do you love science and food like i do? well then you should check out molecular gastronomy. ^-^
you can make the coolest combinations of flavors and make your food look really cool. its all done with natural ingredients and scientific processes. it may sound alien but if you have ever wipped cream, made jello, or worked very hard to find the right time and temperature to cook something youve already done molecular gastronomy.
its not expensive...gelatin is like 50 cents a box. and alot of it doesnt cost anything it about technique.
for instance you can pay a lot of money for a sous vide machine or you can understand the principal and make it with only an ice chest and a zip lock bag.
the point is its as expensive as you are lazy. the more effort and creativity you put into it the less it has to cost.
as to it being silly well thats a matter of opinion so i cant really argue with that.
have you even tried sous vide steak? i get what your saying with the more eccentric approaches but not a top chief on earth will tell you sous vide isnt better than regular steak.
well thats the point the is more to it than just spherefication.
give it a shot. you already do it anyways.
you could try the hyper injection method and curing to make some amazing jerky with it.