Whats good people, i just bought a sous vide cooker and wanted to know if anyone on here has one and how do they like it? Gonna try it on chicken first to see how it turns out, i usually brine my chicken and it comes out great but just wanted to try something different, thanks guys and gals.

I got one last week and used it for the first time last night.  Just based on what I read on the internet and a thread in GD, I ran it in a cooler I picked up from lowes.



As usual we were running late so I didn't do shit to prepare the meat, did four pork chops at 145 for 45 minutes and then seared in a little bit of butter.



Preparation of meat was some salt and pepper and some rosemary from the garden straight in the bag.



It was awesome, and I mean really good.  I don't normally care for pork chops but these were great.



I am going to do scallops next.

I got one last week and have been screwing around with it.  Did some steak tips to 130, then seared quickly over a 700F charcoal fire, but they were a little over cooked.  I should have gone 120-125, then seared.  Other option would have been to dry them off first so they seared faster.

On the eggs, I tried the J Kenji Alt method boiling for 3 mins, ice shock for 1 min, then 45 minutes at 143.  No luck I figured it was because the eggs were cold.  So I let them sit out half the day and increased the time 45, 55, 60, 65.  The white was set better on the high times, but still no luck pealing.

So I took his boiling thing out and did 148F for 45, 55, 65, and 75.  Yolk was set and the white wasn't.  

I'm going to try 145 or 146 for 60+ minutes with room temp eggs and see what happens.

I was having fun experimenting until I went to Costco for more eggs........price has nearly doubled because of this bird flu deal in the Midwest.

I've been using one a couple of days a week for the last 7 months.

So far I have used it for:

Chicken breasts
Chicken thighs (boneless and skinless)
Steaks (ribeye, strip, filet, sirloin, flat iron)
Salmon
Shrimp
Scallops
Baby Back ribs
Pork chops
Eggs (poached, and hard boiled)
Asparagus

If you don't already have a cast iron skillet and a decent torch (Bernzomatic TS4000 from the plumbing tools aisle at Home Depot) then you're going to find yourself far behind the power curve.

The secret to chicken is the final sear. Chicken held at 140 degrees for 35 minutes is perfectly safe to eat, and incredibly juicy, but without searing you will likely find the color and texture to be unappetizing. Boneless/skinless breasts are nearly impossible to work with here--the outer layer will become stringy when high heat is applied. The best way to do them is to cook them in a sugar heavy marinade (commercial bbq sauce is fine for this, as you want the sugar for caramelizing at the end), and blast with a torch just before serving. A traditional skin-on breast is ideal, as the skin can take a solid sear in your cast iron.

Steaks prepared sous vide are absolutely fucking awesome. I've been using nothing more than sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper, and cooking at 132 degrees, followed by a very brief (30 seconds, roughly) sear in an abusively hot cast iron skillet. The top sirloin filets I've been getting from the meat market can be cut with a butter knife when they're done. The impossibility of overcooking has led me to a renewed interest in sauces, culminating in me recently mastering bordelaise sauce. I find it to be the ideal topper for a steak--as a bonus, it tastes so good, that I can cook filets now for company and not be bummed out about having to eat that flavorless, overpriced cut. The lack of temperature gradient inside of the steaks is a big selling point of the method.

Salmon has worked well for me, with and without a final sear, usually cooked at 122 degrees. I've seen several people mention the need to brine salmon before cooking in order to prevent the albumen build up on the surface, but I have never had an issue with that, and I suspect that it will only become an issue at higher temperatures (every recipe that I see call for brining also uses temperatures above the 122 that I use).

Shrimp was an interesting experience. I cooked it with lime and jalapeno (the shrimp were destined for shrimp tacos with a mango salsa), but I don't remember the temperature that I used. The odd texture of the shrimp is the reason I bought an over powered torch for finishing foods--having the shrimp be the exact same texture throughout was confusing, and I realized that I needed that slightly overcooked layer on the surface in order to give them a little snap.

Scallops came out well, but I decided that preparing them sous vide is unnecessary unless you have really, really thick ones. The average size scallops that I get from the grocery store can be easily cooked to perfection in a hot skillet in a minute or two. The only time I would consider doing them sous vide now is if I have someone who doesn't care for the texture--I can get them good and firm in the water bath, without overcooking the outside.

Baby Back ribs I just made for the first time for my dad for Father's Day. Personally, I feel that I under seasoned them, but that's easy enough to remedy. I ran this batch overnight at 145 degrees (short notice, I've been meaning to do a 24-48 hour 138 degree cook), and found them to be extremely tender and juicy. Next time I'm going to put some sauce on them when they go into the bag and see how much of that flavor gets cooked in. A quick finish on a hot grill or a minute with a torch to caramelize the sauce and you're good to go.

Pork chops I usually do at 140, and sear in browned butter as Kenji recommends on SeriousEats. The only issue I have run into with the chops is, much like the baby backs the other day, that you will wind up needing more seasoning than you think. A quick honey/teriyaki/bourbon reduction in a sauce pan saved my ass on those. You won't believe how juicy they can be.

