How to best use APC in a smallish pot/container?

Hi there,

I have large containers for cooking roasts/big cuts of meat etc but when I’m just cooking a single steak it seems overkill to me to use a 20 litre pot and fill it up to the brim just for that one small item.

Ideally I’d use a smallish (~5 litre) dutch oven which would perfectly fit the APC and my one steak but because the dutch oven isn’t particularly tall, the clamp of the APC doesn’t really grip the APC at the top but only comes to about half-way and touches the metal part of the APC.

Questions:

  1. Is it safe for the APC holder to touch the metal during operation? I’m concerned the metal parts might get too hot for the holder’s plastic material.
  2. Can I/Is it better to use the APC without the holder at all in this situation and just have it free standing? My concern here would be that perhaps the circulator would be too strong and tip over the device.

To better explain the issue, here are two photos of the setup I am trying to use:

Full Setup:

Close up of where the holder is gripping the APC and showing that the bottom of the holder (touching the wall of the pot) would be partially submerged when filled with water:

Would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Thanks!

1 Like

Yep - it’s find for the APC’s skirt to touch the bottom of the pot during its cook! It’s best to have it clipped to the side of the pot, so it remains stable. I use a deep sauce pan for my small cooks and it works fine - it doesn’t tip over. The weight of the water keeps things pretty solid.