Sous Vide?

ninnymugs

I am wanting to give this a try. I'm very interested. Any tips on how to get started, what to buy, and overall how to?

Stormbringer

Check out this thread:

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1206717/sous-vide-information-sources

ColtsFan

https://www.chefsteps.com/sous-vide

JohnInCarolina

Do it.  It's as much of a life-changer as the Egg is, in my opinion.  Especially once you discover how to make your own chocolate pots!  

jtcBoynton

Stormbringer said:

Check out this thread:

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1206717/sous-vide-information-sources

I was just starting out when I asked the group for suggested resources.  The list is quite helpful.  There is no one source that is complete enough to be the one source to use.  I find that I am going back and forth between these sources to get the info I need.  Also be careful with recipes you find on the web. Some sites have recipes from users and some have suggested cooking times/temps that are questionable.

As for what to buy, you can get started with just purchasing a stick cooker.  Anova and ChefSteps are two popular brands.  You need a large pot (8qt or so) and plastic freezer bags (or vacuum bags).  I quickly bought a plastic container to use instead of using one of my cooking pots - liked the dimensions better and had a top that could be cut.

jlsm

I love mine, but I've also found that many "life-changing" recipes to turn tough meat tender just don't work well, at least not for me. I stick to steaks, chicken breasts, pork chops and giant shrimp. My one effort at beef ribs didn't turn out as I would have liked (I think they need an additional hour on the egg to render the fat properly). If I were to pick one source, I'd go with serious eats. 

Also, I ended up getting a vacuum sealer in quick order. 

caliking

Consider the Joule from chefsteps. Compact design, wifi, and 1100W vs. the Anova's 800W. If you have a budget to stick to, then get the Anova.

The wifi feature doesn't sound like it would make that much of a difference, but you could potentially load it up with ice, water, food when leaving the house in the morning, and then turn it on remotely to have food ready by the time you get home. 

caliking

jlsm said:

I love mine, but I've also found that many "life-changing" recipes to turn tough meat tender just don't work well, at least not for me. I stick to steaks, chicken breasts, pork chops and giant shrimp. My one effort at beef ribs didn't turn out as I would have liked (I think they need an additional hour on the egg to render the fat properly). If I were to pick one source, I'd go with serious eats. 

Also, I ended up getting a vacuum sealer in quick order. 

Beef ribs and brisket have both turned out pretty well. I did beef ribs at 147°F x 36hrs, then on the egg at 300°F x 2 hrs. 

Have not tried much seafood though. 

Woody

+1 on Chefsteps Joule.  I pre-ordered mine when it was still in the development stage and waited about a year to get.  As such is one of the early versions and it continues to work like a champ, never had an issue. 

Chefsteps is always improving the interface and recipes available, but agree I use seriouseats and other sites for ideas as well.

Did steak and chicken last night and seared on the egg.  The only way my son wants a steak now because it it so much more juicy and flavorful.

The other big benefit is when cooking for a crowd, you can set the meat in the hot tub and go about preparing the rest of the meal.  No need to worry about exact timing.  If your other prep goes long, the meat can stay in the bath.  Then on for a quick two minute sear once you have everything else set and you have all the dishes together at one time.

HeavyG

caliking said:

Consider the Joule from chefsteps. Compact design, wifi, and 1100W vs. the Anova's 800W. If you have a budget to stick to, then get the Anova.

The wifi feature doesn't sound like it would make that much of a difference, but you could potentially load it up with ice, water, food when leaving the house in the morning, and then turn it on remotely to have food ready by the time you get home. 

One thing about the Joule is you HAVE to use a phone or tablet to use it as it does not have any onboard controls.

That probably won't bother most folks but it bothers me.

cookingdude555

To counter, while I'm sure the joule is fabulous, the lack of controls on it bothers me. Having to only use my phone for any interaction wth it was a deal breaker. I understand my wifi anova is only 900w vs joules 1100w, but it heats up really before my contents are ready to drop in (I actually have the older 800w anova and use it most of the time as I don't need the extra juice, I did use both at the same time once while simultaneously cooking 65 burgers). These guys own pretty much every device, and this is a good comparison:

https://youtu.be/o0kYt3GFFuo

The jist is that that any device will likely be awesome. Sous vide is awesome. Started a 3" sirloin steak for a sear in the egg at noon:

jlsm

@caliking I merely seared the beef ribs; I'll cook longer on the egg next time. With seafood, I only do giant, 6 per pound shrimp, which you really can't cook properly any other way. I cook them at 138* from the freezer for 1.5 hours, marinate in basil, EVOO and garlic, then wrap with basil leaves and speck and sear on the egg for about 1.5 minutes per side. Fantastic. 

FanOfFanboys

can also infuse liquor and easily make cannabutter/cannaoil

caliking

@jlsm thanks
 Will try it sometime. Small lobster tails can probably be done similarly?

Legume

FanOfFanboys said:

can also infuse liquor and easily make cannabutter/cannaoil

Hey @YukonRon weren't you going to use SV to infuse some Bourbon or something a while ago?  How did that work?

jtcBoynton

HeavyG said:

caliking said:

Consider the Joule from chefsteps. Compact design, wifi, and 1100W vs. the Anova's 800W. If you have a budget to stick to, then get the Anova.

The wifi feature doesn't sound like it would make that much of a difference, but you could potentially load it up with ice, water, food when leaving the house in the morning, and then turn it on remotely to have food ready by the time you get home. 

One thing about the Joule is you HAVE to use a phone or tablet to use it as it does not have any onboard controls.

That probably won't bother most folks but it bothers me.

