ChefSteps 4186JW120B Joule Sous Vide, 1100 Watts, All White, 11 x 1.9 x 1.9"

Unit refuses to connect to Bluetooth OR Wireless. Followed all instructions for both - no luck. Had to update the firmware on my router, reinstall the app, update to the latest ios, blah, blah, blah. Still no luck. Their troubleshooting is all canned, and this unit was not behaving like any of their "IF THIS" scenario's. I am an early adopter, and had problems connecting the first one I ordered directly from them - and it eventually connected to my phone, tablet and wi-fi network. The first one works - and was ready to go. It was connected to my iphone The second one was purchased this week to allow me to do white and dark meat turkey simultaneuosly - and - refuses to connect to the very same phones and network - led is flashing colors patterns which require customer support - which is gone for the week - the day before Thanksgiving! I sous vide'd my Turkey last year, and it was great. Due to the connectivity issues, this is going back to amazon. I am in the food industry and have about 6 friends who purchased this unit based on my recommendation - do yourself a favor, skip the gimmicky bs of this unit, and buy a different brand with controls and readouts on board - you'll thank yourself. Sous Vide is great, and when my first one actually connects, it's great. However - check the negative reviews - and be prepared for connection issues and zero customer service support. Cooking my Turkey in an oven this year, and am not very happy about it. Update. Turns out - we did have a defective unit. Chef Steps had a resolution for us the next day - Amazon took the defective unit back with their usual efficiency - crediting my card once the package was scanned at a UPS drop point. Chef Steps responded the next morning and then replaced the unit - which was nice. At the end of the day - I like the Joule - it's quiet - works great - and is fast. I like the app for the phone. It's all very intuitive and works well - once it's connected. This frustrated me because - 1. I have one which I use frequently so my expectations were clear - and - 2. I took this out of the box expecting it to work like my other one and I left no time to work out any issues - so I wound up being stuck when I got a bad one. Given the timing of this - I couldn't go back and do the whole turkey with one unit as I did last year - (which was amazing) - I hadn't allotted enough time for that. So - I guess that's partly my fault. At the end of the day - Chef Steps "stepped up" and went beyond reasonable expectations - and that's important, as every once in awhile there will be unforeseen problems and it really is how they're handled that matters. Give yourself a few extra days before you plan to use this to make sure it's ready and it's an amazing unit.

I wanted to try sous vide cooking after my brother had done some meat with his. It's not a cheap endeavor, but I took the plunge. I decided on this unit after some research. I really enjoy the compact size, as compared to other sous vide units, and from what I read the quick heat up time. When I got it I put it to use immediately. Took about 5 minutes to setup on my phone with the app. I used it in an 8 quart pot with ribeye steak and chicken breast (I cooked them separately). It took only 11 minutes to heat up 72 degree water to 149 degrees for the chicken breast. Once at that temperature it stayed very consistent, within 0.2 degrees. Amazing! Temperature control devices at my work (food production) don't do as well in terms of consistency. Chicken breast came out very moist, best I ever had. But, I was concerned it may have been undercooked however all juices ran clear. Ribeye was perfect medium rare...I couldn't have done better with reverse sear or on the grill. Of course this cooking method takes longer, but it is worth it because you really don't have to worry about it...true set it and forget it until the app notifies it is done. The app does say you can cook for up to 2 hours over the recommended time and it will still be fine...FYI. Some people complained the alarm wasn't loud enough. But hey, use your phone and the app and it is fine. It is as loud as your phone is so I'm not sure what those people were talking about. Even if you lose connection it will still go on and the app will still time down so you'll be fine. Great product, highly recommend! Important! Get quality sous vide bags and a good vacuum pump.

