I’m really lost here folks. When I was told about Sous Vide, it sounded like a piece of cake. Well, I just got my precision cooker and I don’t know where to start.
I got the app downloaded to my phone…now what? Do I really need the app; can I download the app to my laptop? I’ve gone to the website hoping to find a “user manual” that I can read or print. If there is one, I can’t find it. I have a seasoned Tri-tip that is vacuum packed and I thought I would just slip it into the bath, but I don’t know how long to leave in. I can’t find a “per pound” type of guide.
Also, Was told that you don’t have to worry about taking an item out of the bath. It will maintain it’s temperature but how can that be if the unit turns off? I know a lot of this must sound pretty basic to you all but very new to me…I even went out and bought a _**Lodge" cast iron skillet based on what I had been told.
Any comments, advice or information will be appreciated.
Hi!
I’m new here too and just got my Anova today. I found that a lot of my questions could be answered by clicking on the Support tab at the top of this page, and the on the far left of the new page, there is an orange button that says, “Browse All Topics”. It has a lot of information to help get you started. It sure helped me!
If you happen to have the Nano, I’ll link the help desk for it here.
I am not sure if you’ve seen this recipe already, but here’s one that might help.
Also please note, when it comes to sous vide, it’s about how thick the food is, not weight. This is probably why you can’t find a per pound guide. But if you let us know in the community what you want to cook, how thick the food is, what kind of doneness you want, and any other relevant details for your cook, we can totally help you navigate through it.
The Anova will maintain its temperature as long as it’s running. Even when you get an alert that your cook is done, the cooker will not turn off - unless you actively pause it yourself.
Hope this info helps! Feel free to ask all the questions!
Thanks for the help some of you shared. As we speak I have that commercially seasoned and packaged Chicken breast cooking. I’ve also downloaded and printed the manual and that gives me a little more confidence to get started. Thanks again to all.
And here is another question for you. I never saw any mention of setting a time, but coincidentally I looked at my unit and I see that the set time alternating between the temp I set and a time that I did not set. Also coincidentally the time that is flashing happens to be the time I planned on cooking the chicken breasts. The manual says something about seeing the time and temp from the App. I did not use the app to get started I used the unit itself. Also, the time showing in the app is different than the time showing on the unit.
There are loads of discussions in this forum from which you will be able to glean excellent information. That said, a lot of people find it easier to quickly pick up information by watching rather than reading. For this I think you’ll find some of the videos out on Youtube can be helpful. The YouTube channel “Sous Vide Everything” is one of my favorites and the link below is to a video they produced a while back specifically talking about “just getting started”! I hope you find it useful!
A word of advise…don’t try creme brulee in a bag. Absolute garbage compared to the traditional method…Good for Creme Anglaise and that’s all. Sous Vide is great for meats such as chicken and steak.
Thanks so much. This was a very helpful video. I stilll have a problem with the time element. When the pre-heat is done, how does the unit know automatically to set the time. That is what happened last night when I did my first cook. I cooked some chicken breasts that were pre seasoned and vacuum packed at the store. I set the temp at 155 and the time of 4:00 hors automatically popped up. According to the cooking chart the breasts can cook between one and four hours. I let them cook for the entire for hours and they were great after pan searing. Could I have removed them after one hour and they would have been done?
I find the app to be clunky and hard to use. I simply set the temperature directly on the Anova.
You can find time and temperature guidelines for any kind of food on the Anova website. Or you can google it. There are also many sous vide recipes on YouTube.
