Anova/Sous-Vide ERA

[I Don't Like]

Pieces of pork butt I did. These were at 140 for 24 hours but the bag wasn't sealed perfectly so some water got in at some point during the process. Finished on a gas grill. Came out pretty well.

More pork butt - this time 150 for 24 hours and double-sealed. Also finished on gas grill and at longer time than first one. Was more evenly cooked but not quite as tender.

And here's a recently done sous vide burger I'm really fucking proud of. I think it was 125 for one hour. Finished in a cast iron. Had melted cheese and the obvious other toppings with slightly buttered, browned buns. Was amazing.

 

[ronco2000]

Pieces of pork butt I did. These were at 140 for 24 hours but the bag wasn't sealed perfectly so some water got in at some point during the process. Finished on a gas grill. Came out pretty well.

More pork butt - this time 150 for 24 hours and double-sealed. Also finished on gas grill and at longer time than first one. Was more evenly cooked but not quite as tender.

And here's a recently done sous vide burger I'm really fucking proud of. I think it was 125 for one hour. Finished in a cast iron. Had melted cheese and the obvious other toppings with slightly buttered, browned buns. Was amazing.

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Motherfucker. You just made me buy one.

 

[I Don't Like]

Motherfucker. You just made me buy one.

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Lol nice. What are you going to do first on it? You should do a big ass steak.

 

[ronco2000]

Lol nice. What are you going to do first on it? You should do a big ass steak.

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Pork butt. Looks like 145 for 24hr would be perfect according to your two test.

 

[jchap]

I love sous vide and have an ANOVA but ribs and pork butt belong in a smoker!

 

[jwk94]

Anyone know of a good vacuum sealer under $100 that has a bag holder and cutter?

 

[cyberninja]

I love sous vide and have an ANOVA but ribs and pork butt belong in a smoker!

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Sounds about right, unless you live in a condo like me and have no way to use a smoker.

 

[LGHT_TRSN]

Agree that dry rubs the way to go for sous vide. We recently got an instant pot and it's much better at getting flavor into the meat due to the pressure. I prefer it to the sous vide for chicken.

 

[kubev]

I wanted to cut down on the mess associated with cooking, so I started doing sous vide a few days ago. So far, I've made chicken breasts and pork chops, searing each with a butane torch afterwards. Very pleased with my investment. I'm considering trying burgers next.

 

[Narroo]

I wanted to cut down on the mess associated with cooking, so I started doing sous vide a few days ago. So far, I've made chicken breasts and pork chops, searing each with a butane torch afterwards. Very pleased with my investment. I'm considering trying burgers next.

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Eh, I'm too cheap to buy a torch, so I have to sear everything. Still fairly messy for me, at least.

 

[kubev]

Eh, I'm too cheap to buy a torch, so I have to sear everything. Still fairly messy for me, at least.

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The torch was only $12-13, and a can of butane is maybe $5.

 

[ZmillA]

used mine for the first time today. Did a country style pork rib roast. wowow man that thing turned out good. Gonna make some mad good BBQ pork sandwiches this week. The vacuum seal process was kind of a pain. I bought the bags linked in the thread. The ones with the manual air pump. They don't like anything with even a little moisture. I don't think I'm going to bother trying to clean the bag so I can reuse it. I probably should have taken the manuals advice and put the meat in a zip lock and then put that in the vacuum seal bag.

looking forwrd to trying steaks in this thing B)

 

[Narroo]

The torch was only $12-13, and a can of butane is maybe $5.

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What torch are you using? All the good sous vide torches I've seen are pretty expensive.

 

[smoothj]

What's the best time and temp for chicken breast 150/2hours?

I was thinking of trying 145/1 hour. I've had good luck in that range. Thoughts?

 

[kubev]

What torch are you using? All the good sous vide torches I've seen are pretty expensive.

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I'm using this one. I had to buy the butane locally, as Amazon won't ship it to my location.

 

[I Don't Like]

What torch are you using? All the good sous vide torches I've seen are pretty expensive.

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You can get a ton of torches under $20 on Amazon. What's expensive is if you want a proper torch attachment like the SearzAll which is like $75. Preferably you'd want the attachment if you were serious about torching, picky about having the perfect sear and/or did a lot of larger foods but a torch alone works fine for most things.

 

[Narroo]

I'm using this one. I had to buy the butane locally, as Amazon won't ship it to my location.

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My understanding is that those "culinary" torches aren't really suited for Sous Vide. They're good for things like creme brule but aren't hot (intense?) enough to do meats right.

 

[jwk94]

What's the best time and temp for chicken breast 150/2hours?

