While sous vide is becoming more popular and more affordable, those who are considering purchasing the necessary equipment to get started, are often curious about whether this particular cooking method is actually worth the effort that it takes.
Setting up the water bath, preparing the food ahead of time, and ensuring that your bags don’t get stuck in the immersion circulator is a lot to figure out at first.
But is a sous vide machine worth it? If you prefer hands-off cooking, enjoy tougher cuts of meat or simply want to make the process of cooking something to perfection easier, the sous vide is definitely worth it. Not only is the machine itself easy to use, but it is also very versatile and the possibilities are really endless.
What about price? Is sous vide expensive?
Not only can you buy food items in bulk and prep them in advance, but you can save quite a bit of money in buying tougher cuts of meat. As for how expensive it is, it’s not.
Sous vide has become quite affordable, hitting the $70-300 (US) range for the immersion circulator. While getting an entire water bath is more expensive, you can just get the immersion circulator and sealable bags.
What Is So Great About Sous Vide Cooking?
Unlike traditional methods of cooking that require you to use your sense of touch, sight, smell, and taste to tell whether a dish is properly cooked or not, sous vide takes all of the guesswork out of the cooking process and allows you to guarantee consistent and almost-near-perfect results every single time.
For restaurants that need dishes made to perfection or individuals at home who want a worry-free technique of making food, sous vide works extremely well which is what makes it so great.
What Are the Benefits of Cooking With Sous Vide?
It is simple
You do not need to stir anything, baste anything, or simmer anything. Simply place your food in the bag, properly lower it into the water, clip it, and let it sit. If you have little experience in the kitchen, sous vide is very easy to understand without the extra cooking knowledge. You just need to set the correct temperature and cooking time for your recipe.
It is precise
Some foods require you to cook them in a very precise manner. For instance, steak, lamb and fish can be extremely tricky to get right as there is always the risk of overcooking it, ruining the texture, or burning it. When using the sous vide cooking method, the water bath temperature and cooking time is very precise, leaving little room to make a mistake and ruin the dish consequently.
You get enhanced flavors
When you lock your food in its own juices, the juices are infused back into the food. This enhances and intensifies the flavor of the food. Combine this with herbs and spices, and you end up with an extremely rich-tasting meal.
You can cook beyond the time limit
It is very difficult to overcook food with sous vide, since you are cooking it at its intended end temperature. If you end up holding the food in the water bath for longer than intended, you won’t necessarily ruin the dish. With traditional cooking methods, you would either burn it or dry it out.
You will consume more nutrition
When cooking sous vide, you do not lose fats, vitamins, or antioxidants because you are not cooking with high temperatures. This gives you more nutrition in the end product and is, therefore, a healthier way to cook if you are looking to up your nutrition and vitamin intake from food.
No defrosting needed
You do not need to defrost your meats before cooking sous vide style. While cooking from frozen will result in longer cooking times, it can go straight into the water bath with no harm done to the food.
Cheaper cuts of meat taste great
Normally, cheaper cuts of meat can come out extremely chewy and dry when cooked via traditional methods.
With sous vide, the longer cooking time and consistent temperatures result in the tougher cuts of meat becoming tender and juicy.
This is a result of the meat’s collagen having more time to break down. Try sous vide with pork shoulder, chuck roasts, and eye of the round.
You can cook for more than a few people at the same time
If you have a smaller kitchen, using a sous vide machine to cook for more than 4+ people is quite doable. Plus, each bag can have a different seasoning or marinade.
Yes, you can make desserts with it as well
Generally, desserts that require setting time work well with sous vide, such as custards, yogurts, Crème brûlée, and Dulce de Leche.
Is Sous Vide Expensive?
A few years ago, you would be looking at anywhere between $1,000 and $2,000 for a sous vide water bath, circulator, and vacuum bag sealer but with more restaurants picking up and commercializing the sous vide technique, the tools needed are quite affordable.
The expense is dependent on whether you choose to purchase a water bath outright alongside a vacuum sealer and an immersion circulator or if you choose to just go with the immersion circulator and use your own pots and clamps and forego the vacuum sealer.
Nowadays, if you want a water bath/oven, you are looking at around $300-500, a circulator will be anywhere between $70-200, and the vacuum sealer is anywhere between $40-250 US.
All in all, you are looking at spending less than half (if not more) of what you would have been just a few years ago.
Which Sous Vide Should I Buy?
If you are not looking to grab an entire water bath and are just looking for an immersion circulator that you can use with your own container/pot, then the Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker Nano is the best on the market.
With over 700+ ratings and a 4.5-star review on Amazon, this immersion circulator boasts connected cooking, perfect results every time, and requires no additional equipment to work.
The temperature range is 32-197 degrees Fahrenheit, comes with a 2-year warranty, and is remotely controlled with your phone via Wi-Fi/Bluetooth capabilities.
This is done through the Anova application, which allows you to adjust and control the immersion circulator from your iPhone or Android device.
The Bluetooth connection is good for up to 30 feet away. To use the device, you simply attach it to your pot, add in your water, and drop in your desired good in either a glass jar or sealed back.
The mobile application also contains 1,000+ recipes for beginners to veteran chefs. The Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker Nano is very small, coming in at 12.8” and can be stowed away in a drawer. Electricity use: 750 watts at 120 volts.
Runner Up Is the ChefSteps Joule.
This one is ideal for those who have very little to no room in their kitchen as it is half the size of competitor immersion circulators. It is also WI-FI and Bluetooth enabled and comes with a mobile application.
Unfortunately, it has no onboard controls and is solely controlled by the mobile application. It has a visual doneness feature and is also compatible with Amazon Alexa.
It packs 1,100 watts of power and is extremely lightweight, coming in at 11” x 1.9” in dimensions.
If you are looking for a budget pick, the Monoprice Strata Home Sous Vide Precision Cooker is an efficient and inexpensive option.
While it is louder than other immersion circulators and isn’t as elegant looking, it is reliable and a great entry-level option for those who have tight budgets. It packs 800 watts of power. It also comes with an adjustable lamp and an LED touch screen.
What Is the Best Thing to Cook Sous Vide?
The best thing to cook sous vide is definitely meat, both delicate and tougher cuts. Any type of meat that dries out quickly or can overcook easily with traditional methods, is the perfect candidate for sous vide cooking.
So this includes meats like steaks, pork chops, turkey/chicken breasts, beef tongue, oxtail, and chicken feet.
You can also cook fish sous vide, but it can sometimes be too delicate depending on what type of seasoning/marinade you are using.
If you are not a meat person, eggs are the next best thing. Scrambled and poached eggs work the best.
As for vegetables, carrots and asparagus work extremely well!