Precision Cooker

I bought this item to replace an Anova Nano that stopped holding the temperature reliably after about 4 years of very regular use. I suspected the issue was build up of minerals and such in the heating element, so I bumped up to this model since you can remove the skirt to clean the heating element properly. I also wanted a wifi connection just so I can monitor temp from another room. I compared to the Joule which is definitely slicker looking, supposedly a bit quieter, and a more impressive app. It also seemed quite fun to use Alexa to control it. What my choice came down to though was that the Joule requires the app - can't just set the temp and start cooking from the cooker. Sous vide is not complicated, just set the temp and walk away. I don't worry about setting a timer because part of the whole point of sous vide is not worrying about over cooking. So it seemed like I might have fun with the app for a bit, but then be frustrated that I had to pull my phone out or walk through multiple Alexa questions just to hit start. I've seen other reviews that complained about the wi-fi being unreliable or difficult to configure. Mine connected without any problem and seems to be working fine. Maybe Anova made some recent fixes? Not sure what else other people might have been experiencing. This one is a bit louder and bulkier than the Nano. The size really doesn't make any difference because you're just connecting it to the side of a container. I actually kind of like having a bit of sound from it, just to remind me that it's there. I typically have music going in the kitchen anyway, so I don't really hear it. For those who haven't tried sous vide yet, it's absolutely the best way to cook pork and beef. I've tried chicken, fish, vegetables, etc, but I don't see any different in results for those. The entire cooking challenge with beef and pork is getting them to the right temp and not overcooking - especially with a thick filet mignon or pork chop. Absolutely no guess work with the sous vide. Don't even need to brine your pork chop because it's going to cook slowly with the salt. I don't bother marinating my tri tip in advance because it's going to slow cook in the marinade. Where you will hear different opinions is the best way to brown the meat after roasting. I've tried various methods. Torch tends to dry out the meat and give it a bit of chemical flavor. Barbecue works great, but I have to heat up the entire thing and go outside. I used to use cast iron skillet, but it's so darn heavy. I now use a Ninja non-stick pan (absolutely love those things) with a healthy amount of butter on heat. While the meat is browning, I continuously scoop the melted butter up over it. Just a minute or two for absolute perfection.

I do all the cooking for the family, and I cook a large variety of meals, except steaks. For some reason, I could never cook any steak so that it ends up juicy, and tender. I default to the well-known quote, “a man has to know his limitations.” For me, steak dinners required a trip to the local steak house; and even they were seldom consistent with their steaks, but always pricey. Then I discovered sous vide. I now have steaks at home once or twice a week, and always perfect; never tough or dry, and always done exactly medium. This Anova unit is great. It is simple to set up and adjust the settings. The primary function of this product is to maintain a constant water temperature for hours at a time, and it does it perfectly. I do not use the smartphone app, because it is so simple to set up, and monitor as is. To date I have cooked, NY strip, ribeye, T-bone/porterhouse, chuck pot roast (24 hour cook time), pork chops, chicken, and cod fish. Another plus aspect of sous vide is that with the high prices of steak, you have no fear of making a mistake when cooking your steak. In addition, I only buy choice cuts. There is no need to pay extra for prime cuts when you use sous vide. My recommendations for accessories: Buy a plastic container with lid, I use the EVERIE Sous Vide Container 12 Quart. I also bought the EVERIE Weighted Sous Vide Rack Divider, very handy. Many people mention that you do not require a vacuum sealer for sous vide, but I highly recommend it. Personal thoughts on my new sous vide experience. I have taken the same cuts of meat or fish, prepped and separated them into two sealed bags, froze one bag and cooked the other fresh. I saw/tasted no difference between the two; another convenient plus. I like to add one hour cook time on frozen meat, 10 minutes on fish. Note, all my steaks are 1 ½ to 2 inches thick. I found for my tastes, 140 degrees is perfect for all my steaks and pork chops. Times vary from 4 to 6 hours. For cod fish, 135 degrees for 40 minutes. Of course everyone will find their perfect preference. As expected, YouTube has excessive sous vide videos. I found the most useful overall information from the series called “Sous Vide Everything.” After cooking your meat, you will want to sear it. This is my method: I use a simple skillet, and high smoke point oil, above 480 degrees. Therefore, your choices are clarified butter or avocado oil. I heat just to smoke point, place the meat in the skillet, cover with a heavy metal bacon press, and sear for only 30 seconds on each side. To anyone who likes a thick cod fillet, the sous vide method excels, perfect every time. Of course you can add your favorite fresh spices into the bag, and or lemon slices. I may or may not sear the cod depending on the meal. My latest attempt, I covered the cooked cod with sautéed leeks and crème fraiche. I highly recommend this product to all those who enjoy cooking.

Circulatory works very well and is a great value. Compared to the Anova pro, it is much quieter; yet, offers very comparable performance. Heats water quickly and accurately holds temperature. No problems with extended use (24+ hours). Good design and easy to fit to any sous vide container. Have not used the app as it is easy to set temp from the device itself.