Eggs, I just follow the SeriousEats guide as far as time and temperature. Hard boiled eggs come out well, but poaching eggs is where the machine really shines. You can poach an egg in the shell (45 minutes at 143 degrees, if I recall correctly). For planning purposes, Poached eggs can be stored in a bowl of water in the fridge for a couple of days, and warmed up in a bowl of warm water a few minutes before serving. Serving eggs benedict to a crowd for breakfast? Easy. No swirling the water around, no gently cooking the eggs one at a time, no starting over when you break one. Cook them up, in the shell, the night before. Reheat on demand and drop them on the muffin. On an unrelated to sous vide note: go buy an immersion blender. You can make hollandaise in a couple of minutes, without the hassle of constantly whisking it in a double boiler.

Asparagus is pretty good when prepared sous vide, but like scallops it isn't really necessary. I find that I really miss the little browned bits that I get from higher temperature cooking. If you decide to try it, I recommend starting with this recipe. The sauce in that recipe is very good, and I feel that it works even better over some asparagus that has been sauteed at very high heat.

On an equipment related note: Make sure that you get a vacuum sealer with a 'moist' setting. I went cheap on mine, and it really limited my ability to cook with marinades, because the liquid would sometimes prevent the foodsaver from getting a good seal on the bag.

Damn guys, thanks for the replies. Ive can understand what Arkady said about the chicken, texture and being visually pleasing is important to food for me, but not gonna lie im super curious to make a steak in it for the first time, hopefully it gets here soon. What do you guys think will be the most odd thing you end up cooking sous vide?

Just an update guys, i wanted to try something inexpensive so that if i ruined it i would be as pissed so i got some chicken breasts to start. I didnt wanna put a lot of seasonings on it to see what i was in for so i got the chicken breasts and gave them a nice dose of salt and pepper( 2 with evoo), placed em in the sous vide bath at 140 for 1.5 hrs and let the machine do its thing.  2 of the breasts i just pat dry and plated, the third i seared with a small amount of duck fat, holy mother of god this had to be the best chicken breast i ever ate in my entire life!!!!!!!! The duck fat seared one was the best but all were comparably close, but guys if your on the fence about of of these, get one. Anova has sales when they give 50 bucks off the unit, i got mine with a fathers day discount(even though im not a dad) but seriously guys its another piece in my kitchen i will use for quite a while.  Will it replace my grill or smoker, hell no, but its another tool that i will use in the kitchen

I got the "old" Anova model when on was on sale on the 'Zon.  I did a steamship beef roast, 48 hrs at 134*, finished on the grill as hot as I could get it.  It was extraordinary.  I've done chicken breasts and thighs, and different pork cuts.  It's a great way to cook, since you can't over cook things, they say.  I think you can dry them out, though. How can that be, if you're cooking them under water in a sealed plastic bag?  There's a point then all the juice is released out of the meat and into the bag.  I had that happen with chicken thighs I just made.  I popped them in the fridge for another night, so I haven't tried them yet.  I will be able to sear the thighs and make a nice pan sauce, though.

got mine today

picked up $18 tbone

1 hour in at 131..2 to go.

#yolobitches

Report back on the results!!!!!!!!

for literally taking it out of the box and putting it in a pot the steak came out pretty awesome.

I thought I was prepared for how ugly the steak was going to be when I took it out of the water...I wasn't...I had a few moments of regret as I was letting it cool off before torching the outside.

Torch technique needs a bit of work. I'll probably end up getting a Searzall attachment but I want to try the cast iron skillet method first before I decide.

Overall I'm really happy with the Anova. The bluetooth connectivity is *really* nice. I tacked on another hour from my recliner

Gonna try the famous chuck steak today and see how it comes out, just simple salt and pepper and set to to cook(circulate). If it comes out good, im gonna try a ribeye next and see it fairs against a chuck steak

I did boneless skinless chicken tits last night. Lemon pepper, rosemary sprigs, ginger slices, and a teaspoon of Chablis went into the bag.

140* for 2 hours, then marked off on a grill with mesquite chips. They were great but I think next time I'll go 135* and a bit longer in the drink.

I'm trying to decide between 2 types of seasoned Salmon, Maple Smoked Pork Loin, or Prime Ribeye for tonight. They're all seasoned and vacuum packed and sleeping in my fridge right now.

My current batch of ribeyes were cut from a 109 export prime rib. I have cooked a couple sous vide and noticed that when they were done, they looked just like a piece of rare prime rib. They got seared on a 600* grill with hickory chips and were phenomenal!

Now I'm wondering about just serving the next ones like prime rib with au jus and horseradish. Maybe add some garlic and bay leaf to the bag and torch the edges before plating up.  .

I did some ribeye(not prime) and they came out good, not great to be honest. Ill try different temps and times next time. On another note, i did a chuck roast at 140 for 48 hours for some shredded beef and holy shit it came out phenomenal!!!!!!! Ive got another ribye ill try at a lower temp for longer time to see how it comes out. I love this thing the more i use it.