Anova Precision Cooker - cook sous vide with your iPhone.

[SoliD]

Damn. After getting £100 vouchers for Amazon, the Anova is now nigh-on £200! Is there anything else to consider? What else would I need? What sort of bags etc?

Also, anyone done lamb chops or other nice bits of meat that aren't steak?

Pork, Steak, Salmon, Tuna, Chicken, Lamb, Ostrich, all came out spot on, although some took some tweaking to get exactly what I liked.

Additional equipment is the vacuum sealer!

 

[dl8860]

A 72 hour cook on a brisket started today.

Liquid smoke, some red wine, onion, garlic, fresh rosemary, sea salt, pepper, truffle oil.

So far the temp seems spot on as 12 hours in very little juice showing in the bag. Undecided on how to finish, take it out and rest it for 30 minutes, or bbq/skillet it.

sub'd. can we have progress pics pls.

 

[kindai]

sub'd. can we have progress pics pls.

No pics im afraid.

24 hours in and the fat has started to break down on the outer layers. The thicker stuff is still quite visible, but where it was only a thin layer it is started to move.

 

[Scam]

It's almost worth considering buying directly from Anova uk website - it's far cheaper at the moment than Amazon.

True, but as I said those £100 vouchers (actually £110!) Looking at camelcamelcamel it's unusual for the price to be so high so I have faith it'll go down soon enough. Fingers crossed.

After watching too much of Guga on SousVideEverything on youtube

Um, yeah. Good shout, hadn't found that channel before. I watched his beginners video yesterday (30mins!), then the beef wellington. Then the rolled chicken thing. Drool

All you'll need is some ziplock freezer bags to get started.

Which ones?

 

[Flibster]

Um, yeah. Good shout, hadn't found that channel before. I watched his beginners video yesterday (30mins!), then the beef wellington. Then the rolled chicken thing. Drool

He is a bit of a nutter... the searing experiments are genuinely entertaining. But, certainly worth trying some of his recipes though.

Which ones?

Need to be rated for freezer and defrosting. Some are only ok up to 50°C which isn't high enough really.

Seems the ones from Lidl are well regarded.
Ikea ones, not so much.
If you can find real Ziploc bags, then they're a good safe bet.

 

[Scam]

Dang, I didn't realise it was now £99 on the Anova site! Wonder if my girlfriend can refund her vouchers

 

[kindai]

3 days later... and 1 minute either side on a red hot skillet.

My god, its divine. Falling apart in my fingers, the taste and texture is absolutely exquisite. Yet by cooking it on a low temperature, next to no juices were removed from the meat, so its still as succulent as you could ever want.

The only thing im going to try next time is putting it in a smoker for 2 hours instead of on the skillet to finish.

 

[Flibster]

And if anyone doesn't have a smoker, SousVideEverything to the rescue...

Going to try this later in the year once the weather has dried out a bit. My bbq rusted through at the end of last year (also, somehow set fire to the outside of it... Ummm.... ) so this will do until I can get a new one.

 

[FrenchTart]

That's pretty ingenious

 

[Scam]

Seems the ones from Lidl are well regarded.

Do you know which ones? Struggling to find them online but we do have a local Lidl.

What torches does everyone use? My Anova arrived today so looking to give it a whirl on some steaks this weekend. I'm assuming something like the Bernzomatic is much more preferable to a "cooking torch" like this Vogue one?

On that theme, I'm led to believe a torch won't give off as much smoke as searing in a pan? This is how I sold the Anova to my girlfriend, so we could cook steaks at home without ruining the furniture etc. Our kitchen is open plan with the lounge, TV, books etc..

 

[Flibster]

Do you know which ones? Struggling to find them online but we do have a local Lidl.

What torches does everyone use? My Anova arrived today so looking to give it a whirl on some steaks this weekend. I'm assuming something like the Bernzomatic is much more preferable to a "cooking torch" like this Vogue one?

On that theme, I'm led to believe a torch won't give off as much smoke as searing in a pan? This is how I sold the Anova to my girlfriend, so we could cook steaks at home without ruining the furniture etc. Our kitchen is open plan with the lounge, TV, books etc..

I heard that the ziploc style ones from Lidl are good, but I very rapidly bought a vacuum sealer.

Torch wise, I got a Bernzomatic TS8000 for Christmas. It's powerful. Imported it from the US.

 

[FrenchTart]

I've got the same torch as Flibster. Great bit of kit and a step above many of the other options. You will still get a little smoke/smell from using one to sear a steak but compared to using a pan it's almost nothing and easily dealt with by leaving a window open/extractor fan on.

Searzall is a nice addition to the torch though I don't always use it.

 

[valve90210]

I'm after some advice for cooking a joint of beef sous vide please.

I'm going to be cooking to a joint, probably topside or similar, to later be sliced and served cold as part of a buffet. I'm aiming for it to be cooked medium. My initial thoughts are add a rub like I would if I was smoking it, then vacuum pack it. Then I'll sous vide it for (how do I work out the time) before then searing all round in a pan (I only have a tiny little kitchen blowtorch sadly)

Anyone got any tips or advice please?

 

[FrenchTart]

I'm after some advice for cooking a joint of beef sous vide please.

I'm going to be cooking to a joint, probably topside or similar, to later be sliced and served cold as part of a buffet. I'm aiming for it to be cooked medium. My initial thoughts are add a rub like I would if I was smoking it, then vacuum pack it. Then I'll sous vide it for (how do I work out the time) before then searing all round in a pan (I only have a tiny little kitchen blowtorch sadly)

Anyone got any tips or advice please?