***UPDATE: About 3 years later from my initial purchase and review, giving it 5 Stars now!! It still works like a champ. I do not use the wi-fi though. It kept disconnecting and honestly, I do not need to start and stop it with my phone. You literally tap the screen to set the time and temp, it is so easy! This makes THE BEST chicken, steaks, chuck roast, fajitas, etc. It turns inexpensive cuts into heaven! You do not need a vacuum sealer. I use ziplock bags and lower the food inside of the bag in the water and the water surrounding the bag helps crush the ziplock as you press the air out and seal it. Google water displacement method. You do not need to make this complicated!!! Keep it simple. Once you are done cooking, pull the bag out and submerge it in a bowl with ice water and leave it for an hour. Then you remove your meat, pat it completely dry. You do not want excess liquid to boil your meat when searing. Remove as much of the liquid from the meat as possible with a paper towel. Then, sear the outside quickly in a hot pan or under a broiler just enough to add a golden brown crust. Not too long, because the meat is already cooked. That is it! Everyone will think you are the most amazing chef. THE BEST PURCHASE!!! SOOO WORTH IT!!! This is my update after several years of use. Still a huge fan! So far so good. It does make noise the entire time it is on. I guess I thought they were all supposed to be quiet. The noise is not super loud. I took a video, but decided not to post it due to the video making the noise seem louder than it is truly is in person. It is a low humming sound. I guess it’s a good reminder that you have something cooking. You probably will not notice it from another room in the house. 4 stars only, because I thought it would be silent. Maybe it truly deserves 5 stars. I love that it is wifi! At first, I ordered a cheaper one that was not wifi as I initially thought, “who really needs that feature?” I sent it back thankfully. I LOVE THE WIFI!! I have lots of wifi products in my home already...I admit it, I am hooked on controlling things via my phone from any location! LOL Buy it. You will not regret it. Yes, it is a little more expensive, but your food will be amazing and it is fun! This one did not take very long to heat up either. I am impressed. This will cook your meat to the perfect temperature. You never have to worry again about overcooking. Click the helpful button below if you found this review helpful at all. Thx.

TLDR – Best available, but the app is terrible and it makes a ‘skeeter sound. I chose this model after two solid weeks of research. I read everything I could find, watched all the videos, and even made a comparative spread sheet. Only two other units came close. The primary reasons I chose this over the others was power (1000W), circulating ability (8 Liters/min), and my need for controls on the unit itself (one of the contenders had none). SETUP - I downloaded the app, plugged in my Anova, followed app’s directions, and created a user profile. A four digit code was generated on my Anova cooker’s digital readout, and I punched that into the app when it asked. Done. There is no Bluetooth with this, just WiFi. PREHEAT - I clamped it to the side of my thick 6 quart insta-p0t with room to spare. This resulted in the Anova cooker being about 5mm off the bottom of the actual inner pot, so no vibration from touching. I was a little stunned by how quickly it heated up the water to 130°F. Yes, I used hot tap water, but it took less than 4 minutes to completely up to temp from about 111°. NOISE - Many reviewers reported that this was much noisier than others, including it’s predecessor, with a mechanical whine. I would say it’s exactly the same noise as a mosquito strafing your head. You can hear it across the room in a quiet house, but if there’s any other noise, you won’t notice it. At least it doesn’t bite. CIRCULATION - You can see the water roiling in the pot. I have no doubts about the 8 liter/min claim. CONNECTIVITY – The app can set the temp and start the cooker, but it can’t turn it off. At least in my case, I always have to turn it off manually. Attempting to stop it via the app always results in an error. When the time is up, the cooker lets me know with a nice alarm tone. But NO alarm or notification on my phone (yes I allowed all notifications). App no worky. CLEANING - It’s just circulating clean water, so no cleaning is necessary. But unlike the top contender, you can remove the outer sleeve if you do need to clean it if maybe a bag popped open or something. READOUT and TOUCHSCREEN – Very nice. Three buttons with intuitive icons for Current Temp, Target Temp, and Time, as well as Start/Stop and Increase/Reduce. Touching any of these allows manual adjustment of that parameter. Once set, the digital readout alternates between current temp and remaining time. MEASUREMENTS - Here are some measurements I couldn’t find anywhere. Diameter of the cooker’s outer metal tube is 56mm or 2.21” (2 ¼” would be 57mm) Diameter of the tube, including the tiny lip to stop the clamp, is 57.49mm Min and Max water level, from the bottom of the cooker is 2.5” and 6.0”, so you have about 3.5” of leeway for water depth. Top of control head flares to maximum of 71mm (2.77”) by 79mm (3.12”) Maximum clamp opening is 30mm or 1.16”, but you can easily remove the thumbscrew and get 35mm or 1.4”. The clamp is made entirely of plastic. COOLER COOKER - The internet is teeming with sous vide ‘cooler-cooker’ instructional videos, but if you’re planning one, here’s something to be aware of. The discontinued model had a 3/16” lip all the way around the tube, but this new model is the same diameter from the bottom of the stainless steel outer tube, to the plastic base near the top where the cord exits. There is only one tiny 1” wide by 1.5mm lip that sticks out to stop the clamp from sliding all the way up. Point being, if you have plans to make a cooker vessel out of a cooler, you can’t just drill that 2 3/8” hole in the top to keep it from slipping in. You’ll have to use something with a tighter tolerance, like a pvc fitting, unless you’re willing to let your cooker to go in all the way to the cord. NOTES - * App does not not automatically turn off unit, or alert you that the food is done. * App can not manually turn off unit, although you can set temp and start it. * Makes a buzzing mosquito sound during operation. * You have to sign up for an account to connect to the cooker app. * No bluetooth, only WiFi. * You can only run one unit at a time through the app (at this time). * No ‘delay’ timer. Starting from the app (or manually), just starts the timer and the cooking. * You should be able to start, stop, check temp and remaining time from your phone, but my app only works for starting and checking remaining time. * Fortunately, you can use and control the cooker without using the app at all. * Checked Anova temp vs my Thermap&n (high end thermocouple) difference was less than 0.1°F so it’s right on the money, temp-wise. So the app stinks, and the mosquito noise can be annoying to some people. After using it for a week, I still think it’s the best out there right now… but hopefully they get the app fixed and updated soon (current ver 3.2.14). Hope some of this helps.

