thx for the link!
I have made a few things in my sous vide. Now I want to make my Christmas standing rib roast in it… It will be a 3 bone roast, about 5-6 pounds. Where do I find ziplock bags large enough to accommodate this bone-in roast? I don’t want to use Hefty brand which comes in a 2.5 gallon size because it is not a freezer bag ,and it has not gotten very good reviews. Amazon has a vacuum pump with special silicone bags that looks good, but the largest is something like 24 cm x 34 cm.
Also the roast is suppose to take 6 hours. Would I need to cover my pot to help retain the heat and reduce evaporation?
I cannot believe how moist and tender meat turns out with the sous vide.
Thanks for your help.
Laurie
I use vacuum bag rolls i get on Amazon. Never had a problem with them to this point. I would absolutely cover your cook vessel if cooking anything. When you heat the water, it evaporates cooling the remaining water making your heater work that much harder. For long cooks, a cover: be it a lid; ping pong balls, plastic wrap; or just a cutting board strategically positioned is a must.
Hi @Laurie
Just a small additional clarification to the post above by @Brian1, I believe the vacuum bag rolls he is referring to are used with a Foodsaver vacuum sealer (or something equivalent). And I agree with what he’s posted - both regarding the bag rolls and the rest of his post.
Hello every one,
I just received a Sous Vide cooker for my birthday and I am very excited to use it. I was wondering, is it possible to set everything up in the morning before I go to work and then use the app to start cooking it so it will be done when we get home? My thoughts were if I put a frozen steak in the water in the morning it would thaw out through the day and hopefully not spoil. Then, if it needs an hour to cook I would use the app to turn it on an hour before I get home so it’s finished when we get home and all I have to do is sear it.
Does that make sense? I wasn’t sure how to “google” this question. Thank you for your help!
You would need to check to see how long it would take to get the water temperature up to the required temperature then add your one hour to cook your steak to that time. I would err on the side of caution and allow another 30 minutes to whatever time you think will be long enough, as you can not really over cook using sous vide.
So you need a trial run first with the water at the temperature it would be at with a similar sized piece of frozen steak in to see how long it takes to get up to temperature.
@smartin75, the biggest problem with your question is the word ‘hopefully.’ As @Sandra51 suggests it would be beneficial for your food safety to use an insulated container and know how long the water would take to heat, etc, via some testing.
The best practice for your scenario is to use a converted cooler as your cooking vessel. Fill it with ice and ice-water and your frozen product. Seal the lot up and put your Anova on icebath function. This will circulate the water in the bath while monitoring temperature. If it rises out of the safe chill mode the unit will give you a notification and click into cook mode. If things don’t rise above the chill zone you can manually switch to cook when ready.
There is, however a slight problem with this methodology and that is the time required to heat the volume of iced water to cooking temperature. Provided it takes less than an hour (and it should unless the vessel is too big or over filled with product) all is good. Longer than that, by the time you add in heating time for your cooking product you might slip into risky territory again.
Hi Alyssa,
Just got the Nano from my wife for Christmas. Unless I’m missing something, the clamp on the Nano isn’t adjustable and won’t fit “Any pot.” It only fits my very tall stock pot which takes a lot of water to reach the minimum level. Can I use a smaller pot and lean the nano?’ Thanks, Charlie
You’re right, the clamp on the Nano is stationary. I wouldn’t recommend leaning it…the housing’s aren’t waterproof - if it fell into the bath and shorted out the unit, that wouldn’t be covered by warranty.
Your better bet would be to get a plastic lid and cut a hole in it to hold the Nano in place (has the added benefit that it will minimize your evaporation for longer cooks).
You could also buy the lid that Anova makes, as it already has a hole that will fit.
Thanks. Will try that.
Thinking of trying out sous vide and thinking of getting the Nano, however, Amazon reviews paint a bad picture of the wifi and bluetooth connectivity. Do all Anova Sous Vide machines have manual ways of using them? I don’t want to have to deal with the hassle of the app not connecting, so I’m planning on just using them manually.
What would I be missing out on if I don’t use the app or wifi features?
For whatever reason, Amazon likes to consolidate review across models (for us anyway). So some of the review include the Wi-Fi unit. Please note, the Nano model is Bluetooth only. All of our units can be controlled manually. With Bluetooth, you’ll have the ability to control and monitor your cook within range. There is only one app for all of our models, so nothing will change…whether you get Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. The Wi-Fi models can use the ice bath feature, though.
All Anova Sous Vide machines can easily be used manually! In fact, not needing a phone app to run my Anova was an important factor in my selection of an Anova. I’ve been using a WiFi version on average a couple times a week for the last year, and I’ve just purchased a second Anova (a Nano) mainly so I have something to cook with when my WiFi unit is doing a LONG cook!
I do use the WiFi connectivity to check on my APC and ensure it’s still running fine in those instances where I’m away from home for a few hours while doing a long cook. That said, if the WiFi and Bluetooth were both to fail on my APC I really wouldn’t miss them much. I use the manual controls pretty much exclusively, and I love the fact that I don’t need my phone and an app to run it.
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Just received a Anova Nano? for Christmas. I set up my phone with the app and connected, I then set up the app with my wife’s phone (both iPhones) and it connected. When the Anova is cooking and counting down, I can see it on my phone but my wife’s phone will not connect. Is it because just one phone at a time can connect. We are on the same wi-fi network.
The Nano is Bluetooth only and can most likely only pair with one device at a time.
Does anyone happen to know if the phone app can pair with 2 Anova WifiBluetooth circulators independently or: manage different temps & times for each, 1 for entree & 1 for side dishes?
No. It can’t. That functionality is in development for release some time in the future.
I have never used a sous vide device before and have no idea how to set it up. There’s no direction booklet enclosed with the device. How do I know where to even start?
I am not sure which model you have, but I’ll drop a few things below that will help get you started.
Hi @pamull
The YouTube channel “Sous Vide Everything” did a little video designed to help people just starting out. And @chatnoir made an excellent post on this forum recently that also answered a number of questions people often have. See below!
Here’s the video by Sous Vide Everything on YouTube:
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And here is a link to the post made by @chatnoir on this forum that has additional excellent information::
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