I’m dabbling in low-tech sous-vide. Not only I did not research the preparation thoroughly, I didn’t at all, other than whatever I remembered months ago, and using some instructions from SE:
I was basically asleep when I set stuff up, and missed the prerequisite(?) brining, the spice rub had to be changed (I used paprika), there were problems with temperature control in the beginning, overshooting and then dropping a touch too low while sleeping.
Don’t have a vac sealer, and resorted to a ziploc bag immersed in a water bath (the comments on the SE video are hilarious - people preoccupied with water being wasted, when cooking meat wrapped in plastic, seriously?).
Water was very little compared to what I’ve seen recommended elsewhere (8 liters?! whoa), nevertheless I was able to hit a remarkably stable 69 C, only a one degree difference from the SE mandated temperature.
Given the teething problems (I should’ve pre-heated water!) I’m going to play it safe and extend the already long cooking time (36h), ex post research suggests it should be fine either way.
If the results are interesting, I may try lo-tech sous-vide again, perhaps with a lower temperature (55-60 is recommended for tough beef cuts, though there is ample variation, up to 80 even), oven accuracy permitting.
IIRC the consensus is ovens don’t go that low, but I’m getting 69 with the dial set to just above 80, so maybe dropping it 10 degrees or so isn’t outside the domain of possibility.
With all the time it’s spent in the oven, I sure hope it was worth the wait #fingerscrossed