New sous vide tool

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

medtran49

Master Chef
Joined
Feb 20, 2011
Messages
5,926
Location
Florida
For those of you who are interested in sous vide but didn't have the room for a whole set up, but have $200 burning a hole in your pocket, Sur La Table just introduced a new product. It's about the size of an immersion blender and fits into your existing cookware. It has a hook and a magnetic bottom so can be used in regular pans or induction-ready pans. It's operated from an app, using any Android, iOS, or Amazon Alexa device.

They also have another one for the same price that has manual controls.

I have no idea whether these are actually any good or not, just got an e-mail this morning featuring the remote-controlled one.
 
I've seen the Anova on sale from time to time at $100 or less (Target, Best Buy, etc.). The need for a food saver in addition to the precision heater is an obstacle for me.
 
I've seen the Anova on sale from time to time at $100 or less (Target, Best Buy, etc.). The need for a food saver in addition to the precision heater is an obstacle for me.

If you read the articles on Seriouseats.com (the one I linked and others), they suggest you can use regular ziplock bags and use the water immersion method to expel air so you can seal the bag.

Also, consider visiting a thrift store ( Morgan Memorial or Salvation Army, etc.) I bought a basic Food Saver machine for $2.00.
 
I have the Anova sous vide circulator. It was just under 200 bucks. I love it. You can get it at Amazon. ChefSteps sells the Joule circulator, which looks very similar.

The nice thing about these units, besides the affordability, is that you can use them in any container. I use my Anova in a stock pot. So, you don't have to buy any other stuff, or store any other containers. If you already have a stock pot, you can use that. If you don't have one, you can use a five gallon bucket from Home Depot.

CD
 
Sous vide

Just got one of these gadgets for a birthday present from my daughter. They cooked filet mignon for us and they browned those up on the stove top before serving. Perfect medium rare, tender and delicious. I can see where this is going to be very handy for certain things. Salmon tonight and then I plan to try a chuck roast with a long 15-20 hour in the tank. They say this will make the chuck roast very tender. Totally new way of cooking for me and I am looking forward to seeing what it can do.
 
BTW, yes, you can use regular zip-lock bags. You judt put the food into the bag, and submerge it almost to the top in your water. The water pushes most of the air out - more than enough for the sous vide to work.

I use a Foodsaver bag, but I also use the Foodsaver for freezing food, so it is a multi-tasker that gets a lot of use.

CD
 
Sous vide

That's the method I used tonight (Zip Lock bag). But I also ordered a vacuum sealer. Should have done this years ago. My wife and I try to stock up on meat when it is on sale. I usually wrap it in plastic wrap and then put the wrapped pieces in a Zip Lock bag for freezing. This actually works very well for reducing freezer burn, but I think the vacuum seal system will be better. So the sous vide gift was an excuse to order the vacuum seal system. It was only $45- I've been thinking about getting one for years- don't know what I was thinking.
 
That's the method I used tonight (Zip Lock bag). But I also ordered a vacuum sealer. Should have done this years ago. My wife and I try to stock up on meat when it is on sale. I usually wrap it in plastic wrap and then put the wrapped pieces in a Zip Lock bag for freezing. This actually works very well for reducing freezer burn, but I think the vacuum seal system will be better. So the sous vide gift was an excuse to order the vacuum seal system. It was only $45- I've been thinking about getting one for years- don't know what I was thinking.

Oh yes, the vacuum sealer is WAY better at stopping freezer burn. I can freeze meat for well over six months, and not have ANY freezer burn, or any other deterioration of the meat. No air, no burn.

Buy your bags online. And, get on the Foodsaver email list, so you know when bags are on sale. Also, you don't have to use Foodsaver brand bags. There are other "Foodsaver compatible" bags available. I watch for the bags to go on sale, and buy a bunch at a time.

Any way you look at it, I save more buying meats in bulk or on sale, than what it costs me for bags. The sous vide thing is a bonus.


CD
 
Last edited:
This unit is from the Instant Pot company...
attachment.php
Is it just me, or do these things look like the stick from a standard transmission car...:ermm: I guess I miss a stick-shift?
 
Not that I'll ever own one, but I am a firm believer that no sports car should be sold with a manual. If you want to drive one of those, suck it up and learn to drive a stick. I'm the weird lady who peers into parked sports cars, checking to see if it's manual or standard. Once, when my SIL and I were out together, I got caught by the owner as I was checking out a convertible that was top-down. He used the remote to unlock the doors (yup, top down and doors locked...which probably secured the entire system) and I jumped back a foot or two! :LOL: He was funny and gracious...and, yes, it was a standard. ;)
 
Not that I'll ever own one, but I am a firm believer that no sports car should be sold with a manual. If you want to drive one of those, suck it up and learn to drive a stick. I'm the weird lady who peers into parked sports cars, checking to see if it's manual or standard. Once, when my SIL and I were out together, I got caught by the owner as I was checking out a convertible that was top-down. He used the remote to unlock the doors (yup, top down and doors locked...which probably secured the entire system) and I jumped back a foot or two! :LOL: He was funny and gracious...and, yes, it was a standard. ;)

CG, I'm a little confused by your transmission terminology.

I grew up when standard transmission and manual transmission meant the same thing because the manual transmission was standard equipment and the automatic was extra.

I've driven more miles shifting for myself than automatically and don't feel I have anything to prove. If someone wants to give me a brand new sports car with an automatic transmission, you won't see me turning up my nose and walking away.
 
Ah, that first transmission mention should have been "automatic"! *facepalm" I guess that was a 3 AM brain burp.

To me, automatic and sports car are like oil and wine. If I were given one, I would take it, too, but I might try to swap it out for a manual. I'm not trying to prove anything, just trying to look sporty. ? And they are still fun to drive to me.
 
But even the most exotic sports cars I see around here are auto trans. I'd hate to be sitting in bumper to bumper traffic here in L.A. with a standard trans. I've done it in my pickup.
OTOH, I'm sure most motor enthusiasts wouldn't mind driving nothing but standard trans in their high performance vehicles in 2-hour bumper to bumper freeway traffic here.
 
Last edited:
But even the most exotic sports cars I see around here are auto trans. I'd hate to be sitting in bumper to bumper traffic here in L.A. with a standard trans. I've done it in my pickup.
OTOH, I'm sure most motor enthusiasts wouldn't mind driving nothing but standard trans in their high performance vehicles in 2-hour bumper to bumper freeway traffic here.

The rules are changing. Automatic transmissions are very different from those of our childhood. They have manual shifting options and steering wheel mounted shifters. Performance numbers are equivalent to manual.
 
For a while I was considering getting a sous vide to keep my vat of milk/whey/curds warm, heat them slowly, while moving the liquids around. Then, duh, it occurred to me that if I tried that, the curds would get sucked into it and at some point probably clog it up and well, that won't do. So I haven't really, YET, found a reason to get one.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom