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When someone uses the phrase “sous vide machine,” they usually refer to immersion circulators. An immersion circulator is a rod-like device meant to connect to any container full of water.
This water bath cooking method is perfect for the low and slow cooking that sous vide demands. Here are the best sous vide machines for home use.
Those looking for the perfect sous vide cooking setup need to look no further. This list will give you five products you can add to your at-home cooking appliance list.
| Best Sous Vide Machines for Home Use | Product Information | Check Price |
|---|---|---|
Top | Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker Nano | Bluetooth | 750W | Anova App Included | Check Price |
Top | Sous Vide 1100 Watt Cooker - Easy to Use, Immersion Heater & Circulator, Supreme At Home Results - Stainless Steel, LED Display For Easy Use - Belle Cuisson Brand | Check Price |
Top | Zakarian Pro for Home Sous Vide, Immersion Circulator, Precise Cooker by Chef Geoffrey Zakarian | Check Price |
Top | SousVide Supreme Touch 9 Liter | Sous Vide Water Oven | Accurate and Stable Temperature | Touch Control Water Bath Cooker | Quiet Operation | Check Price |
The Five Top Picks for Home Sous Vide Cooking Equipment
Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker Nano
- Never over or undercook your food again. The Anova Precision Cooker Nano sous vide (pronounced “sue-veed”) circulates water at the exact temperature required for perfectly cooked meals, no matter whats on your menu.
- Sous vide cooking s the perfect level of doneness for nearly any food of your choosing. Chicken, fish, vegetables, eggs, beef, lamb, pork and more are all ideal candidates for sous vide circulation.
- At almost 2 inches smaller than the original Anova Precision Cooker, Nano is small enough to fit into your kitchen drawer for quick and easy storage, but powerful enough to prepare food for a table of four.
An entry-level sous vide chef is best supported by a device that makes things easy. The Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker Nano simplifies the process by creating a smart device powered by Bluetooth.
The accompanying Anova App enables all users to easily apply specific temperatures and cooking times to your device. Given its small and sleek design, it also manages to be small enough to put into a kitchen drawer.
The smaller size device does come with drawbacks.
The first drawback is related to the minimal wattage. Smaller wattage increases the wait times for cooking. It also results in a sous vide cooker that cannot handle more than five gallons of water.
To address this limitation, Anova has a larger model you can take a look at. However, this model is not as convenient.
In either case, you won’t have to wait 15 minutes to heat your water.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Small and can fit into any kitchen cabinet. | Smaller wattage increases waiting times. |
| Bluetooth functionality enables quick application of time and temperature limits. | Unable to handle larger water quantities. |
| Great at reaching a precise temperature. | |
| Best Sous Vide Machines Reviews |
Belle Cuisson Sous Vide 1100 Watt Cooker
- Less Waiting for the Water to Heat and More Time Cooking; Its LED Display with Touch Sensor Controller make it easy to read and ready to use.
- Sanitary, Easy to Clean and Maintain for Years of Use; No accessories or vacuum sealer needed; Use ziplock bags from home.
- No unnecessary high tech features such as wifi, bluetooth, or an app that can lead to hours contacting tech support, when you would rather be cooking.
Those who prefer power and simplicity will find the Bell Cuisson Sous Vide Cooker to be an excellent substitute. What it lacks in smart features it makes up for in basic on-device controls and a sturdy, stainless steel construction.
The resulting construction choice enables this hot water cooker to handle more gallons of water. It is also known to reach a perfect water temperature in record time with its higher watts of power.
The drawback behind this particular model comes from the screw-on attachment. You twist a knob on the end of this cooking device to connect it to any pot.
The knob is made of cheaper plastic when compared to the rest of the device. As a result, it is easy for someone who doesn’t know their own strength to break the plastic.
With a bit of finesse, you won’t have to worry about this issue. It is closer to traditional methods given the simplistic “non-smart” technology approach. It is perfect for home chefs who need simplicity.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Sous vide cooker itself is made of sturdy stainless steel. | Not suitable for those who prefer smart products. |
| Handles more quarts of water compared to other sous vide cookers. | Plastic connecting knob is made of cheaper material. |
| Great at reaching a consistent temperature fast. | |
| Best Sous Vide Machines Reviews |
Zakarian Pro for Home Sous Vide
- 1 Sous Vide Circulator, 1 Ring Clamp, 10 Large Sous Vide Zip-Top Bags, 5 Small Sous Vide Zip-Top Bags, 1 Recipe Cook Booklet with 20+ original Zakarian Sous Vide recipes and a Time & Temperature Chart.
