It’s hardly any work at all.
I go to Costco and get a bunch of meat. Slice or divide it up into servings. Season, shrink-wrap, label, and freeze. When it’s time to eat, I take it out, throw it in a pot of water with the SV heater, and leave it there for several hours — or days, in the case of tough meats like ribs. Temperature is important; time isn’t really important. An extra hour or two won’t ruin anything but seafood.
Fire up the BBQ grill. Remove the meat from packages and add additional seasonings if desired. Put some oil on the griddle or cast iron pan. Sear for about a minute on all sides. You don’t even have to let it “rest” since it’s already cooked.
My SV cost me around $100. I use a pot I already had, and the BBQ.
For ribs: vacuum seal with salt and pepper or spices, maybe butter. Sous vide 130 degrees for 4–8 hours (or more if they’re tough). Open and dry. Butter or oil or mayo, sear on cast iron or grill till they’re the right color. Sometimes I do them 24 hours, sometimes 36 — it doesn’t seem to make that much difference. The pre-seasoning integrates into the meat, the grill gives the surface a nice crispy texture.
Beef ribs get 2 days at 165. A cheap steak 3–4 hours. A good steak 1–2 hours at 130, then sear on a very hot grill 30–60 seconds per side. Shrimp and scallops 30 minutes (sort of pointless, but they came out okay). Asparagus. Pork chops bagged with chimichuri for 4–6 hours at 140, seared with some butter — came out tender and very flavorful.
I am nearly incompetent in the kitchen, and barely passable at the grill. I find sous vide easy, and it produces reliably good results.
The 2x2 method still works fine for a steak on a medium-hot grill if I’m not doing SV: two minutes per side, twice, then wrap in foil to rest for about eight minutes. But sous vide, when I remember to plan ahead, is better every time.