Anova/Sous-Vide ERA

mm04 · Oct 31, 2017

Fried chicken is my most cooked item with my Joule. Lemon juice and salt in the bag with dark meat. Cook for 3 hours. Then dredge in flour and buttermilk and deep fry for 3 minutes.

Oh and as someone else has mentioned, this has totally saved me gobs of money this year. The Joule along with the Instant Pot and my air fryer is my holy trinity of kitchen gadgets for making a non-cook like me into someone who can prepare a decent meal for visitors.

plagiarize · Oct 31, 2017

mm04 said:
Fried chicken is my most cooked item with my Joule. Lemon juice and salt in the bag with dark meat. Cook for 3 hours. Then dredge in flour and buttermilk and deep fry for 3 minutes.

Oh and as someone else has mentioned, this has totally saved me gobs of money this year. The Joule along with the Instant Pot and my air fryer is my holy trinity of kitchen gadgets for making a non-cook like me into someone who can prepare a decent meal for visitors.

I saw a recipe for fried chicken and immediately wanted to try it. It makes so much sense. Will definitely try soon.

Bone in or boneless out of interest?

BlueBikinis · Oct 31, 2017

Sous vide and our instant pot is used almost every day in our household. Love both of them.

mm04 · Oct 31, 2017

plagiarize said:
I saw a recipe for fried chicken and immediately wanted to try it. It makes so much sense. Will definitely try soon.

Bone in or boneless out of interest?

I've done both for chicken thighs and both with skin and skinless. Either way is good with a good dredge mixture. For chicken breasts, which is 1/3 of the cooking time, I strictly use boneless. I have had zero issues with it ever being dry, by the way. It's always very juicy.

plagiarize · Nov 1, 2017

24 hours in the water bath for a London broil, with some liquid smoke and barbecue rub, finished with more barbecue rub and seared in canola oil in a cast iron pan.

It wasn't any trouble at all keeping the water level topped up (did it before bed and before work). It came out great. Maybe a little softer than everyone would like, but I got great feedback on the texture from the people I cooked for, so I think I'll do it the same way next time. I'll definitely do this again when we need to cook for four or more people.

SteveMeister · Nov 1, 2017

Another Joule owner here, since the Kickstarter campaign. Sous vide is the bomb. Best steaks ever!

DasRavenEra · Nov 1, 2017

A wifi Anova is on my Xmas list.
Looking forward to living the dream with a number of proteins.

Deleted member 4452 · Nov 1, 2017

LGHT_TRSN said:
I am a bit perplexed about one thing though....chicken. We tried chicken the other night (2 marinades, one dry, one wet), and while the wet marinated chicken was indeed very tender, the dry marinade ended up surprisingly dry. I expected both to maintain their moistness due to being sealed in the bags. Now, I didn't actually seal the bags myself, and I did notice that the person who did left some air at the top of the bag, even though the chicken was entirely submerged. We also cooked it at 150 degrees for about 2 hours. I'm thinking maybe the remaining air in the bag allowed the moisture to escape the meat? Everything I've seen says the bags need as much air as possible removed, even the parts that aren't submerged. We just got some dedicated sous-vide bags, so we'll see if they work better than the normal ziplocks we've been using so far.

Did the other person just seal them then dip them in the water, or did they use the water displacement method (dip in water while making sure not to get the opening near the water, THEN close)? I found freezer ziploc bags work perfectly for my sous-vide needs.

RetroMG · Nov 1, 2017

plagiarize said:
24 hours in the water bath for a London broil, with some liquid smoke and barbecue rub, finished with more barbecue rub and seared in canola oil in a cast iron pan.
It wasn't any trouble at all keeping the water level topped up (did it before bed and before work). It came out great. Maybe a little softer than everyone would like, but I got great feedback on the texture from the people I cooked for, so I think I'll do it the same way next time. I'll definitely do this again when we need to cook for four or more people.

So, I bought a london broil, not realizing that it would take so long to cook. So I moved that to tomorrow night's dinner, and it's going to go low and slow all night.

plagiarize · Nov 1, 2017

RetroMG said:
So, I bought a london broil, not realizing that it would take so long to cook. So I moved that to tomorrow night's dinner, and it's going to go low and slow all night.

