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Anova Precision cooker

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Dub Rubb
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Anova Precision cooker

Post by Dub Rubb »

Two words, Sous Vide.
If you like meat, poultry, fish or veggies, this is a MUST have! I first found out about the amazingness that is sous vide (French for under vacuum) in a car forum of all places. People were posting pics of these fine cuts of meat that were cooked to absolute perfection. I needed to know more.
I did a little research and found that these devices have been used for quite some time in restaurants and catering, but only available to the public (at an affordable price) for a few years.
The basic principle is that you vacuum seal or use the water immersion technique to remove all air from a plastic bag containing whatever you are cooking. Then cook the meat to a pre determined temperature in a water bath. My soon to be sister in law refers to it as "boiling the meat" but that couldn't be further from the truth.
The precision cooker turns any vessel (plastic tub, stock pot etc.) Into basically a tempurature adjustable hot tub. It looks like a hand blender, but clips onto the side of the aforementioned vessel filled with water. It then both heats and circulates water to whatever tempurature you set it to. Once pre heated, you place the vacuum sealed meats right in the water bath and just let it do it's thing.
After a period of time (completely depends on the cut/thickness and What type of meat you are cooking) usually 1 hour per inch of thickness for beef, you remove the meat.
Preheat a skillet/grill pan/ your grill to as hot as it gets. Use a little oil (preferably something with a high smoke point) or butter(because butter). Take the cut of meat out and give it a nice sear ( 1 minute per side usually does the trick) and voila, perfect protein!
There are several reasons this method is superior to other methods of cooking, and I will touch on a few of them.
1) Never overcook your meat, if you want medium rare, it will be medium rare whether it is in there for an hour, or four hours.
2) you can cook things like pork and chicken to a much lower temperature (leaving them MUCH juicier and more tender)safely due to the fact that killing bacteria is done with both temperature AND time. The bacteria in chicken is killed instantly at 165°F. However, the same bacteria is killed at 150° over the course of an hour. Pork can be safely cooked at 135-140° making for the juiciest effing pork loin you have ever had.
3) all juices and marinades still in the bag are safe to consume or use to make a pan sauce. And since the meats have been in their juices the whole time, they retain their moistness and tenderness.
4) uniform cooking. This means that the end cuts of a big piece of meat are just as rare as the very middle.
Here is an example. I want a medium rare tri-tip about 2 1/2" thick cooked to a medium rare temp of 137°. Just set the sous vide to 137° and wait for it to heat the water up. While waiting I vacuum seal my tri-tip with its seasoning and marinade. Once the water bath hits 137° plop it in the water and clip the bag to the side of the container. Now this will be done after 2 1/2 hours, but if you let it go longer it breaks down more of the meat making It crazy tender. I usually shoot for about 4 hours, but you can safely go to 6-7 before it starts breaking down too much.
Fast forward 4 hours. Preheat my cast iron pan on the range at the highest flame. Once the pan starts to smoke, throw in some avocado oil and butter. Remove the tri-tip from the bag and place in the hot pan. Flip after about a minute to sear the other side. Take it out of the pan and it is ready to eat! (No need to rest the meat using this method).
Here are some pictures of both the sous vide in and out of action as well as some of the results.
For $100 you too can cook a steak that will rival your favorite steak house!ImageImageImageImageImageImageImage

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Last edited by Dub Rubb on Fri Dec 28, 2018 5:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Anova Precision cooker

Post by Robotaz »

Sous vide keeps the temp under 246F, which keeps from producing carcinogens. That’s the reason I cook with a heater.
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Re: Anova Precision cooker

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Robotaz wrote:Sous vide keeps the temp under 246F, which keeps from producing carcinogens. That’s the reason I cook with a heater.
I didn't know anything about the carcinogen factor, but you can't tell me that everything isn't better sous vide! The no cancer factor is a sweet bonus though!

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Anova Precision cooker

Post by Robotaz »

Dub Rubb wrote:
Robotaz wrote:Sous vide keeps the temp under 246F, which keeps from producing carcinogens. That’s the reason I cook with a heater.
I didn't know anything about the carcinogen factor, but you can't tell me that everything isn't better sous vide! The no cancer factor is a sweet bonus though!