- The 20+ recipe booklet has a “how to Sous Vide guide” created by Geoffrey and is filled with photography of every dish. Featured recipes include everyday family favorites to a full Thanksgiving meal.
- This unit is extremely easy for anyone in the home to use with NO Wi-Fi or Bluetooth needed and can be taken anywhere there is access to an outlet – think in the backyard, tailgating or a friend’s potluck.
The Zakarian Pro for Home Sous Vide comes as a bundle package for a complete cooking process. Expect one sous vide immersion circulator, one clamp, ten large sous vide bags, five small bags, and a recipe booklet with 20 recipes.
For some people, this is a better overall value than the Anova Culinary Cooker. However, this device does not come with Bluetooth or WiFi connection.
This sous vide cooker claims to handle up to 10 gallons of water. However, it is only an 800W device, making it slower as you reach between eight and nine gallons.
Thankfully, the precise temperature control is easy to use. Don’t expect to struggle with the available onboard controls of this hot water bath cooker.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Greater ease of use than some options. | Slow despite claiming to handle large gallon sizes. |
| Simple onboard controls (comparable to the Anova Precision Cooker Nano) | No Bluetooth functionality. |
| Comes with a wide range of accessories. | |
| Best Sous Vide Machines Reviews |
SousVide Supreme Nine Liter Water Bath Cooker with Touch Controls
- Turn simple ingredients into restaurant-quality meals with the original home sous vide machine. The SousVide Supreme Touch 9 Liter makes it easy to capture the full, true flavor of your favorite foods.
- Say goodbye to over and undercooked meals with the Touch 9 Liter Water Bath Cooker. Cook foods to the perfect level of doneness and retain their natural juices and flavor.
- The Touch 9 Liter doesn’t just make it easy to prepare your meals, it also adds nutritional value to your food. Cooking with water needs less salt, oil and fat than traditional cooking methods.
If you prefer to have something closer to a full kitchen appliance, the SousVide Supreme is a company that designs its sous vide machines to resemble slow cookers. With this in mind, it enables you to have a dedicated unit for your sous vide cooking.
The SousVide Supreme supports up to nine liters of water, typically cooking in a short amount of time. Given that the heating elements are around the water, you’ll find this to be somewhat closer cooking on a stovetop at a much lower temperature.
The SousVide Supreme also has solid touch screen controls with a digital display informing you of the temperature and time period remaining. This is neat, but having a dedicated sous vide machine limits you to a single size pot.
Unlike a pressure cooker, this kitchen appliance lacks flexibility. It is only good for one thing: sous vide cooking. Because of that, you have to be pretty dedicated to sous vide in order to buy one of these things.
However, if you want to reach your desired temperature in a vacuum-sealed bag and are willing to pay for the premium version, this device might be for you.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Creates a dedicated kitchen appliance, saving your metal pots. | Expensive. |
| Steady temperature water. | Only useful for sous vide. |
| Simple touch controls. | |
| Best Sous Vide Machines Reviews |
What Should I Look for in Good Sous Vide Equipment?
Immersion Circulator vs Sous Vide Pot – Which Should I Get?
We review two different types of sous vide cookers on this list: immersion circulators and pots.
Immersion circulators are also known as sous vide sticks. You connect them to the side of any pot, enabling you to flexibly use any sort of container.
However, that container has to be between height limitations depending on the circulator. Buying a specific container for sous vide is also an option.
Sous vide pots (sometimes known as water ovens) are similar in design to slow cookers. The self-contained units are great at reducing water evaporation.
Many purchasers of these pots tend to miss the compact design of sous vide cookers. The price range for these pots are also significantly higher.
Also, you might find that owning a brand of instant pot (like the Instant Pot Accu Slim or Duo) also serves much of the same purpose, but with more cooking options. Your preference should depend on the amount of kitchen space available and your budget.
The Three Types of Vacuum Sealers for Sous Vide
There are three different forms of vacuum sealers you should be aware of:
- Hand pumps
- Vacuum chambers
- Horizontal sealers
Hand pump vacuum sealers are the most inexpensive, but require purchasing specific bag types with holes on the side. In high-quality bags, you’ll find this method to be pretty secure.
The drawback of using hand pumps is that they require a bit of effort. So if you are batch cooking sous vide meals, you don’t want a hand pump.
Vacuum chambers are best in situations where you own a sous vide restaurant. Usually, the cost of these chambers don’t justify personal use.
However, those who have money will find vacuum chambers to be the most efficient forms of sealing food. Vesta Precision is a well-known company that makes these devices.
Horizontal sealers can be found in the number three position above. These are the most compact devices, enabling simple storage and removal.
