I've been wanting to try sous vide cooking since I first heard of it about a year ago, and a few weeks ago tried an experiment with "do it yourself" stove top sous vide. Took my stainless steel 8-quart stockpot, filled with hot tap water and spent 90 minutes fiddling with the knob on the stove, and shifting the pot this way or that on the burner until I got a stable 135 degrees F measured with a Thermapen. Then sealed a steak in a Foodsaver bag, put it in for a couple hours and the results were unbelievable. The only problem was non-stop attention I had to pay trying to get the right temp (actually I wanted 133 but settled for 135) and then keep it stable. (It fluctuated between 133 - 136)
So I decided to get the Anova Precision Cooker. I ordered it on Aug. 1st and received it Aug. 4th. Since then I've cooked 4 steaks (2 flatiron, 1 chuck-eye, 1 London Broil), 2 boneless skinless chicken breast and 1 boneless pork chop. The results in every case have far exceeded my expectations!
Now I can cook a pretty mean steak by conventional methods... about 1/2 the time. The other half it comes out over- or under-cooked to some degree. (I prefer rare to med. rare.) But the 4 steaks I've cooked with this thing have been FLAWLESS. I cook to core temp of 132 degrees, then sear for 45 seconds per side on a screaming-hot (600+ degrees F) cast iron griddle with a little softened butter smeared on both sides of the steak. Every time the results have been so outstanding I don't even want to look at the other food on the plate - all I can think about is the steak! And the flavor is better than any steak I've ever had.
Now the chicken... I gave up chicken breast years ago, I just could never learn to cook it right. Most of the time it came out dry, chewy, stringy. The 1st time I tried it sous vide, the flavor knocked me for a loop! I'd never cooked a chicken breast that tasted that good before, and I didn't even put any seasonings in the bag. Just a bit of salt & pepper after it was cooked.
But there was something a little off-putting about the texture of it. It bothered me, and I tried to figure out what it was. I didn't catch on until I did the second chicken breast - the meat was firm, but tender & juicy. None of that dry stringy stuff that I had eaten all my life. In other words, what I found off-putting was that it wasn't what I was accustomed to - which is to say cooked badly. It was cooked RIGHT for a change. I've got a feeling I'll be eating a LOT of chicken from now on...
Now about chicken skin, I don't think I'd cook that sous vide. Haven't done it yet, but I think I'd pull it off & put it in the fridge until the chicken was done, then quickly fry it until crispy in a smoking-hot skillet with a little oil. I just don't think sous-vide would help the skin at all, even searing it after cooking in the bag.
I've read a few reviews about this item failing after a use or two or three. I've used mine 7 times in 11 days and it has performed flawlessly every time. It maintains the set temperature perfectly as measured with my Thermapen.
It also arrived in brand-new condition, I've seen a number of poor reviews about people getting "used" units due to "scratches" on the face of the display. Well, mine was like that but it is due to a plastic film placed over the face to (ironically enough...) protect the face from scratches. The film is not obvious, it is hard to see and does not have a tab to peel it off, and is just about impossible to peel off with your fingernail. I stuck a piece of masking tape on it, and it peeled off easily then.
I've seen other poor ratings based on the "hard-to-use" interface. Hmm, if you don't want the temp in Celsius you press the start button for 3 seconds and it changes to Fahrenheit. Whichever you want, the only 2 things you HAVE to do are:
1) Roll the temp to the desired setting with the wheel
2) Press the start button to turn it on
Yes, if you want to use the built-in timer, that involves an 8-second press of the start button which then changes the temp setting (which changes with a 3-second press) meaning you then have to do another 3-second press to get the temp setting back where you want it. Yes, that is poor design. But who needs the timer? If you have one of these things, odds are you have a digital kitchen timer you can use. And if you don't, odds are you have a smart phone with a timer built in. And if you DO have the smart phone, there are sous vide apps that will tell you how long to cook something based on what it is, how thick it is and what final temp you want and start a timer for you. A timer on the Anova frankly is unnecessary. Meaning the interface is as simple to use as anyone could want. Spin the wheel to set the temp, then press "Start."
Why buy an immersion circulator instead of doing it on the stovetop? The stovetop method works, but it is not as accurate with respect to temps. In my case, the stovetop temp varied by 3 or 4 degrees, whereas the Anova temp is accurate to 2/10ths of a degree. (If I set it to 132, it MAY go as low as 131.9, or as high as 132.1 - though it is usually nailed on 132.) And the stovetop method takes a LOT of time getting the water to temp and then stabilized. 90 minutes the one time I tried it, and then constant checking. With the Anova all you have to do is dial in the temp you want. I put in 110 degree tap water, set it for 132 and it's at 132 in 12 minutes and needs no further attention.
