SOUS SPEED: Sous Vide But 4X Faster

Presenter / Channel

• The subtitles reference ChefSteps/Jewel and Dr. Douglas Baldwin (and Kevin Konoff) in the context of sous vide “Turbo” research and development.

Cooking Concept: “Sous Speed” (Sous Vide 2.0 / Turbo)

• No specific recipe is provided (the video uses steaks as the example).
• The focus is on speeding up sous vide while minimizing overcooking.

Key Equipment (Explicitly Mentioned)

• Sous vide circulator
• Water bath container
• Thermometer (for surface/core checks; a “wireless predictive thermometer” is also mentioned)
  • 8 temperature sensors are claimed for measuring core and surface temperatures
• Ice (for quenching / preventing overshoot when bath temperature drops)
• Sealer / sealing method (implied; food is sealed for cooking—especially when using the predictive thermometer)
• Searing pan / setup (to sear after sous vide)

Technique Overview (Step-by-Step with Timing/Temperature Cues)

A) “Sous Vide 1.0” Baseline (Why It’s Slow)

1. Choose target doneness temperature
2. Heat the water bath to that temperature using the circulator
3. Drop sealed food into the bath and cook until the food equilibrates to the bath temperature
4. Sear and serve once done

Why it takes time (physics/timing cues):

• The final few degrees can take a large portion of total time: up to ~60% of cooking time.
• For an ~1.5 inch steak, it can take more than 2 hours to reach bath temperature (equilibration).

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B) “Sous Speed / Sous Vide 2.0” Idea (Spike Then Drop)

Goal: reduce heating time by turning the bath up, then lowering it before overcooking.

Method 1: “Turbo” Algorithm Approach (Jewel Turbo Circulator)

1. Provide inputs to the app:
   • Food type
   • Thickness
   • Weight
2. Turbo then models heat transfer, factoring in elements such as:
   • surrounding water
   • environment heat loss
   • container type/material
3. It simulates many heating scenarios to choose the fastest safe schedule
4. Example outcome shown:
   • Two identical 1.5-inch steaks
   • Conventional sous vide: ~120 minutes
   • Turbo sous vide: ~53 minutes to reach preferred doneness

Chef tip (from context): it works by starting hot and then ending at the selected doneness—described as “spike then cut power / let bath drop.”

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Method 2: DIY Thermometer-Driven Approach (Works with Any Circulator)

1. Set the bath hotter than the target doneness at the start
   • Example context: target doneness ~130°F
   • Start bath at ~150°F (about 20°F hotter)
2. Monitor surface temperature periodically
   • Use a thermometer to check the surface
   • Keep the surface ~5°F hotter than target doneness
3. Drop bath temperature a couple degrees above the target
4. Quench with ice to prevent overshoot
5. Finish through the core
   • Check core temperature by poking the core with the thermometer periodically
6. Remove, sear, and serve

Important cues from the subtitles:

• Let the surface run hotter briefly without “defeating” sous vide:
  • Even if the surface is hotter, the core is still below the desired doneness temperature.
  • Since you’ll sear later, extra surface gradient is expected and not a problem.
• The main challenge is knowing when the core is up to temperature:
  • Turbo uses modeling; DIY relies on repeated temperature checks.

Example time result:

• For the 1.5-inch steak, this thermometer-driven method is described as under 30 minutes rather than 120 minutes (the subtitles claim “twice as fast as duel turbo and four times faster than conventional,” relative to earlier comparisons).

Plating / Serving Notes

After sous vide completes:

1. Pull steak
2. Sear
3. Enjoy / serve

The video emphasizes:

• The look and taste are “delicious”
• Overcooking under the surface is described as minimal, comparable to what you’d expect from searing alone.

Chef Tips / Practical Recommendations (Explicitly Stated)

• Time things carefully when using fast methods (the general concept mentions carryover cooking).
• For restaurant workflow:
  • Use two baths:
    • a heating bath
    • a holding bath
  • Transfer food when the surface reaches temperature
• For home:
  • Use a wireless predictive thermometer to monitor surface + core simultaneously
  • The device is described as having eight sensors

Variations Discussed (Concise)

• Jewel Turbo / algorithmic “sous speed”
  • Requires app inputs (food type, thickness, weight)
  • Uses modeling to spike then drop automatically
• Thermometer-based “sous speed” (DIY sous 2.0)
  • Set bath hotter (example: 150°F)
  • Monitor surface (~5°F above target), then drop and ice quench
  • Finish when core reaches target
• Two-bath restaurant method
  • Heating bath → holding bath transfer when surface temperature comes up

References Cited in Subtitles

• ChefSteps / Jewel (Jewel Turbo circulator; “brevel the new owners of Chef steps and Jewel” mentioned)
• Dr. Douglas Baldwin and Kevin Konoff (credited with computing/modeling the math)
• Mentions modernist cuisine and an anecdote from The Fat Duck (raising bath temperature to shorten cooking times)