Anova Sous Vide Cooker

Amazon has a one day sale on the Anova Wifi Sous Vide Immersion Cooker for $139.99

I am really on the fence about this. To the people who own one, or something similar, is it something you find yourself using a lot? They sound great in theory.

We use ours a lot. A total game changer in the kitchen!!!

I have one. Absolutely love it and $140 is a steal.

Just be aware that’s the bluetooth version. Not sure what the exact differences are vs. their wifi model.

My bad…it is the Blue Tooth model…my head said Wifi…

I am leaning towards picking one up. I just have the feeling that someone like Hamilton Beach will come out with their own version of one of these for $39 a couple of months after I buy it.

We own two Anova Sous Vide cookers and they get used on a regular basis.

David

use it all the time, have the BT version.

Any concerns about using plastic bags for cooking?

I think there are for long cooks. But for short 1-2 hr cooks prob not

True for fully submerged long-cooks at high temperatures. The vacuum isn’t as good, so air trapped in the bag will inflate possibly resulting in uneven cooking. Also the seal isn’t as strong as a chamber or clamp vacuum sealer, so you might get a breach.

ChefSteps uses a neat technique of using an alligator-style binder clip to the edge of the pot with a ziplock. Seems to be a good approach. I have a food saver though, so haven’t tested this technique. You can see them using it here The Best Way to Cook a Steak. Period. - YouTube

Oh I have a food saver as well. So if I put the ingredients in one of those and seal it, that should work fine then?

[quote=“Ron Slye”][/quote]
If you get a proper seal, yes. You can’t use a clamp-style with excessively liquid ingredients. also it helps to cuff the bag before putting the food in it to prevent getting the edge of the bag wet and preventing a good seal. See http://www.seriouseats.com/images/2015/07/20150610-sous-vide-chicken-guide-14-edit.jpg

Thanks for all the input. I decided against the unit for the time being. I have a few other things that need to take priority money wise. I think what I will do is pick up a temperature controller and rig it up to my crock pot. I can try out the technique first. Then if several months down the road a special comes around again, if I like the results, I will pick one up.

How about spending no money and just using a large stock pot and a rig to hold a remote temp probe. You can get a bit of circulation by having the flame far off center. This is how I started and had no problem cooking at temps between 120 - 160

you run that flame for 24+ hours?

Charlie, this version has been used for 6 to 8 hours for boned turkey breasts and other short term SV cooks. Having said that, I’m not opposed to running a stove burner on low for a long period of time but have never had the need to do that…

Missed this the first time through. I’ve had some version of sous vide cooker for nearly a decade now (when the first Sous Vide Supreme came out) and I wouldn’t want to be without one.

I don’t use it all the time but at least several times a month.

what vessel are you using for your cooks? something like this

or this

The first item linked will be too small to fit any product in once you’ve got the Anova inside. The second item linked would work well for small cooks. I use the larger 6.5 gallon Cambro, which is overkill for a small cook but necessary when preparing large items or multiples for a dinner party. I have also insulated all four sides (including the lid with a cutout for the Anova) to cut down on the wasted energy during long cooks.

I just use a large stock pot.