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Because it's hard to get all the air out, storage bags are more prone to float in the water bath. Floating bags are a no-no with sous vide because food won't cook evenly (which is the whole point of sous vide!).
Storage bags aren't as durable as vacuum bags, so they're more prone to puncturing in the bath. This is especially true for long cooks (more than a pair of hours).
You can't trust the seal on storage bags like you could possibly on a vacuum-sealed bag, so you basically have to clip the bag to the rim of the sous vide container to prevent it from submerging all the manner.
Buy meat in bulk and store on your freezer. Vacuum-sealed food can last up to 5 times as long as non-vacuum sealed food. And no freezer burn!
If you add seasoning to meat before you vacuum seal, it's ready to pop into your sous vide machine straight from the freezer. This makes dinner prep straightforward and reduces packaging waste, as well.
Uses for a vacuum sealer extend way beyond sous vide--for that topic, they even go beyond the kitchen. Vacuum seal meat for a speedy marinade; vacuum seal dry goods for longer shelf life; vacuum seal medical supplies to keep them sterile; vacuum seal clothes to maximize storage space--you'll be able to be amazed at the uses you find for your vacuum sealer!
For more strategies, visit The Rational Kitchen.
Additionally, with a vacuum sealer you could possibly save even more time and money. Here's how:
Most stats you'll be able to read say that the average American family saves about $2700 a year in food costs and reduced waste by having a vacuum sealer. If you have a sous vide cooker, I'm sure that figure is even higher. And if you sous vide your food in the similar bags you freeze it in, you reduce your waste even more.
For more strategies on vacuum sealers, see my article, Why Every Kitchen Needs a Food Vacuum Sealer.
Sous vide will result in amazing steaks, juicy pork and chicken, and succulent salmon. Plus, it has a wide selection of other excellent applications! For most desirable results with your sous vide cooker, I recommend purchasing these two accessories...and skipping pretty much the whole lot else.
A torch produces an excellent crust with minimal cooking time, so you don't run the threat of overcooking the steak.
If you put the steaks over an outside grill for torching, voila! No pans to wash!
It's in all likelihood the easiest, most hassle-free, and most dependable of all the searing programs.
You can use it for other kitchen tasks like creme brulee, meringues, and defrosting your freezer (well, maybe not that last one).
Vacuum Sealer
The big trend in sous vide these days is using food storage bags and the "water displacement process" to eliminate air from the bag. With this process, you submerge the filled bag in the water bath slowly, letting the water pressure push the air to the surface, then seal the bag. Yes, this works, but it is a sub-optimum process for these reasons:
What to Skip
Finally, right here's what you don't need to get amazing results with sous vide:
Torch
The biggest issue when doing proteins with sous vide, especially those expensive cuts of steak, is how to finish it. There is no browning with sous vide cooking, so that step must be done after you eliminate the steaks (we'll use these as our example) from the water bath and before serving. It's particularly important with steak because part of what makes a steak so scrumptious is its browned, crispy exterior.
You can use a lot of programs to sear your steaks and other proteins. You can use a smoking hot cast iron pan, a broiler, a grill, or a hot oven. You can even deep fry your steaks (unquestionably scrumptious, but calorie-laden and messy--save this one for a special occasion).
So if you already have a skillet and a stovetop, why invest in a torch? Here are a few reasons:
A special container. You'll see a lot of "sous vide" containers attainable now that sous vide has hit the big time. But the truth is, unless you're concerned about presentation (e.g., what your guests see), none of these are obligatory. A good-sized stock pot is all you need for a family dinner, and if you're cooking for more people, a cooler is an excellent option. Of course, if you have a water bath, like the SousVide Supreme, this is a non-issue.
A lid. If you've shopped for specialized sous vide containers, then you recognize that many of them come with lids (or charge extra for them). Now, I'm not saying you don't need a lid. In fact, if you do long cooks (more than 12 hours or so--and feel me, you are going to!), you need some way to prevent water from evaporating. But you don't need a special lid unless (again) you are going to have your sous vide setup to be pretty. For long cooks, you could possibly cover a pot with foil, a towel or a blanket (depending on the scale of the vessel). Or you could possibly use ping pong balls or cookie sheets or anything else that covers the water and prevents it from evaporating. Sure, you could possibly buy a dedicated sous vide vessel with a lid, but long cooks are likely to be the exception in choice to the norm, so it may not be an investment you have to make.
A rack. You can buy racks that sit on the lowest of a water bath that you could possibly set bags in for uniform circulation. I've never used one, and I've never missed it. The circulating water should keep water temp uniform all over a bath, irrespective of how bags are dispersed. And if for some reason bags are floating to the peak, you could possibly use any number of kitchen gifts to keep them submerged, from a butter knife to a pot lid. A rack looks nice, but it in all likelihood doesn't serve any other obligatory purpose.
A meat thermometer. On of the biggest thing about sous vide is the precision. Food is cooked to a actual temperature, and no other tools are needed. You may already own a meat thermometer, but if you do, save it for other things. With sous vide, it's an out of date concept.
You may not need a vacuum sealer and a torch to use your sous vide circulator or water bath, but they are going to offer you better results, and maybe make life a little easier, as well!
If you are going to have a dedicated sous vide container with a lid, then go for it. They're not terribly expensive. But it's not essential. I've been using a sous vide circulator for years and have yet to own a dedicated container. I haven't missed it. For long cooks, I use ping pong balls (as advised in the distinctive Modernist Cuisine books) or a dish towel over the pot. Problem solved. (But I'm not super fussy about appearances, both.)
I've tried all the programs to brown meat after sous vide cooking: hot skillets, the broiler, the grill, the oven, and deep frying. For steaks and other thin cuts, I like the torch is my because it's straightforward, it provides amazing all-over browning, and it's really pretty straightforward once you get the hang of it. (PS--it's also kind of fun.)
