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Should I Take the Plunge?

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    #16
    For anyone taking the plunge, I highly recommend making one of these cooler setups. The cost is less than what Anova wants for their branded plastic tubs. Plus it's insulated, and with the hole sized correctly for your model of cooker you have, you can run 72 hours and never have worry about the water level. For the 1-2 hour cooks, I just use a stock pot.
    Last edited by willxfmr; July 5, 2021, 02:55 PM.

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    • Troutman
      Troutman commented
      Editing a comment
      Those are great for large roasts and full packers.

    • treesmacker
      treesmacker commented
      Editing a comment
      Yep... I had an extra coleman cooler and I poked a hole in the lid for thanksgiving turkey! Works great - and like willxfmr said - cheaper than many of the available specialty sous vide containers.

    #17
    I have an Anova Precision and am really happy with it. I don’t have the custom container, though. I use my 10qt pressure cooker as it is deep enough to handle a small roast or a couple chops or a bag of wings. I crimp foil over the top to maintain temp. I can see your need to keep the humidity at bay. Go for it! $99 is a great price!

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      #18
      I'm late chiming in on this discussion and I agree with the people encouraging you to take the plunge. I've been using SV for going on three years. I have a Joule.

      Out of all the ways I've used SV (I've tried everything from steak to roasts to chicken to veggies to crème brule), and don't get me wrong, it's a valid way to cook. But if we're talking steak for the immediate family and we're eating it ASAP, there's no advantage to SV from my perspective. It's a hassle to incorporate SV for two steaks we're having for dinner.

      The advantage SV offers is the ability to cook the food and hold it at temp until the party arrives for steak. I've done this many times and I sear up front. I dry brine, let the meat dry out, get a great sear over a chimney, then put it in the SV hours before my party arrives. The meat is then ready and at temp when we decide to slice it. It's a matter of convenience in that wonderfully seared meat is held at medium rare right up until I serve it to my guests.

      I know reverse searing is popular, and I do not fault anyone who reverse sears. I'm just saying there's an advantage to not having to sear after one takes the meat out of the SV.

      Good luck and let us know how it goes!!!

      Comment


      • SheilaAnn
        SheilaAnn commented
        Editing a comment
        Ok….creme brûlée…… do tell!

        And I agree, sous vide is NOT for cooking on the fly. You need to plan!

      • Troutman
        Troutman commented
        Editing a comment
        I pretty much agree with you but there are some things that do shine with SV. I recently posted a QSV cook that pre-seared then SVd a chuck roast. It came out good and perfectly acceptable but no where near as good as doing it in reverse or even QVQ. But again that's a personal preference. It's another tool in the tool box and not that expensive, a great bang for the buck!

      #19
      Anova and Joule are both quality units. I recommend getting a higher wattage one however. You don't put a six cylinder gasser in a semi tractor cuz that extra horse power of a V8 diesel will actually get you to the places you may want to go.
      I have the Joule and have been very happy with it and the customer service is about as good as it gets. I've heard Anova customer service is very good also but can't speak to that from experience.

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        #20
        I love my sous vide. Especially over the last year of working from home its been heavily used since there isnt an issue of getting home at 7pm and having to scramble dinner together.

        places where it shines for me:

        -veggies
        -pork chops
        -Chicken breasts
        -perfect poached eggs when you finally nail it down
        -thicker cut lean steaks like filet mignon or less than ideally marbled chucky
        -lean game meats like venison tenderloin or bison etc

        probably more but those are the things that come to mind

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          #21
          A local store was clearing out the Anova's for half off a few weeks ago but ultimately passed on it.
          Like Mr. Bones I'm not there yet, don't know why I'm not there yet....but I'm not.
          Maybe next time they're on sale.
          ​​​​​​​See what happens.

          Comment


            #22
            Nothing to add other than what's been said. Sounds like you're taking the plunge (no pun intended). It's simply another tool in the tool box. When doing QVQ medium rare cooks its simply indispensable.

            Comment


              #23
              I will chime in - I have the Anova with Wifi, and have probably used the app to cook 3-4 times in 3-4 years of owning it. Most cooks with the Anova I just use the dial to manually set the temperature. I do most of the cooking in a 2 gallon stainless steel stock pot, sitting on the kitchen counter. A few times I had more to cook and grabbed a 5 gallon stock pot that lives on a shelf out in the garage (too big for the kitchen cabinets).

              I guess I am saying that while the app is nice, and wifi is cool in that you can control the temp while out of bluetooth range, odds are that you don't even need the app when using Anova 99.9% of the time. The only times I used the app was when I still worked in an office so that I could leave my food in an "ice bath" when I left for work in the morning, and start the cook mid-day, to be ready for searing when I got home from work.

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                #24
                Yes, take the plunge if you want it.
                There is no cure for MCS, is there?
                Happy Grilling to you and PBR also too.

                Comment


                  #25
                  I'm most definitely in the Sous Vide camp and say without a doubt that if you use it you will love it. I use my Joules at least once or twice a week. The best thing about the Joule is the app because you can just choose a food and the recommended times/temps come up immediately on the app with a video image and description of what your food will look like at that selected time/temp. It's pretty awesome.

                  That said, Joule is now a Breville product and was once from Chef Steps, which is pretty cavalier with its food safety recommendations. That's to say that if I'm trying something totally new, like defrosting or reheating a particular food (both defrosting/reheating can be food safety concerns because of the long ramp up in the danger zone of 40 to 140°) , then I check Doug Baldwin's recommendations instead.

                  I have two Lipavi containers for large cooks. They work great. But as jfmorris says, about 99% of your cooks can be done in a stock pot.

                  Plus you don't need a vacuum sealer. The displacement method works just fine as long as you use sous-vide-ready bags for temps above 158°, at which temp a ziploc bag begins to fail.

                  Kathryn

                  Comment


                  • bbqLuv
                    bbqLuv commented
                    Editing a comment
                    @tzxdoc "temps above 158°, at which temp a ziploc bag begins to fail"---That is good to know. Never even thought of that myself. Thanks
                    Last edited by bbqLuv; July 7, 2021, 06:52 AM.

                  #26
                  Seems like you already bought it, but if you have a Costco membership, they have a nice package that includes the Precision Cooker (1000W) and the 16L container w/ rack for $199. It goes on sale for $149 every now and again.

                  Anova Sous Vide Precision Cooker Kit

                  Comment


                  • Jim White
                    Jim White commented
                    Editing a comment
                    Thanks. Yes, I did order the Nano and the 12 L. I had remembered there was a recent mention of the Costco deal, but we don't have one in my area.

                  #27
                  Jim White looking forward to your first SV cook!

                  Comment


                    #28
                    Jump on in the waters 125.5 fine!

                    Comment


                      #29
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                      It is always fun to have another tool in your arsenal. Just sayin', noooom sayin'

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                        #30
                        It's here! Yay!

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                        And on my trip to the UF meat store this morning, I picked up some great-looking beef short ribs. It will be a few days before I get to them, so they're freezing right now, but this will be fun. Suggestions on which recipe to try first are appreciated.

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                        • klflowers
                          klflowers commented
                          Editing a comment
                          Congrats!!! I haven’t done short ribs yet, but I use a lot of Serious Eats recipes.

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