Finally ordered a Sous Vide!

(PSackmann) #1

After thinking it over and over, I bit the bullet today and ordered a sous vide. I’m looking forward to putting it to work this weekend on some chicken legs and thighs, then expanding to other meats. Woohoo!!! I can’t wait!

#2

I’ve been debating it, but I already have such a variety of big kitchen things like the instant pot and air fryer, I just know my husband would be like “REALLY??” lol… and he’d be like “are you SURE they ALL really do seperate unique functions?” (Yes!!!)

(PSackmann) #3

I know, lucky for me my husband won’t really question it. I still haven’t gotten into the instant pot or air fryer though, maybe an air fryer later.

(Central Florida Bob ) #4

Forgive my ignorance, but don’t instant pots allow you to set a temperature precisely and leave it for long periods? If that’s the case, you could bag a steak (or whatever) put it in the pot and fill that with water. That would be just about the same thing as a sous vide cooker. No circulation, but that only matters if the water just sits and gets hotter/colder spots.

You could experiment with the same textures and cooking styles as sous vide with your instant pot. At least well enough to decide if you want to go for one.

(Robert C) #5

I wouldn’t cut corners on Sous Vide. Very low temperature cooking needs to be churned throughout the cooking cycle and I think Sous Vide appliances are very temperature sensitive. They are small and totally worth the cost. You’ll never go back!

#6

@CFLBob I don’t think mine has a temperature setting :frowning:

(PSackmann) #7

So glad it came in time to experiment with dinner tonight. We have friends coming for dinner and I had planned chicken thighs and drumsticks. I paired the Nano with my phone and decided to set it up by putting the cambro in the sink. It’s close to an outlet, I don’t have to lift a full cambro out of the sink, and any leakage will go right down the drain. Anova calls for 165F for 1 1/2 hours, which is funnily a shorter time than I would slow-roast in the oven.

First lesson–timing starts as soon as pre-heating is complete, so next time I’ll add my food before it’s pre-heated, as it’s not intuitive on how to add time without stopping the cooking and re-setting. Second lesson–using the water disbursement method isn’t as easy as it sounds, especially with 165F water. Next time I’ll seal before pre-heating, or break out my vacuum sealer. Third lesson–I didn’t need the binder clips this time, as the cambro came with a lid, so I was able to put the tops of the bags under the lid to hold them in place, which still allowed the meat to be totally submerged.

I plan to finish in a hot oven for a few minutes to crisp up the skin and will report on the final product later.

(PSackmann) #8

The chicken came out very good, next time I think I’ll cook it a bit longer, the meat closest to the bone wasn’t quite done. Crisping it up in the oven worked very well, and heated up the kitchen a lot less than cooking the whole thing in the oven. Looking forward to more experimentation and a cooler kitchen this summer.

(Doug) #9

While sous viding beef is divine, I think that it’s with poultry and pork where sous vide really shines - no longer does one have to worry about under-cooking it in the same way we used to, so there’s no need to overcook it, and one can dial in their preferred degree of doneness.

(PSackmann) #10

My family prefers meat more well-done, so I think this will be a good way to get it to their done-ness preference without drying it out.

(Running from stupidity) #11

It’s easy, just sous vide everything, then put theirs in the pan and leave it until it’s like leather, then throw yours in at the end for a minute, and you’re sorted.

(PSackmann) #12

Don’t think I’m not tempted. I’ll be working a compromise on that idea, getting it a bit more done than I like and letting them microwave or cook their own past that.