Wallie sent me a PM as below asking about the Sous Vide Supreme, which I have had for a few months. I thought I'd answer via the forum for the benefit of anyone else.
"Hi Jaunty
I have been debating on the Sous Vide Supreme and would appreicate your comments on it.
I have been using a large rice cooker adapted for sous vide but the temperature is controlled by a seperate machine, and there is a seperate sensor which you drop in the bath.
It controls the water temperature pretty good with maybe a 2C variation.
But what I like about the supreme is everything is built in, also from what I can gather there is not much deviation in the water temperature.
So what do you think Jaunty, worth the money?
I have seen it in my local John Lewis for £349.
Regards
wallie"
To cook sous vide you need a vacuum sealer. I had a decent vacuum sealer already (a Tre Spade Takaje, which is great) so I did not need to worry about that as a cost. The Sous Vide Supreme when first launched in UK was c £450 direct but John Lewis do it for £349 which I bought it for. I had never cooked sous vide before, either with a rice cooker or any other way, but was keen to give it a go. I use it to cook things about twice a week, and enjoy playing around with it. I still love doing a slow cooked braise/stew as you get that amazing gravy automagically that you do not get with sous vide but I have had some great "hits" along with a few "misses". Some of the things I have done and my recollection of them [I must start writing everything down, I will start another thread about online recipe storage!]
Steaks - a really fat quality thick steak like ribeye or sirloin or a t-bone done sous vide then finished to crisp up is good, but not worth the effort for me really compared to one just seasoned and done on a smoking hot griddle or BBQ. I do not mind the outside being more done than the middle and am pretty good at consistently cooking a steak how we want them. A ribeye then I really want to crisp that fat up. If it is really thick, I do on the BBQ with a combination of direct/in-direct to cook through without overcooking. HOWEVER - I have not done skirt and flank/hangar steaks yet and reckon that these cheaper cuts done low & slow sous vide then finished on the griddle will be really really good.
Eggs - sous vide eggs have a lot written about them. The whites always seem a bit snotty to me, but the yolks are lovely. I would poach an egg before sous vide-ing one, but do sous vide the yolks
Chicken - easy to accurately cook and not over cook, texture can be a little over smooth (??) but nice and easy to cook a large batch well
Sausages - great, sous vide then grill fry or chill and freeze. Keeps all the taste in and no chance of bursting
Joints - great. Beef rib and topside done 48 hours at 53º fantastic. Topside joint comes out with a soft texture more like fillet and tastes fantastic. Pork, ham, salt beef is great too. You can cook these larger joints perfectly and no babysitting is needed.
Pork Ribs - Amazing, a real highlight so far. 57º for 72 hours, done with a simple dry rub.
Things to try - fish and veg. I can't wait to use this for thick cuts of fish which can be difficult to get perfect overtime. Veg is supposed to be good too.
Conclusion - I am glad I got it. It is very easy to use, with a temperature and a timer setting. I just use the temp setting as it does not matter if it cooks longer but I would not want it to turn off while I am out and food slowly cool down still in the bag. I could not be bothered to faff around with a pot of water and ice cubes or a rice cooker and PID. The construction could be a bit better, given the cost (the plastic gasket seal around the metal has "warped" a little. John Lewis sent me another but it looked the same). Our first microwave cost a lot more years ago, I have more fun with this than the microwave , and have lots of things I want to try out. Hope this helps, Sean.