I have a brand new just out the the box Anova Nano. I’m very excited to use it. I have a 3 pound chuck roast defrosting in the fridge and would like to cook it in the next day or so. My question is, does using the Anova for 24-36 hours at around 170 degrees heat up the kitchen quite a bit? I live in the desert, and when it’s 108 outside, I don’t like use crock pots or other devices that stay hot for long periods. I have a square Rubbermaid 12 quart container with a lid. I am planning on insulating it with towels, both on the top and around the sides. This will minimize water loss and hold in heat, but does it also keep the kitchen cooler? Thanks for any help you can provide.
I like sous vide because I can cook on a 48C day without addinf much extra heat to the kitchen. It’s not like convensional cooking methods where you’re cooking source is 4 or more times ambient temperature.
And if you want to make doubly certain you can always cook in an insulated vessel.
Welcome Girl, a well wrapped SV vessel barely feels warm to the touch during a cook so it won’t heat up the kitchen anymore than you do. SV cooking temperatures are significantly lower than any other cooking technique so it’s definitely an advantage.
You can SV cook that roast from frozen, but why cook at 170ᴼF? Cooking at that temperature for so long is going to have a horrible outcome unless you are aiming for a Pulled Beef dinner.
You might consider cooking outside. The warmer temperature will reduce energy consumption. Just be sure to critter-proof your cooking. I can’t do long overnight cooks outside as Rocky and Friends can get into just about everything.
I am trying the roast at 160, with my container wrapped in towels. It’s not as hot as I thought it would be. I like my meat well done so I am trying a higher temperature. I think this kind of cooking will take some experimentation, and I’m not afraid to go for it. As the Dalai Lama said- “Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.”
I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
While he’s a good person, i’m not so sure about the value of cooking recklessly.
Just so you know, cooking above 150ᴼF is going to cause a lot of needless moisture loss in your chuck roast and negate much of the benefit of SV cooking. Beef consists of about 80% water and over time you are going to have lost a lot of it at 160ᴼF with no increase in apparent doneness, just moisture loss. There can be overdone you know. You might even enjoy Well-Done at 150ᴼF.