Ok, I just got the Joule a few days ago, as an anniversary present from my wife, so this is, obviously, my early experience with it. First, it does look good. But, more importantly it works well It was very easy to connect to my wifi and bluetooth and, right after doing so, updated itself flawlessly. I had downloaded the Alexa skill for voice command (ok, I admit to be a tech junkie) and it, too, worked without a problem. It does heat very quickly...... yesterday I timed it at slightly less than 14 minutes to heat an almost full 6 quart pot to 155 degrees F (starting temp of the water was 74 degrees) I checked the water temperatures both times I used it with my instant read thermometer and found it to be within 2 or three tenths of a degree of the setting. First thing I cooked in it was a tilapia recipe I found on the site of that "other manufacturer" ;-) I cooked it at 135 degrees for almost two hours to see if it was possible to overcook the fish. It wasn't and my wife thought it delicious Then last night I made my world famous.... ok, family famous... marinara sauce and both sweet and hot Italian sausage. As another experiment I cooked the sweet sausage directly from frozen at 155 degrees for 3 hours (again based on something I found on that other website). Then threw them on the grill for 3 minutes per side to brown them My wife, 14 yr old grandson, and 7 yr old (oops, excuse me, "almost 8 yrs old") granddaughter said they were the best ever. Quite juicy. Now, in case anyone thinks they just said that to make me feel good............ er, you need to meet my grandchildren :-) Both cooks were done in 1 gallon Ziplock bags using the water displacement method of clearing the air. And both bags were clipped to the side of the pot with the food being totally submerged.. Now if we could only afford a nice thick steak to test it with :-) Bottom line..... I really like the thing so far....... the only problem I would foresee is the obvious one that I can not cook different things requiring different temperatures at the same time....... such as vegetables and meat. More later perhaps as I gain more experience with it Ciao.......... and chow! Update evening 8 April: OK, did boneless chicken breasts, at least two inches thick at their largest, from frozen. Cooked at 149 degrees, and ended up about 3 1/2 hours since my wife, who caught a bug, feel asleep....... and being a loving, wonderful husband (ahem, ahem) I let her sleep. I had thrown in some rosemary leaves and thyme (both dried) and a bit of EVOO (of course, I am Italian!). When my wife awakened I took the chicken out of the water, browned it in some butter, and then made a simple pan sauce with more butter, thyme, rosemary, and, of course white wine (er, did I mention that I was Italian? ;-) ) The chicken was still quite juicy and firm even after that amount of time, (time, not Thyme) and was delicious. I really love this style of cooking but will, of course, still use my grill and my electric smoker. But there is no doubt that sous vide lives up to its hype! (oh, and if you are tired of hearing my comments....................... never mind, I try never to be rude :-) )

This is the smallest sous vide rated at 1100W. Used several times and it heats the water up very fast and maintains the temperature precisely. If you compare it to the others being offered, they are considerably thicker in size occupying more space in your container. I recommend buying this with a butane cooking torch to sear and brown meats if you don't already have one. The two are complimentary cooking utensils. Also you might want to consider a vacuum sealer but it is not required if you use a quality bag and squeeze the excess air out using water displacement method. There are silicon sous vide pouches which are reusable on Amazon. Pro: Only one button on top and a single LED light. No other display or manual controls to get dirty, wet or damaged. Magnetic base holds the bottom of metal pots so often the clamp is not needed. App shows recipe items in colour to visually show how the selected temperature will affect the item your cooking. It is easier to visualize your preference with an image in colour versus a numerical temperature setting for different meats. With being remotely connected you can start your sous vide cooking before you leave work! When you get home take it out and sear it to finish. Cons: No display or manual controls to use without mobile phone or tablet. Would have preferred with the stainless steel top instead of all white but it cost much more for something that is simply cosmetic.

It's intuitive and well designed app gives clear instruction in each step of the way. I like the small form factor that I can fit it into my drawer without worrying about it. It's easy to clean and looks great as a cooking gadget. Only downside that it has is sometimes app/bluetooth connection is a little buggy but it hasn't gravely irritate me yet :)

Absolutely excellent - the recipes contained in the app work well, results have been outstanding. My only complain is that the app stubbornly refuses to realize that I have in fact enable notifications on my phone, so it keeps asking me to enable notifications. I am a huge fan of the compact nature of the unit, the fact that it works so well in a wide variety of containers, and it's been amazing so far with every recipe I've tried (eggs, chocolate pot de creme, steaks)

I bought this Sous Vide based on the reviews indicating that this one was one of the best Sous Vide. I am so very sorry that I bought it and didn’t return it as soon as possible. It just did not work correctly so I put it away in a cupboard. When my son was here at Christmas (2022), I gave it to him to try out … told him to keep it if he could get it working. He uses an Anova AN500 (he has had it for three years) and has never had any issues with it … he tried out the Joule Sous Vide but said that it was a piece of junk and just didn’t work. I realize that I am way past the return on this Sous Vide but felt that I should share my review …. At this point I would recommend the Anova over the Joule … Note: I gave it one star as it is a nice looking Sous vide but that is all I can be positive about.

I did extensive comparisons between Breville and Anova before purchasing, and I’m glad I went with Breville. As others mentioned, you can use the app by choosing the type of food, and then select how well cooked you want it, which sets the time/temp. The Anova app didn’t appear to have that, which means you rely on looking through google to find a good website because they all vary with their temp and time settings even for a rare steak. It seems like the Breville app needs to be open for the timer to work (unrealistic when cooking for 45+ minutes), so I would highly recommend setting a timer on your phone anyways. Easy to use, easy to set up, and had excellent steaks on the first try!