I got my Anova today!

[BladeVenom]

Expecting statistic, ended up with a picture of chicken.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

And now that I'm stuck on researching sous vide, what made you chose the Anova over the Sansaire and Nomiku? I remember seeing these on Kickstarter awhile back, didn't realize they were all available now! Interesting post here comparing it to the Sous Vide Demi appliance:

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/145431-anova-sous-vide-circulator-part-1/?p=1928962



Edit: Found a good shootout of the Anova vs. Sansaire vs. Nomiku here:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/12/sous-vide-circulator-review-sansaire-nomiku-anova.html

I originally was going to go with the sansaire, but it kept being pushed back. The article at serious eats you linked to put the nail in the Sansaire coffin. I'm not saying the latter is bad, but it doesn't seem to have any qualities that would make me pick it over the Anova (which seems to be of better materials- the metal impeller is nice).

Same price, wins (admittedly not by a huge margin) over at serious eats, and I have already used it where I'd get the Sansaire...when?

 

[Kaido]

I originally was going to go with the sansaire, but it kept being pushed back. The article at serious eats you linked to put the nail in the Sansaire coffin. I'm not saying the latter is bad, but it doesn't seem to have any qualities that would make me pick it over the Anova (which seems to be of better materials- the metal impeller is nice).

Same price, wins (admittedly not by a huge margin) over at serious eats, and I have already used it where I'd get the Sansaire...when?

Yeah the Anova is my pick as well after reading through the reviews online. Very nice! How was the chicken? Guessing not dry?

 

[drebo]

Smoked meats > *. I don't get this sous vide fad.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

So, are you going to complement it with a Searzall?

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1708738346/the-searzall

Just got funded!

Not immediately. I have a high heat high quality electric heat gun. I could use that, but I used the standard heat-until-nuclear hot cast iron pan. Yes surface moisture could cause the generation of steam which would lessen direct contact with the metal itself, but it didn't happen last night.

My next purchase? Might be a vacuum sealer. The meat was easy but the brussel sprouts were a bit tough even using the submerge and straw suction method. Hard round things just aren't as cooperative as pliable boneless chicken.

What I would like is a set of these.

Correction, I just bought those. ()

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Smoked meats > *. I don't get this sous vide fad.

Sous vide is very useful for precisely controlling the temperature of proteins that are easily overcooked like fish and chicken. It's fairly new and still too expensive for mainstream use, but it's not a fad.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Yeah the Anova is my pick as well after reading through the reviews online. Very nice! How was the chicken? Guessing not dry?

It was excellent.

The temp used in the original recipe called for a cooler temp than I used, however after looking at articles which compared finished product, an increase in temperature gave similar results at half the time, and as I started late in the day that mattered.

I'm not a huge mint fan so I substituted a lesser quantity of fresh cilantro, and as I hadn't polbanos I substituted Anaheims. For the hot sauce I used Shark brand hot sriracha, which I much prefer to Huy Fong.

 

[Kaido]

It was excellent.

The temp used in the original recipe called for a cooler temp than I used, however after looking at articles which compared finished product, an increase in temperature gave similar results at half the time, and as I started late in the day that mattered.

I'm not a huge mint fan so I substituted a lesser quantity of fresh cilantro, and as I hadn't polbanos I substituted Anaheims. For the hot sauce I used Shark brand hot sriracha, which I much prefer to Huy Fong.

Interesting. Does it come out with a vasty different texture? Is it pretty moist? Definitely putting this on my to-do list :biggrin:

 

[Howard]

Interesting. Does it come out with a vasty different texture? Is it pretty moist? Definitely putting this on my to-do list :biggrin:

Juiciness and tenderness are almost always improved when going to SV.

 

[dxkj]

http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/04/...er-cooler-the-worlds-best-sous-vide-hack.html

We do this... cooler keeps temps consistent w/ very slight adjustments.(beer brewers will understand from mashing), and its cheap/easy as hell.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Interesting. Does it come out with a vasty different texture? Is it pretty moist? Definitely putting this on my to-do list :biggrin:

Here's the information I found regarding temps and outcomes for boneless chicken.

http://www.edinformatics.com/math_science/science_of_cooking/chicken_sous_vide.htm

 

[Howard]

Here's the information I found regarding temps and outcomes for boneless chicken.

http://www.edinformatics.com/math_science/science_of_cooking/chicken_sous_vide.htm

One thing to point out is that the temperature at which collagen can gelatinize/hydrolyze is NOT 160 F, but closer to 140F.

 

[Imported]

Has the Sansaire got past its ongoing patent litigation? I haven't kept up to date on it.. And very ironic since one of the main backers of it is a huge patent troll.