Hope it turns out well!

Dartastic · Nov 2, 2017

The Anova wi-fi sous vide is on the Amazon Treasure Truck today for 125... but I can't get to the location in time! :(

MThanded · Nov 2, 2017

Dartastic said:
The Anova wi-fi sous vide is on the Amazon Treasure Truck today for 125... but I can't get to the location in time! :(

Yeah I'm picking one up later. Deal is too good to pass up

Dartastic · Nov 2, 2017

MThanded said:
Yeah I'm picking one up later. Deal is too good to pass up

I wish I could. The only two pickup spots in Portland are really far from where I work, and unfortunately the timeframe is super short also. :(

ghostemoji · Nov 2, 2017

I mostly use my Anova to cook chicken in bulk for the week, but I'm going to keep an eye on this thread.

smoothj · Nov 2, 2017

Exuro said:
I've been sous vide-ing for most of this year and it as really turned me on to cooking in general, and I've lost about 50 pounds having it as part of my diet(the more work/time you put into food the more you want to save for later I've found). I've done various types of steaks and honestly I can't stand eating them at restaurants now as I've basically nailed down how to make them "perfectly".

With that said though, meat isn't the only thing you can sous vide. A few months back my work had a potluck and I decided to be a bit adventurous and made cheesecake jars.

So the cheesecake is put into small seal-able mason jars and that allows it to be sous vide-able which was a fun experiment to try. Takes about 60 minutes to cook, but then needs to be refrigerated.

I tried combining the crust with the cheesecake in two ways. One where the crust is at the bottom of the jar and cooked with the cheesecake and another where it's put on top afterwards. Neither is perfect as the first gets more soggy than the latter and the latter makes it kind of hard to dig into the cheesecake. Might need to use larger jars but in any case I preferred the crunchier crust. The crust itself is mostly graham cracker, butter and sugar pan heated in advance.

It was pretty fun "project" to try out and i was really happy with the results. The flavor/texture was great and the form factor with the jar made it a bit of a personal gift rather than just dessert. I also made some blueberry and strawberry topping to eat with it. The ones above were from my first batch where I overfilled them so topping on that made it a bit messy as it crumbled out of the jar. The recipe I used was from here if anyone is interested in taking a stab at it. https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/the-quickest-simplest-way-to-make-bomb-cheesecake

Anyhow sous vide sure is neat and I'll keep my eyes on this thread to find out what people have been trying. It's mostly been steak and chicken for me so if anyone has more extravagant foods they tried cooking with it I'm all ears. :)

Can you share your temp and cook time? :)
Also what kind of steak and thickness?

I've found 122 for like 50 minutes then a super hot sear with unsalted butter 30 seconds on each side is perfection for a rare steak.

Chan · Nov 2, 2017

Waiting for my Nano which is in May?

Nista · Nov 2, 2017

I decided to wait for the Nano, but all these pictures are making that decision harder. The tiny cheesecakes are right up my alley.

I like onsen eggs, though I kind of prefer the hot spring eggs we had in Beppu, which were really more hard boiled (since the water temps there are super high).

CHC · Nov 2, 2017

Thinking of finally (finally!) getting one of these devices. I cook about 4 times a week and really love cooking, so I'd like to expand my toolkit and it's obvious that sous vide is a fundamental method, not a gimmick, at this point. Simply put, it can do things that other methods can't ever achieve.

I have extremely limited space in my apartment so I'll likely get a rod-like immersion circulator rather than a whole insulated setup. How wasteful is it to just use a big pot, like a 4 gallon stainless steel kind of thing, compared to a cooler? I'd likely get a plastic Tupperware type top that fit the pot then cut a hole for the circulator.

Deadly Cyclone · Nov 2, 2017

My bluetooth shipped, can't wait to finally try some of this out. Should I just use freezer bags to start? Or what bags should I get? Would love to do some chicken thighs this weekend.

