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See what all the sous vide fuss is about with Monoprice's $51 immersion cooker

Normally $70, this 800-watt model might just transform your kitchen. Plus: Stream James Bond movies for free.

Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
Rick Broida
2 min read
monoprice-strata-home-2

You supply the pot; Monoprice's Strata Home will sous vide your foods for just $51.

Monoprice

Some call sous vide cooking the most game-changing thing to happen to the kitchen in a decade. Apparently, giving beef, chicken, fish and the like a hot bath can produce amazing results.

Want to see what all the fuss is about? Note that CNET may get a share of revenue from the sale of the products featured on this page. Here's one of your cheapest chances yet: For a limited time, and while supplies last, the Monoprice Strata Home 800-watt immersion cooker is on sale for $51.09. Regular price: $70. Interestingly, you can also get it via Rakuten for $59 with code HOME15, and then score $18 in Rakuten points toward a future purchase. 

If I remember my high-school French, "sous vide" means "sits in a pot for a while." What happens is, you seal your meat or whatever in a bag, then put it in a pot of water. The cooker keeps that water at a consistent (and fairly low) temperature, effectively sealing in all the juices and preventing overcooking.

Thus, as fans like to tell it, they can throw something into the pot in the morning, leave it cooking all day, and come home to perfection.

You'll be ready to sous vide at home with these appliances

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As you may have guessed, I'm no expert when it comes to sous vide, having never tried it. But this model features an adjustable clamp, a digital touchscreen interface on the top and dishwasher-safe parts.

Better still, it scored an impressive 4.7-star average rating from nearly 230 buyers.

Thus, I think if you want to get in on the sous vide action, this deal is worth a look. A fair number of other popular models start at around $100, and some sell for as high as $200.

Your thoughts, chefs?

Bonus deal: Pluto TV is streaming James Bond movies for free

pluto-tv-james-bond

Woo! Free James Bond! But no Daniel Craig? Dang.

Pluto TV

Need a 007 fix? Pluto TV, a rapidly growing free streaming service, just introduced a new channel called Pluto 007. What's on? You guessed it: Bond. James Bond. Movie after movie after movie, streamed 24/7.

I hope you like the classics, because the lineup here starts all the way back with the original Casino Royale (1954) and spans roughly 17 movies, through the 1990s Timothy Dalton era. So, alas, no Pierce Brosnan, no Daniel Craig.

You'll also have to sit through commercials, same as with Pluto's other content. The service is available pretty much everywhere, though, including mobile apps, Roku and Fire TV streamers and so on.

Thankfully, you don't have to watch them "live" -- all the movies are available via Pluto's on-demand library as well. Time to see if Moonraker holds up!

Watch this: Smart Home Showdown: Sous vide machines

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