I was thinking of trying 145/1 hour. I've had good luck in that range. Thoughts?

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For a boneless chicken breast. 149 and then 45mins if it's 1" thick, 1.5hrs it it's 1.5 inches thick. The Joule app is really good about giving you time and temps.

 

[kubev]

My understanding is that those "culinary" torches aren't really suited for Sous Vide. They're good for things like creme brule but aren't hot (intense?) enough to do meats right.

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It works just fine from my experience. I can't really comment on torches that're supposedly specifically for sous vide, though.

 

[Cochese]

My understanding is that those "culinary" torches aren't really suited for Sous Vide. They're good for things like creme brule but aren't hot (intense?) enough to do meats right.

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Same.

 

[Rizific]

I tried my hand at some marinated chicken wings tonight. Used a Korean chicken/pork marinade, vacuum sealed, and let it sit for 24hrs. Cooked at 163 for 1hr then finished off in the oven with broil set to high. It came out pretty good! I'd like some more penetration of the marinade though, maybe more time in the sous vide or more time to marinade.

 

[Naked Koopa]

I smoke my meats but trying to find a solution for this winter and sous-vide looks like a good option.

Is the power precision cooker any good? It's only 49$ at walmart. I wish I was in the states to buy that 70$ anova. I'm going in south carolina in 3 weeks and if it's still on sale I might be able to get one.

 

[RetroMG]

I tried my hand at some marinated chicken wings tonight. Used a Korean chicken/pork marinade, vacuum sealed, and let it sit for 24hrs. Cooked at 163 for 1hr then finished off in the oven with broil set to high. It came out pretty good! I'd like some more penetration of the marinade though, maybe more time in the sous vide or more time to marinade.

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Oh, wow, my wife and I were just talking about how we wanted to learn how to make really good wings. Did you have a recipe you were working from? Did you sous vide the wings in the marinade, or remove them to a separate bag? How long did you broil them for?

I'm off to google lol

 

[Chitown B]

as a sort-of aside, i hate how big chicken breasts have become. getting a "small" one is like a treat.

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Just filet them in half?

Or you could pay double for half the size to get "organic" ones, like the other poster suggested....

 

[exodus]

Tried my hand at an Anova sous-vide egg bite recipe. Basically trying to replicate the Starbucks version.

Eggs
Cream cheese
Cheddar
Salt

172F for 1 hour in 4oz mason jars.

Turned out ok, but I'd like to improve it. It's a bit dense. I'm not sure if it's because it's overcooked or because the cream cheese and cheese mixture makes it much denser.

I'm going to give the ChefSteps recipe a try but I have my doubts. It uses eggs and heavy cream (which is perfect for my keto diet), but it cooks them at 185F for 25 mins. Kind of seems to be missing the point of sous-vide, unless the mixture really does reach 185F in that amount of time. I'll give it a shot anyways and see how they turn out.

 

[exodus]

Actually, I'm liking this recipe:

https://wellnessmama.com/156155/sous-vide-egg-bites/

 

[fenners]

Actually, I'm liking this recipe:

https://wellnessmama.com/156155/sous-vide-egg-bites/

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This is the recipe I've used & thoroughly enjoyed - https://www.adventuresofanurse.com/2017/01/14/starbucks-copycat-sous-vide-egg-bites/

I just use milk, no cream, but YMMV. Cheese choice is important - this recipe uses gruyere + jack, and I've settled on a mix of gruyere + swiss, personally. I think cheddar's too much.

 

[Darryl M R]

Recipe I used before: https://www.platingsandpairings.com/instant-pot-sous-vide-egg-bites-starbucks-copycat/

 

[exodus]

Hmmm yeah I'll give some of these a shot.

Is 172F really the temp for eggs? Is there a video out there showing the consistency of scrambled/omelettes at different temps? I'm tempted to go slightly lower...like 168-170F.

 

[Rizific]

Oh, wow, my wife and I were just talking about how we wanted to learn how to make really good wings. Did you have a recipe you were working from? Did you sous vide the wings in the marinade, or remove them to a separate bag? How long did you broil them for?

I'm off to google lol

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I just used this, found at my local Asian grocery. Dumped some in a bag with the wings and vacuum sealed it. Threw the whole bag with wings and marinade in the sous vide bath. I broiled the wings maybe a total of 10 mins. Really just to add texture and color. Had to keep an eye on them though so they wouldn't get totally burnt.

