KennethT

Your last method is how I've done it. I use basmati rice, which is cooked via boiling rather than steaming. I parboil the rice until it is about75% done, then drain well and layer the pot with rice, spices and the marinated meat - BUT, I don't braise the meat first - I put the meat in raw. After the layering is done, I seal the top and cook on the stovetop - this steams the rice and meat the rest of the way... I didn't use this recipe, but the technique is similar: https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/hyderabadi-biryani-recipe/

I'm not @liuzhou but I used to make orzo quite often. I would always cook in boiling salted water - usually about a minute less than the package recommends for al dente. Then I'd cook for about a minute in the sauce and plate - so basically I treat it like any other pasta.

Raised beds are good to improve drainage - especially if you live in an area with a low water table

That is some crazy weather! Is that common in your part of the country to have such wild swings??

How do you do your faux confit?

@dtremit This may be the winner!

Unfortunately no. The handles would make it way to big to fit. I'm looking for something with either no handles or handles that stick up vertically from the pan.

Thanks. That makes sense. Unfortunately, debuyer doesn't seem to ahve the no handle option in the US. I can only find it on the French site...

@dtremit according to what I read, the biggest pan that will fit is 10-1/2 x 10-1/2, so I can see how the 10" lodge pan will fit - the opposite corners of the 10.5x10.5 pan are 14.84" apart (hypotenuse) - this is the pan dimensions, and the pan doesn't fit exactly edge to edge but I can see how the 16+" dimension of the lodge could just barely squeak through. I don't think anything bigger than that will go - so I think the 14" matfer is a dream and I really wonder about the 12" lodge because the handles have width which can't fit in the corner like a single handle could.

I have no intention of making paella in the CSO - but I had wanted something sturdy that I could start on the induction hob and then finish in the oven - so carbon steel or cast iron it is. The only type of pans available that either have no handle or very short handles are paella pans. Ideally, I'd like a carbon steel griddle about the size of the CSO pan with about a 1" raised lip around it so juices don't spill out. I started thinking about this the other night when I was making my hybrid-cooked duck legs (first SV then chill, then reheat/crisp in the CSO) along with potatoes (parboil, then crisp in the CSO in some duck fat while the duck legs sit on top and crisp the skin). The pan included with the CSO doesn't give good browning for the potatoes. I figured I could get a carbon steel or cast iron griddle hot on the stovetop, start the potatoes frying there, then stick the whole thing in the CSO to finish.

Thanks - I found them online in my searching but didn't realize they were in Brooklyn. The problem with the stuff I've found on their website is that the handles stick out really far, which makes it hard to fit in the CSO without cutting the handles off, which I'd rather not have to do. The Darto looks great because the handles stick straight up - and the Lodge would be ok too since the long handle gets stuck in the corner - but it does decrease the pan size a bit....

Kuhn Rikon

How you know you grow too much basil....

I'm looking for a carbon steel pan (that works on induction) that will fit in the CSO. Way back on the Darto thread, @kayb said the 27 paella pan fit in the CSO - but at $75 including shipping, I was looking to see what other options are available. Anyone, a little help?

Don't know if I reported back - 144 for 12 hours yielded very little jus and rendered almost no fat. It also wasn't as tender as I thought it would be and benefited from a short braise in the sauce I made. I'll try roasting to finish soon.

Essex market always had great deals on limes. I haven't been in a long time but seeing 10 great quality limes for $1 was common then. Also - love your kashmiri chili. I use it all the time when I make Indian food.

Wow - a bag of key limes for $2 is a great price for NYC. Did you notice if it was a 1# bag?

Do you make any kind of sauce for the fish? I find that aromatics laying on top (or even stuffed inside) don't really impart that much flavor to the item being steamed.

Duck leg Thai stir fry

What's your recipe for adovada?

Over here, I asked a question about some SV duck but I've gotten no response, so I figured I'd re-ask it here. I cooked 4 moulard duck legs at 144F for 12 hours to get "tender, juicy" results as per Modernist Cuisine, but when taking the bags out of the bath to chill, I noticed that most of the fat remained unrendered. I was planning to reheat them in the CSO in order to crisp the skin at the same time, but I'm wondering if doing so will render the rest of the fat, or will the fat remain there in chunks? I'd like to render the fat... So, should I put back in the SV at a higher temp (maybe 180F) for an hour or two to try to render the rest of the fat, or will the CSO do it during the reheat?

I agree with the spacing recs. I can't really study much on my phone right now. In general, citrus doesn't like too much moisture or humidity and gets root rot easily. If you want to try a citrus tree you can look into a dwarf citrus. I really like 4 winds growers in CA but I'm not sure they can ship to FL

What are you looking to grow? Veggies, herbs? When will it start to get cold?

OK - the duck legs are out of the water and have chilled - but most of the fat remains unrendered. I was planning on reheating them in the CSO to crisp the skin - what do people think - will the rest of the fat render in the time it will take to reheat and crisp the skin? Or maybe I should put it in a 80C bath for an hour or so to render the fat and then rechill?

I picked up a whole bunch of moulard duck legs yesterday. I froze 3 packages and was planning on sv-ing 2 packages (4 legs individually bagged). I'm not really looking for a confit-like texture - more like a tender/juicy roast duck texture... I haven't dug out my Modernist Cuisine book in ages, but it recommends 144F for 12 hours... What do people think about this?