Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsIt's changed the way I cook meat...
Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2015
I've been wanting to try sous vide cooking since I first heard of it about a year ago, and a few weeks ago tried an experiment with "do it yourself" stove top sous vide. Took my stainless steel 8-quart stockpot, filled with hot tap water and spent 90 minutes fiddling with the knob on the stove, and shifting the pot this way or that on the burner until I got a stable 135 degrees F measured with a Thermapen. Then sealed a steak in a Foodsaver bag, put it in for a couple hours and the results were unbelievable. The only problem was non-stop attention I had to pay trying to get the right temp (actually I wanted 133 but settled for 135) and then keep it stable. (It fluctuated between 133 - 136)
So I decided to get the Anova Precision Cooker. I ordered it on Aug. 1st and received it Aug. 4th. Since then I've cooked 4 steaks (2 flatiron, 1 chuck-eye, 1 London Broil), 2 boneless skinless chicken breast and 1 boneless pork chop. The results in every case have far exceeded my expectations!
Now I can cook a pretty mean steak by conventional methods... about 1/2 the time. The other half it comes out over- or under-cooked to some degree. (I prefer rare to med. rare.) But the 4 steaks I've cooked with this thing have been FLAWLESS. I cook to core temp of 132 degrees, then sear for 45 seconds per side on a screaming-hot (600+ degrees F) cast iron griddle with a little softened butter smeared on both sides of the steak. Every time the results have been so outstanding I don't even want to look at the other food on the plate - all I can think about is the steak! And the flavor is better than any steak I've ever had.
Now the chicken... I gave up chicken breast years ago, I just could never learn to cook it right. Most of the time it came out dry, chewy, stringy. The 1st time I tried it sous vide, the flavor knocked me for a loop! I'd never cooked a chicken breast that tasted that good before, and I didn't even put any seasonings in the bag. Just a bit of salt & pepper after it was cooked.
But there was something a little off-putting about the texture of it. It bothered me, and I tried to figure out what it was. I didn't catch on until I did the second chicken breast - the meat was firm, but tender & juicy. None of that dry stringy stuff that I had eaten all my life. In other words, what I found off-putting was that it wasn't what I was accustomed to - which is to say cooked badly. It was cooked RIGHT for a change. I've got a feeling I'll be eating a LOT of chicken from now on...
Now about chicken skin, I don't think I'd cook that sous vide. Haven't done it yet, but I think I'd pull it off & put it in the fridge until the chicken was done, then quickly fry it until crispy in a smoking-hot skillet with a little oil. I just don't think sous-vide would help the skin at all, even searing it after cooking in the bag.
I've read a few reviews about this item failing after a use or two or three. I've used mine 7 times in 11 days and it has performed flawlessly every time. It maintains the set temperature perfectly as measured with my Thermapen.
It also arrived in brand-new condition, I've seen a number of poor reviews about people getting "used" units due to "scratches" on the face of the display. Well, mine was like that but it is due to a plastic film placed over the face to (ironically enough...) protect the face from scratches. The film is not obvious, it is hard to see and does not have a tab to peel it off, and is just about impossible to peel off with your fingernail. I stuck a piece of masking tape on it, and it peeled off easily then.
I've seen other poor ratings based on the "hard-to-use" interface. Hmm, if you don't want the temp in Celsius you press the start button for 3 seconds and it changes to Fahrenheit. Whichever you want, the only 2 things you HAVE to do are:
1) Roll the temp to the desired setting with the wheel
2) Press the start button to turn it on
Yes, if you want to use the built-in timer, that involves an 8-second press of the start button which then changes the temp setting (which changes with a 3-second press) meaning you then have to do another 3-second press to get the temp setting back where you want it. Yes, that is poor design. But who needs the timer? If you have one of these things, odds are you have a digital kitchen timer you can use. And if you don't, odds are you have a smart phone with a timer built in. And if you DO have the smart phone, there are sous vide apps that will tell you how long to cook something based on what it is, how thick it is and what final temp you want and start a timer for you. A timer on the Anova frankly is unnecessary. Meaning the interface is as simple to use as anyone could want. Spin the wheel to set the temp, then press "Start."
Why buy an immersion circulator instead of doing it on the stovetop? The stovetop method works, but it is not as accurate with respect to temps. In my case, the stovetop temp varied by 3 or 4 degrees, whereas the Anova temp is accurate to 2/10ths of a degree. (If I set it to 132, it MAY go as low as 131.9, or as high as 132.1 - though it is usually nailed on 132.) And the stovetop method takes a LOT of time getting the water to temp and then stabilized. 90 minutes the one time I tried it, and then constant checking. With the Anova all you have to do is dial in the temp you want. I put in 110 degree tap water, set it for 132 and it's at 132 in 12 minutes and needs no further attention.
What can I say? I am 100% satisfied with the results I've gotten from this device. It was money well spent, and I'd spend it again in a heartbeat if I had it to do over.
