Amazon has the Anova Nano Sous Vide on sale for “Black Friday,” and I wanted to hear opinions about cooking with one. free netflix I’ve been looking at them for a while now, tech news and as I own a Foodsaver Vacuum sealer, this looks like a good addition to my kitchen gadgets.
Sous vide fits in very well in the kitchen. I find myself using it for tough meats and things like fish that can be easily ruined by overcooking. Pork and chicken also turn out great. Nice and juicy. Of course a nice thick steak cooked perfectly edge to edge is easy.
Charlie, if you consider Anova to be a gadget it’s probably not for you. Don’t buy a low price if you aren’t prepared to learn how to use the Anova circulator competently.
First, it’s not a "sous vide", that’s the name of the cooking technique, - like baking. It’s commonly know as a precision circulator.
You also need to go beyond looking unless you’re a gadget collector.
I suggest you consider if you are ready to learn a new way of thinking about your cooking. If you are prepared to to the work to raise your cooking results to a higher level, cooking in a precise manner in order to prevent moisture loss and achieve tenderness you could only dream of, you might find the work beneficial and buy one.
If you are not prepared to think about your cooking and just blindly follow recipes, don’t bother buying one.
If you peruse this Community’s posts you will soon realize that a lot of users here have little to no knowledge of the technique’s basics. They insist on applying conventional cooking technique thinking that doesn’t apply to SV. Or, they totally depend on the Anova app’s recipes to do the thinking for them and that comes loaded with challenges. Competent cooking requires knowledge and your focus on the expected outcome, - aka, thinking.
So if you are prepared to learn all you need using Anova to be able to cook meat and poultry to perfection, and almost everything else like eggs and vegetables in a very simple method, get it. You will be amazed at your delicious results.
I recommend you being your learning at the following site:
http://www.douglasbaldwin.com
Do well.
Once you’ve mastered cooking with a precision circulator you’ll find yourself using it for long cooks and short. In my household of two I cook a large piece of meat once a week for sandwiches (no more expensive deli meats). During summer months I’ll do a half dozen chicken breasts every couple of weeks so that I have them on hand for salads when the weather is too hot to feel like cooking.
I’ve put eggs in the tub before going to bed after a night out. On the lazy Sunday when I wake I set it to cook via my phone (about the only instance that I use the remote set feature) while the other half brings coffee. Morning papers or book chapters later and lazy brunch is done.
It has a lot of uses, once you learn to use it.
There are a few things for which the Anova is great.
- Various slow-cook meals, such as brisket, Adobo, various stock pot dishes.
- Steak, chicken breast or thigh, pork chops, etc. Any kind of meat where you want to control the internal temperature precisely, so you get the desired texture.
- Anything that requires immersion in a water bath at a specific temperature. The kind of stuff you do in mason jars, such as paté, egg bites, pickles, various jams, yoghurt, and the like.
- Eggs, if you are picky about the exact texture and have lots of time. (Eggs cooked sous vide take more time.)
There are other things you can cook sous vide. People do veggies, stocks, and lots of other things. Personally, this doesn’t do it for me. It’s easier and quicker to prepare such foods the conventional way—less mucking around with water bath, heater, vacuum or zip lock bags, etc. There is no real advantage to using an immersion heater, because those foods don’t require precise temperature control.
One big advantage of sous vide is that time is much less critical. You can leave food in the water for much longer than strictly necessary without affecting the texture. This is a god-send when you want to serve steak or chicken breast, where even a small amount of over-cooking ruins the meat.
If all the other prep is taking longer than you thought, no problem. Get everything ready in your own good time while the steak or chicken are still in the water. Then, when you know there won’t be any more unexpected delays, pull the meat out of the water, sear, and serve. Guaranteed and reproducible doneness and texture each and every time, without stressing about bringing everything together “just so” all at once at the end.
Aside from large cuts of meat, like brisket, my favorite thing to make is yogurt. Cook store bought yogurt and fresh milk, for 10 hours, at 110 degrees F.
Hey all, first time posting here!
Figured for those that are looking for thoughts on Anova, we’ve written a bunch of stuff to get you started, including a Sous Vide Comparison Chart that sizes up Anova vs. other sous vide cookers.
But if someone is looking for specifics on the different kinds of Anova cookers, and how they stack up against each other, we’ve written these:
Anyway, hope this helps anyone who reads this!
I bought one last year just for cooking large cuts of meats. Have never been disappointed in the results. Roast like bottom round, eye of round or Tri Tip come out perfect every time.