I find that I rarely use the phone app to start.  It is such a simple process, set temp and turn on, that the fancy smartphone interface is a bit of overkill.  

gdenby

Last I knew, chefsteps has Douglas Baldwin as a team member. Baldwin was one of the early writers to explain how SV worked from a technical/science aspect. Very solid info. Some of what he wrote is free on the web, and gives base line understanding. Do a search, and see what is involved.

SV  is just as handy as microwave, tho slo...  One must plan ahead if the pre-sear cook is going to be 36 - 72 hours in advance.

jlsm

@caliking Absolutely on the small lobster tails. 

YukonRon

Legume said:

FanOfFanboys said:

can also infuse liquor and easily make cannabutter/cannaoil

Hey @YukonRon weren't you going to use SV to infuse some Bourbon or something a while ago?  How did that work?

@Legume
I did infuse some vanilla into some Evan Williams as a test. I used a couple slices of whole vanilla beans into a 750ml bottle of Evan Williams for a trial run.
I chose EW due to the cost (and it is not a bad bourbon). It gave me a barometer to use going forward (should I wish to do so), on more expensive brands.
Poured into a food saver bag, placed in the SV for a couple hours, and it was very, very nice. It was extremely smooth, nice slight vanilla flavor was present, but nowhere near over powering, the flavor of the bourbon. Excellent when poured neat, and very fine on the rocks for the summer. I will definitely do it again, except this time with some oaked bourbon, to see the taste variance.
Hope this helps.

Legume

It does, thanks @YukonRon. Maybe I'll try a small batch or two.

Skiddymarker

caliking said:

Consider the Joule from chefsteps. Compact design, wifi, and 1100W vs. the Anova's 800W. If you have a budget to stick to, then get the Anova.

The wifi feature doesn't sound like it would make that much of a difference, but you could potentially load it up with ice, water, food when leaving the house in the morning, and then turn it on remotely to have food ready by the time you get home. 

My ANOVA 1.2 is 1050W, had no idea the BT in the current version is 800W. I have two ANOVA pipes, still both going strong. 

cookingdude555

Skiddymarker said:

caliking said:

Consider the Joule from chefsteps. Compact design, wifi, and 1100W vs. the Anova's 800W. If you have a budget to stick to, then get the Anova.

The wifi feature doesn't sound like it would make that much of a difference, but you could potentially load it up with ice, water, food when leaving the house in the morning, and then turn it on remotely to have food ready by the time you get home. 

My ANOVA 1.2 is 1050W, had no idea the BT in the current version is 800W. I have two ANOVA pipes, still both going strong. 

@Skiddymarker , which version to you have?  I have the wifi which is 900w, and the Bluetooth which is 800w.  The way I tell them apart is the sticker on the back.

Skiddymarker

@cookingdude555 Mine are the originals from ANOVA....no BT, no WiFi. 
Model is ASVPIPE 1.0 and 1.1 - will send a photo when I get home. The wattage is 1050W. 

cookingdude555

Skiddymarker said:

@cookingdude555 Mine are the originals from ANOVA....no BT, no WiFi. 
Model is ASVPIPE 1.0 and 1.1 - will send a photo when I get home. The wattage is 1050W. 

Ah ok, I was thinking the new one had come out.  I had heard they had some new models coming out soon.  

Skiddymarker

@cookingdude555 - I think the new model is called the NANO, might be wrong on that. I'm surprised the "newer and smarter" units have less power than the old Pipes. 

cookingdude555

Interesting. I'm not in the market for one right now, and hopefully won't be for a while. These have worked awesome for me so far tho. 

HeavyG

Anova announced a few new products back in January at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas. Since then Anova was purchased by Electrolux but I haven't heard how that might affect rollout of the new products.

Here's some info on the new toys: https://geardiary.com/2017/01/05/anova-announces-four-products/

Lit

Finishing up my first cook with my Anova wifi. Sold my sous vide supreme for more than the new one and it takes up half the space in the kitchen. Ran a chick roast at 131 for 36 hours and the temp stays exact. The sous vide stayed within about a half degree.

Toxarch

I've got a Chefsteps Joule that my brother gave me for Christmas. I rarely use it. But the nice part about the wifi is that the Chefsteps app will do all the "work" for you if you are using one of their recipes. Choose a recipe, pick the doneness of the meat, and tell it to go. It will input the temp, heat the water for you and tell you when to start. And it sets the timer for you and alerts you when it's done. None of that is necessary but they are nice features to have.

Eggcelsior

jtcBoynton said:

HeavyG said:

caliking said:

Consider the Joule from chefsteps. Compact design, wifi, and 1100W vs. the Anova's 800W. If you have a budget to stick to, then get the Anova.

The wifi feature doesn't sound like it would make that much of a difference, but you could potentially load it up with ice, water, food when leaving the house in the morning, and then turn it on remotely to have food ready by the time you get home. 

One thing about the Joule is you HAVE to use a phone or tablet to use it as it does not have any onboard controls.

That probably won't bother most folks but it bothers me.

I find that I rarely use the phone app to start.  It is such a simple process, set temp and turn on, that the fancy smartphone interface is a bit of overkill.  

Can you operate it without the app? That would bug the hell out of me too. The Anova is one button press than scroll to temp. I can see it being helpful for someone as a first-time user, but that would annoy me needing to add further steps over the baseline I'm used to.

westernbbq

Sansaire has worked well for me

Be sure to clean it with vinegar water after every use

Immersion is best instead of the tub ones that pose storage and complexity issues

Also be sure to have yours in a large plastic pyrex comtainer for insulation purposes, ie plastic transfers less heat than metal