 

[EssBeeVee]

hows the anova? i decided to buy the Anova Bluetooth version since it was on sale $70

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/anova-precision-cooker-bluetooth/5550900.p?skuId=5550900

 

[Nostremitus]

hows the anova? i decided to buy the Anova Bluetooth version since it was on sale $70

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/anova-precision-cooker-bluetooth/5550900.p?skuId=5550900

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I like it, never had any issues.

 

[EssBeeVee]

I like it, never had any issues.

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coool cool. had to rebuy it since store pickup was for the 6th and shipping would get here on the 5th lol

 

[Nostremitus]

coool cool. had to rebuy it since store pickup was for the 6th and shipping would get here on the 5th lol

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I had pre-ordered the nano, but when it was delayed they offered a free upgrade to the Bluetooth version.

We've used it for everything from steaks to warming baby bottles.

 

[Chitown B]

I kickstarted the Anova 5 years ago and it's still going strong. I love it.

 

[MonoStable]

hows the anova? i decided to buy the Anova Bluetooth version since it was on sale $70

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/anova-precision-cooker-bluetooth/5550900.p?skuId=5550900

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Bluetooth was garbage for me, I set on Bluetooth went to my living room and the signal dropped, so the anova ramped down the setpoint giving me an uneven finish. I only manually set the temp now.

 

[Chitown B]

Bluetooth was garbage for me, I set on Bluetooth went to my living room and the signal dropped, so the anova ramped down the setpoint giving me an uneven finish. I only manually set the temp now.

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huh? you don't need a constant signal to keep anova at a temperature.

But don't remotely run my Anova anyway, even bluetooth. It's pointless to me, since it's a set and forget type machine.

 

[EssBeeVee]

Bluetooth was garbage for me, I set on Bluetooth went to my living room and the signal dropped, so the anova ramped down the setpoint giving me an uneven finish. I only manually set the temp now.

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i didn't plan to use BT anyways. it was just mostly the cheaper price point lol

 

[zulux21]

hows the anova? i decided to buy the Anova Bluetooth version since it was on sale $70

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/anova-precision-cooker-bluetooth/5550900.p?skuId=5550900

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I just saw this on another site and bought it.

I will be joining you all on Oct 5th.... well more likely on the 7th will be when I get to play with it but still.

I need to learn what all I can do with this, but the main reason I bought it was in order to have a medium rare steak at home and not have to worry about if I cooked it correctly.
so that will likely be my first test lol.

I too doubt I will use the BT, but I knew the brand is considered decent.

 

[EssBeeVee]

I just saw this on another site and bought it.

I will be joining you all on Oct 5th.... well more likely on the 7th will be when I get to play with it but still.

I need to learn what all I can do with this, but the main reason I bought it was in order to have a medium rare steak at home and not have to worry about if I cooked it correctly.
so that will likely be my first test lol.

I too doubt I will use the BT, but I knew the brand is considered decent.

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first thing i'll try is steak and ribs lol. and chicken breasts. after that i'll see whats some fun stuff to make with it

also i picked up a vacuum sealer (which ive been meaning to buy for ages now. i guess now is the time lol)

 

[zulux21]

first thing i'll try is steak and ribs lol. and chicken breasts. after that i'll see whats some fun stuff to make with it

also i picked up a vacuum sealer (which ive been meaning to buy for ages now. i guess now is the time lol)

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I've had a vacuum sealer for a long time since I like to buy meat in bulk and freeze it, though I will likely just run with gallon zip lock bags and see how those go to start with.

 

[ReAxion]

first thing i'll try is steak and ribs lol. and chicken breasts. after that i'll see whats some fun stuff to make with it

also i picked up a vacuum sealer (which ive been meaning to buy for ages now. i guess now is the time lol)

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steak will be great. chicken breasts... i don't want them any other way. ribs are a different story. curious to see what you think. or if anyone else wants to chime in on their experience with SV ribs.

 

[EssBeeVee]

steak will be great. chicken breasts... i don't want them any other way. ribs are a different story. curious to see what you think. or if anyone else wants to chime in on their experience with SV ribs.

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its a mix thing from the videos i saw. reminds me of pressure cooked ribs then finishing off on the smoker/grill or whatever. you just really lack the smoke rings from the get go but im really basic lol.
and since most of my diet comes from chicken breasts. some of these bulk stores have huge breasts and it always comes out uneven when i want it done a certain way so this will definitely help.

 

[kvetcha]

steak will be great. chicken breasts... i don't want them any other way. ribs are a different story. curious to see what you think. or if anyone else wants to chime in on their experience with SV ribs.

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Ribs are good, but they require finishing in a grill or an oven.

Pork, almost across the board, is unbelievable.