As you're planning to slice and serve it later I'd strongly recommend going medium-rare instead. It will retain more moisture and it will still look "medium" once it has sat around for a bit.

I'd go light on the rub but heavy on the salt. I'd also briefly pre-sear (before bagging) as that will make it easier to get some browning after the sous-vide step. Another benefit is that you'll get better flavour development that way.

For topside I'd give it 10 hours at 54.5c though you can adjust this up or down depending on the size by an hour or so. For top rump I'd reduce that to 6 hours. Before you set it to the main cooking temperature you should "warm age" the meat at 49c for one hour too.

 

[valve90210]

As you're planning to slice and serve it later I'd strongly recommend going medium-rare instead. It will retain more moisture and it will still look "medium" once it has sat around for a bit.

I'd go light on the rub but heavy on the salt. I'd also briefly pre-sear (before bagging) as that will make it easier to get some browning after the sous-vide step. Another benefit is that you'll get better flavour development that way.

For topside I'd give it 10 hours at 54.5c though you can adjust this up or down depending on the size by an hour or so. For top rump I'd reduce that to 6 hours. Before you set it to the main cooking temperature you should "warm age" the meat at 49c for one hour too.

Thanks, some great help there, knew this was the place to ask!

Great tip on going medium-rare, sounds like a great plan, I want it to have a nice blush but be tender and moist!

The rub I am planning on is a very simple one which I use to help with nice meaty flavour, tis pretty much salt, pepper and a 'secret' ingredient (which I'm sure people would frown upon as cheating but works beautifully) crush oxo cubes! .

Brief pre-searing makes sense, as I'll need to do less of it after it's cooked.

I'm used to smoking meat and cooking to internal temperature which obviously I can't do in this situation, so I'm guessing you just have to leave the meat for ages and go by guides of how long it should take and then cross your fingers a little? Is there any downside to leaving it in for longer than the 'required' time?

 

[bJN]

You are still cooking to an internal temperature - whatever you set the Anova to! Just have to gauge how much time you need by the size of the joint.

 

[FrenchTart]

Thanks, some great help there, knew this was the place to ask!

Great tip on going medium-rare, sounds like a great plan, I want it to have a nice blush but be tender and moist!

The rub I am planning on is a very simple one which I use to help with nice meaty flavour, tis pretty much salt, pepper and a 'secret' ingredient (which I'm sure people would frown upon as cheating but works beautifully) crush oxo cubes! .

Brief pre-searing makes sense, as I'll need to do less of it after it's cooked.

I'm used to smoking meat and cooking to internal temperature which obviously I can't do in this situation, so I'm guessing you just have to leave the meat for ages and go by guides of how long it should take and then cross your fingers a little? Is there any downside to leaving it in for longer than the 'required' time?

I can imagine the oxo cube approach working to give it a more meaty flavour. I often add sources of umami for a similar reason - fish sauce, soy sauce, etc.

Yeah, it's slightly different to smoking though some of the principles are similar (e.g. "low and slow"). Generally speaking leaving it in for too long isn't an issue though you will get some negative textural changes if you go too far. For topside though I wouldn't worry if you end up going up to 18 hours - though that's right on the edge of starting to go a bit mushy.

edit: What bJN said is also true.

 

[Scam]

I heard that the ziploc style ones from Lidl are good, but I very rapidly bought a vacuum sealer.

Torch wise, I got a Bernzomatic TS8000 for Christmas. It's powerful. Imported it from the US.

Cool. Heading to Lidl tomorrow. First cook tomorrow, haven't even opened the thing yet

Had my eye on the Bernzomatic but I'll see how we go. The only potential downfall I'm worried about is that my cast iron pan is a griddle pan. A few years ago my in-laws offered to buy us a nice Le Creuset cast iron pan and I thought the griddle was best for steaks back then. Haven't summoned up the courage to replace it with a regular cast iron pan..

Anyhoo, so for a first recipe how does this Anova one sound? I notice that's 54.4c whereas sousvideeverything does 57.2c. Why the difference? Is it because the Anova recipe is searing in a pan?

 

[valve90210]

You are still cooking to an internal temperature - whatever you set the Anova to! Just have to gauge how much time you need by the size of the joint.

I realise this, I just meant that I have a temp probe in the meat when I'm smoking it so I can monitor the internal temp where as I can't in the sous vide.

The oxo cube in the rub really does help with giving a nice depth of meaty flavour.

Good to know I can leave the meat for a good bit of time with no issues, makes it rather easier to fit in around the rest of life.. lol

Thanks for the help and advice

 

[FrenchTart]

Cool. Heading to Lidl tomorrow. First cook tomorrow, haven't even opened the thing yet

Had my eye on the Bernzomatic but I'll see how we go. The only potential downfall I'm worried about is that my cast iron pan is a griddle pan. A few years ago my in-laws offered to buy us a nice Le Creuset cast iron pan and I thought the griddle was best for steaks back then. Haven't summoned up the courage to replace it with a regular cast iron pan..

Anyhoo, so for a first recipe how does this Anova one sound? I notice that's 54.4c whereas sousvideeverything does 57.2c. Why the difference? Is it because the Anova recipe is searing in a pan?

The different temperatures give you a different level of 'doneness' in the meat.

This can give you a good idea:

https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/sous-vide-time-and-temperature-guide

(though I'd still personally stick to 54.5c for roast beef)