Jump to content

Pielle

participating member
  • Posts

    107
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Pielle

  1. Cool, its nice too see that some others have gone a similar way. I think it a a really cheap and efficient solution for sous-vide at home. Too bad it dosnt work with induction hubs, I was actualy wondering about that, but I guess there is just too much electronic in there already to add some external "brain" to it, it will just get in conflict. You probably already considered that but what would happen if you just tapped on the wires powering the induction coil (a bit like I did) leaving all the lectronic intact? Once you powered it on, maybe the electonics woudnt notice that the coil is off some times? There is very little information actualy on how induction coils work. Do you have any? What is the voltage and frequency applied on the coil? How is the power modulated? Is it a cycling on/off control like in electronic ranges, or is the amplitude or frequency of the coil powering modulated in some way? Maybe there is a solution, or maybe we could just push on induction hob makers to provide some sort of control on temperature (I do think some models have some kind of temp control but certainly nothink like a PID). This kind of instslation most probably better then a cheap water bath in many ways as I dont think all of them are equiped with PIDs. And I do apreciate the fact that there were never any chemicals in contact with my sous-vide apparatus. Yes I have tought about the aquarium pump, but I still wonder if agitation is really necessery for my usual applications. I also tought about adding some kind of mechanical aggitation clipped on the pot and powered from somewhere in the back of the range.
  2. Thanks a lot! It actualy isnt very complicated, maybe I detailed my post a little bit too much and I gave too much information for it to be digestable in a reasonable amount of time. If I was to make a quick sumary of what I did I would say that I just put an electonic switch on the wires powering the heating coil. The switch is controled by a temperature controler equiped with a thermocouple. If the temperature reading is bellow the given setpoint, it heats, if it is above, it dosent heat, hence giving precice temps control (for water, oil or food in a pot on the stove).
  3. About a month ago I was inspired by a link posted in one of Nathanm's posts: Some people are using PID controllers to control the heating element of espresso coffee machine. It seems that water temp is a crucial variable in order to get a good espresso and home coffee machines are simply unable to provide that a decent level of control. PID stands for Proportional, Integral, Derivative and is a mathematical algorithm (actually 3 of them) that will consider temperature differences and heating and cooling rates of the system (simplified, if not modelised explanation) in order to efficiently heat up the system and maintain its temperature without oscillations or overshoot. Being very much interested in Sous-vide but not having the funds to buy expensive lab water baths or recirculators (the baths that were in my price range on ebay just seemed filthy), I though this would be an interesting way to fabricate a simple, but yet very efficient, thermostated water bath. So the project was the following : buy a PID controller, a Solid state relay (a electronic on/off switch controlled by the PID device, that would open or close the heating circuit), a thermocouple and use them to control a heating element on witch the a pot of water would be placed (the thermocouple would be inserted in the pot of water). So, I looked for some of these devices on the web. The usual suppliers of these products, such as omega or TTI global, are aimed at a research or industrial market, where cost is not so much a problem, so their products are expensive. Fortunatly there are new actors in the PID market that sell unexpensive, but still reliable PID controllers made in china www.auberins.com so I bought : PID controler - 35$ Solid State Relay -15$ Thermocouple -6 $ And a couple of things for radio-shack, like a project box as en enclosure, wires, a fuse and crimp connectors - 15$ and I have a lot left Next was to find a suitable heating element on witch to install the temp control system. After searching for a little while, the obvious struck me. A high power heating source was already there in my kitchen in the form of an electric range! This solved a lot of technical and space problems. So I decided on the following circuit : After recieving all the parts, and closing the OVEN CIRCUIT BREAKER I went on with opening the back of my electric range. It is pretty simple wiring back there once you have taken the time to figure it out. I used my multimeter and the circuit diagram that was enclosed there to find a 120 V and neutral connection point on the back of the clock assembly. The switch that will be modded is the top right one (corresponding to the upper left coil). I then proceeded to instal my wires : I used a free fuse space (not used in my range model) to pass the wires. The red wire is connected to 110 VAC, and the white to neutral, they power the PID. As the PID only consumes 2W of electricity, the gage is not very important, just make sure the wires are rated for 120V. The brown wire is a tripple wire normaly used for thermostats and brings the + an - power signal to the SSR (this is only a 10V signal). The third wire, I used it as a ground. I cut one of the power cables to the heating coil and conected the newly formed ends to the SSR (bottom right). here is a closup of the SSR instalation with the heat resistent wire passing (red wires go to front left coil, black to back left. You can see the green wire connected to the frame as a ground It was then time to put wrap up everything. From the front it is a very small instalation, you can see the PID digits showing the currant temperature. After a little bit of ajustment for de PID constants, the bath heated quickly and efficienlty to the disired temperature and recovered fast after a sous-vide bag was inserted. It is very well suited for precice sous-vide cooking over short of long periods of time. If the thermocouple is not in the pot, the disired temperature is never reached and the heating coil can be used as a normal one! What is very nice about this instalation is that is can be used also as a DEEP FRYER or a SLOW COOKER (crock pot)!, its cost is rather low, the instalation is quite simple and it is VERY space efficient!
  4. What exactly are you not happy with? Some machines have better feature then others, Foodsaver has a pro line but the basic principle is all the same and the mecanism to suck the air (and unfortunatly all liquids and juices) out is similar in all machines. If you really want somethint with better performances you have to be ready to spend around 2000$ for a machine with a vacuum chamber.
  5. Pielle

