OliverB

I sometimes used it in pancake batter instead of milk or instead of half the milk. Made a bit fluffier pancakes. But that's batter made from scratch, flour, eggs, salt, liquid. Not the stuff you mix from a box here, that was back in Germany. It did seem to make them a bit fluffier. I should try that again.

if it's just for a week, why freeze it? It'll be just fine in the fridge. And how to heat it depends on what it is. A complete dish? Or just a steak or fish and she makes a salad do go along? If it is just for a week that you're away I'd just make a large soup, reheat some on Mo, some on Wed, grill some chicken to slice on a salad (cold) on Tue and Thu and tell her to go out with friends on Fri :-) Or you could SV chicken or pork, make a sauce, reseal and she can open it onto a plate and nuke it, maybe make some pasta to go along? Just throwing around ideas, as I don't know what you want to offer, full dinners (like home made TV dinners) or just a protein? Just for that one week or as an ongoing every week thing? The most gentle reheating you'd get with the SV setup, put it in frozen, should be warm in half an hour. That way she could have SV meat and a 2nd bag with SV veggies, even a bag with sauce etc.

I'll have to try that sometime. How does a brisket SV compare to one from the bbq? I have mine in for 10+ hours at about 250F with a chunk or two of wood at the start for smoke. I like making them for a crowd since it's hands off, and if it's done too early I just wrap it in foil and stick it in a small cooler, stays warm for hours and hours. the only important part is to start early or the "plateau" might screw up dinner plans :-)

do you smoke it after, or sear or just slice and eat? Would not have occurred to me to make brisket SV. For how long do you float it?

I've looked at this a year or so ago since I can't find the stuff anywhere (yeah, could order, but there's no "hunt" in that) but I gave up quickly on the idea of doing this at home. From what I read the long time is a key ingredient and I'm not inclined to run a machine for 40 days to see if it works. This is one of the things (like fish sauce) that I leave to the pros with the right machines. But if you do manage to make this at home, please let us know, I'm sure there'd be some interest!

Use Baldwin's book, not MC. I have all MC books, I'm still not cooking from them, there are too many "I found this too salty" "wasn't worth the time" etc comments in the respective threads. Some liquid will always come out, let it rest in the bag for a bit. I've never made a brisket SV, isn't 148 a bit low? I make it on the bbq and go for much higher end temp, it's not a med rare cut since you want to melt all the connective tissue. Same for leg of lamb, not something I'd cook SV. I cook a lot SV, just about any steak, but things like tritip, brisket, legs, etc, all goes on my big green egg low and slow with a bit smoke at the beginning. Never had anything dry out SV, actually things I usually don't cook because they turn to rubber like pork chops come out juicy and tender as can be. It might just be those cuts you used, try with something "normal" (for lack of a better word) to cook SV. Chickenbreast, salmon, NY steak, filet mignon, pork chops. They all should come out perfect. There's always some liquid, sometimes I use it for sauce or add it to a side dish like mushrooms or veggies, other times I throw it out. But I've never had "a lot" come out. Was the meat frozen before you cooked it? That might also play a role.

I've never used induction, but as far as I understand it they are just as fast (in every day use) as gas ranges. Since there's no heating coil inside, you turn off the power (or turn it lower) and the induction will just stop or "go slower" immediately. I'm considering one as an extra burner. Pretty cheap too.

I'd go with induction, but if you want gas, look at camping stoves, the kind made for "car camping" attach to bbq gas bottles. I'm not sure about ventilation etc though, they will give off CO and you might not want to have that in the apt. I'm not sure how regular gas stoves avoid killing people, but it's something to keep in mind. The mentioned cheap ones from the Asian store (and sports stores carry those too) are great for the occasional extra flame or using at the table, but with those small gas bottles, things would get expensive quickly I think.

great updates, thanks!

I find you have to be careful with smoking chicken, I use just a small piece of wood at the beginning, something that burns off in a couple of minutes. I guess you could smoke it more and then cut off the skin, I just found the skin turned to a strange rubbery texture the two or three times I tried it. Practically inedible. If I make it in the BGE I actually don't add any smoking wood anymore, the charcoal (I use BGE brand) gives enough smoky flavor for my taste. I also don't like things too heavily smoked.

i have some very cheap ones from Safeway, $1.20 each or so. Work fine. Other option, keep empty sriracha or other such bottles around, they also have the nice twist to close tip, that even adjusts a bit to control flow.

