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I have always loved food and food culture. Ever since I was a kid I couldn’t get enough of it—the smells, the flavors, the process for how to create it all.
That passion certainly carried through to adulthood as well. Especially over the past several years, I’ve become even more interested in different techniques as well as cooking methods. As you can probably guess from the title of this post, sous vide is one of those methods.
So what is sous vide? Essentially, it’s a cooking process in which food is vacuum sealed in plastic and placed in a water bath to cook through. During the cooking process, the water is heated using a circulator to regulate the temperature. The benefit of this process is that food can be cooked and held to an exact temperature. There’s no concern of under or overcooking. Once the cooking process is complete you can finish off the food with a quick sear to add some color as well as additional flavor and then you’re ready to eat.
The technology has existed for a number of years, but the sous vide has gained the most popularity with the introduction of immersion circulators. These sous vide tools are more compact and ideal for the home consumer market.
What can you cook sous vide? The short answer is pretty much anything. Everything from vegetables to eggs to of course meat and fish. You can use a sous vide to cook it all. I think where the sous vide method excels, however, is when cooking steak or fish. Whether you like yours well-done or more rare, with a circulator you have full control down to the exact degree.
The sous vide revolution. In terms of the culinary world, there really does seem to be a new cooking culture that’s developing around sous vide technology. Over the past several years, I not only see more chefs embracing the method, but also an expanse of how the tool is used in terms of different foods and improving techniques.
One of my favorite outlets and one bit of content that sparked my interest initially was the YouTube channel Sous Vide Everything. The channel’s creator Gustavo Tosta focuses primarily on steak and the best methods for achieving the perfect cook. Aside from simply being very entertaining, he is also very informative. Tosta experiments each video with different preparations, techniques and ingredients to see how each effects the cook and flavor of the meat. Check out some of his content below.
Alright, so your sold. Now which unit should you get? When I bought my sous vide cooker, I had done a ton of research to find the version I felt would work best for my own needs. Before buying I narrowed it down to three:
Anova Culinary AN500-US00 Sous Vide Precision Cooker WiFi (1000 Watts)
$199.00
The Anova Sous Vide circulator offers a ton of features, including compatibility with the Anova app. With the app you can control unit remotely as well as get recipes and send them directly to the machine. At 1000 watts the unit offers plenty of power for typical home use. Its compact design along with its adjustable mount makes it very easy to use as well.
If the AN500 seems a bit much for you or maybe you are looking for even more power, Anova also has other sous vide options to fit your needs. They have a 750W version called the Anova Nano or try the 1200W Anova Pro for more power.
Breville CS20001 Joule Sous Vide in White Polycarbonate
$199.00
The Breville Joule Sous Vide is a powerful, very sleek option that is ideal for small kitchens and owners with limited storage. Despite its size however it still packs quite the punch with 1100 watts, which allows it to circulate and heat the water very quickly. The only major drawback we found for this unit was that it is controlled solely through the app. This meant if you lost WiFi or your phone battery died, you would lose control of the unit.
Breville also created a Joule Sous Vide Stainless Steel version if you prefer that over the polycarbonate material.
Instant Pot Accu Slim Sous Vide, Immersion Circulator
$79.99
The Instant Pot Accu Slim Sous Vide is the best budget sous vide we had found in doing our research. Of the three it isn’t the most powerful but its still plenty sufficient at 800 watts. Also, it does not offer smart phone capabilities but its touchscreen control panel is easy to use and very intuitive. Overall, its a great beginner model for the cost-conscious buyer.
So who was the winner? When all was said and done, the clear winner for us was the Anova AN500. In our opinion, it was the best combination of features and power, at a reasonable price point. Plus the Anova brand has a pretty good track record of creating quality kitchen appliances.