joesan

I've been given 4 dozen beautiful Razor Clams, they are lovely, fresh specimens. I want to cook them for some italian friends tonight. Anyone got some great ideas for a good recipe. Nothing deep fried please. I was thinking maybe of something like I've had in Tokyo - charcoal grilled with butter and balsamic vinegar but all ideas welcomed.

Okay - first off let me say that not all the hobs have the ability to maintain the temperature and those that do tend to be more expensive (wouldn't you guess). Mine can maintain at 80, 100, 140, 160, 180, 200, 240, 270C. I am not sure how accurate they are since I have never tested them but for sure if I put something on at 80C it never boils so it definitely works. I am not sure of the physics but I don't think that in practical terms the composition of the pan affects the final temperatures. The coil in the hob excites the ferrous part of your pan and that excitement tranlsates to heat. Basically if the pan works at all it will work well. So, for example, all my stainless steel pans work but all my aluminium (All Clad etc.) don't work at all. As regards when you move the pan off the heat source it does stop heating but that's the same for every heat source! Residual heat in the pan maintains the temperature for the bried moments the pan is off the hob. In practical terms you don't have to worry about it, unless your cooking technique requires a lot of flashy lifting of the pan. For example I would prefer to use gas for wok frying but you can buy a very nice, and exceedingly expensive, induction hob designed explicitly for wok use.

I've got five induction stoves and they are fantastic - I love them. They are super fast and very easy to clean since nothing gets burned on. They are definitely the way to go. Mine allow you to set a temperature for the pan and it will hold there for as long you like. Also you can get them with individual timers that will allow you to leave a stock on simmer and switch off when you are away. Great. Some downsides that might not be immediately obvious are - often very small pans don't work because of a safety feature that switches off the coil if no pan is present. This can be a pain if you like to use small sauciers etc. Secondly I find it a bit more of a pain to flambee since there is no flame to ignite the alcohol etc. abd lastly you will be surprised just how many of your pans won't work at all on the induction stove. Many of my favourites don't. A good way to test is to see if a magnet will stick to it. If it does you can use the pan fine. Having said all the above induction is definitely the way to go. There's a reason Adria et al use them.

Thanks Nathan. Unfortunately I don't have the Combi just the straight-forward Fan/Convection oven but I will try as you suggest after all the experimentation is half the fun! One thing I am not sure on though - why is wrapping the meat in oiled clingfilm not the same as putting it in a sous-vide bag? Surely the effect is the same - no air? Am I missing something blindingly obvious. What do you think about cling-filming the (joint+oil+seasoning) and placing it in a pre-heated water bath in the oven at 55C for 36 hours?

Nathanm - it's time for me to ask the oracle for some help again... I want to cook some Beef over the weekend to have with some Salsa Verde. I want to get the effect of a nice cold piece of rare roasted fillet but using a cheaper, tougher cut. I've tried Heston Blumenthal's version (in his book Family Food) and it was good but not super tender. From memory I think the suggestion was to cook it at 70C until the correct internal temperature was reached. The problem was that the meat was quite tough still. Earlier in one of your replies you intimated that it can be a good idea to cook the meat for a bit longer (at the target internal temperature to ensure it doesn't overcook) so that the meat fibres break down a little more. Can I ask for your suggestion as to method as to try on a 2kg piece of beef (not fillet!). I have at my disposal cling film (i.e. no Vacuum sealer!), an induction hob (able to hold to 60C) and a Gaggenau oven (able to hold to 50,55,60C etc.) and a good temperature probe. The oven is probably the most reliable. Any suggestions?

Thanks Jack - that's crystal clear. I'm going to be doing this over the next couple of days to revitalise everything. I appreciate your patience on this one!

Jack - I am either a fool or a pedant but could you please give us an exact outline of the refresh process on a step by step basis because I can't quite follow the refresh method. e.g. 1. Take x of starter add to y and z of flour and water. 2. Ferment for a hours at b temp 3. Pour away c of existing starter and add starter/flour/water mix. 4. Repeat etc. If you can be bothered a similar outline of what we need to do on a regular basis to maintain a healthy starter would also be good.

