First off, several of my great readers have recommended the sous vide cooker to me through the years and I’ve always said I wasn’t interested. I did the same thing with the Instant Pot. Why did I need one when I had pressure cookers I used on the stovetop and I loved those? I think you know how much I’ve loved the Instant Pot since I got that.
Chad has been talking about getting a sous vide cooker for over a year and he kept telling me I needed one. I told him no . . I had no interest.
Last night Chad and I were talking about his meals. When he’s out of town, he sometimes has kitchen facilities but even when he does, he works 10 – 12 hours a day and doesn’t feel like cooking every night and he gets tired of going out to eat.
With Vince being gone when I do cook, most everything I fix makes at least four servings and I don’t want to eat things four days in a row or even every other day for four days so I’ve been freezing it in single serving sizes. That was making me think about getting the sous vide because (1) You know how I feel about the glass top stove, even for heating up leftovers and (2) I’m not a fan of the microwave. I don’t think I’ve ever used the one in this house. At least it isn’t over the stove! The one in Texas was over the stove and we took it out the first week we lived there. We had a small microwave on a shelf in the laundry room. Vince will use it to heat up leftovers but I will not. So, the sous vide was sounding more attractive.
While talking to Chad, I happened to think – the sous vide would be great for him to take food to heat and eat so long as he has a fridge with a freezer. We talked about it for a few minutes and in the end we ended up each ordering this one:
I’m actually excited to use it. I had some of the carnitas in the fridge so I put that in a vacuum seal bag, sealed it and put it in the freezer. I had a fresh package of flour tortillas so I put some of those in a bag, vacuum sealed them. I was thinking . . if you heat those up in the microwave, they aren’t great. I heat them up directly on the grates on a gas stove but . . can’t do that now so I’m thinking they may work great with a sous vide so I will send carnitas and flour tortillas with Chad.
For Christmas I’m smoking a pork crown roast. I’ve never cooked a pork crown roast before so I was planning to smoke a chicken too – just in case! I think I’ll smoke two chickens and send Chad back with half a chicken to vacuum seal and freeze, along with some pork if it turns out good. I love smoked chicken so I’ll keep half for me and if there’s a whole chicken left over I’ll cut it in half and freeze the half separately.
Yes, I’m excited to try this new gizmo.
Dottie Newkirk says
Our son has been doing the Sous Vide method for about 3 years now. I haven’t broken down to doing yet, but, will say when we’ve been to their house and he’s cooking (he has loved cooking/experimenting his whole life – in his late 40’s now), there’s at least a couple of meals done using the Sous Vide. They’ve always been very, very good.
Enjoy your new toy and wishing y’all a very Merry Christmas.
montanaclarks says
A bit of trivia for you–I happen to have met the man who invented the sous vide. He is the stepson of my dear friend Kelly!
montanaclarks says
He didn’t exactly invent the concept–“If you’re a U.S. citizen and you’ve ever cooked with sous vide, you may have Philip Preston to thank. Back in 1963, his father founded PolyScience, and they have been providing precision liquid temperature control solutions to a variety of industries ever since.”
Judy Laquidara says
How nice! I love trivia like that. Now I feel famous! 🙂
Sara Fridley says
Just last week our local PBS channel had an episode of America’s Test Kitchen that was about sous vide cooking. They compared several versions of the immersion sous vide tools but I don’t remember which one they decided was most efficient and easy to use. It was white, but I don’t remember the brand.
Cilla Tyler says
I saw that show. Didn’t the winner begin with A. Something like Anova. I’ve checked them out on Amazon. None have 5 star ratings. Mostly 3 and 4. Plus they use blue tooth and your cell phone. We don’t have cell phones so I don’t believe I could use one. But they have interested me many times.
Kathy Henderson says
My husband got a Joule sous vide a year or so ago. It is so wonderful! We’ve made some of the best steaks ever. You can get the meat to exactly the temperature you want, and then take it out and sear it in a hot cast iron skillet to get that wonderful sear on the outside. Simply perfect. Just keep in mind that the thicker the meat, the longer it will take to get to temp. We recently did a small tri tip roast and I think it took around 14 hours. Chicken pieces or a steak will only take an hour or two depending on the thickness. The long cook time is not a problem if you plan for it like you would with a crock pot. Have fun with it!
sheryl says
Phooey! I’ve been trying to think of how to downsize my gadgets and now I think I need one of these!
Sandi B says
I’ll be interested in reading your reports. You’re the reason THREE Instant Pots reside in my house. I wasn’t interested at all because I have two stove top pressure cookers.
I’m sure I’ll be buying one of these, too.
Judy Laquidara says
I never said you HAD to buy three Instant Pots. I only said you HAD to buy one! The rest are on you! 🙂
Vince called the other day and asked “How many Instant Pots are in Texas?” I said “It’s a huge state! I have no idea!” I knew he meant how many had I left there at the house. I told him “I only have two here (I think) so you probably have two there. He was needing a second one – needing to cook one thing while something else was cooking in another one.
April Reeves says
Did you order the container you can cook in? (yes another rabbit hole I’m following you down since I just bought a vacuum sealer. lol Plus future hubby has been watching steak videos that use it.)
Judy Laquidara says
I did but it arrived broken so I’m using the instant pot insert and it’s working fine