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Interesting point - the ovens get very hot inside when they run this cycle so unless they have really good heat shielding I can see it being an issue. As a maybe useful data point, we had a Miele oven in our last place with pyrolytic clean - used it 2-3 time a year for fifteen years without issue. I wouldn't get one without it now as I'm so messy it's a lifesaver - I'd be very annoyed if I bought an oven that it started breaking.

I’ve had a combustion inc setup for a good while now and would definitely recommend them. My views on ownership to date, bad news first as it is far outweighed by the good: cons I’ve had a probe die on me, two in fact. One was an issue with updating, the other caused by a baked potato forcing the prob out and exposing the more delicate internals at the tip to a 400F oven. the app is still missing a couple of features I’d like - there’s no easy way to start a new cook in it, you have to put the probe back in a charger, wait a bit for it to shut down then force close the app. Also there’s no logbook feature for cooks, I’ve resorted to screenshotting the graphs and saving them in apple notes when I want to do this. Pros Way more good than bad. the product itself is very, very good. Predictions work well in most situations and the safe cook addition is hugely helpful. I can’t overstate how useful having a totally wireless solution is, it means I use the kit at least twice as often as I would do if I had to deal with a spaghetti of cabling every time. the app might not yet be 100% perfect but it has improved rapidly and is constantly getting new features. It’s fast, responsive and looks better than competitors. It can easily switch between a simple basic interface and a super detailed geeky view. Customer support is about the best I’ve experienced. Any issues get dealt with very quickly and they’ve been superb sorting me out when my probe died. I’ve had direct answers from Chris Young here and on their really good Reddit channel. they’ve just released gen 2 kit which adds WiFi connectivity and some other goodies. @Shel_B, if the price is within reach I would definitely buy a CPT - true wireless, great features and backed up by great service. It does what you need and does it way better than things like meater.

Utterly intrigued by the "dirty Santa" name... We call it secret Santa over here, yours sounds much more interesting 😂 In case you're still looking for ideas, how about some really good Jamon iberico and a dry sherry?

Just get one - you’ll love it!

An hour is plenty of time to get them up to heat. I’ve got a Big Joe which is the giant kamado Joe unit, depending on what temp I’m aiming for it’ll take between 30-45 mins to get the dome nice and hot on the outside. Funnily enough, it’ll often take a bit longer to get heat soaked if I’m aiming for a low and slow cook than grilling temps. The reason for this is that you have to be careful about not overshooting your target too much - once it’s hot it takes an age to come back down. So if I’m aiming for 200-275F I’ll light a single really small fire and take my time. If I’m going for 375+ I can happily light two or three places and crack on. but either way, an hour will be no problem.

I did exactly this on my big Joe rotisserie a few weeks ago. It was great, probably the best chicken I’ve done on my kamado. made the mistake of cutting my potatoes into chunks - lost a few of them through the gaps in the basket!

They definitely don’t seem to like making price comparisons easy - I’m sure they even block my cellular data in store so I can’t check if things are good value!

I haven’t tried the EVOO but the cider vinegar is available this side of the pond too. Over here it’s VERY good value - like £1-2 a bottle from memory. It’s decent stuff, especially at that price. We use a lot of it. Out of interest, how much is it where you are?

I'm sure you won't be disappointed! They're a great bit of kit and do the things you're after really well. If you're on reddit, the team (including Chris Young) are really responsive and helpful on the dedicated sub: r/combustion_inc

On my Ooni the back left portion is a lot hotter than the front right so rotating is a must - I’ll usually make about 3/4 turns to get it even. Not sure how the solo stove fares in this regard but a bit of trial and error will get there I’m sure. Temp wise I’m getting my stone above 400°C before the first pizza goes in so the base seems to cook nicely, I’d imagine a steel in an oven this hot would incinerate the crust! The one thing I’ve found really useful as a visual cue on the Ooni is that I wait until I’m just starting to see the beginning of some brown spots on the left side of the pizza, once this happens I’ll spin it 180° and let the same happen again. After that it’s just using a turn or two more to get it even.

It certainly is a learning curve - and quite a steep one too! What type of peel are you using to launch the pizza? I found a bamboo one with a good dusting of semolina to be the best to prevent sticking and accidental calzones. Judging temperature takes a bit of getting used to too. Not sure if the solo stove has its own temp gauge but getting an infrared thermometer is really helpful for checking the stone is ready to go.

You want a combustion inc predictive thermometer. Much better tech than the meater and is just as happy being app based as it is working with its LCD display. They have eight temperature probes in each device so can accurately find the core temp as well as tracking surface and ambient temps. time estimation is excellent for straightforward cooks (eg a steak or roast chicken), ultra low and slow things which have a stall are still a work in progress but the software is getting better all the time. www.combustion.inc

I did my favourite pizzas today - made the dough yesterday but it started pouring with rain so I tucked it up in the fridge overnight. I think it really helped as it was super tasty and so relaxed when I came to shape it. I’d seen a great video on Reddit of a calzone, something I’ve never managed to make well before. It turned out great and got top marks from the family - I’ll definitely be doing it again.

