Actually, this is a gadget that is much more than a gadget and I have been using it for almost a year with splendid results. It's an immersion circulator that makes it possible to do sous vide cooking at home. Sous vide is a French term meaning "under pressure" or "under vacuum." Food is placed in vacuum sealed packages and cooked at a constant temperature in water that is heated by an the circulator. After it is cooked, it can be refrigerated for later use or finished for serving. This technique was used previously by restaurants and caterers for large batch cooking were prepping before service was essential. Now, the technique is available to home cooks and I think it is a terrific tool.
I have had an immersion circulator before, but it was so large and bulky and required such a large pot to cook in that I almost never used it. Joule changed all that. Joule is a small device that clips to the side of any pot and it makes sous vide cooking not only possible, but pleasurable. Joule was developed and is marketed by ChefSteps,Inc and their web site has any number of recipes for using Joule. You run the tool with your I-Phone or I-Pad; so, a wireless connection is a must.
I have used it to cook amazing salmon; the texture is beautifully silky. It makes a perfect medium-rare steak. I have even cooked the Thanksgiving turkey with it. This is set and forget it cooking with spectacular results.
To get started I recommend two books for your library: Beginning Sous Vide by Jason Logsdon and Sous-Vide at Home by Lisa Q. Fetterman.
We always want to eat well, but I don't always want to spend a lot of time cooking. This very nifty tool lets me achieve both goals which on the face of it are contradictory. So, treat yourself to a Joule and have fun in the kitchen.
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