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We upgraded our Instant Pot to one of the newer, fancier models which also happens to have a sous vide function. It is the 6 quart Duo Evo Plus. Decided to run a test to see if this function is useful, wondering if it might even replace my Anova stick.
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I set the temp to 130F and let it preheat. At the end of the preheat phase I Thermapenned it at only 122F. Hmmm. Let it run another 30 minutes and temped it again. Still about 4 degrees low. I rate this a fail and potentially downright dangerous. I’ll be sticking with my stick.
My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:
SnS, DnG, andLarge Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron Griddle
Grill Grate for SnS
Grill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:
Extreme BBQ Thermometer Package
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:
Thermapen MK4 (pink)
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:
8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
While I get the point of people like Alton Brown about unitaskers, I really do like purpose built tools for some things and sous vide is one. It might just be by contrary nature, too, but the Instant Pot mania sets my teeth on edge. As a pressure cooker? Awesome. All of the other buttons? I have a stove, an oven and pots, pans and knives.
Yep...my Instant Pot is used for pressure cooking. Full stop.
Having the same model as Pequod I’ve yet to use the sous vide function. I like the circulation that my Anova provides...and haven’t felt the need to try the IP for that.
Some unitaskers really are up to their primary task...
Sous Vide sticks have a lot of different applications, though. More like ovens or stove tops, so not unitaskers. Ditto, a pressure cooker. I use my Fast/Slow for pressure cooking only, but I do all sorts of things in it.
By way of comparison, here is my trusty Anova doing what it does best. Spot on.
Agree with others: Instant Pot for pressure, slow cook, even a bit of sauté when done as part of a pressure or slow cook recipe. I have other, better ways for baking (hello Komodo Kamado!), steaming, cooking rice, making yogurt, etc.
Last edited by Pequod; February 1, 2020, 01:48 PM.
My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:
SnS, DnG, andLarge Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron Griddle
Grill Grate for SnS
Grill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:
Extreme BBQ Thermometer Package
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:
Thermapen MK4 (pink)
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:
8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
For long cooks (2+ hrs), a few degrees low can mean having to throw it out as unsafe.
For any SV cook, a few degrees high ruins the meal.
Makes you wonder how many people fire up sous vide units, not just the Instant Pot with Sous Vide capability, without checking the accuracy of the set temperature before first use.
My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:
SnS, DnG, andLarge Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron Griddle
Grill Grate for SnS
Grill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:
Extreme BBQ Thermometer Package
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:
Thermapen MK4 (pink)
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:
8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
I've had some pretty good success using my 6qt. Instant Pot as a slow cooker. It heats up faster than my large Crock Pot and actually is a bit hotter than it on both the high and low settings. I wonder if I just got lucky with that feature. K.
It’s worked well for us as a slow cooker. We’re big fans of Milk Street and are looking forward to their upcoming "Fast & Slow" cookbook which features Instant Pot recipes which can be made either Fast with pressure or Slow using the slow cook function.
Cooking gadgets
Weber Summit Charcoal Grill Center
Weber Summit Platinum D6
Blue Rhino Razor
Dyna-Glo XL Premium Dual Chamber
Camp Chef Somerset IV along with their Artisan Pizza Oven 90
Anova WiFi
Thermometers
Thermapen Mk4 - ThermaQ High Temp Kit - ThermaQ Meathead Kit - ThermaQ WiFi - ThermoWorks IR-GUN-S - ThermoWorks Signals & Billows - ThermoPop -ThermoWorks ProNeedle - ThermoWorks TimeStick Trio x2 - and a Christopher Kimball timer - NO, I do not work for ThermoWorks...I just like their products.
Other useful bits...
KitchenAid 7-qt Pro Line stand mixer
A Black & Decker food processor that I can't seem to murder
A couple of immersion blenders, one a "consumer" model & the other a "high end" Italian thing. Yes, the Italian one is a bit better, but only marginally
Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus 8-qt + accessories like egg-bite & egg holders
All-Clad pots & pans, along with some cast iron...everything from 7" Skookie pans to 8.5qt Dutch ovens
Weber GBS griddle, pizza stone, and wok
Knives range from Mercer to F. Dick to "You spent how much for one knife? One knife?!" LOL
Same...as a slow cooker it seems up to the task...though I’ve honestly never felt the need for a slow cooker. Other than the Duo Evo Plus, I’ve never even owned a slow cooker.
I got it for its fast pressure cooking abilities...for slow I simply use a Dutch Oven.
Bob Hicks, from Mormon Mecca
I’m 79 years young and going as hard as I can for as long as I can.
“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don’t mind.â€
Retired
I am certainly not an expert on this subject, but with sous vide cooking food is brought to a certain temperature and held at that temperature for a period of time. In stove top cooking, the goal is to reach a temperature that will guaranty that bacteria are dead and of no threat to the consumer. Like cooking chicken until it reaches 165*F. What is mostly neglected or possibly ignored is that bacteria can/will be dead at a lower temperature if the lower temperature is reached and held for a prescribed period of time. This process is called pasteurization.
Different meats in different conditions require different times - e.g., ground beef vs whole chicken. The times at any specified temperature will vary based on the type and condition of the meat. I AM NOT recommending that anybody do what I do, but from my research on the subject and looking at the FDA pasteurization charts detailing with temperature vs time, I'm absolutely comfortable with eating sous vide chicken held at 145*F for at least 90 minutes. It is very moist and fork cutting tender. I also do pork steaks at 145*F for 18 to 24 hours and quick sear them in butter after the sous vide cook is done. The meat just falls off the bone like perfect pork ribs and is always moist and Mother love tender.
Here is a link to some discussion of doing chicken sous vide at well under 165*F:Serious Eats
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