this works great and exactly as expected. the app works well on my iphone also.

This Sous Vide changed my life. It changed he way I cook and prepare food day in and day out. I absolutely love it. Every meal I cook is prepared well, perfect temperature and on time, with no hassle. I've had the unit for about 8 months now, and use it 3 times a week. Tested different methods of cooking everything from steak, short rib, pork belly, fish and vegetables. Quick 1 hour cooks and slow 48 hour cooks. Hands down, fantastic unit ... When it works. Update 8 months after purchase: The unit just crapped out on me. I was in the middle of a cook and it blew my circuit. I thought a fuse blew. Checked the breaker. Constantly reset it. I took the unit to a different outlet and it blew a different fuse. Finally, brought the unit to a neighbors house, and it blew their fuse. Hopefully it's still under warranty.. especially for the price paid... Update: One month later. Anova was very quick to respond and replace the first unit. The new unit I received had a terrible humming noise. This was a due to a loose piece based on the pressure the device had against the container and the water flowing through it. I took it apart, tightened it and it was fixed. It happened again and Anova replaced the unit. Everything's been fine since. Update: April 29th, 2021. Updated my reviews to 5 stars again. My device has been running great for months again. Love it. I cook everything from steaks, fish, vegetables and eggs. People think it's not worth it, or over rated...let me tell you, this cooks meat completely different. It's not just more tender, the consistency is completely different being cooked in this vs a grill/stove. Highly recommend this to everyone. Products have issues... nothing's perfect. Their support is amazing. Try it sometime before giving them a bad review.

I decided to try some sous vide cooking on a whim and this seemed like a good choice for a beginner's unit. The price was right, the brand is well respected and the reviews were good. I wanted to stay with a known brand for this since it's a an item that you plug into an outlet and then submerge in water. Thus the build quality really matters here. It's pretty simple. Attach to a pot filled with water, plug in, set time & temp and hit "play". It heats up the water very quickly and then keeps it very stable. I checked the temp with a good thermometer and it was spot on. Put my bag-o-food in it and an hour or so later took it back out. Seared the food and it was great. I tend to overcook chicken and this chicken breast was very juicy. Just right. I have played around with some other recipes (chicken satay and spiedies) and the meat was perfectly cooked. I don't really see the point of doing steaks this way since I like the flavor that cooking over charcoal imparts, but maybe in the dead of winter. I think this is a great little device to dip your toe into sous vide with. I also can't really see any reason that I would want to upgrade either though. It does what I need and is nice and compact. I haven't used the WiFi yet, don't really see a need for it honestly.

Se ve de buena calidad, muy fácil de usar. La aplicación del celular hace que se configure muy facilmente y ayuda a preparar la carne en el punto deseado. Las veces que lo he usado ha llegado a la temperatura objetivo de manera relativamente rápida. El único detalle fue al configurarlo con la red wifi, tuve que acercarlo a un metro de mi router para que la detectará, pero una vez configurado se conecta a la red sin problema.

I’ve bought the cooker, 45 days ago and after 5 uses, it’s just stopped working. No reason, no life, do not even turn on. Completely dead. I’ve reached out to the seller and apparently I cannot return or exchange the item, as it been 45 days. Stay away from this seller! This is just the waste of your money. To be transparent, as a one off the seller offered me a repair fee of £35, which is marginal compared to the price and I’m not sure it’s even possible to repair.

Really nice thing to have to save time and make tasty food. Happy

Damaged product

Abbastanza deluso per il prodotto che ha una fascia di prezzò molto alto. In primo luogo ha la spina americana e non viene con un adattatore. Inoltre l’elettrodomestico è a 120v dunque facendolo lavorare a 220v come si trova in Italia porta ad un deterioramento rapido del prodotto. Istruzioni assenti e nemmeno un qr code per scaricare l’applicazione corretta. I gradi inoltre sono espressi in F invece che in C!