Newbie questions: Fat use and reusable plastic bags

Anova Precision® Cooker
1

Hello, just got my Sous Vide for Xmas and have two questions:

  1. Do I need to use fat when cooking chicken breasts or fish? I would like to keep my meats lean, if possible…

  2. Are there any reusable alternatives to Ziploc bags? I dislike the fact that cooking this way will create unwanted plastic waste vs every other cooking method (baking, searing, slow cooking, etc…)

Cheers!

2

Hey @Vivian! No fat is necessary, in fact there are several beliefs that the fat draws flavor out of the meat similar to how a stock would be made. Liquid+Meat=stock. As far as the plastic goes, not really, BUT the energy use of the Anova is so low, that the total impact is quite minimal. I have seen statements that suggest an entire sous vide cook (2-4 hours) uses less electricity than bringing a pot of water to boil on an electric range.

3

Hi Vivian - I don’t have personal experience with these, but here are some reusable bag alternatives on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_18?url=search-alias%3Dgarden&field-keywords=reusable+sous+vide+bag&sprefix=Reusable+sous+vide%2Cgarden%2C244&crid=1IVP3XB6X9LE1

Hope this helps!

Robert

4

Sorry, not sure this link came through. Just search up reusable sous-vide bags on Amazon. There are a few products.

R

5

Hi @Vivian,

There are definitely some alternatives out there for plastic bags like sillicone reusable bags, and glass if what your cooking works with that. Also check out this thread: Cooking in plastic bags and health issues - #3 by phoneless there is a lot of info and advice on there.

6

Awesome - thanks for the answers. Will give the reusable bags a shot. I’m always trying to minimize waste :slight_smile:

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