I just got an Anova sous vide gizmo. I ordered the mini-gizmo, but due to supply delays, I elected to get the big fancy gizmo they sell in exchange. I have never cooked anything sous vide and I am about the start experimenting. I have a few questions:
The bags. Do I need anything special? Can I just use the regular Food Saver vacuum bags? Can I just throw the food in a ziplock bag?
Do I need to make sure there is no air in the bag so the only thing between the food and the hot water is the bag? Should I just weigh the bag down with something so it doesn’t float?
Any suggestions on what are the most common mistakes?
Any “best practice” suggestions?
Has anyone tried to fill a jar with food and sous vide food that’s in the jar? Would the jar just explode from trapped air as it heats?
Yes, lots of videos about technique, but I use a pot of water to force air to the tiny opening I have left in the ziplock.
Thinking sous vide is a miracle technique that makes everything better,
Big binder clips to attach bags to pot and keep them from crowding. Using a huge stock pot. Thinking of sv as a dinner party time saver (food is held at temp until u need it), combining it w sear to get texture or maillard,
Food Saver bags work great for me. The only trick is wet stuff- A couple of tricks help there- Freezing a marinade can help, as well as hanging the bag over the edge of a counter and hitting “seal” as soon as liquid pulls close to the sealer.
One of the most common mistakes is not doing carrots early on. Another one is not doing 72 hour short ribs (you need to use something more stout than just a ziplock for those though) early on.
The bags. Do I need anything special? Can I just use the regular Food Saver vacuum bags? Can I just throw the food in a ziplock bag?
I use Food Saver bags and they work well. My cousin uses heavy-duty Ziploc bags for short durations (less than an hour).
Do I need to make sure there is no air in the bag so the only thing between the food and the hot water is the bag? Should I just weigh the bag down with something so it doesn’t float?
Yes, air should be removed from the bag. You can clip the bag to the side of the pot with a binder clip and weigh it down if it floats.
Any suggestions on what are the most common mistakes?
Timing is everything. Some foods only need a short period of time, whereas others really benefit from longer periods. Example: a ribeye will cook in about an hour, and short ribs really shine after 48 hours or more. Plan your menu in advance so you don’t come up short.
Any “best practice” suggestions?
Don’t let your friend crack an egg in the water. It’ll gunk up your immersion circulator. (True story.)
Has anyone tried to fill a jar with food and sous vide food that’s in the jar? Would the jar just explode from trapped air as it heats?
Haven’t tried it. Only one way to find out!
Lots of custard/Crème brûlée and paté recipes out there using mason jars - mostly filled, closed finger tight, placed in water bath with some sort of weight on top to keep them from floating. Worked great the couple of times I tried it.
#1: We’ve used Ziploc bags since the beginning and never had a problem. Beware that if you’re cooking anything that has sharp bones, the bones might puncture the bag (!), resulting in a huge mess
#2: You actually don’t need a perfect vacuum for sous vide to work, and there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that removing too much air from the bag actually reduces the juiciness of the finished product. An overly tight seal also risks puncturing the bag (see #1)
#3: We’ve not had particularly good results with fish, both in terms of texture & fishiness. Before searing meat that’s been in the bag you should get it as dry as you possibly can. If you oversalt, you can end up with something that feels & tastes like jerky
#4: You should absolutely maintain a log of the time/temperature combinations that work for you. People we know who have wand-type sous vide devices use ping pong balls to cover the surface of the pot (we have a Sous Vide Supreme, which is a self-contained thing, so we’ve never had to bother with that). Once you’ve had 72h short ribs you’ll never go back. Finally calibrate your machine! Ours reads 2f higher than it should
#5: We have actually done egg white custard in glass jars and it’s been fine for us, but we don’t do this too often. I bet it works great for dulce de leche
Finally a list of time/temp combos to get you started:
Beef short ribs: 132f for 72h
Tri-tip: 130f for 2.5h
Pork chop: 132f for 2h (varies based on thickness)
Searing is the magic step to finishing. For Steaks using a prewarmed cast iron or baking steel seems to work the best. My favorites have been chicken and steak. Pork Belly is next on my list of things to try.
Sous Vide eggs are an incredible addition to salads. The yoke adds such a nice texture/flavor.
Gets to around 950 degrees, makes amazing pizza. We normally do pizza and octopus night, this thing can char some octopus fast. The pro version is bigger and is easier for pizza while the smaller Uuni 3 gets whatever you are trying to finish closer to the flame. These things cook fast and are really fun to use. I put some SV carrots in mine right out of the bag and it dried the cooking liquid and put a great char on them in about 2 minutes. Asparagus is awesome in here. Nice tool to have if you have a circulator, they should be marketed together.
I did a test run for Turkey day yesterday and did sous vide -deep fried turkey. Followed Michael Voltaggio’s riff here:
I’ll never again do turkey any other way. Makes me think I might want to eat turkey more than once a year!
We did something close to this with a wild turkey my son shot a few years back, brined the breast in pickle brine and made deep fried turkey breast sliders and a curry with the legs and thighs. Just delicious. I know people who thought circulators pointless, then they tried a low temp turkey breast and now they have two!
Regarding the jars question - I started doing cold brew coffee in my Anova once a week. I do two of the 32 oz Mason jars at a time and never have any issues. Just don’t screw the lids on too tight!