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Two things happen on a grill. The outside in most cases exceeds 246F, which creates one type of carcinogen. The other is created when fats drip, burn, and the smoke coats the meat. The body is designed to eradicate carcinogens, but I prefer to eliminate the issues rather than bank on my body working properly all the time.

If you want to learn more, just search for HCA and PAH in foods. It’s really good to know.

But basically anytime you cook over 240F you’re getting in a danger zone most will want to avoid. That includes foods like potatoes. I don’t know the list by heart. I just modified my diet and quit worrying about it.
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Re: Anova Precision cooker

Post by rinsk21 »

I'll second the sous vide recommendation. I ate at French Laundry in Napa, did some research into their cooked methodology and immediately started down the sous vide black hole. You can take a chuck roast and drop it in for 36 hours, slice it up with a butter knife and it's as tender as a filet. The machine I have was like $200 a few years ago but these have gotten better and cheaper. Pro tip: use an old styrofoam cooler to prevent heat loss for long baths.
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Re: Anova Precision cooker

Post by Robotaz »

Wow. I have never tried cooking a long time to make cheaper cuts better. That’s great info. Same with the styrofoam hack.


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Re: Anova Precision cooker

Post by MoT »

Robotaz wrote: Mon Jan 28, 2019 12:12 pm Wow. I have never tried cooking a long time to make cheaper cuts better.
As someone who was raised by a professional Chef, that's a very, very old method of meat preparation and is not limited to sous vide.
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Re: Anova Precision cooker

Post by Robotaz »

ManOnTime wrote: Mon Jan 28, 2019 1:07 pm
Robotaz wrote: Mon Jan 28, 2019 12:12 pm Wow. I have never tried cooking a long time to make cheaper cuts better.
As someone who was raised by a professional Chef, that's a very, very old method of meat preparation and is not limited to sous vide.
I don't know how you'd keep it moist cooking it all day if it wasn't sous vide. Boil it?
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Re: Anova Precision cooker

Post by MoT »

Robotaz wrote: Mon Jan 28, 2019 1:54 pm
ManOnTime wrote: Mon Jan 28, 2019 1:07 pm
Robotaz wrote: Mon Jan 28, 2019 12:12 pm Wow. I have never tried cooking a long time to make cheaper cuts better.
As someone who was raised by a professional Chef, that's a very, very old method of meat preparation and is not limited to sous vide.
I don't know how you'd keep it moist cooking it all day if it wasn't sous vide. Boil it?
I sometimes like to slow roast tougher cuts of beef in a covered pan/roaster with 1-2 cups of beef or vegetable stock.
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Re: Anova Precision cooker

Post by Dub Rubb »

ManOnTime wrote:
Robotaz wrote: Mon Jan 28, 2019 1:54 pm
ManOnTime wrote: Mon Jan 28, 2019 1:07 pm

As someone who was raised by a professional Chef, that's a very, very old method of meat preparation and is not limited to sous vide.
I don't know how you'd keep it moist cooking it all day if it wasn't sous vide. Boil it?
I sometimes like to slow roast tougher cuts of beef in a covered pan/roaster with 1-2 cups of beef or vegetable stock.
I am not sure this is what the song was referencing, but I am always singing it in my head when using my crockpot or sous vide! It is always the best option.Image

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Re: Anova Precision cooker

Post by cel4145 »

ManOnTime wrote: Mon Jan 28, 2019 1:07 pm
Robotaz wrote: Mon Jan 28, 2019 12:12 pm Wow. I have never tried cooking a long time to make cheaper cuts better.
As someone who was raised by a professional Chef, that's a very, very old method of meat preparation and is not limited to sous vide.
Yep. Water immersion is not the only way to cook very slow. That's the secret to good pit BBQ. 15 to 20 hours of very slow cooking using coals.

Now I'm getting hungry, I just ate breakfast! :D
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Re: Anova Precision cooker

Post by watchpalooza »

We use a green egg ceramic cooker for slow and low and have never been disappointed. But the Sous Vide is amazing for indoor / day-to-day cooking.
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