cigno1

So I just put together something and have been running it for the past 2 hours. So far so good and it couldnt have been easier. I plugged an old freezer into a temperature controller set at 55. The probe is attached to a thin wire so no need to drill anything. I bought a cigar humidifier (hydra electronic humidifier, the big one) that is effective up to 16 cubic feet. It also has a ribbon cord that fits when the door is closed, again no drilling required. A thermometer and hygrometer as of now read 55f and 70% respectively. Am I missing something?

I wonder if this: http://www.cigarmony.com/hydraelectrictronichumidifier-small.aspx can be used in conjunction with an AC. It says it controls RH in a space of up to 8 cubic feet. The space I have in mind is larger.....just add another? whaddya think?

hey out there, thought this was cool....didnt see this link elsewhere but also didnt look very hard. http://www.sausagemaker.com/tutorials/chamber/curing_chamber.html This looks very simple too. pine box with a ac unit attached. talked to the chef today and he said he uses cambros with saltwater to control the humidity. You can see his cabinet towards the end of the video. http://www.starchefs.com/cook/content/how-make-cured-lomo?sub=Charcuterie while I'm at it heres another one. Towards the end of the video he shows the units he has set up for fermenting and drying. pretty cool stuff. http://www.starchefs.com/cook/content/how-make-soppressata

Cooks with dull knives. I can hear them bruising chives and basil from across the kitchen.

hey all, I have a party tomorrow with a stuffed veal loin (stuffed with a basic veal meatball mixture) and was thinking of SVing it. Any recommendations for temp and time would be greatly appreciated. TIA, Chris

I did lamb shoulders and shanks 2lbs and .6lbs respectively for 24 hours at 63 C 145 f for 24 hours yesterday and the results were disappointing. Color was good, rosy pink all the way through, and the flavor was good, but the texture was not exactly what I was looking for. The connective tissues were still very much intact and not pleasant to chew. It had a bouncy texture overall. Removing the bones could'nt be done without a knife, as opposed to traditional braises where the meat "falls" off.

I am reluctant to experiment for the obvious reasons of time and money, however it seems inevitable. How many 12-24-36-48 hour braises at how many different temperatures can I stand before i find something solid or lose my mind and become dibilitatingly discouraged? I am going to try lamb shoulders tonight at the temps and times given in roca. I will post results tomorrow. The only variable will be that I wont be using suckling lamb. ← Ok, let me make sure I understand what you are asking here. You want to sear meat and then sous vide it to a desired temp? ← ???? That would be simple enough. How long and what temp do you need to SV it to wind up with X result is what I am asking.

I am reluctant to experiment for the obvious reasons of time and money, however it seems inevitable. How many 12-24-36-48 hour braises at how many different temperatures can I stand before i find something solid or lose my mind and become dibilitatingly discouraged? I am going to try lamb shoulders tonight at the temps and times given in roca. I will post results tomorrow. The only variable will be that I wont be using suckling lamb.

will these times and temps yeild similar effects on all collagen and fat rich meats?The veal breast on the right in that picture is raw no? Could the temp be increased to cut the cooking times? If so what would the subsequent effects on the finished texture?

Hey all, I figured IMHO that a thread that dealt with times and temps for braise cuts specifically would be useful. I am looking for times and temps for lamb shoulder. There are so many different recipes out there. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this cut and if they could give me any real info. thanks in advance, Chris

Apart from the flat iron steaks and including previous posts in this thread it seems that braisable economy cuts (although veal osso buco can be pricey) are the way to go. This thread could get alot more interesting in the spring and summer when customers are less likely to enjoy a steaming plate of braised meat. I am surprised that nobody mentioned any pastas.

Hey all, I did a brief search on this and didnt come up with much, hard to believe. I would like to hear some chefs and owners chime in on this one as every restaurant has some items that they make a killing on and their customers love. thanks Chris

Has anyone tried Octopus yet? Keller's book says 5hrs at 77c, curious about the results. chris

Reheatable pureed potatoes? Starch complications completely eliminated from the potato puree and gnocchi? Anyone else experimented with this technique? The juicy info is at the bottom of the page. http://www.tastingmenu.com/2008/01/02/toda...ngredient-heat/

Wouldn't that require you to clean the bowl twice? Or get bits of puree all over your kitchen? Or I am missing the point entirely? ← by clean the bowl i meant removing its contents with a rubber spatula. As for getting bits of puree all over the place, the robot coup doesnt function with the top off.

From Jacques Pepin........ After pureeing something in a robot coup/cuisinart instead of trying to clean the blade with a rubber spatula (like I did for years) just clean the bowl, put the blade back in and turn it on. Everything flies off the blade. This trick made me feel really stupid.

New to sous-vide and have found this thread to be very helpful. Also new to EG and dont understand where I have been this whole time. I have questions about vacuum packed meats and their shelf-life. My walk-in keeps an average of 40 degrees. I buy whole lamb carcasses two days off of slaughter (not sure that this is relevant). How long will individually packed muscles (ie. shoulders and shanks) keep safely? Will there be any physical evidence of spoilage? Will traditional braising techniques safely kill bacteria? Thanks in advance Chris