Well that was much better. Observed the correct proof times and set the oven at a lower temperature. Used the Vit C also. Got some nice open crumb and not too brown crust. However the texture was still a little dense. Also the crumb of mine looks a lot more like that of a typical Poilane style loaf i.e. not as open and light as Jack's. The bread itself is quite dark and goes nearly rock solid in a day or two. So some progress still to be made. I am wondering if my starter may have weakened a little in its postal journey from stately Lang towers (...anything rather than admit a failing in my technique). For a couple of days I didn't have it in an airtight container and it had got a little dried out. I had re-moistened it with a 50/50 flour water mix plus a spoonful of the starter itself. Jack - any tips on bringing the starter up to fighting strength again? Will also try your proofing variations. Jsalomon - thanks for the Froggle tip. Will try that next time. Have enough to do me for a while now. Corinna - I preheated the oven (with my tiles in them) to 250C, put the bread in, and turned down to 220 after 2 mins. Cooked for 35 minutes total. This was much better, though possibly still very slightly undercooked in the centre. The bread was a much nicer colour and texture. I'd recommend trying the Vit C as well. For my next batch I am going to preheat to 250, cook for 2 minutes and then turn to 210 and cook for 40-42 minutes total. I think that will be perfect. Also if you are worried about your oven light (although I think that the ones in the Smeg are pretty robust) can I suggest that you place a pan or oven tray directly on the floor of the oven and just pour some boling water in there immediately prior to putting the bread in. I then pour some more water in after 2 minutes and this gives great results. Another technique is just to spritz the oven walls using water filled spray gun.

Jack - many thanks for the starter you sent. It smells really healthy, almost kind of sweet. I've a couple of observations after having tried my first loaves using this recipe. 1. My first batch was in danger of burning after 30 minutes so I took it off about this point. However it was still underdone in the inside although the crust looked perfect. I think that the reason for this is that I'm guessing you cook yours in the Aga while mine is in a forced air Gaggenau. I'm guessing that those of us using convection ovens will need to use a lower temperature. My next batch I am going to try about 220C. 2. I didn't use Vitamin C in my first batch and I think as a result didn't get the nice open texture of your bread. Have since bought some (nearly £10 for a small jar - ouch!) so am hoping for an improvement here. Also I think I may have let the Starter overproof for 2 hours more than you say., i.e. 14 hours versus 12, and therefore its potency may have died off a little. Anyway next batch is in the fridge, proofing for baking tomorrow evening. Can't wait to see what these adjustments produce. Will let you know the results.

Well, yes... but to be fair to Nancy that starter did make some stellar bread. She has a fabulous recipe for Fig Anise bread that is fantastic match for a creamy blue cheese and a glass of icy cold Moscato.

Well I'd be a fool to turn down an offer of a starter that helps produce a beautiful bread like that!! PM on its way. It's very interesting to hear how little maintenance you have to do to keep your starter healthy. We made ours with organic grapes (to enhance the natural yeasting process) together with the flour and water. There was an extensive and onerous feeding process involved to grow the starter and an only slightly less onerous one to keep it alive. However I've since parted ways with my starter nurturing girlfriend and it since died (requiescant in pace). So a less onerous methodology is definitely welcome. I'm wondering how you maintained a steady 30C for a period of time?

Jack - thanks for another enjoyable article. I bake a lot of bread using mostly the same technique as yours but with instant action yeast. The high hydration / fast mixing time does give really good results. I do very much like the flavour of the sourdough breads but I have found maintaining the starter (clef?) to be a royal pain. We followed Nancy Silvertons method in her La Brea book. I seem to remember that this involved daily feeding to build the starter. I was wondering if you had any thoughts on a less labour intensive way to get a starter going. Also can you tell me what your feeding schedule is on your starter. If I remember correctly Nancy says that even a refridgerated starter will need some feeding (I may be wrong on this though).

Thanks for posting this. Sorry everyone - I didn't post mine directly because it was text verbatim from the book and the last time I posted something like that I got some email from the admins saying that I shouldn't do that. Luckily tan319 found the website version which for some reason is allowed by the admins... The recipe was too long to change around...

Hey Johnny, I can help you. Email me and I will send it to you. It is very,very good! Joe

Nathan, I echo others here in thanking you on a great piece of work and one of the best threads in eGullet (and that is saying something! ) Could you talk a little bit about the post SV finishing e.g. I cooked some 20 mm pork re your chart and then felt I had to flash grill it to improve the visual palatability. Otherwise it would have looked a little too anaemic. I find I nearly always have to do this with SV cooked items. How do you factor in the finishing (grilling, searing etc.) in the timing process? Also where do you stand on getting the Maillard before or after the SV step.

