Sous Vide circulators review


 
Chris in Louisiana

Chris in Louisiana

TVWBB All-Star
Sous vide is cooking meat or veg low and slow in a water bath held at a constant temperature for several hours, with meat finished quickly in a pan or on the grill to brown the outside. It has come quite popular in the last few years.

Kenji over at Serious Eats has reviewed the home circulators now available for $199 to $299. The sous vide technique was interesting before, but not enough to pay several hundred for the bulky Sous Vide Supreme or make my own per the online tips.

The Anova at $199 has my eye, and I see other good reviews of it out there. It may be worth a try at that price point.

Here is the review/comparison.

The Anova site has links to some other reviews of it.

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Have you tried cooking with any of these devices? How was your experience.

A friend has a homemade rig and says the steaks, short ribs, etc. it produces are very good.
 
I've enjoyed sous vide cooking that's been prepared for me from fish, fowl and steaks. So much so that I've ordered the Sansaire model which compares favorably to the Anova in the review you cited above.
 
Dorkfoods (love the name) makes a Sous Vide for $99, you can check it out on Amazon. This unit doesn't have a circulator, it just heats the water, however it's very accurate. It's my understanding that if your cooking small amounts such as a couple of steaks or a 3lb Tri tip a circulator isn't needed. But I'm new at this and have only done a few cooks with the DSV. The Tri tip I cooked was very tender and juicy. The shrimp I cooked (16-20) didn't get a passing grade. Back to the drawing board on that one. I cooked a couple of eggs that were ok but needs a little work. I'm having fun with my new toy but am very happy I didn't sink $200 to $400 into this Sous Vide cooking. Would I buy this Sous Vide device again? Yes, it's a new toy to play with and you all know we need our toys.
 
I've got the Sous Vide Professional by PolyScience. It's a great unit and does everything you could imagine. It cooks certain foods above your expectations, but remember it's just another tool in the kitchen. When I first received my unit I used it all time and the food was spectacular. Once the newness of the device has worn off I found myself reverting back to grilling or other conventual methods of cooking. If your a 9-5er it's a very useful tool during the week. Beef in my opinion performs best under sous vide. Try this website to understand.
https://www.chefsteps.com/classes/sous-vide-cooking/landing
 
I have the Anova unit, and couldn't be more pleased with it. Very accurate temp control and extremely easy to set. Would I buy it again? You bet!

Frank
 
I have the Anova, in black, and use it all the time. I like it so much, that I bought a second one, in red. :) I even bought my daughter, the attorney, yuppie, foodie... one for Christmas! She also got the red one.

It is extremely accurate, and simple to use, and built like a tank.

Cooking sous vide, is so awesome. Never an over cooked steak, or anything else for that matter. I'm continuously finding additional ways to use it. For example: the leftover prime rib, I did on the wsm for Christmas, is easily reheated to the perfect temperature, without over cooking it. I simply vacuum sealed it and using the Anova heated it back to 123. It was just as good as the first time!

A few weeks back, I used it to sous vide a flatiron steak. It was as tender as any of the best ribeyes, I've ever had, AND a whole lot cheaper! :)

I still use my grill (grillgrates), or sizzle q, or even the charcoal starter, to put a sear on things.

Keith (cadawg)
 
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