When we do turkey legs at Christmas I sort i of half braise half roast them and get good results. they sit in a bed of chopped veg and stock in a roasting tin which I cover tightly with foil. I cook these at 120°C (240°F) for 3h then give them a quick blast at 220°C (450°F) for 15-20 mins to crisp. If you preferred to keep it closer to your method you could brown to start and just leave out the final step.

Can’t believe that was ten years ago! I’m very pleased to say though that they’re still going strong. I use them all the time and they’ve been perfect. Having them in a single unit is great - I’d definitely buy them again if I needed another set. battery life is excellent - honestly can’t remember the last time I changed them… possibly two or three times since I bought them. At the price you linked I would snap those up, they look almost identical

Got my ooni out for the first time in ages tonight. Did a few standard margaritas and pepperoni numbers. Also a new one which was softened onions, thyme and Comte - really liked this last one

I love dried mint in Greek yoghurt with some salt and good olive oil. Or mixed into yoghurt before making labneh

It was at 250F the whole time - super easy, no need to wrap and they had a great bark. It might be sacrilege but I prefer them to brisket - flavour, cost, ease they’re just great. this was what a great job the unattended Yoder did of holding temp: I have absolutely ZERO regrets about making this purchase!

The weather has perked up a bit here lately so I managed to get the Yoder going on Monday. it was a bit unplanned so I just went to the supermarket to see what they had. Luckily for us, what they had was a couple of packs of really nice short ribs. This was probably the simplest thing I’ve cooked on the pellet grill but still one of the tastiest. at 9am I turned the Yoder on, had a coffee and popped to the shop, got the meat back home, dusted it with salt and pepper and had it on the grill by about 10. We’re hopefully moving house soon so we then went out for the day looking at new kitchens (exciting!). I kept a vague eye on the fireboard temp on my phone while I was out but basically didn’t touch a thing until I checked the meat at 4pm. I cannot get over how easy this beast makes it to get great results! The meat was beautifully smoky and tender, we had it with pickled onions, jalapeño mayo and cucumber.

The Guardian have just released a companion app for their Feast supplement (weekly magazine that comes with the Saturday paper). https://www.theguardian.com/help/insideguardian/2024/apr/17/introducing-the-feast-app I've only had a brief look at it but it seems really nicely designed and has a few handy features like the ability to save notes for recipes and a cook along feature that keeps the screen live with easy step by step instructions. It also has in-app conversions for US measurements/temperatures if you're so inclined. The main draw for me is the recipe quality is really good, I love sitting down with my Saturday morning coffee and picking out a dish or two for our weekly menu. It's subscription based but at £29 a year it feels a decent deal. Six month free trial too. Example recipe which we had for dinner tonight was the chipotle chicken and black-eyed bean salsa from here

I had a wolf five burner cooktop for some years then upgraded to the 4+grill rangetop in 2018. the rangetop is a big step up in terms of cooking power and feels a lot more robust. The knobs on my cooktop broke after a few years and with the way they’re designed would need replacing quite often. Having said that, the knobs on the rangetop aren’t perfect either - the one for the burner I use most has started to develop a bit of drift which is annoying. Overall I’d get one again as they cook really well and look great. the range of power available on the burners is phenomenal - can go from directly melting chocolate (no double boiler) to a nuclear sear on the same ring. I don’t think I’d bother with the grill though - I was so excited to have one of these, thought I’d cook on it all the time but the truth is I use it less and less. It’s probably been a year since it was last lit. The issues with it are that its heat is really uneven, it cremates some parts while others are barely touched and it’s really messy and unpleasant once you’ve used it. I even bought grill grates for it a bit ago. I want to love it but the truth is it’s nowhere near an outdoor gas grill. Given my time over I’d try the plancha instead. if you want any pics or have any specific questions I’d be happy to help.

I was going to post exactly this. I’ve been amazed with the results of this technique - makes a massive difference to the smoke production.

They do look good though! I reckon you could trim the prep down and have an even better dish by skipping the peeling stage and simply microwaving them in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. This is probably my favourite way of dealing with asparagus as it gives beautiful bright green spears, with none of the flavour leached out into the boiling water. It’s easy to get doneness just right too.

I love shrimp tacos - dust the shrimp in seasoned flour then fry to crisp up and just cook. Top with avocado, lettuce, pickled red onions and maybe a lime/sriracha mayo.

Beef cheeks are one of my favourite cuts and would make a great peposo. They make for a nice neat presentation too with a lot less waste than short ribs (when properly trimmed). The main thing to bear in mind with them is that they need a lot of cooking to make sure you render out all the collagen. You want them to be fully probe tender before serving. Once you get to that point, reducing some of the cooking liquid and glazing them up is great.