Immersion Circulator In Butter

Zac_17700

Can you use any Immersion Circulator in any liquid other than water? I'm looking to do more precise poaching in butter rather than sous vide. I was inspired by TK's book Under Pressure and I want to replicate and play around with butter poaching.

Brandon_Byrd_40557

It's easier and more cost effective to butter poach inside a Ziploc bag or a mason jar or bain marie inside the water bath. I've heard anecdotal reports that they stopped circulating in butter at TFL because their circulators kept breaking. I'm not sure if that's accurate, but it's plausible. Dave Arnold suggests that if you're going to circulate oil or butter, you have to use the Polyscience model with the metal cage. You might also be able to get away with it if you use the "professional" Anova with the metal housing. He suggests stretching cheese cloth over the pump input so that you don't gunk up your circulator and burn out the motor. It's never seemed worth the effort to me; the only place where it makes sense is if you're trying to cook a huge item that won't fit in a vacuum bag -- but as the ChefSteps Giant Pastrami recipe shows, you can always just use trash bags (or another large bag made from food-safe plastic).

Another way to achieve the same effect with minimal headache would be to use a non-circulating bath like the Sous Vide Supreme Demi for this purpose.