anova sous vide

tonyled

is on sale again at amazon!

http://www.amazon.com/Anova-Culinary-Bluetooth-Precision-Cooker/dp/B00UKPBXM4/ref=sr_1_1?s=boost&srs=12034488011&ie=UTF8&qid=1459516116&sr=1-1&keywords=anova

$149 normally $179

it might go cheaper down the road though.  it appears they have replaced both the bluetooth and wifi version with one that does both

otherwise, still a great deal on a very useful tool

ChillyWillis

I took the plunge the last time Amazon had this sale and love mine. If any of you have been debating picking one up of highly recommend it..... You won't regret it. 

SmokeyPitt

I wish they would come out with a cheaper model that doesn't have BT or wifi.  I just want to turn it on and set the temp. 

Thanks for the heads up...think I might have to jump in anyway. 

Plutonium

I have the bluetooth one from a previous sale, haven't even connected it once.

tonyled

yeah the technology on this bewilders me.  it is in the just because you can, that dont mean you should for me

ChillyWillis

I've messed around with the Bluetooth connection a few times. From what I've seen its pretty much pointless. The only way I could see it being useful is for longer cooks like corn beef or 3 day beef ribs where you could use it to check that everything is running according to plan without being in the kitchen; but for shorter cooks there really is no point. i just set the temp on the unit and set a timer on my phone. Easy peazy. 

HeavyG

tonyled said:

yeah the technology on this bewilders me.  it is in the just because you can, that dont mean you should for me

I can think of one scenario where having the ability to connect to wifi and thus be able to remotely connect/control the unit would be useful.

I've seen a bunch of folks that would like to be able to plop some meat into the hot tub before they leave for work and have it ready when they get home in the evening.

A lot of meats really wouldn't be at their best if they are left in the tub for 7,8, 9 hours. many things only need 1-3 hours for the best result.

If I wanted to do some chicken breasts it would be nice to be able to put the breasts (still frozen) into the tub and pack it with ice, go to work, and then be able to connect to the Anova and tell it to start up at about 1:00 or 2:00 or 3:00  in the afternoon so that the chicken would be done when you get home from work.

ChillyWillis

Bluetooth doesn't have that kind of range.... unless you work within 500 feet of your kitchen. 

Jeremiah

I just bought it as well. The bluetooth/ wifi doesnt do anything for me either so good deal. Thanks for the heads up @tonyled !!

Thatgrimguy

HeavyG said:

If I wanted to do some chicken breasts it would be nice to be able to put the breasts (still frozen) into the tub and pack it with ice, go to work, and then be able to connect to the Anova and tell it to start up at about 1:00 or 2:00 or 3:00  in the afternoon so that the chicken would be done when you get home from work.

I've been telling myself I was going to do this. Chicken is our Favorite SV item, but if I put it in before work it has a stringy texture by the time I get home. If I wait till I get home we eat a midnight snack and not dinner.

SmokeyPitt

Thatgrimguy said:

HeavyG said:

If I wanted to do some chicken breasts it would be nice to be able to put the breasts (still frozen) into the tub and pack it with ice, go to work, and then be able to connect to the Anova and tell it to start up at about 1:00 or 2:00 or 3:00  in the afternoon so that the chicken would be done when you get home from work.

I've been telling myself I was going to do this. Chicken is our Favorite SV item, but if I put it in before work it has a stringy texture by the time I get home. If I wait till I get home we eat a midnight snack and not dinner.

I agree that is a cool idea.  You might want to give it a trial run though to see just how long it takes to melt the ice and warm the water. I don't know how powerful the heating element is but you might find it takes a while to go from 32 degrees to 130.  

Just to throw this out there...what if you were to sous vide ahead of time, refrigerate, and then do a quick sear?  If the inside was too cold you could consider another short bath then a sear.  

HeavyG

Thatgrimguy said:

HeavyG said:

If I wanted to do some chicken breasts it would be nice to be able to put the breasts (still frozen) into the tub and pack it with ice, go to work, and then be able to connect to the Anova and tell it to start up at about 1:00 or 2:00 or 3:00  in the afternoon so that the chicken would be done when you get home from work.

I've been telling myself I was going to do this. Chicken is our Favorite SV item, but if I put it in before work it has a stringy texture by the time I get home. If I wait till I get home we eat a midnight snack and not dinner.

Yeah, if the chicken is actually cooking the entire time then it won't be at its best.

But with wifi you could just keep it frozen until a few hours before you want it to be ready. Assuming of course that the Anova wifi model would actually allow it to just sit idle until you tell it to start. Not sure if it allows that though.

HeavyG

SmokeyPitt said:

Thatgrimguy said:

HeavyG said:

If I wanted to do some chicken breasts it would be nice to be able to put the breasts (still frozen) into the tub and pack it with ice, go to work, and then be able to connect to the Anova and tell it to start up at about 1:00 or 2:00 or 3:00  in the afternoon so that the chicken would be done when you get home from work.

I've been telling myself I was going to do this. Chicken is our Favorite SV item, but if I put it in before work it has a stringy texture by the time I get home. If I wait till I get home we eat a midnight snack and not dinner.

I agree that is a cool idea.  You might want to give it a trial run though to see just how long it takes to melt the ice and warm the water. I don't know how powerful the heating element is but you might find it takes a while to go from 32 degrees to 130.  

Just to throw this out there...what if you were to sous vide ahead of time, refrigerate, and then do a quick sear?  If the inside was too cold you could consider another short bath then a sear.  

The heating element in these things are 800 watts. I think it would raise the temp easily but I would want to do a few trial runs sans meat just to get an idea how long it would take to raise it from 32°F to target temp in whatever container one is using.

Ive never paid much attention to how long it takes for water from my tap (50-ish in the winter) to get to target temp but I'm thinking it only takes about 15 minutes. So...maybe 30 minutes from near freezing???

My Anova is just the Bluetooth model but I did pre-order the next model from Nomiku which will have WiFI. Whenever it shows up I'll have to play with that just to see how feasible it is to try the frozen in the morning to ready for dinner scenario.

tonyled

what time do  you get home?  chicken only needs an hour to be done

http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/07/the-food-lab-complete-guide-to-sous-vide-chicken-breast.html#time

Tender and juicy for cold chicken salad	150°F (66°C)	1 to 4 hours
Very soft and juicy, served hot	140°F (60°C)	1 1/2 to 4 hours
Juicy, tender, and slightly stringy, served hot	150°F (66°C)	1 to 4 hours
Traditional, juicy, firm, and slightly stringy, served hot	160°F (71°C)	1 to 4 hours

ChillyWillis

The "is it sinking" test....


edit: no buffalo yet

minniemoh

The time to raise the water to cooking temp not only involves the temp of your tap water, but also the volume of water in your pot. We SV carrots pretty often and recently went to a larger pot. It took 45+ minutes to get to 180 degrees for about 3 gallons of water. My tap water started at about 125 degrees.

Miked125

I love mine ! It's on the cheaper end of the spectrum when you look at some accessories prices