I could throw chicken and marinade in a bag and cook it like that right?

shnurgleton · Nov 2, 2017

Was an amazon treasure truck offering today, so I finally jumped. Looking forward to excellent steaks and soft-boiled eggs

Astral Lovelace · Nov 2, 2017

Cyclone said:
My bluetooth shipped, can't wait to finally try some of this out. Should I just use freezer bags to start? Or what bags should I get? Would love to do some chicken thighs this weekend.

I could throw chicken and marinade in a bag and cook it like that right?

Yup! Use freezer bags for now, upgrade to vacuum sealer when you feel like it.
Take your chicken and marinate it, use the water displacement method to get the air out, and then throw it in! I do mine at 142* F for an hour, or more if it's thick as shit.
Don't forget to sear it, though! I sear mine with a blowtorch because nothing is more fun!

LGHT_TRSN · Nov 2, 2017

Llyranor said:
Did the other person just seal them then dip them in the water, or did they use the water displacement method (dip in water while making sure not to get the opening near the water, THEN close)? I found freezer ziploc bags work perfectly for my sous-vide needs.

They must've screwed it up, as we made chicken a couple nights back and it turned out fine. Tender and delicious :)

Astral Lovelace · Nov 2, 2017

LGHT_TRSN said:
They must've screwed it up, as we made chicken a couple nights back and it turned out fine. Tender and delicious :)

I'm more impressed than anything that they made dry chicken in Sous Vide.

Exuro · Nov 4, 2017

madjelly said:
Can you share your temp and cook time? :)
Also what kind of steak and thickness?

I've found 122 for like 50 minutes then a super hot sear with unsalted butter 30 seconds on each side is perfection for a rare steak.

I'm a medium rare guy and have tried each degree from 129 - 135. I'm a fan of 133ish as the lower end is a bit too chewy for my taste(unless you have a high quality, melts in your mouth steak) and the upper end is getting cooked too much. I've done a variety of steaks and generally come back new york strip as its close to but not quite as good as ribeye but costs a good chunk less. I season with either salt, pepper and garlic powder (and sometimes thyme if im feeling fancy) or with beef boulion/olive oil. I throw them into bags(vacuum sealed) and let them sit in the fridge for at least an hour, generally overnight. Then I cook sous vide them from anywhere to 1 - 4 hours(depending on the steak, for tougher steaks like roasts going for 8+ hours helps break down the tissue). My searing is pretty plain with some olive oil. Always turns out good, even with walmart meats.

This is a plate I made with a friend. We are terrible at plating as you can see but the zucchini noodles and mashed potatoes along with the steak tasted great. :p

Astral Lovelace · Nov 4, 2017

Propane torch is the way.

PanickyFool · Nov 4, 2017

Exuro said:
I'm a medium rare guy and have tried each degree from 129 - 135. I'm a fan of 133ish as the lower end is a bit too chewy for my taste(unless you have a high quality, melts in your mouth steak) and the upper end is getting cooked too much. I've done a variety of steaks and generally come back new york strip as its close to but not quite as good as ribeye but costs a good chunk less. I season with either salt, pepper and garlic powder (and sometimes thyme if im feeling fancy) or with beef boulion/olive oil. I throw them into bags(vacuum sealed) and let them sit in the fridge for at least an hour, generally overnight. Then I cook sous vide them from anywhere to 1 - 4 hours(depending on the steak, for tougher steaks like roasts going for 8+ hours helps break down the tissue). My searing is pretty plain with some olive oil. Always turns out good, even with walmart meats.

Picanha, cheaper than a strip, better than Ribeye.

Exuro · Nov 4, 2017

PanickyFool said:
Picanha, cheaper than a strip, better than Ribeye.

Yeah I haven't seen this at my local market. I'll have to search around some new places for it.

Astral Lovelace · Nov 4, 2017

PanickyFool said:
Picanha, cheaper than a strip, better than Ribeye.

So if I'm just going to the store and picking some steak up, am I looking for Round steak? Do I need to cook it longer sous vide than regular steak, or is 1 hour still good? I'm all about finding good, cheap steak options.

