

First efforts look great.

Awesome! Hope you dig it as much as I do! Last night I did fajitas. Loin flap from Costco+coscaggies recipe from the Papasitos fajita thread for 2 hours at 136 then a sear in the cast iron. No time to marinade so I just threw it in the bag during the cook. Dang good for apartment fajitas with no grill!

got mine the beginning of last week. I did some ribeyes last night, they came out pretty great. I need to get my cast iron skillet back in cooking condition to get a great crust. I did it on a non-stick pan with butter last night and it was still pretty tasty.

One of you try this from Serious Eats.

Sous Vide Bacon

I like that you can just put the packet of bacon in there unopened.

Chefsteps has a bacon video too.

The sous vide bacon works VERY well. I was skeptical going in, but it was low cost tryout. You Really need the thickest cut bacon you can find.

How are you liking the Joule? Mine just arrived but I haven't had a chance to use it yet due to house remodel- hoping to be moved in in 2 weeks. Thinking of giving their turkey recipes a go for Thanksgiving.

OaklandAg06 said:

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How are you liking the Joule? Mine just arrived but I haven't had a chance to use it yet due to house remodel- hoping to be moved in in 2 weeks. Thinking of giving their turkey recipes a go for Thanksgiving.

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I like it a lot. I'm actually planning to sous vide the turkey this year.

schmendeler said:

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I like that you can just put the packet of bacon in there unopened.

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The comments note that the packaging might not be safe when heated, if you worry about that kind of thing.

I have no idea if the plastic chemicals that might leach out are actually more dangerous than the bacon itself.

I've been a big fan so far! I have no frame of reference on any other devices but so far the joule is awesome.

Few weeks ago we had a funeral at 6 pm in Pearland. I loaded up the pot with ice and threw in my chicken thighs and made the 45 min drive to Pearland from Katy. Funeral went long but I was able to monitor the temp of the pot the entire time, never got above 36 degrees. Turned the joule on before the drive home and watch it make temp. Got home, seared the skin in about 5 mins and was still in bed by 9.

I'll be doing the turkey with Joule once I make it to Amarillo at my mom's request. I'll be sure to take pics and post them here!

rilloaggie said:

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I've been a big fan so far! I have no frame of reference on any other devices but so far the joule is awesome.

Few weeks ago we had a funeral at 6 pm in Pearland. I loaded up the pot with ice and threw in my chicken thighs and made the 45 min drive to Pearland from Katy. Funeral went long but I was able to monitor the temp of the pot the entire time, never got above 36 degrees. Turned the joule on before the drive home and watch it make temp. Got home, seared the skin in about 5 mins and was still in bed by 9.

I'll be doing the turkey with Joule once I make it to Amarillo at my mom's request. I'll be sure to take pics and post them here!

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That is the coolest use of a sous vide app I've heard.

I used chefsteps' recipe for sous vide turkey and I think it turned out pretty awesome. This is the first time I've had white meat so moist that I preferred it over the dark meat.





Loving the sous vide life.

I made confit turkey legs and used their recipe for roasting the crown- turned out fantastic. The legs were unlike anything my guests or I had ever had, and the white meat was super tender and moist even though it wasn't sous vide. Also made the ChefSteps pecan pie- was outstanding. If I can figure out how to I will post some pictures.

This is normally $249 but now it's 89.99...

Gourmia GSV130 (Amazon)


worth it?

looks like it's been in that general price range for a while now. Can't see where it was ever $250.

Not Bluetooth and a lot of people have complained about display problems.

Figured it was time for another update. I ended up doing the Thanksgiving turkey with the Joule almost out of necessity. The grandma is going blind and managed to buy only the turkey breasts. I was bummed because I prefer dark meat all the way. We cooked the breast for 18 hours and seared in a skillet. They turned out great. very moist and tasty.



Next challenge is a chuck steak. 2lb steak at 136 degrees for 24 hrs. Finish on a ripping hot grill. Will update with pics tomorrow evening!

Did a tri-tip this week. Pretty good!

superunknown said:

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This is normally $249 but now it's 89.99...

Gourmia GSV130 (Amazon)


worth it?

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Sweethome included it in their round up where they recommended the Anova and the Joule

Quote:

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We tested the Gourmia GSV130 Digital Sous Vide Pod based heavily on its low price and strong Amazon ranking. The design is very similar to that of the Anova Precision Cooker, from its stick shape to the scroll wheel for setting the time and temperature. Oddly, despite promises of "precision temperature settings within +/- 0.01," it allowed only 2-degree increments in Fahrenheit (when set to Celsius, it can be adjusted by a single degree). We confirmed this is expected operation with the company. Additionally, there's no alarm on the unit to let you know when it reaches the desired temperature, and it's nowhere near as container agnostic as the Anova. There are also enough reports on Amazon of units dying that the low price isn't enough to save it.

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Of course, a 1 degree increment in C isn't better than a 2 degree increment in F, so there's nothing odd there.

I'm not sure I would consider their problems to be disqualifying except maybe the reliability one... but it's not clear to me whether Amazon reviews are accurate measures of reliability.

Edit to add: I hadn't really appreciated how much smaller the Joule is than the others. I like that. While I can't justify getting a third circulator for myself, I think the Joule might be the best option for Xmas/wedding presents in the future.

I like this site's "will it sous vide" experiments:

http://skillet.lifehacker.com/

prisschris said:

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I like this site's "will it sous vide" experiments:

http://skillet.lifehacker.com/

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Wow... they did Hot Pockets

I've been thinking about a sous vide circulator for myself for Christmas, and came across the Kitchen Gizmo that is apparently $80 with coupon code. I has nearly flawless reviews on Amazon, though the sample size is small.

Bluetooth/wifi seems like a pretty unnecessary gimmick to me for something that cooks over hours/days, but is there anything else you experienced sous vide-ers recommend looking for in a budget circulator? Any thoughts on this one in particular?

I really like the wifi capability. the other night I had my wife fill a pot with water and put the joule in and plug it in and I was able to turn it on and set the temp while I was making my way home.

I agree. I would personally prefer a manual setting on my device than having to worry about connecting via bluetooth/wifi, then using an app. I'd much rather just turn a nob or push an up/down arrow to get it to the temp and time I want.