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Anova Sous Vide Precision Cooker – Item of the Day — 31 Comments

  1. My Joule hasn’t crapped out on me yet. My Anova seems better built, but takes much longer to heat the water than my Joule. I prefer the Joule’s app, recipes and website experience.

    All in all, if I had it to do over again, I’d buy the Anova and download the ChefSteps app and subscribe to their newsletter. Good recipes.

    I like having two sous vide machines.

    • I agree with that, and my Joule may have just been a lemon.

      Fast heating with your Anova, heat a full electric kettle to almost boiling and dump in.  Takes about 4 minutes for the kettle to boil when full.

      • Also just hot tap water speeds stuff up a LOT, because you don’t care about hot water heater ick since the water never touches your food.

  2. Have you tried an air fryer yet? Finally figured out why I burnt out on paleo a few years ago (electrolytes! per Ketogains) and am now down 80 lbs with about 20 left to go. Since I have very minimal cooking/cleaning time, I use a lot of store bought pre-cooked meats but would like to get away from that since I don’t consider it the healthiest choice long-term. An air fryer looks like it might be a good choice in meeting my goals.

  3. Is it weird I just bought this through Tspaz on Sunday?

    Can’t wait to try it out. Thanks!

  4. Sadly wasn’t able to get it from Amazon (they only have the 110V USA power supply), but picked it up locally today based on the TSPC recommendation.

  5. Happy Friday Jack,

    Do you have a recommendation for a food vacuum sealer?

    I did a search on your website and after (not much) digging, I was unable to find any such recommendations.  I’m interested in finally taking the plunge on this item of the day, but want to make sure I get a great food vacuum sealer to go along with it. Also, while we’re at it, any recommendations on the refill plastic rolls (food grade, certain thickness, brand, etc.) would be greatly appreciated as well.

    Thank you for all you do,

    Ramon

  6. Kind of annoyed that this unit doesn’t have a start timer. As in, I want it to start 4 hours from now. So dinner is ready when I get home. Or hard boiled eggs are ready in the morning. And, you can’t set timers for it to shut off either. I’d rather it cool down than over cook.
    Had I known this I would have spurred for the Wi-Fi.

  7. Just wanted to comment that after purchasing this cooker it quit after about the 6th use.  Total electrical failure and will not power up. I left a message with Anova, and will follow up if I don’t hear back.     I will update this comment so everyone can hear how it plays out.  Just wanted to give my honest feedback after having had no issue with any of the other TSPAZ items I have bought over the years.

  8. Just following up to my comment.  I missed the window to return the product through Amazon however, when I contacted Anova they accepted the return.  They have a wonderful customer service representative, I don’t say that lightly and have often poor experiences.   In summery if you do get a lemon this company will make it right, buy with confidence.

  9. Jack-

    I wonder if you could freeze a steak with seasoning and in the vacuum bags…freeze a bunch of them so they are ready to go. Then drop the frozen streak in the bag in the pot of cold water from tap. No need to add ice?

  10. It depends on how long it is going to sit there before it goes on. The add ice think is when you are going to be gone all day, otherwise it can thaw out and start to spoil. It is cheap insurance. There is no reason not to do it. I think you’d be shocked at how fast a totally frozen steak thaws once the circulation starts. I do it all the time, not with turning it on remote since I work from home. But just hey we didn’t take anything out, grab two frozen steaks and put them in the sous vide. A 60 minute cook ends up taking 75-90 minutes it is that fast.

    I have even used it set really low like say 70 degrees to defrost things I was not going to sous vide. Even at 70 the moving water will totally defrost a roast in about 40-60 minutes.

  11. I sprung for the wireless version. Totally worth it. I have used the ice water/start it from work method multiple times and come home to meat that was ready.

    I’ve also become the hero of Thanksgiving… and Christmas… and Easter. I was already the “meat guy”. But my Anova has made turkey, beef tenderloin, lamb, and chicken for holidays. It comes out perfect every time. Words like “scrumptious” and “divine” typically come back from guests. Family members who never ate a steak less than medium well and always wanted me to cook them more are now buying Anovas and eating meat like it was intended… close to raw. I typically season good meat in the bag for a while (including aromatics like rosemary). When I pull them out of the bag for the finish, I clear away some most of the herbs and use some more fresh on the cast iron. Killer…

    If you work away from home or, like me, are responsible for both cooking the meat and last minute trips to the grocery, then spring for the wireless instead of just the bluetooth.

  12. One thing I’ve been wanting to try Sous Vide is candle making, perfect melting point and no double boiler or wax coated surroundings is the hope.

  13. Corey fantastic idea. Made me realize it would be good for candy making too, ie melting chocolate.

  14. Oh, man, I didn’t even think about chocolate.

    I’ve been on the fence about working with melting chocolate too.

    Would Tattler lids be good for mason jar sous cooking?

    I don’t see why not, but I figured I would ask before ordering some.

  15. That was quick! Got the TSP email 14 minutes ago informing this item of the day is on-sale for $138. Amazon has already popped it back up to $175. Wondering if they are secretly watching Jack’s items-of-the-day and quickly changing prices. 🙂

  16. Just finished eating my fantastic ribeye – wow. I’ve never been able to cook a thick steak. I followed your recommendation. 137 degrees 75 min using the sous vide.
    Thanks Jack!

  17. Do you recommend buying the Sous Vide container with lid or can you just use a regular stock pot as some of the pictures on Amz show? The container is an extra $70.

    • I bought a very large and a medium sized container. I sous vide a LOT and some stuff for a long cook, think over night brisket. I also make farm cheese and having one to nest in the other for that is really nice. Day to day though and getting started a pot is fine. You can put a towel over the top to help conservation. I have seen people make a cook container from cheap stryofoam coolers, that words too.

      Here is what I own in 12 and 26 quarts. There are other options but since I love cooking I went with the best, what sucks is you have to buy the lids separately. https://amzn.to/3ISzQKd

      What sold me on taking the plunge was the cheese making. You can see that here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmkeRdbCBrw so fast and so easy. I have put a ton of stuff in it like garlic and jalapenos.

      So you don’t need to, and if you do you can buy something less expensive but this is what I invested in. I have to say they will likely last forever.

  18. Thanks, Jack. The above comments on cheesemaking, yogurt, melting wax and chocolate made me take plunge. I had no idea. And hope you keep doing your hysteria voice on the podcast. Makes me laugh just thinking about it.