Exuro · Nov 4, 2017

Astral/H3X said:
So if I'm just going to the store and picking some steak up, am I looking for Round steak? Do I need to cook it longer sous vide than regular steak, or is 1 hour still good? I'm all about finding good, cheap steak options.

Yeah round is a tougher cut so you'll want to cook it longer. You could put it in early in the morning and have it at lunch/dinner and it should be good. I've done that where I put them in before work and eat them/part of them when I get home.

PanickyFool · Nov 4, 2017

Exuro said:
Yeah I haven't seen this at my local market. I'll have to search around some new places for it.

Yea, I'm lucky that I am in Queens! It's a South American cut.

Astral/H3X said:
So if I'm just going to the store and picking some steak up, am I looking for Round steak? Do I need to cook it longer sous vide than regular steak, or is 1 hour still good? I'm all about finding good, cheap steak options.

Yea, 1.5 or 2 hours. But I get three cuts for $15 compared to three NY Strips for $55 lol.

And you can look at the fat strip and see how similar they are.

Grizzel Greedigut · Nov 4, 2017

I have fried chicken legs and thighs on my menu. We sous vide the chicken at 145 for 5 hours ... Then you can batter + fry to order, chicken stays really tender and juicy. Works really well.

We also sous-vide bernaise sauce and put it in whipped cream canisters

Grizzel Greedigut · Nov 4, 2017

We also sous vide poached eggs. Instant poached eggs for Benedict's is so clutch

Astral Lovelace · Nov 4, 2017

Exuro said:
Yeah round is a tougher cut so you'll want to cook it longer. You could put it in early in the morning and have it at lunch/dinner and it should be good. I've done that where I put them in before work and eat them/part of them when I get home.

Hrm, so cooking for 8+ hours isn't going to hurt it? I know with steak they say you want to take it out before you hit the 3 hour mark.
What about cooking at 128? That's what I usually do for my steaks.

Exuro · Nov 4, 2017

Astral/H3X said:
Hrm, so cooking for 8+ hours isn't going to hurt it? I know with steak they say you want to take it out before you hit the 3 hour mark.
What about cooking at 128? That's what I usually do for my steaks.

I've done several steaks at 129-135 for 8ish hours and they've all come out great.

smoothj · Nov 6, 2017

Exuro said:
I'm a medium rare guy and have tried each degree from 129 - 135. I'm a fan of 133ish as the lower end is a bit too chewy for my taste(unless you have a high quality, melts in your mouth steak) and the upper end is getting cooked too much. I've done a variety of steaks and generally come back new york strip as its close to but not quite as good as ribeye but costs a good chunk less. I season with either salt, pepper and garlic powder (and sometimes thyme if im feeling fancy) or with beef boulion/olive oil. I throw them into bags(vacuum sealed) and let them sit in the fridge for at least an hour, generally overnight. Then I cook sous vide them from anywhere to 1 - 4 hours(depending on the steak, for tougher steaks like roasts going for 8+ hours helps break down the tissue). My searing is pretty plain with some olive oil. Always turns out good, even with walmart meats.

This is a plate I made with a friend. We are terrible at plating as you can see but the zucchini noodles and mashed potatoes along with the steak tasted great. :p

I appreciate your reply my man. The steak looks great!

Time to look for some picanha. I just bought some round steak that I'll be working with this lovely evening. Some good info here guys. Thx!

Border · Nov 6, 2017

What is the best model for a beginner to buy?

Barls · Nov 6, 2017

Border said:
What is the best model for a beginner to buy?

Apparently this Kitchen Gizomo works fine (according to thewirecutter). I'd say go with that or one of the inexpensive Anova circulators if you want something that will probably be slightly more reliable.

Also a 12 Qt Cambro + a Lid (cut out a notch for the circulator) is not necessary, but really adds a whole lot to the convenience factor vs a large pot + foil or cellophane.

Exuro · Nov 6, 2017

Border said:
What is the best model for a beginner to buy?

Another option is monoprice's brand. https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=21594

ohkay · Nov 6, 2017

Anyone have any recommendations for a vacuum sealer?

