jmolinari

Chris, are you referring to an ice make in a freezer/fridge? If so, then yes...b/c your freezer is held well below 32.

Ice makers are purposely designed to make "soft ice". Ice that's held at 32 degrees, so it's constantly melting and making new ice. Very inefficient. That also explains why there is no temperature setting. The reason you want soft ice, is that when you pour something carbonated over soft ice it doesn't bubble up like crazy and go flat.

That's ingenious!

seems pretty neat...i'd be concerned that the top dome, where the heat would collect and escape from the top vent, would be too far from the top of the pizza, the result being a cooked bottom crust, and undercooked top. Sure enough... http://kettlepizza.com/testimonials/ the first pic shows a nice pizza, with what seems to be under-done crust...in my opinion.

I have a vac550, so almost as old as your old one! i've run across a V2240 for about $100...i'm thinking about getting that one. It lists similar features to the 2840 without the roll holder (better for me...smaller) and the removable tray...

Yeah..that sounds about right:) It's still awesome though.

Dougal, Not sure, i got it soon after release, so probably the 1st edition. I hope they didn't remove the science, that's what made it so useful though. Maybe you're referring to the grammatical mistakes?

I own: Charcuterie - good beginner book. Some small inaccuracies, but overall great starter book Cooking by hand - This was my 1st book on curing, even before Charcuterie, and i think the chapter on it is better than all of Charcuterie, and worth purchasing the book for that chapter alone. The rest of the book is great too. Art of..Marianski bros: GREAT GREAT book. Probably the hardest to read due to a lot of scientific content, but they seem to have done a lot of research and answer many questions that many people curing meats have. They discuss different starter cultures, and why it's ok for some to be slower than others etc.etc. They have long chapters on equipment and a whole bunch of recipes. It's a fantastic book. I have a slew of Italian books as well on the subject, and they're OK. I use them mostly for inspiration and ideas, actually one of them from 1976, and no longer in print, is very good.

Any comments on the currently available food saver models? I would like a pro sealer but i'm a few hundred $ short My current model is not sealing that well anymore and the bags often end up leaking. I like the size and form factor of the foodsaver gamesaver (narrow) but it's rather expensive at $300. Do the newer models have a wider strip?

I like mine:) See my signature...but then again, i'm biased!

In carbonara i usually do a mix of both... about 50/50. The pecorino at my Costco is a DOP pecorino...very good stuff.

Non-grape tomatoes... why even bother with them in supermarkets. Might as well eat styrofoam. The Santa Sweets F1 hybrids are generally quite tasty though.

"tesa" means stretched, or taught, indicating it's flattened, nor rolled.

Mike Stock? Great guy. He LOVES his BGE!

It's a rather long process in one of my books. I'll detail it when i get a chance. We probably should start a cold smking topic.

Maybe if you were wanting a horizontal version of an Indian 'tandoor' ... ? Yeah, that would work actually. Jsut remove the pizza stone, and put some foil underneath the top grill to catch drips...

Uhm....hell no

Propane has about twice the energy per cubic foot as natural gas, but they ignite and burn at pretty much the same temperature (source here). you're right. i should have said propane has more energy per cu.ft. burned.

natural gas doesn't burn as hot as propane, and the nozzles on the burner would have to be changed, but it should work with modifications. I don't have an cutting specs, other than what i posted. It doesn't require all that much accuracy, just the general concept....

Something I just learned from McGee's On Food and Cooking is that leaving cooked rice at room temperature for too long can be unsafe. Apparently raw rice often carries bacteria that can withstand high temperatures (and so survive the cooking process). The bacteria grow pretty rapidly at room temperature, so he recommends serving rice hot and refrigerating any leftovers. Or, you can add an acid (as in sushi rice or rice salads, which inhibits bacterial growth. Yup, this bacteria is what causes the "MSG syndrome" at cheap chinese places very often.

A combo of dry and wet curing is exactly what a book i have says to do for Scotch smoked salmon.....as well as rubbing it repeatedly with oil and bourbon....

I'm just presenting a cheap option to make neopolitan pizza at home. I'm sure there are other methods (although i've yet to see a BGE make a neopolitan pizza), but none that i know of offer the cost/benefit this one does. I guess i should make a topic that offers people how to make neopolitan pizza at home, and just say "buy an Acunto brick oven from naples".

steamed rice...or just slightly above room temp.

I couldn't taste much/any maple syrup flavor...but i haven't tried the 1/2 of the fish that i didn't apply it to...so i'll find out if there is a difference next week when i break out the other piece. Have you tried dry curing instead of brining?

scubadoo, this was my methodology: 1) brine 2 sides of salmon in a 15% salt brine +5% dark brown sugar for 10 hours 2) rinse clean water and let soak with running water for 20 minutes 3) Dry and lay on cake rack in fridge to dry for about 1.5 hours 4) brush one of the fillets with maple syrup. Back in fridge for 1 hour 5) smoke with oak chips for 5 hours. Fish on ice packs. Fish stayed at about 65-68 deg. while smoking. 6) Let sit in fridge overnight to mellow Smoke flavor is MAYBE a touch too strong. Wife says no..i say maybe. Next time i'll smoke for 4 hrs instead of 5 and use some spices.