I’m debating whether to order a sous vide machine on Cyber Monday – either the Joule https://www.chefsteps.com/joule or the Anova https://anovaculinary.com/. I’m just not certain how much I’d use it. One of my sons has the Joule and loves it. Anyone here sous vide? What do you cook with it?
I have the Anova Bluetooth model you linked. I love it, but use it as a specialized tool for a few cases where it shines. It does 100% foolproof and always perfect steaks, salmon fillets, chicken breast, lobster tails, and soft-boiled eggs. I’ve also made variations on “Starbucks egg bites” which are great to have in the fridge for breakfast: https://anovaculinary.com/easy-homemade-sous-vide-egg-bites/
I really can’t overstate how amazing it is to get those items exactly the way you want, down to 1/10th of a degree, without any second-guessing and perfect every time.
However… I know there’s all sorts of cookbooks and recipes on doing other things sous vide, but I’m pretty happy cooking stovetop or using the oven for most everything else. So for me, it’s a specialized piece of equipment for particular dishes, but definitely a much-used and appreciated gadget.
It takes 90 min to cook those egg bites… sure they are “perfect” when they are just out of the pot, but reheated eggs just don’t taste good no matter how great they were when they were just made (tried those Starbucks bites, and they were no match to my freshly made omelette). I am sure I am missing something. What is it?
I was really interested in the Anova a couple years ago and didn’t pull the trigger because I couldn’t get comfortable with the safety of cooking in plastic bags. I called the company that makes the bags I use in my vacuum sealer and was told they are safe for sous vide up to 140 degrees. They are only safe between 140 and 212 if the cooking time stays under 30 minutes. Most of the recipes I was reading had cooking temps over 140. Does anyone know more about this?
Typically when there’s concerns about plastic for food safety, you’re worried about BPA, dioxins, and PVC. You’ll want to check to see if your vacuum bags contain any of those ingredients. I use Ziplocs which contain none of the above.
For meats, all the temps I use are below 140. e.g. steak is 130F for medium-rare, lobster at 136F (some do it below 120F but that’s a little raw for me), salmon at 122, chicken breast 140F (you could go lower for more tender). However vegetables generally would use higher temps, like carrots at 185F. I don’t sous vide veggies though. I do eggs at 146, but just loose, not in a bag so technically not sous vide.
http://modernistcuisine.com/2013/03/is-it-safe-cook-plastic/
https://www.cnet.com/how-to/why-ziploc-bags-are-perfectly-okay-to-use-for-sous-vide-cooking/
“Typically when there’s concerns about plastic for food safety, you’re worried about BPA, dioxins, and PVC. You’ll want to check to see if your vacuum bags contain any of those ingredients.”
I would not compare cooking bags to vacuum bags. Air flow does not extract anything out of bags… but prolonged exposure to heat and water can. All plastics contain traces of shorter polymer strands that can potentially be extracted into food. Of course, most of that stuff just goes in and out. 
S and his roommates are on their second Sous Vide (the first one was bought by one of the roomies from a kick starter campaign several year ago.)
They cook a lot of things in it but mostly roasts. They have weekly Sunday pot luck suppers with all their friends and use it when they are hosting. S brought it home last year and made steaks for us with the old one. They were perfectly done but you do have to sear them in a hot pan before serving.
“Foodie” daughter and boyfriend love their sous vide! In face they gave me one this past June and I haven’t used it-
Cooking in plastic just seems wrong- especially after reading that even the bpa free plastic is considered unhealthy-
It’s an anova sous vide
I don’t think you’re missing anything. Everybody has different tastes - personally I’m not fond of omelettes!
Love the egg bites. Love.
I thought I’d post a follow-up to my original question. I bought the Joule sous vide machine and tried it out for the first time tonight with boneless, skinless chicken breasts. They came out perfectly and were the moistest chicken breasts I’ve ever made. Love it!
Yay, happy to hear you like the results! What time and temp did you use? IIRC the first time I did chicken breast I followed Kenji’s advice from Serious Eats and they came out firmer than I wanted, so I dialed it back a few degrees the next time and they were perfect.
I like fond.
I cooked the chicken breasts at 149 degrees for 55 minutes. They came out perfectly cooked and incredibly moist.
Ha! I never red the manual to my Miele steam oven to the end… it does have a sous vide function. I might try it when I am not in a hurry. 
All you need is sealed food and controlled temp which the oven apparently can do with steam.
I’ve been using a sous vide immersion cooker to pasteurize eggs. 135º for 75 minutes.
We’ve been using a method called “beer cooler” sous vide and have had great results with sreaks, chops, burgers, and pork tenderloin. All you need is a cooler, hot water, and zip lock bags.
H and SIL both received one with a cookbook.
OHG H made the best ever ever ever (and we grill fresh tuna often) Tuna.
And then an amazing steak.
Yes, need a good sear but so very tender.
So looks like H will be cooking more 