 

[ReAxion]

its a mix thing from the videos i saw. reminds me of pressure cooked ribs then finishing off on the smoker/grill or whatever. you just really lack the smoke rings from the get go but im really basic lol.
and since most of my diet comes from chicken breasts. some of these bulk stores have huge breasts and it always comes out uneven when i want it done a certain way so this will definitely help.

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SV ribs are a different texture. I haven't pressure cooked them, I'm a smokeboy, but yeah, SV ribs are just... different. Not bad in any way, but definitely different.
you'll definitely love the chicken breast thing, especially for the ease of letting them swim while you do everything else and they're still perfect.

Ribs are good, but they require finishing in a grill or an oven.

Pork, almost across the board, is unbelievable.

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what'd you think of the texture?
hell yeah to the rest of pork. i've been waiting for the pork tenderloin to go back on sale.

 

[kvetcha]

SV ribs are a different texture. I haven't pressure cooked them, I'm a smokeboy, but yeah, SV ribs are just... different. Not bad in any way, but definitely different.
you'll definitely love the chicken breast thing, especially for the ease of letting them swim while you do everything else and they're still perfect.



what'd you think of the texture?
hell yeah to the rest of pork. i've been waiting for the pork tenderloin to go back on sale.

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Texture is good! You have enough flexibility with the temperature that you can do a shorter, high-temp cook for more traditional chew or a lower, longer cook for extra-tender meat.

If you haven't done pulled pork shoulder...get on that.

 

[EssBeeVee]

so my anova came in today along with my vacuum sealer. i picked up some steaks but also wanted to get some short ribs but the place i went didn't have it. also. i don't really use a grill. just a toaster oven which i love btw lol. gonna have to stop by sam's and pick up some jacked up chicken breasts lol

 

[zulux21]

so my anova came in today along with my vacuum sealer. i picked up some steaks but also wanted to get some short ribs but the place i went didn't have it. also. i don't really use a grill. just a toaster oven which i love btw lol. gonna have to stop by sam's and pick up some jacked up chicken breasts lol

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mine also made it's way to me yesterday. I picked up some small steaks (I'm talking quarter of a pound each) put some kosher salt and black pepper on them, and then tried out the device, and can happily say that they turned out well even on the first try. Just a quick sear and I had a nearly perfect medium rare steak.

my wife is going to try some marinated chicken today.

 

[zulux21]

I was hoping for a little advice.
I would like to make 6 steaks to feed my friends for Saturday.
through my testing, I can do 2, and could likely push it to 3, but there is no way I can do 6 at once with my current set up (I'm talking boneless steaks that are a little over a pound each)
I know it's possible to do them in advance, and I will be testing that today with one I did yesterday, but what is the recommended way to do this?
I was thinking about just taking the one I did previously and bringing my water back to temp and putting it in there for 15-30 minutes to get it warm again, as I don't want to just take it from fridge to sear as that will leave the middle cold and unpleasant to eat as a medium rare piece of meat.

I figure if there is a good way to get them from fridge back to temp in a timely manner I could just prep 4 or even all 6 steaks before saturday and then bring them back, but I'm not sure what is the best way to do that?

I mean perhaps prep all 6 and then instead of the 132.5 bring it to like 150, cycling the steaks through as it heats up and then pull the device out and stick them all in? as I can fit all 6 in the set up I have, I just can't do it without risking blocking the intake holes on the device.

just curious what others have done.

 

[kvetcha]

I was hoping for a little advice.
I would like to make 6 steaks to feed my friends for Saturday.
through my testing, I can do 2, and could likely push it to 3, but there is no way I can do 6 at once with my current set up (I'm talking boneless steaks that are a little over a pound each)
I know it's possible to do them in advance, and I will be testing that today with one I did yesterday, but what is the recommended way to do this?
I was thinking about just taking the one I did previously and bringing my water back to temp and putting it in there for 15-30 minutes to get it warm again, as I don't want to just take it from fridge to sear as that will leave the middle cold and unpleasant to eat as a medium rare piece of meat.

I figure if there is a good way to get them from fridge back to temp in a timely manner I could just prep 4 or even all 6 steaks before saturday and then bring them back, but I'm not sure what is the best way to do that?

I mean perhaps prep all 6 and then instead of the 132.5 bring it to like 150, cycling the steaks through as it heats up and then pull the device out and stick them all in? as I can fit all 6 in the set up I have, I just can't do it without risking blocking the intake holes on the device.

just curious what others have done.

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Do you have room to clip the bags around the edge of the vessel to keep them clear of the intake?

You could certainly cook them in waves and then bring to temperature before searing.