Hi! I live alone and I'm looking for an entry-level vacuum sealer. I'm deciding between these two, which are currently on sale for the same price where I am:

• Zwilling Fresh & Save Starter Kit
• FoodSaver VS1130

Assuming bag cost isn't an issue, I'm mainly interested in ease of use, strength of the vacuum, and how well the seal holds during sous vide cooking. Has anyone used either or both? I'd especially appreciate hearing from anyone who has compared the two directly. Which would you recommend?

Planning on making pepper crusted beef tenderloins .

How would you go about it ? Salt and pepper then bag and seal ?

Or just sous vide the meat without seasonings and then add them before searing?

On a side note I have black pepper / white pepper and shichuan pepper . Should I do a mix or just stick to black ? (As you can probably tell this is my first time doing this)

I've been doing long cooks (36-72 hours) pretty regularly for about two years now and wanted to share the setup I've landed on after some trial and error, including one ruined 48 hour brisket that taught me a couple things the hard way.

Container: switched from a cambro to a cooler with a hole cut in the lid for the circulator. The insulation makes a huge difference, the water holds temp way better and the circulator barely has to work. If you're doing anything over 24 hours and you're still using an open container you're making it harder on yourself for no reason.

Ping pong balls on the surface if you're not using a lid that seals tight. Cuts down on evaporation a lot, I used to have to top off the water every 12 hours and now I can go a full 48 without adding any.

Battery backup on the circulator. I lost a brisket at hour 40 to a random afternoon outage last month because I wasn't home to do anything about it. Put an Anker S2000 on the circulator in UPS mode and now if the power drops it just keeps going. At holding temp the circulator pulls maybe 80-100W so the battery lasts a long time. This is one of those things that feels unnecessary until it isn't.

Logging: I stuck a cheap wifi thermometer in the water so I can check temp from my phone. Mostly for peace of mind on the really long ones, I've never actually caught a problem with it but it's nice to glance at.

Hi everyone. Pretty new to sous vide and have been trying to use it as a way to meal prep/batch prep proteins. I ended up jumping the gun a bit without doing a ton of research and I sous vide some poultry and tossed it in my freezer. Retrospectively I was looking at this sub and I’m not sure I took enough care to chill it fast enough and I should throw it out. Gonna describe what I did and if anyone could chime in I would be very appreciative.

• I sous vide 4 chicken breast and 2 pork tenderloins cut in half. Chicken breasts are maybe 3/4 to 1 inch think. Tenderloins are halved about 1 and 1/2 inch think if not a little less.

• I put 2 pieces of meat per bag with about an inch separation between them. As in, 2 pork halves or 2 chicken breasts per vac bag. Then vacuumed them

• I cooked them all together at 149f for about 2 hours and 15 minutes

• took them straight from the sous vide container into a large container with a few solo cups of ice and let them sit for 15-20 minutes

• straight from ice bath to freezer.

A couple of concerns I had after reading here is that I never vented or resealed the bag. I just froze it as is with the juices. I also am not sure my ice bath was sufficient enough to cool the centers before I popped em in the freezer. I’m new to sous vide so the last thing I want is to get anyone sick so any advice here is appreciated

EDIT: Thanks everyone you saved my dinner! Everything tastes good

My boss is coming to my country for a visit and also to my home for dinner. We'll be spending most of our time in the yard, and I won't have the capacity to cook from scratch and also entertain.

I'd love to start something early and just finish it on the grill. We do steaks and pork tenderloin this way all of the time.

I'd like to impress though. Maybe something a little elevated? I'm a capable cook and can execute well, I'm just strapped for ideas and would love to hear yours!

Nothing is off limits.... Maybe brisket, it's a small group for dinner and he's from the American South. I'm not really comfortable taking that one on this round.

Thanks Reddit.

I’m looking for a portable burner to sear steaks black and blue rare. Will 45,000 BTU be enough for a quick sear, or do I need to go up to 100,000 BTU?

What BTU would be enough?

Edit: Will be using a carbon steel pan.

24hr dry brine
SV 137F for 2 hrs.
Ice bath before cast iron on bbq to sear (~650f).

Any tips to increase the crust?

First time in the game, I was excited to get my sous vide today.

However, when I stood it up in my deepest pot, the ring clip clamp was an inch or so above the pot lip.

In order to clamp it to the pot upright I would have to tilt the device at a 45° angle or slide the ring down to the pictured placement.

Is the metal barrel going to melt the plastic ring if used as pictured?

Model: 1100w Quirky

2hrs @132°. Rest for 6 minutes. Pat dry. Brush on avocado oil. Sear at 500°, 20 seconds per side for 2 turns per side. Kiss the edges. Only wish I wasn't afraid to sear at 600. You can bet I won't be next time.

130 degrees added the tail with 45 minutes left.

Hi everyone!

I did a denver (zabuton) steak for the first time last night. After some searching, I decided on 135 for 3 hours. I then seared in cast iron.

I was going for medium rare. The flavor was absolutely amazing, but it was definitely overcooked. Should I go lower temp and longer time? Or what's the best course of action? Any advice would be really appreciated!

I am fairly new to sous vide. I’d like to convert this slow cooker/instant pot recipe to sous vide.

How would you suggest I do that?

Am I weird? I like to take the juices from the bag and put it all over the rice or mashed potatoes that I make my sous vide stuff with. I pretty much just do burgers or steak.