 

[Fenixgoon]

so where is the analysis of variance the thread title promised?

first thing i thought of :thumbsup:

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Has the Sansaire got past its ongoing patent litigation? I haven't kept up to date on it.. And very ironic since one of the main backers of it is a huge patent troll.

From what I've read Sansaire has to redesign the body of their unit so they don't infringe on the Polyscience patent. They will also likely have to pay attorney fees (for both themselves and Polyscience) and damages to Polyscience as well, though I don't think any of that has been ruled on yet.

Also, I'm not sure Myhrvold is a major backer of the Sansaire. The guy running the kickstarter works for Myhrvold but he began the project before he started working for Myhrvold.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

One thing to point out is that the temperature at which collagen can gelatinize/hydrolyze is NOT 160 F, but closer to 140F.

Perhaps it's a matter of degree. The weights of cooked product drastically change at 160F.

I'll redo this at a lower temp for comparison. It was much superior in texture than my normally cooked chicken brined or not, but if it can be better it would be good to know.

 

[Kaido]

Perhaps it's a matter of degree. The weights of cooked product drastically change at 160F.

I'll redo this at a lower temp for comparison. It was much superior in texture than my normally cooked chicken brined or not, but if it can be better it would be good to know.

Does the sous vide technique sort of brine it in the bag if you put the flavorings in? Or do they advocate a brine before sous vide if you want the flavorings from a traditional brine?

 

[Howard]

Perhaps it's a matter of degree. The weights of cooked product drastically change at 160F.

I'll redo this at a lower temp for comparison. It was much superior in texture than my normally cooked chicken brined or not, but if it can be better it would be good to know.

I'm really not sure why they think there's a knee in the moisture loss curve at 160 F.

http://www.seriouseats.com/images/20100303-sous-vide-steak-chart.jpg

 

[Imported]

From what I've read Sansaire has to redesign the body of their unit so they don't infringe on the Polyscience patent. They will also likely have to pay attorney fees (for both themselves and Polyscience) and damages to Polyscience as well, though I don't think any of that has been ruled on yet.

Also, I'm not sure Myhrvold is a major backer of the Sansaire. The guy running the kickstarter works for Myhrvold but he began the project before he started working for Myhrvold.

Probably true about Myhrvold. I have a personal distaste for IV so any connection is a reason for me not to support it.

 

[ponyo]

OP, I hope you don't mind sharing my result in your thread.

I tried out Anova for the first time today. I didn't know what to expect. Sous vide stuff is all new to me. I cooked two packets of chicken breast (4 breasts total) at 143 F for about 3 hours. I decided to cook little longer just to be safe. I didn't bother seasoning it. I dropped the factory vacuumed sealed Costco Kirkland breast straight into the hot water. After 3 hours, I opened the bag and patted the chicken dry and sprinkled some salt and pepper. Then I finished in lemon olive oil pan. It turned out better than I expected. I was expecting bland tasteless chicken with strong chicken smell. But instead it was lot like rotisserie chicken. Not bad at all.

The Anova is so simple to use. It held the temperature like a champ. I checked the water temp with Thermapen and it was spot on. I went to Trader Joe's and bought vacuumed sealed seasoned Frenched rack of lamb. I plan to cook that tomorrow straight from the fridge to the water. This is a great tool for lazy cook like me.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

The Anova is so simple to use. It held the temperature like a champ. I checked the water temp with Thermapen and it was spot on. I went to Trader Joe's and bought vacuumed sealed seasoned Frenched rack of lamb. I plan to cook that tomorrow straight from the fridge to the water. This is a great tool for lazy cook like me.

You don't have to get crazy with buying vacuum-packed foods. Despite the name sous vide does not require a real vacuum, it only requires that the dead air get removed from the equation so that you get efficient heat transfer. Use high grade zip lock bags that can take the heat, get the air out, seal carefully, and use a little liquid like broth/stock or marinade to fill the spaces and it will work just as well as vacuum sealed.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

OP, I hope you don't mind sharing my result in your thread.

I tried out Anova for the first time today. I didn't know what to expect. Sous vide stuff is all new to me. I cooked two packets of chicken breast (4 breasts total) at 143 F for about 3 hours. I decided to cook little longer just to be safe. I didn't bother seasoning it. I dropped the factory vacuumed sealed Costco Kirkland breast straight into the hot water. After 3 hours, I opened the bag and patted the chicken dry and sprinkled some salt and pepper. Then I finished in lemon olive oil pan. It turned out better than I expected. I was expecting bland tasteless chicken with strong chicken smell. But instead it was lot like rotisserie chicken. Not bad at all.

