Sous Vide Creme Brulee

This is another recipe in the Joule app that I tried a few weekends ago.  ChefSteps has several dessert recipes in the app that I'd been wanting to try.  Every time I'd thought about it, I'd find that I didn't have enough eggs.  Eventually, I remembered to order extra so there would be enough for this and our regular eating.

Crème Brulee right out of the sous vide

Like all the other sous vide recipes on the Joule app, this one was straight forward and easy to follow.  It makes enough for 5 servings in 8 ounce mason jars.  I did have to break out my cooler to have room to accommodate the jars and the Joule.  The total cook time was 1 hour.  The cook time is 1 hour but they give you three temperature options to get the custard texture you want.  I went with the 181F cook to get a little thicker custard.  This was the middle option.



                           

                       Two jars of Crème Brulee ready to be torched

The only problem I ran into was the next night when we wanted to eat some.  Sadly, I didn't have a culinary torch yet.  Of course, I've never needed one before.  The main problem, was that while I do have a propane torch, and it will work, it was almost out of fuel so I couldn't get the sugar to melt and darken like it should.  It did melt and make the nice crunchy crust it is supposed to have though. Now, Uncle T is on the search for a culinary torch.

The first two to be torched.  You can tell where the torch ran out of fuel.

The flavor of this crème brulee is quite good and we were well pleased.  Using small mason jars may not be as elegant as using a ramekin but using the jars and cooking sous vide is lots simpler and neater than trying to get ramekins in a water bath in and out of the oven without making a mess.


Uncle T ended up getting a good torch.  I got a nifty little butane torch from the dreaded Wal-Mart in the plumbing department.  Price wise it was a tad less than the culinary torches sold on Amazon but they all work the same.  Mine is red and the ones sold as culinary torches I saw online were all black.  I don't care about the color of something like this just the functionality.  Since it came from the plumbing department and cost less, I won't feel bad or worry about using it for home maintenance work.

Two done with a new butane torch

So, once again the Joule and the recipes in the app have proven to be winners.  If you've not yet gotten into the world of sous vide cookery then I urge you to do so.  Besides the constantly expanding list of recipes on the app there are many sous vide recipes online to help you do your own thing.  Give it a try, I think you'll be quite pleased.

Uncle T