    Delicious fried tofu

    Unfortuantly, I am still one of those reactionaires who think that "Delicious Tofu" sounds like an oxymoron. I need to give it a second try...
  6. There is a problem with meat in the fridge as when you buy meat from the supermarket as you dont know exactly how fresh it is. Vaccum packing DOES add (a lot so, as fresh vaccum packed meat will preserve itself over a week in the fridge) to preservation of meat in the fridge and there are rules and regulations about this. It does, however have to be very fresh when vaccum packed. Usualy when I want to do this, I buy my meat directly from the butcher, as him to vacuum pack them and ask how long I can keep it. If you are to do this with supermarket meat, it will help it keep fresh, but I would not suggest keeping it longer then you would keep non-vaccum packed meat as it can be potentialy hasardous.
  7. The more I think of it, the more I think "Entr'acte" would be the word. I makes a very fancy word with this orthograph. After double chekking, entr'acte IS the proper translation for intermezzo as intermezzo is also a break in the middle of a show or play.
  8. My main language is french but I am from Quebec, not from France, this is probably why I can't pinpoint the exact word you are looking for but here is a list of what I can think of. The most obvious for me would be "trou normand" which is traditionaly a calvados shot but is nowaday more of a mix of sorbet and stong alcool. This is what I would call this course but you already said this is not the word you were looking for. "Entremet", littrealy "between meals" seems right, I do not however, use this word. Other words that could apply : "Interlude" or "Intermed" which I do not usualy apply to the culinary domain. Finaly, the babel fish translation of intermezzo, italian to french, gives "Entracte" which more comonly refferts to the break in the middle of a play or show but could be the word you are looking for.
  9. Pielle

