Ive had nine years experience with sous vide, having bought in after reading Modernist Cuisine. That experience has resulted in a list of times and temps for meat and poultry that are very reliable ( “bomb proof”). Albeit with just one trial, my numbers won’t work in the APO. The oven air is not as steady as a water immersion. Temp and time will not yield reliable results. Don’t dispair. Bomb proof results in the APO require using the probe. Just set it to desired temp and cook to that number. Forget about time.
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This has been my experience.
Using the oven is different. If you embrace the difference I think it’s a positive experience.
I’m finding I want to set the oven temp about 5-10% higher than probe temp if I am cooking something that would not suffer if it ended up at the oven temp vs probe temp. Also, If it didn’t need long hold temps for texture conversion.
The convenience of being able to open the door and stick the thing with a thermopen is almost totally worth it.
I agree.
Also, I confirmed with a Thermapen that the APO probe is accurate.
BTW, if you want to stick a Thermapen into a product inside a sous vide vacuum bag without losing vacuum, 3M has a tape for that!
Cole mentioned on the FB page that circulator times and temperatures should work in the APO without having to use the probe. I’m curious that you haven’t found this to be the case. Are you using 100% steam or no steam with your SV cooks in the oven?
Yea, but I hate doing it and I want to feel free to jab and poke without having to tape. I also double bag for larger items.
Well, more testing would need to be done to prove one way or another. That’s time consuming.
The interesting thing about sous vide now that it’s mainstream is that you have some people hyper focused on the temp and precision and you have some people wanting convenience and decent food to feed a family. I think you can use typical temps as a guide and you aren’t going to be far off with the oven. I mean accept for things that are boardering on food safety temps you are going to be ok.
I’m also guessing the early adopters are also owners of some circulator and have experience enough the make logical choices.
Might be close for a majority of things where you don’t have highly temp sensitive products.
If you also have a circulator I think you can make logical choices. I’d do salmon at 115F in the bath and probably could not bother in the oven. Liquid has better thermal transfer and I have choices. I just did 8lb of pork loin in the oven and that was convenient. I let it go and only pulled it when I was ready between meetings. Very forgiving. Many many sous vide recipes aren’t pushing a temp time envelope. I’m sure these are fine.
Great points! Thanks for your input!!! Really appreciate it.
Could be, not enough data . . .
I too have been useing sous vide tools for the last 9 years. I have also been useing commercial combi ovens for about that same time. Useing a steam oven for sous vide requires a different (higher) temperature. Steam is a good conductor of heat but not as good as water. even at 100% steam. This has been my experience using many, many brands of ovens, but I would love to hear from other chefs if you have a different experience.
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Agreed Mike, so for guidance or in search of a general rule, what should be the oven temp bump, in percentage, over the probe setting? Commentators and recipe writers—me too—suggest 5%, nobody over 10%. Can’t go too high or we’re baking . . .
If you want to hit temp and pull I’d say you can go over, but how far over is going to depend on the food. How thick and what it is…