The Anova is so simple to use. It held the temperature like a champ. I checked the water temp with Thermapen and it was spot on. I went to Trader Joe's and bought vacuumed sealed seasoned Frenched rack of lamb. I plan to cook that tomorrow straight from the fridge to the water. This is a great tool for lazy cook like me.

Excellent! As has been said you don't need a vacuum or vacuum sealer for immediate consumption. The only problem I had was the brussel sprouts, since they were hard and round and getting the air out was a bit tricky.

I can't say OT is representative of the general public but my sense, right or wrong, is that sous vide may be picking up momentum. Well it did with you and me

 

[MichaelD]

High heat cooking that sears in the juices is nothing new. The Chinese invented the perfect cooking method called "The Wok" about four thousand years ago. There is nothing new under the sun, including fancy cooking methods...unless you really want to throw money away for The New Improved Au Jus George Foreman Grill, or whatever this new-fangled thing is called.

Boiling food inside a plastic bag? Really? OK, it keeps the juice in b/c it has nowhere else to go. /golf clap The Wok does that really well too.

We have these cooking methods available to us:

The Wok
Conventional Oven
Convection Oven
Microwave Oven
Pan Frying
Deep Frying
Open flame broiling (AKA "grilling")
Indirect heat cooking (AKA "smoking")
Direct heat via electric current (Foreman grill)

There is nothing new under the sun...unless one of you has re-split the Atom and generated incredible heat that does not burn and can be controlled inside a tinfoil box...or something.

 

[Wreckem]

High heat cooking that sears in the juices is nothing new. The Chinese invented the perfect cooking method called "The Wok" about four thousand years ago. There is nothing new under the sun, including fancy cooking methods...unless you really want to throw money away for The New Improved Au Jus George Foreman Grill, or whatever this new-fangled thing is called.

Boiling food inside a plastic bag? Really? OK, it keeps the juice in b/c it has nowhere else to go. /golf clap The Wok does that really well too.

We have these cooking methods available to us:

The Wok
Conventional Oven
Convection Oven
Microwave Oven
Pan Frying
Deep Frying
Open flame broiling (AKA "grilling")
Indirect heat cooking (AKA "smoking")
Direct heat via electric current (Foreman grill)

There is nothing new under the sun...unless one of you has re-split the Atom and generated incredible heat that does not burn and can be controlled inside a tinfoil box...or something.

None of those methods are fool proof or set it and forget it, all while having the food come out perfectly cooked 100% of the time, with meats never being overcooked and always done to the appropriate temperature.

It basically takes all the skill out of cooking and allows even the most novice cook to make a great perfectly cooked meal without any fuss. So long as they are aware of proper cooking temps/cooking times. Both of which are easy to look up.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

High heat cooking that sears in the juices is nothing new. The Chinese invented the perfect cooking method called "The Wok" about four thousand years ago. There is nothing new under the sun, including fancy cooking methods...unless you really want to throw money away for The New Improved Au Jus George Foreman Grill, or whatever this new-fangled thing is called.

Boiling food inside a plastic bag? Really? OK, it keeps the juice in b/c it has nowhere else to go. /golf clap The Wok does that really well too.

We have these cooking methods available to us:

The Wok
Conventional Oven
Convection Oven
Microwave Oven
Pan Frying
Deep Frying
Open flame broiling (AKA "grilling")
Indirect heat cooking (AKA "smoking")
Direct heat via electric current (Foreman grill)

There is nothing new under the sun...unless one of you has re-split the Atom and generated incredible heat that does not burn and can be controlled inside a tinfoil box...or something.

None of those is equivalent and cannot do what an immersion circulator is designed to do. There's nothing wrong with a wok or anything you listed, however this isn't "boiling in a bag" and the reason moisture is retained has nothing to do with it being unable to escape. Think about it- what possible mechanism exists that could force liquid to stay in a piece of meat by putting it in a bag?
There isn't one. It's a matter of applied science and what happens to proteins at different temperatures. If you don't want to use one that's fine, but I can take a thick steak and get it uniformly cooked exactly as I want the whole way through and you cannot with anything you've listed. Besides "searing to keep juices in" isn't true. That's been tested scientifically and it fails. But it tastes better if you sear a steak? Yes it does. There's a complex reaction that occurs on the surface of the meat at high temperatures that enhances its flavor.

This really isn't anything new, at least not just invented. The concept has been around a long time and used in restaurants for decades. If you've had a top shelf steak at a quality steakhouse you've almost certainly had sous vide. The advantages of sous vide are known and they are real, but the costs have been beyond that which most could afford. Now that's changing and the peons like us can do the same. If you don't want to take advantage of the technology no problem, but you aren't going to take back knowledge and have us pretend a thing is what it is not. It's just another tool and a good one. No it's not going to replace your ice cream machine nor brown your burger. It's not meant to.