Spent $120 on a sous vide circulator and it barely gets used now

I bought this Anova sous vide thing last spring thinking it would change my dinner game forever. It worked great for the first month, did some steaks and chicken that came out perfect. Then I realized I had to plan hours ahead and seal everything in bags, which is a PAIN when you just want to eat after work. Now it just sits in the cabinet collecting dust. Anyone else have a kitchen gadget that sounded awesome but turned into a waste of money?

3 comments

3 Comments

keithbutler6d ago

Yeah but you don't really need to seal everything in bags, you can just use the regular ziploc freezer bags and push the air out with the water displacement method... works just fine and saves a ton of hassle. Also you don't have to plan hours ahead for most stuff, chicken thighs can go from frozen to done in like an hour and a half if you crank the temp up a bit. The real trick is using it for meal prep on Sundays, throw a bunch of seasoned chicken breasts in for the week and just sear them when you get home. Sounds like you might be overcomplicating it a little.

juliashah5d ago

Oh man, I gotta push back on that. Water displacement with regular bags is just asking for trouble, I've had too many bags spring a leak mid-cook and end up with watery, sad chicken floating in the bath. That vacuum seal gives you way better contact and flavor, you can't get the same results with a Ziploc no matter how careful you are. And cranking the temp up on frozen chicken thighs? That defeats one of the main benefits of sous vide, which is that low and slow control. You lose that texture if you rush it. Meal prep on Sunday is fine for some folks, but I'd rather toss a few pre-sealed bags in the freezer and drop them straight in the water when I'm ready, no planning needed at all. Maybe I'm the one overcomplicating it, but in my experience the extra five minutes setting up the sealer saves a lot of headaches down the road.

jake6385d ago

Oh man, I've got a story for you. My buddy Dan bought one of those fancy Instant Pot air fryer lids and talked it up like it was the best thing since sliced bread. He used it like twice and then it just sat on his counter looking sad. One day he tried to make wings in it and the thing just stopped working mid-cook, so he had to finish them in the oven anyway. Now he says it's basically a $80 paperweight that takes up space. Honestly it kind of made me feel better about my own kitchen gadget mistakes. That sous vide thing you got sounds like it falls into the same trap, you really gotta want to plan that far ahead for it to work.