In 2018, there’s nothing novel about food nerds, like J. Kenji López-Alt, singing the praises of sous-vide machines and immersion circulators. Sous-vide cooking is arguably the easiest way to make sure meat is properly cooked every single time, from perfectly medium-rare steaks to reliably tender, never rubbery pork chops. That accuracy and consistency are why these gadgets have been used in fancy, professional kitchens for years; in fact, back in 2005, Thomas Keller shared a recipe with us for turkey breast “cuit sous vide” that he served at Per Se.
What’s new, then, isn’t the existence of these mightily effective kitchen tools, but the accessibility of these wandlike sous-vide machines to home cooks. It’s Moore’s law: Wait long enough, and eventually every technology — even the stuff in the kitchen — becomes smaller, easier to use, and perhaps most importantly, cheaper. And for Amazon Prime Day, one of our favorite sous-vide machines, the ChefSteps Joule, is also cheaper than ever before.
Grub Street editor Alan Sytsma tested two sous-vide machines last year, the ChefSteps Joule came out on top. “It’s a lot smaller and sleeker” than the other readily available option, he explains, adding, “and the app — you gotta use an app to control this, which I know is like the height of food-nerdy, but is also worth it, in my recently converted opinion — is filled with very solid recipes and videos that show you how to do everything.” For Prime Day, this kitchen appliance is the cheapest we’ve ever seen it — just $125 for the all-white Joule, over 25 percent off the list price — making it the perfect entry point to high-end cooking for those who may have been on the fence because of the high price tag (or a great gift for the home cook who has it all).
The Joule with a stainless-steel cap and base is also on sale for $149.
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