Next to my trusted Wagner #9 skillet no other single kitchen tool gets as much use as my ChefSteps Joule. Not even my chef's knife.
I love sous vide cooking for its scientific perfection. I get exactly what I wanted, exactly how I wanted it from everything I cook. Immersing my food items in a bath of precisely heated water allows for exactly the right amount of done-ness, and just the right changes to flavors and texture to make a dish perfect. ChefSteps Joule is a sous vide circulator that makes it possible to use this cooking technique daily.
Joule is small, has the most versatile system for affixing itself to a container I've seen: a magnet. Joule also needs less water than other models I've tried, and is thus fantastic for a single dad preparing food for one and a half folks. During the Great Drought I felt horrible about using 3-4 gallons of water to sous vide some steaks or a tri-tip, now I can get it done in 1 1/2 gallons or so in a French oven.
Joule is managed via an iPhone or Android app. It connects via both bluetooth and wifi, and has no read-out, dials or controls beyond a button for turning it on or off. The Joule app also has a wonderful library of ChefSteps recipes and guides for cooking with the unit, but is simple to just override and use however you want.
The new Joule comes with a white button, and white magentic base, instead of the stainless steel of the OG model. Both Joules operate identically, the use of a less expensive material allows the ChefSteps folks to pass the savings on to you.
I used to make fun of a friend for floating his dinner in a pool of warm water, now it is one of my most trusted cooking techniques.
ChefSteps CS20001 Joule Sous Vide, White via Amazon
Previously on Boing Boing:
Joule turns sous vide from an experiment into an everyday cooking technique
