Sous Vide at BBB still a good deal!!!

[Greg Who Cooks]

I don't get paid by BBB for this. I'm just enthusiastic.

Sous Vide starter kit includes 11 liter water oven + cook book + vacuum sealer (think Seal-a-Meal) plus some vacuum bags (at least mine had some bags -- you might wanna verify that) for $500 at Bed, Bath & Beyond.

Sign up with BBB's email list and you get a 20% off coupon via email. They give free shipping on items over ... I forgot how much but this qualifies.

$500 - 20% = $400. Probably have to add sales tax. I had mine shipped to my local store free. I doubt you'd ever find a store that actually stocks this item.

It comes so well packed that they could kick it off the UPS/FedEx truck at 40 mph as they pass your house with no harm. In fact I wondered why they packed it so well, but they did.

So with 9% sales tax and free shipping about $436... with the on-line 20% coupon.

I use mine every few weeks. I've never made better steaks. It works great on short ribs of beef too -- 3 days at 160 degrees........ I have yet to explore even a part of its full potential.

Best part: you cook in vacuum sealed pouches. Nothing leaks out. Only water touches the oven. When it cools you pour out the water, sponge the internal surface and dry it with a towel, and it's ready to use next time. A bit of advice, it's stainless steel. To preserve exterior appearance use a cleaner designed for stainless steel appliances.

Anyway I'm glad I got mine. Yes I use it only a couple times a month. It's nice to have there though.

By the way, you can take Trader Joe's cryovac rib-eye steaks right from the store into your Sous Vide, 122F for 4 hours for a perfect bit more rare than medium-rare, and sear it to any doneness you like: perfect steaks at almost no effort. I buy a half dozen steaks at a time and throw most of them i the freezer.

Anyway consider this a product review. It was well worth my $440 or so. Since then I've bought more vacuum bags and continuous rolls of "baggage" and used them for other purposes (sealing stuff before you freeze it). If you don't have a Seal-a-Meal you're missing something. Sous Vide makes a good sealer that comes with the "kit" above.

One thing. Do not lock the sealer when its stored. That flattens the seal and can lead to failure to suck a vacuum. Snap it closed when you are sealing, but leave the jaws loose when you store it.

I'm glad I treated myself to this cooking appliance luxury.

 

[cave76]

I've lusted over one of those for more than a year. But considering I live alone and really don't eat that much meat (and the state of my bank account) I'll just have slather over recipes others give.

 

[Kayelle]

This one is on my wish list. I believe Frank Z has one and it looks perfect to me, without the high cost, or counter footprint.

Anova Sous Vide Immersion Circulators

 

[Roll_Bones]

I also like the idea and would like to try it out. But I am concerned it will just reside downstairs hidden somewhere for the kids to find when I am long gone?

 

[Mad Cook]

I also like the idea and would like to try it out. But I am concerned it will just reside downstairs hidden somewhere for the kids to find when I am long gone?

A man after my own heart. All through these discussions I've been thinking "Emperor's New Clothes".

Why on earth would I want to faff about cooking a steak & veg in one of these gadgets when I can have a steak and a plateful of steamed veg and a jacket potato on the table in 10 minutes including the time it takes to set the table and open the bottle of wine? (OK, I'm probably the only person on earth who prefers her jacket potatoes done in the m/wave - one of the few things I use it for)

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

I have just one thing to say: S L O W cooking time! No, in fact I have two things to say. #2 - cook a steak this way, perhaps a rib eye, 4 hours at 122F, and then just the very quickest sear, and you get a steak that is medium rare (or a bit less) all the way through except for just the surface which is same as cooked on whatever you sear on. No more thin pink line in the middle: big fat pink line instead. The most tender steaks I've ever had!

Note: Cooking time is not critical. 3 hours would work about the same. Also, no need for everybody to have medium rare. You got some folks that want medium or God forbid extra well, you just sear them however long it takes to get the desired degree of doneness.

I cooked the juiciest, fall off the fork short ribs of beef I ever had, 3 days at 140F, and NO shrinkage!

This is a unique cooking appliance but not everybody will want to spend $400 for one. I'm retired and I scrimped and saved my whole life, and I decided that after retirement I was going to treat myself to every nice thing I want, particularly cooking gear.

My Sous Vide sits in a relatively useless corner under a cabinet next to the sink, just perfect for tipping out the water into the sink. The appliance is light weight but not when it contains a couple gallons of water.

 

[Kayelle]

Like many, I'd like to have one but not for $400.00. Although it wouldn't hurt me to pay that price I just wouldn't, when I can have one for half that price. Just me I guess.

 

[FrankZ]

This one is on my wish list. I believe Frank Z has one and it looks perfect to me, without the high cost, or counter footprint.

Anova Sous Vide Immersion Circulators

Yep, that's the ticket for us.


So far we have been pretty happy with it. I use a 16qt stock pot for the cooking vessel, though I have been eyeing some other options.

 

[Roll_Bones]

A man after my own heart. All through these discussions I've been thinking "Emperor's New Clothes".

Why on earth would I want to faff about cooking a steak & veg in one of these gadgets when I can have a steak and a plateful of steamed veg and a jacket potato on the table in 10 minutes including the time it takes to set the table and open the bottle of wine? (OK, I'm probably the only person on earth who prefers her jacket potatoes done in the m/wave - one of the few things I use it for)

I hear you loud and clear.
I also can have a steak ready in no time and have it exactly the way i like it.
But, what seems like a great thing is slow cooking things like short ribs as mentioned above.
I am just so certain it would see less use as time moved along. Once the novelty wore off.
And you need a vacuum sealer which I also do not have. So add another $100 or so dollars to the price of the Sous Vide.
Thats a big price tag for something that would be rarely used.