    Confit Duck

    I toroughly rince them under running water. Sous-vide God Nathanm suggest the following for cooking confit. Basicly anything higher then 77 celcius. Althoug he says that higher then 82 will bring too much evaporation. He sugest keeping that temps for at least 6 hours.
  10. I have reasearched Carbonade extensively and compared many reciepies. The one I have found the most complete was from a site in french (if you can read french this site is a wonderfull source of recipes and techniques : Chef Simon Here is a quick translation of the reciepie : 2 kg chuck meat in stipes of aprox 2X4X5 cm- 500 g of salted porc belly in lage stripes 4 minced oignons 4 carotte in mirepoix (facultative) 5 crushed garlic cloves one bouquet garni 8 slices of "pain d'épice" or ordinairy bread On tablespoon flour On litre Veal stock On tablespoon of "chicorée" extracts 750 ml dark belgian beer 50 g brown sugar 100 ml wine vinegar 50 g de mustard . salt - pepper The recipie is like this : - Brown meat, remove from pot - Brown pork belly, remove from pot - Cook onions on medium high heat until coloration - Add brown sugar (or Vergoise if you can get it) and wait until you can smell odours of caramel - Deglaze with wine veneger - Put the meat, onions and bread (or ginger bread) with mustard in stages - Add stock, beer and every thing else, bring to a boil - Put in the oven at 350 farheneit for at least 3 h In the end the texture of the sauce will depend of many factors. You want a think brown gravy. If you dont have this, remove every solid part from the pot and reduce the liquid until proper consitency. Some people call for ginger bread, others for ordianiry bread. The bread is there for flavour but also for the Liaison. The author of the reciepie says that ordinairy bread tastes better. I used a dark abaye style beer that we have here in Quebec called "Maudite", if you can get it, it is a very good substitution to Belgian beer, it is also less expansive here. I made this reciepy and served it to a belgian friend, he said it tasted just like home. Serve it with fries or braised red cabage. Good luck!
  11. Pielle

    Confit Duck

    I think your problem is in the use of vaccum bags for the dry rub curring. In the tipical confit recipie, the salt is applied to the legs and the legs are put in some sort of container in the fridge. The salt at the surface will force the water in the meat out creating a salty-meat juice solution at the surface of the meat. In the typical situation, while some of this solution would be reabsorbed by the meat, most of it would fall at the bottom of the container. When you do the salting part of the confit process, there is alaways a significant amount of juices in the bottom of the container, containing a lot of the salt in the dry rub. When you do this process in sous-vide bags, the juices cannot flot anywhere and are probably forced back into the meat hence your confit being too salty. So, the possible solutions are : 1) Do the salting in the traditional way 2) Use less salt 3) Let the confit marinate less time ( a lot of recipies call for only 6 hours of rub The sous vide bag thing is not a bad idea at all, it can help regualte the process. When you do the traditional methode, if proper care is not ensures, you will get great variations of the degree of saltness of your confits. Finaly, the 73 degrees is a bit low to get real confit texture, you should realy try to keep the temperature higher. Hope it helps!
  12. Pielle

    confit conundrum

    Well, confit was used before a methode for conserving meat at room temp so I woudnt be so bad. Its all a question of time no? 1) Was your confit properly salted? Salt will help conservation. 2) Did the fat actualy melted a solid environment would slow down bacterial growth? 3) How much time did the confit spend at more then 40 degrees? A few hours cenrtainly wont make the confit go bad. This is actualy the most importent point. You can keep about anything up to 4 hours at room temp without any problems. Confit would last much longer. 4) When your confit will be reheated, any patogenes in there will die. The only thing that could possibly go wrong would be the production of non thermolabile toxins in there. Douptfull I would say, but I am no specialist. Bottom line : If it smells right and tastes right, it is probably ok to eat.
  13. I have to say Aventinus from Schneider's in Munich. Only available there but still one of the best beer in the world!
  14. Very nice posts boar_d_laze. However, may I suggest using roux instead of beurre manié? I do not like the raw flour flavor that beurre manié brings. For those who wonder, roux is equal parts of butter and flour heated until desired coloration, very clear (low heat short time) for white roud to dark (higher heat, longer time) for dark roux. Roux also freezes very well. I wasnt aware of the "true" process of making demi-glace. I made mine by reducing a dark stock (roasted bones and mirepoix, tomato paste, bouquet garni) to desired consitency. I have read a bit on the subject but fail to understand, what really distinguisheds the "true" demi-glace.
  15. Have you tried : Marché Transatlantique 9720, rue Waverly Montréal (514) 287-3530, I know they have fresh black truffles in season.
  16. Pielle

    Boil those potatoes!

