Sous Vide Essential Accessories
Sous vide cooking is actually really simple once you get started. However, there are some key sous vide accessories that can really make sous vide cooking easier and elevate your food to the next level. The key items you’ll need along with your sous vide machine, whether it be a standalone machine like the Sous Vide Supreme Demi Water Oven
- A Vacuum Sealer
- A Searing torch
- Cooking Bins (for non-standalone machines like anova or nomiku)
- Flavor injectors
These items will help you generate the best results with your sous vide machines. The vacuum sealer is pretty much essential to all sous vide cooking. The searing torch will help you add a crispness and color to your food that will make the food more appealing and palatable. Finally, the flavor injectors can help you take the flavors in the items you are cooking to the next level.
Our top choices for each of these essential sous vide accessories is as follows.
Vacuum sealer: FoodSaver 4840 2-in-1.
Why the 4840? Because it is a serious machine. It is powerful and can handle all the bags and big jobs you can throw at it. The bonus attachment is nice along with the internal storage.
Top searing torch: Searzall Blowtorch Attachment
This is pretty much the holygrail of sous vide searing finisher tools. I have a Iwatani Cooking Torch and it is much harder to control the searing process with it than the Searzall. Granted, the searzall is around 3x as much as the Iwanti, but you are really paying for a consistently better outcome.
Polycarbonate Cooking Bin: Cambro 12189CW135 4.75-Gallon + Matching Lid
There is nothing really sexy about the bin you fill with water to do you sous vide cooking in, but this is a sturdy proven receptacle. Buy the lid if you want to retain some of the heat that would otherwise dissipate in the open air.
Flavor Injectors: Mr Grill 2 Ounce Stainless Steel Meat / Marinade Injector
Maybe I’m fufilling some childhood fantasy of being a mad scientist but this injector makes me feel like I’m Dr. Frankenstein. Instead of making a hideous beast to terrorize neighbor children, I inject flavoring into the core of the meats I cook for splendid flavor. This product has great reviews and works. Worth getting especially if you have tougher meats or want deep flavor.
Smoke gun – The PolyScience Smoking Gun
There is something primal and fantastic about the taste of smoke in your food. Sadly, smoke and char are something sous vide simply lacks. The PolyScience Smoking Gun (great name) help yous make up for sous vide’s limitations by letting you impart smoke into just about anything.
Pot lid organizer that is re-purposed as a water flow rack
Wait, huh? Yeah this item seems totally out of place here but this rack can help you organize foods and assure a consistent and smooth water flow across items as you sous vide them. The way it works is that you lay this rack out in the pan, bin, or cooler you are using as your water basin and the place your various proteins in it with the bars acting as spacers. This makes for consistent water flow and more reliable cooking.