What can I say? I am 100% satisfied with the results I've gotten from this device. It was money well spent, and I'd spend it again in a heartbeat if I had it to do over.
You might also like
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Reviews with images
Best Meat You'll Ever Cook
I had been thinking about getting an immersion cooker for years. I had seen adds, a few friends had recommended them. I had seen the As Seen on TV hype about them and wondered if there was really room in my cabinet for yet another kitchen gadget. Eventually yet another friend said “yea, this is awesome”. So I decided to finally get one. I got this one because they’ve been around a while and more importantly Amazon had a really good sale on it.I got it, downloaded the app and proceeded to experiment.This totally changed the way I cook meat, end of story. I have never cooked meat so tender and delicious. If you like meat you really, really, really want to get one of these. Its everything they said it is and more. One of my local stores sells some beautifully marbled steaks. I had always been reluctant to get one because my grilling skills and equipment would pretty much mean reducing this fine piece of meat to rubbery destruction. But with this, different story. Seasoned it, tossed it in for an hour, pan seared on either side and got a perfect medium rare that I would have paid at least $20 for at a steak house.Did some rib roast and it came out pink and juicy, just like you would get at Luby’s/Furrs or a cafeteria. While this does excel at doing high end meat justice its real strength for me is it lets you take lesser cuts and leave them almost as good tasting as prime cuts. My personal favorite is to get some supermarket chuck roast, brown it with salt and pepper, coat it with a packet of Au Jus seasoning and then 12-16 in the cooker. It’s a great beef dinner I can feed the whole family for less than one plate at a steak house.Does wonders for pork as well. I took a pork loin and the texture was almost the same as the chuck roast. Very delicious. My most recent was Chinese BBQ pork belly. The cooking infused the meat with the distinctive flavor of Char Suir and it was more tender than what I get at the Chinese markets.Understand that as awesome as this thing cooks it takes time. This is no a get home from work and figure out whats for dinner type thing. It can do thinner cuts of meat in 1-2 hours but that also means prep time and finishing afterward. For the thicker cuts like roasts its going to be an overnight process. Its great for the weekend special meals or if you can get it going the evening before.So if this thing is so awesome why didn’t I give it 5 stars?Well I had to take one star away because of the crappy user interface (if you want to call it that). The unit I got is the “Bluetooth” model. In theory this is ok. You download the app, connect it to the cooker, select the recipe and click start. The app automatically sets the time and temp, what could be easier? How about a non-buggy app and a way to do it manually that makes sense?I’ve had issues with the app. Sometimes it hangs, sometimes you cannot bring up the recipe you want which is no big deal, except that you can’t pass the info to the cooker without it. Once you do get connected and start you have to be careful about browsing through the app for other food ideas while your meat is cooking. If you screw up and poke the wrong button it will think you are cooking potatoes instead of prime rib and reset the temperatures accordingly. Like any Bluetooth device its only a matter of time before you loose connection (ie, you walk out of the room). I’ve had mixed results when it lost connection. Most of the time it seems to just run (never shuts off). Its like it relied on the phone for a timer. Like all Bluetooth devices it doesn’t always connect without rebooting the phone or the device. Not something you want to happen in the middle of your cooking.There is a way to set the time and temp manually. But it sucks. You have to hold a button down for several seconds and then cycle through time and temp, both Fahrenheit and C. More often it wants to go back to flipping between F and C than it wants to get the time right. You adjust the time and temp (assuming you get to the right menu) via a scroll wheel. Clunky would be putting it kindly. It is easier to use the app, just don’t count on it turning off when its supposed to and disconnect if you want to browse more food selections.Its not really a knock but its not as small as you might think it is. With the mounting bracket attached it takes up as much space as roll of paper towels in your cabinet. When in the pot its about half a roll of paper towels. Newer models are thinner, but less powerful.In conclusion this unit gives awesome results, if it died tomorrow I wouldn’t hesitate to replace it. Its powerful, brings the water up to cooking temp within a few minutes and runs flawlessly once you get it going. The UI/App need work but as long as you can get it going with the right temperature your golden. If you’re like your meat you will want an immersion cooker and this is a decent choice.
Top reviews from other countries
rajendraprasad
For India need to buy step down transformer..4k RS extra
Reviewed in India on July 29, 2018Cliente de Amazon
Excelente compra: lleva la preparación de alimentos a otro nivel
Reviewed in Mexico on May 8, 2019Cesc
El enchufe del producto no es compatible con UE
Reviewed in Spain on August 28, 2018