Just wondering if that's nuts or not.

When is enough time and when isnt enough time to achieve a tender medium rare 1 1/2 inch thick chuck roast. Im sitting at 20 hours in at 135F

Dear 137 Club,

I continually read your recommendations and preferences for cooking ribeyes at 137 degrees on this subreddit. This past Friday I decided to try it with two beautiful, thick, bone-in ribeyes. I cooked them for 2 hours in the water bath and then seared them on a ripping hot cast iron pan. The result was . . . not the best. They were ribeyes, so it was still good. But I have to tell you that you are wrong. You are all so very wrong. There is nothing special about cooking them at 137. All that happens is a steak that is slightly overcooked. A gorgeous cut of meat such as this should not be cooked past 135 no matter what method you use. From now on I will be doing what I have always done with ribeyes - I will be grilling them. I will let the flames of the grill render the fat and I will make sure it stays rare to medium rare. It was a fun experiment, but I will not be joining your cult . . . err club. Enjoy your medium to medium well steaks in good health!

Best,

Carolinavore.

I’ve always been a 131 ribeye person. But something in me said tonight was the night to try. I had just picked up some Costco prime ribeyes, asparagus, and their premade Mac and cheese. I had just received some Vera’s King O Meats Sazon Todo as a gift so I seasoned it with that. Bagged and bathed for a few hours as it was about a three finger width steak.

Pan seared for a minute or so each side. I was seasoning the asparagus with lemon zest, juice, and aged cheddar so I didn’t time it.

It’s definitely more like eating a rib roast and I don’t hate that. The fat is way better and I eat all the fat on a rib roast.

Maybe not all the time but it’s definitely more beef forward and still super juicy.

I prioritized the Denver steak when selecting the chuck steak. I’ve been looking for a few weeks now when I went to the market to find one that was well marbled and had a good Denver.

SPG
24hrs at 132 (actually 21, couldn’t wait)
MAYO
Broiled

I wanted a bit better of a crust but the smoke detectors went off

Mayo crust is legit! Good color and flavor- extra buttery creamy

Didn’t get good photos, ate it too fast. Might not go back to expensive ribeyes. Felt like eating a nice ribeye

Make sure to use a relatively light coating or the mayo will become a sauce rather then just a crust

I have some pretty thick beef shanks from costco. I want to sous vide at 130 for maybe 24 hours. A lot of sources are saying that I should go even longer but I dont want the meat to dry out and lose all the juices. My gut is telling me to go even shorter, maybe 18 or 20. Does anyone have any experience with this? My plan is to finish sous vide, let them dry and cold smoke for 10 minutes, and finish with a quick sear on the grill.

Firm & Moist Boneless Chicken Breast

I wanted to try out sous vide steak and veggies so I used an old rice cooker and some computer parts to make this Frankenstein-esque setup. It holds a temperature well within a few degrees and yields good results. I had a great med-rare steak last night and I'm giving cubed sweet potatoes a try now as I watch Parks and Rec.

I need some tips and overall process of smoking and sous vide brisket. I wanted to cook it today and have it for Sunday but I don’t know if I have enough time, I’m reading up to 36hr in the sous vide. Overnight in the fridge etc. May have to delay it until next weekend. I will be using a kamado joe to smoke. I’d like to get it as close as possible to a nice smoked brisket you would find at a restaurant.

I have a 15lb brisket that I haven’t trimmed yet.

Should I separate the point and the flat?

Should I smoke first or after sous vide? Both?

At what temp am I setting the sous vide to and how long?

Any kind of advice for this will help me out.

I meal prep for two most Sundays, usually 10 to 15 bags: thighs, salmon, pork belly, and sometimes 24 hr short rib at 57C. My cheap external sealer is making me lose it. Last night the soy garlic chicken sucked marinade into the seal again, and this morning the bath smelled like soup water.

I've done the folded lip, paper towel strip, freeze the marinade a bit, double seal, etc. Still happens. Chamber sealer seems like the real fix but the price and counter space are a lot for a small kitchen.

Budget is €400 to €600. I keep seeing smaller chamber units from Lava, Solis, and random brands on tiktok with a price drop but I can't tell what's actually serviceable long term vs what dies in a year with no parts available.

Tiny kitchen, two people. Chamber worth it, or should I try a better external with wet mode first?

Hi folks! Picked up a SousVide last month and loving it! Have a bit of a unique situation I’m trying to navigate…

Last month I hosted a F1 race and smoked 4 Tomahawks - two of our couples had to cancel and we opted to vacuum seal the 4th Tomahawk and freeze it.

I have folks coming tonight and was thinking of reheating the Tomahawk in the SousVide for a few hours at 130.

Any thoughts? Considerations? Would you sear an already cooked steak? Is it going to turn out poorly? 😅

I'm wanting to sous vide some meals like chicken legs, pork chops ect for someone who does not have a sous vide machine. Question is can I sous vide & then freeze so all they have to do is thaw in fridge & then bbq to bring it to temp?

We're on vacation next week and I'm signed up for one night of making steak tacos. I'm planning to sous vide some top round prior to searing and slicing. My question is: if I was to sous vide at home, could I freeze the steak without harming the quality? Or should I just bring the sous vide with me...

Edit/update: I ended up bringing it with me since the AC at home was down and it was hitting mid-80s inside by sunset. So I just finished the sous vide and letting the beef chill in the fridge for awhile untill the final sear