First thing you can do is relax. Cooking Sous vide is in fact a pice of cake. There are temperature and time tables all over the internet and depending how you like your food cooked, Anova Sous Vide will give you perfect food every time. For a good steak, I usually cook at about 130 degrees and I get a perfect rare without the blood. Imagine a rare steak thaat’s been cooked for 7 hours. Chicken and poultry I normally cook at about 140. As time goes on,and you become accustomed to using the unit it will eventually become second nature.
you should use the app. it has alot of info and recipes and so much easier when you all you have to do is push a few buttons and then you can keep track of it on your phone. i played with it for about 2 - 3 hours when i first downloaded the app and got the unit. also i got a couple books on sous vide and played around.
whats really good is that you can get less nicer (more tough) cuts of meats to learn with and they will come out great because the longer ya cook it the more tender it gets. I left a london broil in for 2 days at 130 and it was still rare when we pulled it out and we could cut it with a fork. good luck and have fun
Personally I don’t use the app - or the timer on the Anova itself. I set the temp to what I want, then hit the start. Sometimes I set a timer, but most of the time I just note what time it is and determine what time it will be when I’ll want to take it out. (Pretty much what @Jackslash said in his post above!)
Oh, and regarding the warning by @Russell-the-Chef to not use the “creme brulee in a bag” method…using small mason jars to cook creme brulee sous vide is fantastic! Skip the bag method, go with jars and you’ve got an incredibly easy and effective way to make excellent creme brulee. (May your waistline forgive my giving you this recommendation! )
Time is nearly irrelevant when cooking most things sous vide. The key to timing is to ensure that the food is cooked long enough to pasteurize which is usually a bit longer than the minimum cooking time. Cooking things longer rarely matters unless your cooking times become excessively long. The issue of pasteurization is usually omitted from most online discussions of sous vide but the concept is explained well in this reference: Practical Guide to Sous Vide Cooking Once you understand this concept you will better understand why the sous vide’s timer is pretty much unnecessary unless you have difficulty remembering when you put the food in the water bath.
I’m sure you have realized by now that the timer doesn’t really do anything more than beep at you; it doesn’t actually turn the Anova off. If you want to stop the beeping just unplug the Anova and then plug it back in. When you turn it on the timer will start over again.
As for the app, IMHO it’s pretty much a waste of time. Why use it for recipes when there are hundreds instantly available with a Google search? My experience has been that the wifi connection to the Anova is much more stable than the Bluetooth one. The Bluetooth loses connectivity if it gets out of range and then has to reconnect; the wifi stays connected.
My suggestion is to try a few easy things and you will soon learn that it’s all pretty simple. Sure, there are some exotic recipes out there, but most basic ones are simple and have a lot in common. Don’t worry, soon you’ll be a pro!
Apensa, this is Chef Blake don't fret over inches per pounds. Start with meat that is cheap, like what's CHEAP these days look for sales on top round aka London broil at least 1 inch thick. And you are going to make this if you like medium rare. Season the meat as you like. Vacuum seal or use freezer zip bag vac. out the air with water pressure pushing the air out of the freezer bag that important. The item must have full contact to the bag to cook. Have of meats temps. I cook at 131-134°F for 1" Give me what rare-med. rare this what the cut of meat will be stem to stern when you are finish. Now bottom round is tuff so it's **time** that is going to make it tender.
7-10 hours of cooking for this cut of meat no more mouth feel will be mushy. After the cut is reach time up. Remove from bag and dry it with paper towels and re-season place on plate or sheet pan place in the refrigerator for 5-7 mins. to cool outside layer of the cut of meat so, when that steak hits the maillard browning will be just on the out side of the steak no bullseye to be seen when you cut into the steak. I also cook a chuck roast same temp. for 29 -48 hrs. filet tender medium rare. Ribeye 2-3 hrs. more tender piece of meat is less time Your App. should have start up recipes for beginners if not ask on the web. how to? You will get the hang of it. Good luck from Chef Blake.
Note: Read Sous Vide Recipe you will get the idea too Know Meat cooked Temperatures for all the meats especially poultry and fish you dont want to get anybody sick.
I understand that I have been erring by responding directly to the emails I have received. This is a general response to all those that have assisted me. I think I now have a grasp about the use of the Anova precision unit and Sous Vide cooking in general. Thanks all.