GrimGrinningGuy · Nov 6, 2017

I'm a medium well guy (don't kill me) but the Anova app sucks. Why can't I find a recipe and pick that I want medium well and it adjusts the temp?

Barls · Nov 6, 2017

GrimGrinningGuy said:
I'm a medium well guy (don't kill me) but the Anova app sucks. Why can't I find a recipe and pick that I want medium well and it adjusts the temp?

So I've got the pre-app Anova, but can you not just set the temp at 150F/65C and leave it for an hour?

PanickyFool · Nov 6, 2017

Astral/H3X said:
Hrm, so cooking for 8+ hours isn't going to hurt it? I know with steak they say you want to take it out before you hit the 3 hour mark.
What about cooking at 128? That's what I usually do for my steaks.

The longer you cook it, the more tender it gets.

There is such a thing as too tender though.

GrimGrinningGuy · Nov 6, 2017

Barls said:
So I've got the pre-app Anova, but can you not just set the temp at 150F/65C and leave it for an hour?

Yeah I can manually set it but with the app you can find recipe and just hit start. I would like to just select doneness in the app then hit start cause honestly I have no idea what temp or length to do skirt steak, or what temp or length to do a 1.5 inch filet or etc etc if I want medium-well

TheRuralJuror · Nov 6, 2017

Use my anova all the time. Actually purchased two way back thinking I'd need one for backup, but there's been no need whatsoever.

jts · Nov 11, 2017

If I'm cooking a pork piece (I think it's belly) for a roast that says to put in the oven for about 2 hours at 150º (300f) until it reaches internal temp of 72-74º (160), how long to sous vide it at 72º (160f)?

Border · Nov 11, 2017

How important are the Bluetooth/Wifi features that some of these models have? Can they be remotely powered on?

Exuro · Nov 11, 2017

jts said:
If I'm cooking a pork piece (I think it's belly) for a roast that says to put in the oven for about 2 hours at 150º (300f) until it reaches internal temp of 72-74º (160), how long to sous vide it at 72º (160f)?

It depends on the size of the roast, but when I'm not sure about what to do with a piece of meat I'll check out chefsteps, serious eats and anova. Chefsteps has a recipe that does the timing between 8 -25 hours. https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/stupidly-simple-sous-vide-pork-belly

Border said:
How important are the Bluetooth/Wifi features that some of these models have? Can they be remotely powered on?

I have just a bluetooth model and honestly I don't even use the feature. It's used to locally set your temperature and time via an app, but I've found that it's "impossible" to overcook so I just leave the food in at the temp until I get to it. The wifi model I believe allows you to control it outside of your home.

jts · Nov 12, 2017

Exuro said:
It depends on the size of the roast, but when I'm not sure about what to do with a piece of meat I'll check out chefsteps, serious eats and anova. Chefsteps has a recipe that does the timing between 8 -25 hours. https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/stupidly-simple-sous-vide-pork-belly

Damn, that would have probably come out delicious but I did about 3 hours and it came out good and tender. It wasn't actually belly, but loin.

Astral Lovelace · Nov 13, 2017

Bought like 5lbs of chuck last night, hoping to do some great things with it. Plan on 24 hour cook at 128, followed by the mighty propane torch, let's see how it goes!

Unintended negative of chuck: you buy it in huge amounts so you have gargantuan slabs of meat to stick in a vacuum bag.

StarCreator · Nov 14, 2017

I did a sous vide steak last night. It was full of mishaps, none of which really are the fault of the circulator, but if you feel like reading, it's over at the IronEra thread: https://www.resetera.com/threads/ironera-ot-vol-1-mise-en-place.1449/page-4#post-928662

So I'm just now realizing that although I selected to receive an Anova Precision Cooker BT to complete my delayed Nano order, my cooker actually has a WiFi logo on it in place of the Bluetooth logo. Did they actually ship me a WiFi unit by accident? This comes after a guy in the other place got a box literally covered in black mold... what were they doing when they were fulfilling these?

Anova/Sous-Vide ERA

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