Now maybe I am completely wrong and it gets used all the time? I don't know? That would be my issue.

 

[Kayelle]

I hear you loud and clear.
I also can have a steak ready in no time and have it exactly the way i like it.
But, what seems like a great thing is slow cooking things like short ribs as mentioned above.
I am just so certain it would see less use as time moved along. Once the novelty wore off.
And you need a vacuum sealer which I also do not have. So add another $100 or so dollars to the price of the Sous Vide.
Thats a big price tag for something that would be rarely used.

Now maybe I am completely wrong and it gets used all the time? I don't know? That would be my issue.

That's my issue too RB. I'm thinking it may be fun and interesting at first but I'm not sure I'm patient enough to bother about waiting so many hours to cook something very often. I enjoy tending a pot for hours (don't like crock pots) but I'm not sure about the inactivity of this kind of cooking in general. I think I'd tire of it very fast, as much as I'd like to try it.
Frank, can I rent yours?

 

[GotGarlic]

Here's a much less expensive option: http://seriouseats.com/2014/05/new-...apest-sous-vide-circulator-on-the-market.html

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

And you need a vacuum sealer which I also do not have. So add another $100 or so dollars to the price of the Sous Vide.
Thats a big price tag for something that would be rarely used.

Now maybe I am completely wrong and it gets used all the time? I don't know? That would be my issue.

First of all, the manufacturer includes a vacuum sealer and an assortment of vacuum bags with the product. I haven't ever owned any other vacuum sealers so I can't compare, but the Sous Vide vacuum sealer is a very nice one! I use it often for purposes unrelated to the water oven.

You must have missed my OP:

If you don't have a Seal-a-Meal you're missing something. Sous Vide makes a good sealer that comes with the "kit" above.

 

[pacanis]

Yep, that's the ticket for us.


So far we have been pretty happy with it. I use a 16qt stock pot for the cooking vessel, though I have been eyeing some other options.

Trash can sous vide?

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

I've read of various methods to achieve sous vide cooking, in a way, by various home made and inexpensive means. I'm happy with my $400 investment.

I hope they used a new trash can......

 

[Kayelle]

Nice link GG!! I suspect as time goes on and the novelty wears off that they will go the way of the pocket calculator.

 

[Silversage]

........ I suspect as time goes on and the novelty wears off that they will go the way of the pocket calculator.

I don't think so. People scoffed at the microwave at first, but now you don't find many kitchens without one. As an example of how ubiquitous they've become, Nathan Myhrvold even addressed microwaves in Modernist Cuisine. As more options for sous vide equipment come available, the prices keep coming down, and people can afford some of the options. More restaurants are utilizing sous vide all the time.

Unlike the OP, I use mine several times a week, not a couple times a month. It's my go-to method for almost any protein, sometimes followed by a quick sear in a hot CI skillet or a hot blast with my Home Depot blow torch. Like most of you, I've been cooking for a very long time, and I make a pretty mean steak by conventional methods. But nothing prepared me for the even perfection of my first sous vide steak! I haven't looked back. I now use it a lot more than I do all conventional methods combined.

Any kind of seafood is a natural for the sous vide method. Never dry or overcooked. No lingering smell of fish cooking for 2 days. I can prepare any kind of fish or shellfish better than anything I can get in a restaurant. Depending on the thickness & the density, 15 to 30 minutes usually does the trick - just long enough to make a salad or side and set the table. I am eating a lot more fish at home since I got my water oven.

I do differ with the OP, however, on the timing. An inch-thick steak takes about an hour, not 4 hours. Most seafood takes only 15-30 minutes. Reserve the long cooking times for tough cuts that need tenderizing. Although the beauty of sous vide is that you can leave it in the water until you're ready (it can't overcook), if you cook it for an excessive amount of time you will start to break down the tissue and it can get mushy.

Temperature is more critical than time in the sous vide process. You can make perfectly tender short ribs, cooked to medium rare. In spite of the long cook time (like a braise), you can still set your preferred temperature.

I belong to another BB where members (including a couple of pros) have been using sous vide equipment and discussing it for about 3 years now. Like me, they are converting almost all of their recipes to sous vide. The control and consistency are unrivaled.

The BBB price is actually very good for that machine, especially since they are including the sealer. And if you don't already have a sealer, you'll find a lot of other uses for it.

Last night I made sous vide shrimp in a lemon-vanilla-paprika butter sauce over avocado halves. Clean up was a breeze - just one knife to hand wash, and throw away the bag. My Sous Vide Supreme is not moving to the basement!

 

[CraigC]

This type of cooking has about as much interest for me as a crock pot. But to each there own. We each choose to spend our money on cooking equipment that suits us. Some folks would call me crazy for what I'd consider spending on a smoker/pit.

 

[FrankZ]

Trash can sous vide?

Hadn't thought that direction but....

 

[jennyema]

Nice link GG!! I suspect as time goes on and the novelty wears off that they will go the way of the pocket calculator.

Sous vide isn't a novelty. It's a well proven cooking technique widely used in restaurants and by loads of home cooks.

It won't fade away.

 

[Kayelle]

Sous vide isn't a novelty. It's a well proven cooking technique widely used in restaurants and by loads of home cooks.

It won't fade away.

No, I don't think the method will fade away either. My point was that they will continue to come down in price and be more affordable. Case in point is microwave ovens and pocket calculators that once cost 10 or more times what they do now.