    Well, I have found sources (all in french though) were Pierre Gagnaire, renound french chefs speaks of his collaboration with Hervé This, credited for popularising molecular gastronomy. He states that they found out that putting salt in water for cooking potates did not serve any perpous. The hypothesis for that is that the starch in the potates would take up water but not salt during the cooking process. I was, however, unable to find another source confirming that fact and describe the actual experiment that was made. The did not state if they let the skin on the potatoes before boiling them. I know "specialist" recomend boiling the potates and peel them after so the potatoes pick up less water. Maybe that is the diffrence. If the above is true, which I am less and less certain, the salt in your mashed potatoes could come from residual salt water on the potatoes or in the botom of the pot when you mash them. Do you rince your potatoes and the pot (or change the pot) bofore mashing them? I will try to conduct an experiment to demostrate that once,
  17. Pielle

    Boil those potatoes!

    Nice technique, I also sometimes boil potatoes before using them in other applications. One thing however, experiments were made with boiling potatoes in salt water that shows that the salt had no purpose at all. They showed that potatoes boiled in salt water did not pick up any salt. i.e. dont waste your salt for boiling potatoes. Other common myths about salt water : - Salt water does not boil faster, it sould actualy take longer to boil (since you have to heat water +salt rather then just water). - Salt water does not boil at a signicatively higher temperature then unsalted water. Usual concentration of salt in water gets the boiling point of water up by about 1 degre celcius. When you put salt in water, it is maily to salt the pasta or vegetable you cook in it. However potatoes dont pick up salt when boiled in a slat solution.
  18. Most, if not all, cury powders also contain Fenugreek which is a very important ingredient in the blend. I often think that fenugreek is the spice that is the most identifiable in the smell of cury powder. You may also want to add some cloves, garlic powder, ginger powder, a bit of cardamom.
  19. Thanks Ruth for sharing your experience with steaks sous-vide. some more questions howerver. What is the purpose of the EVOO? Do you think it prevents the washing/boiling effect on the meat? Some people seem to say that they stay away from EVOO, why is that so? You used a temperature much higher then the desired temerature. How did you monitor it, did you use the foam tape technique described by nathanm? Finaly, you say that you let the staks cool down to room temp. Was 30 sec on the grill really sufficient to rehat them? Anyways, thanks a lot for the insight.
  20. I dont know if this was answered before, I have read most of the thread but it is starting to get quite huge! Please forgive me if this is the case. When cooking a thick steak rare to medium rare in sous-vide (120-130 fahreheit), will the result be much diffrent from cooking it in a pan or on the Grill? Will the steak have a boiled, or washed taste? Will people see the diffrence? Will a sous-vide steak that is passed on the grill for 30 sec on each side on high heat will get some grill type flavors? I know sous-vide is considered a form of poaching, maily form the meat juices, however, people would not naturaly poach a steak. But the possibility of having perfect-doneness each time (or while cooking for a group of people), is very appealing.
  21. Actualy, you are not flushing anyting since the meat is packaged (you dont want the meat to be on contact with the water, washed out meat is not very good). Now, I use this technique at home very often to quicl;y thaw meat from my freezer. I often start with likewarm water and change with cold tap water when it had become too cold. The whole process never takes more then 2 hours. Keep in mind that even if some bacteria are present at the surface of the meat, they will be destroyed while cooking. Usualy, bacteria is not present inside the meat.
  22. If you have some that you really dont know what to do whit, make some pepper extract to give some heat to about anything by adding a drop. Marinate the mashed habanero in 95% ethanol for a while, then filter and let the ethanol evaporate. What you get is concentrated capsaicin : the heat molecule. You can also use it to shut the mouth of your "There is nothing to hot for me" guests.
  23. My guess is that those regulations incorporate a certain security factor which can vary for diffrent administrative instances. However, some of these publications included clear graphs of cell death vs time. Putting a security factor in this kind of data would clearly be posting false results. The other option that the various studies are for one specific pathogene which all have diffrent death curves.
  24. Hmm maybe you could just filter it and use it as stronger vegetable stock?
×
×
  • Create New...