Sous Vide Cooking & The Anova Precision Cooker Review: Smart Tech for Better Steak
What is Sous Vide Cooking?
Sous vide (French for “under vacuum”) is a method of cooking that involves vacuum-sealing food in a bag and cooking it in a precisely controlled water bath.
This technique, once exclusive to professional kitchens, is now a home cook’s best friend.
Why? It delivers restaurant-quality results every time — without the stress.
Benefits of Sous Vide Cooking
There are two main benefits:
- Consistent, perfect results
- Flexibility and convenience
Using sous vide, your food reaches the perfect temperature — and holds it there. No overcooking. No timing stress.
Want a medium-rare steak? Set your cooker to the exact temp. When you're ready to eat, just sear it quickly and serve.
Distracted bathing the kids? No worries. Your salmon is sitting patiently, perfectly cooked, waiting until you're ready.
The Anova Precision Cooker Review: A Smart Sous Vide Machine
My wife and I have been cooking with sous vide for years, and the Anova Precision Cooker has become our go-to device.
Here’s why.
Size, Style & Power
There are two types of sous vide cookers:
- Stick-style circulators (like the Anova)
- All-in-one units with a built-in water bath
I recommend the stick-style — it’s compact, versatile, and easier to store. You can use any pot or container. Want to sous vide a single steak? Use a small pot. A whole turkey? Use a cooler.
Yes, we once did a full Thanksgiving turkey in an Esky. It was hilarious… and delicious.
The Anova’s upright, slim design is easy to store and easy to use.
There’s the Standard model, the Nano (smaller, Bluetooth-only), and the Pro (larger, more powerful).
Just note: only the Standard and Pro models support Wi-Fi remote control.
Smart Features: Surprisingly Useful
Initially, I didn’t care about the smart functionality. I just wanted tasty steak.
Now, I’d struggle to live without it.
The Wi-Fi version connects to the Anova app, which acts as both a recipe guide and remote control. You can start cooking from your phone — wherever you are.
Why that matters:
Busy day? Toss a frozen steak in the water bath before work.
In the afternoon, start cooking via the app.
When you get home:
- Fire up the BBQ
- Toss a salad
- Sear the steak
💥 Dinner’s done in 15 minutes — and it’s perfect.
Real-Life Use Case: Our Sous Vide Routine
Here’s our setup:
- Prep several steaks at once
- Each bag = steak, butter, sage or rosemary
- Freeze the extras
Later in the week:
- Drop the frozen steak bag into a pot of water
- Leave it all day
- Use the app to start cooking mid-afternoon
- Sear quickly before serving
🧊 Hot tip for summer: Add a few ice cubes in the morning to keep everything food-safe while it defrosts.
Wi-Fi Frustration (and the Fix)
There is one issue: the Anova Precision Cooker only works on 2.4GHz Wi-Fi.
If your router uses a shared SSID (combined 2.4GHz & 5GHz), it might fail to connect.
Unfortunately, many users don’t even realise that’s the issue. And honestly, you shouldn’t need to know Wi-Fi band theory to cook a steak.
🛠 Fix: Temporarily separate your router’s SSIDs during setup — or ask your techie friend to help.
Recipe Guides Built In
The Anova app includes visual, beginner-friendly guides for everything from eggs to wagyu.
Perfect for anyone starting out.
If you're already into smart kitchen gear, check out my smart kitchen appliance recommendations.
Verdict: Should You Buy the Anova Precision Cooker?
Short version: Yes.
Longer version: Yes, but…
- It’s more expensive than competitors — but worth it if you can catch it on sale
- Consider alternatives from brands like Kogan or Westinghouse
- Be prepared for possible Wi-Fi setup issues (but once it’s done, it’s set-and-forget)
We've had flawless performance from ours for years — and even bought it as a gift for others.
You can buy it directly from Anova Culinary here.
Got Questions?
Tried sous vide already? Thinking about it?
Let me know what you’d like added to this review — or reach out via socials!
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