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A lot of container lids interfere with with how the circulator attaches to the container.
I've used a similar but larger container since 2015 when I upgraded from a SousVide Supreme to the OG Anova. Because of the way the Supreme is built I bough a lid with the container without even thinking about it. In over 6 years I've used the lid exactly zero times with the Anova. Plastic wrap provides the same functions you mentioned in my experience.
If you need more space than the 12 liters / 3 gallons, this is what I use most of the time. Great for doing food for a crowd, prepping vegetables for the week, or making 2+ Gallons of yogurt at a time.
4.75 Gallon Cambro www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002NQB63E
Im not sure if my first polycarbonate 5ga cambro was just faulty or not, but even that failed after a couple years. Where the sides round down to the bottom, tiny cracks began to form that slowly started leaking. Something to be mindful of for other polycarbonate users!
The 12L I got at Sam's Club so I don't have a link. You can probably get the Cambro cheaper other places but the one I have is a couple of years old and the original website is no longer in business.
Get that. I am pretty sure a rack will fit, but I cut them in half anyways.
Steaks can stand up as well.
As far as a lid, I use syran wrap. I've done 72 hour cooks, with no water loss issues at all. I believe they do sell a lid though.
I've read the knife trick as well but it doesn't sit right with me. I don't want that in the same bag as my food for hours cooking. the water submersion seal method works fine or I just drop it in and clip it to the side of the container with a chip clip.
I have used the rubbermaid that was listed above. It works well but I think it is a little tight. It will be fine for cooking for two but trust me, eventually you will want to cook for a few more.
I have the IKEA lid organizer and it fits in that container but you can't expand it far which limits the thickness of the meat you can use. I'm ordering this but from another store. Amazon was overpriced for the container and lid so I got it from a restaurant supply shop. The lid organizer will fit much better in this
Never heard of a potato ricer before, but Amazon is gonna have one over to me on Tuesday! I use this container, so you're saying it may be hard to get the temp up past 183F in something this size? Maybe use a dutch oven instead?
Container: I'm using this guy. It works great and holds a full brisket, which is really nice, but the Anova doesn't fit perfectly over the lip (it requires a bit of jiggering sometimes)
You should also consider getting a separate lid that you can close or cut to fit your anova, since you'll lose a ton of water on longer cooks.
Marinating: I love to marinate also. There's no problem with doing this, I would just consider leaving only a small amount of the marinade in the bag before you seal them. You don't really need a vacuum sealer right out of the gate - you can use the water displacement method, but if you do get one, just make sure you get one that has a "moist" setting on it.
Searing: I have a cast iron pan, and it works great. A torch will give you a slightly more even sear, but I found it too time consuming to use, especially for larger volumes of meat. My favorite method is still the grill, which can get hotter than a cast iron pan, and creates a wonderful mix of flavors (I like a bit of char).
Things to Make: Things that take a long time to cook are really where you are going to see the biggest bang for your buck. I love doing pork shoulder, brisket, flank steak. That being said, Chicken breast is PHENOMENAL when done sous vide. I've always found every other method I've tried to really dry out the meat. Fish is also great, as it can be tricky to get right on a pan.
Amazon has them for $25 bucks with no lid, If you are near a restaurant supply store you can get them at a better price with the lid included.
But here you go just in case you are like me and to lazy to drive
Don't buy a big stock pot or another metal container because it will be much harder to work with. Stock pots are the wrong shape and are prone to having different temperature zones, plus it is really limiting in what you can cook sous vide. I would recommend this plastic cambro.It's what I've used in every restaurant i've worked at. The plastic is safe at sous vide temperatures and it won't heat up to the point you can't touch it like metal.
I'm using the Cambro 4.75 gallon container and cover it with foil.
Anova reached out to me and I opened a support ticket with them so hopefully this gets squared away quickly.
I have about 4 Cambro clear food storage containers I got from FoodServiceWarehouse during their going out of business sale. They're a couple different sizes so I can use a smaller one when cooking for just the family and the great big ones when I'm cooking for a whole bunch of people. I also have two Anovas so that's why I have 4 different containers.
They're pretty expensive on Amazon, probably because they're so expensive to ship (it's like shipping an empty box full of air, they don't weigh much but are big so the boxes all get dim'ed out on the dimensional weight threshold).
But you can find them locally at any restaurant supply store or even eBay or Craigslist.
They were both from Amazon.
Container,
lid
(Although they were eligible for prime shipping at the time)
I did the cutout for the anova on the bandsaw.
I have both an Anova Precision Cooker and a Nomiku WiFi, both with a 4.75 gallon Cambro and lid. I've cut out holes in the lids to match the Anova and Nomiku with a jigsaw. Both circulators work great. The Nomiku isn't immediately available because they're having issues getting them shipped out, but I got lucky to get mine and I like it. It's quieter and more powerful. That being said, once stuff gets up to temp they're functionally identical. I'd save yourself a headache and get the Anova. I recommend a vacuum sealer. I have a VacMaster VP215, but don't expect other people to splurge on that.
In the Cambro I can easily do 5-7 lb of whole chicken breasts at a time. If it was cut into smaller pieces, it could be easier to get even more in there. You could probably get more in a large cooler, but that's way too big to put on my kitchen counter. So to answer question 1: yes, you can do it, but probably not all 15 lb at once. The good thing is that cooking sous vide requires no oversight, so you won't be stuck in the kitchen while it's cooking.
On Amazon. It's WAY bigger than I actually need, but it seems like 90% of people who SV have one. Didn't want to break the combo.
Check how much water your unit can handle.
I just bought this one off Amazon.
I used electrical tape which I have since removed on the recommendation of Mr. Kinchee. I've ordered the weather stripping linked below.
pretty awesome! I would grab this bin for sous vide instead of that tupperware bin
What are you using to keep them in the water looks pretty packed. I'd suggest a polycarbonate tub. This is what I use, Cambro 12189CW135 4.75 Gallon Polycarbonate Food Storage Camwear Box https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002NQB63E/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ZfltCbJRDSECV
And I just cover it with tinfoil for long cooks.
Personally I prefer to do steaks on grill still, it's just faster and they cook fine. But things like Pork , and Corned Beef there's just such a huge difference and I cant cook them as well normally compared to Sous Vide it's totally worth it.