Eje - well I in turn wish I had your nice smoker setup! But since we only ever get a maximum of 5 days good weather a year (!) here we don't tend to have such nice outdoor equipment as you guys have... Good point about the tea smoke in the wok though. I made some quail this way from a recipe by Neil Perry using a wok and the wok lid. It worked really well. Might be a bit harder to do a big leg of lamb though. Thanks for reminding me of the butterflying by the way, I am going to do that since it will make an even cooking easier to achieve. Shalmanese - You know I kindof like the idea of Grill, Poach, Grill. Hadn't thought of doing it either side of the poaching. I am always just a little wary of going from a high to low temperature or vice versa. But it seems to be the way its done in restaurants and it seems to be safe enough. The oven is pretty precise and has an integral temperature probe with +-1 degree precision so I should be safe enough there. Its actually really easy to maintain a precise low temperature in it - best money I ever spent in my kitchen! Do you think poaching rather than just open roasting?

Well I guess it's that burning meat over flames has been with us since the discovery of fire, and LTLT in a vacuum bag with marination is rather more recent. Call it poetic licence if you will. Your lamb sounds delicious and is pretty much in the same vein as I had in mind. Ingredients sound just about perfect. I would have trouble replicating it though because I pretty much only have access to a very simple grill - foil tray and charcoals (i.e no smoker). I have a very high good oven (Gaggenau) capable of going to 300 degrees C so I can sear at high temperatures. It also maintains low temperatures really well so could also do the LTLT part in the oven. Maybe I could experiment with charcoal part.

The weather is hot, even here in London so I want to make a special dish for a long summer lunch. Here's what I want to do - combine a red wine, thyme and garlic marinated piece of organic lamb or pork and cook it at a low temerature for a long time at a low temperature (based on a Heston Blumenthal recipe). That is going to give me a deliciously succulent piece of meat. However I also want to combine this cutting edge new technique with one of the oldest - grilling it over hot charcoal - to give it an extra smoky, savoury dimension. How would you do it? LTLT first then grill or other way round. Would you cook the meat sous vide or in low oven? Any suggestions on any part of the process, timing, technique or marination?

PCD - I hadn't thought of that, sounds worth a try. I think I'll be having a busy weekend baking. Thanks for the hint.

Torakris - thanks for the recommendation, another one for me to check out at the bookstore tomorrow. The way you describe it sounds very close to what I want to achieve. The name of the book struck a bell so I went to my cookbook library. However turned out to be another book called Italian Vegetarian Cooking by Emanuela Stucchi. There must be many books with that title. Funnily enough one time I had a particularly nice focaccia at the Caffe Idee in Tokyo of all places. It was served with a nice Parma Ham scattered with freshly picked oregano. Yummy...

Because it sounds from your first post that you are a much much better baker than I! ←

Thanks Basilgirl! I am off to Books for Cooks tomorrow to purchase that one and give it a try. Does it give a nice soft focaccia? Any more out there?

I can make, by my own admission , perfect sourdough, fantastic baguettes, delicious pizza (even approved by native neapolitans) but I cannot, even after multiple tries, make an acceptable focaccia. Mine always ends up overly dry or too oily. I've tried, as advised by some to use a pizza dough but this ends up too thin and crispy. Others end up as simply like a thin slab of bread. What I am looking for is a soft, delicate but slightly chewy bite with lots of open holes. The focaccia should be lightly but perceptibly oily, nicely salty and with a hints of rosemary or oregano in the topping. The focaccia should also have nice rise and be thick not thin like an unadorned pizza base. So come on egulleteers help me out and let's see those attempts for the perfect focaccia recipe!

Jonathan - just curious - are you sure you have used a metal topped induction hob?!? If the metal was in anyway ferrous the entire hob top would become hot. Every induction hob I have seen is designed with an induction coil below a specially toughened glass top. When a ferrous metal pan is placed on the glass the induction coil excites the materials of the pan magnetically and this friction in the pan causes the heat.

David - forget the conveyor belt places, the fish is always dried out and the machine moulded rice is terrible. Zuma, Roka and Nobu etc. have their place but on the whole they are more about "see and be seen than the food". London seems to excel at this type of expense account design palace (though these have their place on the right occasion). For good, reasonably priced sushi try Aki in Clerkenwell (Japanese Bar style). Reallyvery reasonable and beautifully fresh. I had some fantastic razor clam sashimi the other day for just £4. Or Donzoko behind Carnaby Street. Donzoko sushi not quite as good since their great young sushi chef left to open his own place near the National Gallery. haven't been to his new place yet. BTW - I love a big plate of sushi as much as the next man but I found that the sushi I had in nearly all the US restaurants was in far too big pieces. Sometimes it would be about twice or three times the size of what I was used to from Tokyo sushi bar experiences. Sometimes too much is worse than not enough! Sushi at the counters near the Tokyo fish market is sublime.