Looks like Anova are having a Valentines offer taking $50 off the Bluetooth version of their Precision Cooker and $40 off the Bluetooth and Wifi version.
Shipping is free and the checkout does state it's 3-6 business days for delivery but I've seen complaints on their FB and community pages about how people were waiting up to a month to get theirs.
I've placed my order anyway!
Awesome! Hoping I get mine next week then :)
Have you tried it? I'm keen to hear reviews
I bought mine from the last sale, it took like 2-3 months to arrive, I did receive a $30 refund which was good on their part.
I have only used it twice and both times I cooked steak and it was AMAZING! I'm not a great cook but the steak was juicy and cooked perfect! Can't recommend this enough.
is this the newer model announced at CES?
would prefer a Manova but…..
Just want to get consensus if sous vide worth to do? How often do you sous vide in a week?
I never sous vide before, but felt like it requires a lot of setup:
I.e. vacuum sealer, plastic bag, then the anova
Thanks
I'm of a similar view. I don't like cooking. Would this make cooking easier or just another gimmick that will fit in the back of my cupboard collecting dust along with my pressure cooker, electric wok, slow cooker, donut maker and banquet frier.
Sounds like you probably shouldn't bother then.
These things are well worth it if you love meat cooked consistent every time. I was using mine ever few days, but with Sous Vide you need to plan you dinner as it takes an hour to cook something like a 2" thick steak.
If I could afford to buy the meat, I would sous vide every night.
Chicken breast and scotch fillet are sensational when cooked sous vide. The hardest part is filling a large pot with water. I usually fill a pot and use it a few days in a row.
Can i ask why you choose to use inches instead of centimetres although we live in Australia? I'm not taking a shot i see a lot of people doing it i just don't know if that's a thing or not. I want to get the inside scoop on why its used.
Think it's more the fact that a lot of the content and marketing of this tech is from the US. There isn't as much Australian instructional content out there about sous vide so while, yes, we could consciously convert the measurement to cm when we talk about it, it's probably just habit that we utilise what we've seen when talking about the sous vide process.
You don't really need the vacuum sealer. I think the appeal of sous vide cooking is the quality vs effort/attention required. I haven't used sous vide cooking before but from all reports (and the science behind it), there's a lot of leniency with cooking times and it's apparently very difficult to overcook something by leaving it in for too long (unless you set the wrong temperature or forget it for a day or something).
The only downside is that it takes longer to cook things but I guess you're essentially sacrificing cooking time for restaurant quality results.
e.g. Steak might usually take you 10 minutes to cook depending on your method, sous vide would be 45 minutes with a 2 minute sear and baste. Difference would be the sous vide requires less cooking skill to get the same consistent result with all parts of the steak being the same gradient colour.
Honest opinion, i use it maybe once a month.. maybe twice.. but the real real value actually comes from big dinner and special events. Everytime i have one, i push myself to cook something and every time people are impressed how it turns out.
So the real benefit is for special events and dinners.. it makes a big difference and people appreciate it.
I made a pork belly and it literally crumbled in peoples mouth. it was so moist and soft.
Prep work is relative to the size of the meat i guess. Like when you make a big lamb or big slab of pork belly. Takes time to cook it and prep it.
Prep work is not far off when it comes to slabs of meat. The amount of time to prep and finish it maybe an extra hour. the rest is just cooking time in the bath.
Prepping a steak or porkchop is easy on the other hand. maybe spend another 15 -20 minutes.
But yeh, highly advise to buy it if you like to impress people or make big dinners or make a big meat dish for those events/dinners.
If you plan to use it more often. There is nothing wrong with it, probably just have more time on your hands.
Thanks for the honest feedback
Might give it a try, especially cooking pork belly have been hit and miss.
Do you use vacuum Sealer to prep?
If yes, what sort of vacuum sealer that you have used?
Yeh i was about to PS the end of my comment but my net chopped out. You NEED a vacuum sealer for big meats. the plastic in ziplock bags will get heat up and get soft. I have had it break on me once when i pulled it out and caused a big mess. so i stopped using ziplock bags for big meats.
Ziplock are fine for steaks and cutlets. I just use a cheapo kmart vacuum sealer but i regret not paying a little more for a better one. Sometimes the kmart one is a bit crappy, I need to seal it twice or vacuum twice.
You can use an esky for big meats and cover the top of it with cling wrap. The anovas have a slight issue in the first gen where too much steam causes it to malfunction a little bit (situations where you cook for like 5 hours plus) that's why u cling wrap the top of the eksy.
Also just FYI the big meats can take up to 24 hours sometimes. My pork belly took 24 hours. beef brisket took about the same too.
Also in terms of leniency, it is correct you have an hour or more to pull out the meat because it is such a slow cooking process. However.. depends on meat.. just read up on chef steps and serious eats and google. Some sites give the leniency and time to pull it out of the bath.
For recipes optimised for sous vide have a search through seriouseats (http://www.seriouseats.com/search?term=sous+vide)
Or if you're feeling like a challenge try chefsteps.com
For vacuum sealers I don't think there is a huge difference between them unless you're prepared to fork out big bucks for a chamber vac. I got a cheap sealer from Aldi a couple of years ago and its served me well.. As it happens they're selling vacuum sealers this weekend (https://www.aldi.com.au/en/special-buys/special-buys-sat-4-f…). It's not a bad option because the refills are usually quite cheap. You can also go without one and try the water displacement method with a snap lock bag.
Thanks for the info kickmiass! I'm going to keep an eye out for a vacuum sealer in case I start prepping large meats but in the meantime, it'll be ziplocks for me.
I just use the Kmart vacuum sealer around the $50-$60 range. I had bought the Sunbeam at 3 times the price and it was awful and broke so I returned it and couldn't be more happy with the Kmart one.
@shikyo: Aldi have one for sale this Sat. https://www.aldi.com.au/en/special-buys/special-buys-sat-4-f…
@Trantor: Hey thanks Trantor. Since I'm not particularly brand loyal in this space, I might keep my eye out for a better deal considering kmart's regular price is $59.
What do you use as a container?
Use your Esky or Cooler box rather than buying a proper container for big slabs of meat
The esky also retains the heat quite well too so your Anova won't need to heat up all the time.
I have a 54L, so it covers most slabs of meat.. If it is still too big i usually cut it up.
just wondering, does it come with the australian power plug configuration?
Yep
My food.cooked in heated plastic
Mmmmmm hmmmm yummy.
As long as its gluten free, dairy free, vegan, ethically raised, dihydrogen monoxide free, bpa free, organic, plastic-free plastic, I'm happy with it :)
And 9/10 doctors smoke Camel, perhaps you should too…
People will believe what they want to believe. I am sure sous vide food tastes great. I am no health nut but I certainly don't want food cooked in soft plastic.
I looked at the Anova, but the del at the time I was looking was HUGE!!! so I ended up with a
http://www.prestigehomeappliances.com.au/shop/optimum-sous-v…
and love it. I got mine for $150 and use a esky with hole cut out of the top for better/more efficient temp control to cook.
What ever you get, with planning you'll love the food produced from one.
how did u get it for 150
There was a $100 off voucher posted a few months ago
Looks like they are selling it for $194 at present.
Mine arrived today, that was so fast. I only ordered on the 11th.
Got the message that mine is arriving tomorrow. Ordered on 13th so also fast service too.
I ordered one a couple of months ago on a previous deal. Order went through Monday night, I received it Wednesday morning (Hong Kong to Brisbane via DHL)