Horizontal sealers can seal more than one bag at a time and come in multiple sizes. However, it still takes a bit more time than the commercial-grade vacuum chambers.
How to Be Sure Your Sous Vide Cooker is Accurate
Accuracy is one of the most important aspects of sous vide cooking. Given the low and slow approach to this cooking process, you need to be sure that there are no cold spots.
You can test for this by using a standard water-based thermometer in different locations of your sous vide container. Always be sure that the bags are separate, so you don’t have any cold slots due to the bag not being in contact with flowing water.
If you are afraid of your bags touching, sous vide racks can help you keep those separate.
Bluetooth vs WiFi – What is the Better Sous Vide Smart Feature?
Most sous vide cookers (like the Precision Nano) use Bluetooth to stay connected to your phone. However, some premium providers offer sous vide containers with WiFi capabilities.
Typically, WiFi offers a much stronger connection, as a wireless router has further reach than Bluetooth. You’ll find that if you live in a larger house, you’ll be constantly disconnecting from your kitchen.
Bluetooth offers an alternative advantage: being inexpensive and energy saving. Because WiFi is more powerful, it costs more on all fronts. This is why some Bluetooth devices don’t exceed $10, while most decent routers are about $50.
WiFi also requires more energy, meaning you are likely purchasing a sous vide cooker with higher wattage. More power output isn’t always a good thing.
What is a Reasonable Price for a New Sous Vide Cooker?
The price difference fluctuates heavily depending on whether you buy an immersion circulator or a pot.
For circulators, you can expect to pay anywhere from $90 to $250. A reasonable price for an entry level one won’t typically exceed $120. This does not include the cost of accessories, but only buy the accessories you need!
On the other hand, a sous vide pot is considered a premium piece of kitchen equipment. Prices on this start at $200 and can be up to $500. Given that these are made with more material, more technology, and more built-in features.
When deciding upon a reasonable price for your first sous vide cooker, start from the bottom end. Investing huge amounts of money into something you are unsure of is a big deal.
Best Sous Vide Equipment Brands
This article went through some of the most notable sous vide brands and a few smaller ones. Here is a short list of what we found:
- Anova – We have talked about Anova in our other articles on sous vide. They are known for cutting-edge technology and simple usage. This company offers quality sous vide products.
- Brielle Cussion – This company is an Amazon-based brand not known for having a strong internet presence. We hope the best for the company going forward!
- Meackle – When Meackle isn’t selling sous vide cookers, they are selling gardening products, wine tumblers, and broom holders. This company has a solid range of products on Amazon.
- Zakarian – Zakarian is a brand associated with a well-known chef: Geoffrey Zakarian. The brand is newly established on Amazon, so it is just making tracktion as a seller. We hope the best for them going forward.
- SousVide Supreme – SousVide Supreme is a company widely known for offering premium sous vide products. The SousVide Supreme store offers vacuum bags, racks, and other important equipment.
Sous Vide FAQs
What is the Best Meat to Cook Sous Vide?
Typically, the best meat you can cook sous vide is steak. Steak comes in thicker cuts, which makes it complicated to keep tender. Cooking steak with sous vide solves that problem.
Your other option is smoking, but the best tenderness comes from being a sous vide cooker. Searing a steak at the end will help you seal in the flavors.
Can You Sous Vide Meat and Vegetables Together?
No, meat and vegetables should not be sous vide together. The two cook at different rates, with most vegetables requiring a bit more.
Think of how you would fry an onion. Sauteing an onion is typically one of the first steps, the same applies to cooking vegetables.
Anytime you cook foods using sous vide, always be sure to check how the times match up.
Can You Sous Vide Bacon?
Some home chefs will tell you that using sous vide cooking for bacon is how you can get some incredibly tender results. However, I’ve always been partial to putting bacon on the grill.
If you have ever bought bacon through the sous vide process, let us know how it went!
Do You Need Special Equipment to Sous Vide?
Technically, the sous vide setting on your instant pot is suitable for cooking. So while you do need one piece of equipment, you technically do not need a dedicated kitchen appliance for sous vide.
Immersion circulators are unique in how they circulate the water (which explains the name). So while I would recommend a circulator at the bear minimum, you can use slow cookers with a sous vide feature.
Final Thoughts
The Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker Nano is the ultimate sous vide tool. Despite its lower wattage, its bluetooth features and simple user interface makes it a clear winner. If you want to be a kitchen boss, this is a good selection.
Other options on this list include accessories or higher wattage. Also, if you prefer physical controls, don’t pay for Bluetooth connections that you don’t need. Always be sure to prioritize what your family needs above all else when buying kitchen appliances.
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