I just got a rotisserie for my weber and the chicken turned out great, heat was on the high side (about 350F measured through a top vent). Very tasty (I threw in a piece of oak from a tree we had to take down) and very juicy. Just a supermarket chicken from Safeway, not brined, I never brined anything. But making it on the big green egg is still a bit better I think, haven't done that since last year, maybe I make two side by side someday. Heat in the 350-450 range, indirect with platesetter underneath, either on a "beercan" holder or on a roasting rack. Juicy, crunchy skin, perfect. An other fun way to bbq chicken is to "leapfrog" it, where you take scissors and cut sideways around the chest but not all the way through, open it up and lay it flat. Everything cooks perfectly at the same time and it's just fun to look at, like a frog. http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/2000s/2009/06/leaping-frog-chicken has the instructions. I've done that many times, always turns out great. On the weber and on the BGE. I never stuff or truss chicken. I never stuff anything under the skin, tried it but could not tell much of a difference since it doesn't dry out with my methods anyway. I also smoked whole chicken, but the skin was not really edible, turned into a hard rubbery something with way too much smoke flavor. If I want smoked chicken I use skinless now. Oh, temperature, thighs at 165 or just the "juices run clear" test.

interesting, never even considered the fruit/nut! I'll be heading up the mountain next week where tons of these grow, have to pick some up! Still want to plant one too, have a Mediterranean in the yard, want both. I tend to pick a branch or two when hiking, but I prefer to use the leaves fresh.

speaking of excess, all these chains like Cheesecake Factory, Elephant Bar, Claim Jumper, etc. Places where you end up carrying out a doggie carton, not bag. Why not simply make better food? I hate doggie bags, I don't want to bring half my dinner home..... Some sandwiches look like an order of cold cuts for 20 packed between to pieces of bread. Just plain out stupid.

I'm stay at home dad, so no lunch packing for me, but lunch for my boy (4th grade) is either left overs heated up in the morning and then in a Thermos insulated container (about the size of a can) that keeps it warm until lunch. If no left overs, it's sandwich on what kind of bread we have, baguette, whole wheat, sourdough. He likes it just with a bit of mayo, ham or left over steak/chicken and a bit of greens, I'd add cheese on mine. Sometimes he takes a muffin with sunflower butter and honey (they ask not to send peanut stuff in). For snack either baby cut carrots or celery. The Thermos container has worked out great for years now. The action hero design washed off long ago, but it still works great and seals 100%, I've sent soup in with him. While still at work I usually bought a sandwich, I hated waiting in line at the microwave and then sticking my good food into a cloud of questionable food smells to heat it up. They made pretty decent sandwiches for a good price. While working in San Francisco I always went out to places like Lee's and other delis, too much great (well priced) different stuff to taste and try :-) For middle shool I might consider Zojurushi Mr Bento for my boy, just doesn't seem convenient for now, he takes his snack outside and I'm afraid I'd never see the container again. Ziplock snackbags work great, wasteful, but I can't think of an other solution. The crap they sell at the school is the usual crap, he never wanted it and I never bought it. They send the menu home with nutrition tips on the other side, sadly they don't follow them at all, it's all pizza and other such junk food.

my favorite is the kind that does not swivel at all, looks like a strange knife with two slits stamped out lengthwise, where the sharp blade part is. I have the OXO and use the serrated one on fruit, but for anything else I use the fixed blade one. And I peel away right into the trash can.

you can also buy garlic juice or even a spray. I had the spray for a while but did not like it. Fresh extracted/pressed would be better I think.

the word "umami"

thanks for the other oil tips! Maybe I read the article wrong, but to get a sear you have to get pretty hot - or sear for longer than I'd want to with a SV steak. I'll stick to my dry pan and board dressing, maybe a little olive oil or melted butter on top at times.

I think I'll have to order that rice bran oil, never saw it in any store and I've looked. Good idea though. Ghee too, actually have some.

good little article, thanks! I used to put feta cheese, raw garlic, fresh rosemary, pepper and salt into oil as a kid, let it ripen in the fridge and ate it just fine, but I won't do that anymore. Sometimes I get a lot of basil from my inlaws and then I also freeze it.

I often make my own pesto, quick and easy and so much better than most - if not all - store bought I've tried. But lately I've been wondering, how long can I safely store this in the fridge? I usually end up with enough for two pasta dishes and keep the rest in the fridge (also great on sandwiches etc) but it contains raw garlic, raw basil, raw (or toasted) pine nuts and cheese of course. Raw garlic in oil ==> botulism danger? Ok to forget in the fridge and eat a week later?

I recently read an article on eater where the author shows how to get "restaurant style" sear on his SV steak. Somewhat similar approach to mine, high heat, sear, flip, sear, but also use the torch at the same time. But he also uses oil and butter in the pan, after the meat is rested for a couple min he heats that oil/butter up again and pours it over the steak, getting a sizzle and crust. Sounded good, so I tried it, but I'm not sure I'll do so again. I use very little to no oil for the sear, maybe rub a bit fat I cut off the steak around in the pan, as the high heat burns the oil. It certainly burned the butter and oil last night, with an unpleasant smell - well, like burnt oil. Doing this sear with oil and butter seems to need a lot lower heat than what I had, I heated the pan for quite a bit on high and had the butter at room temp. and seared for a min or two, but that was enough time to burn the oil and butter mix beyond something I'd want to use. I think I'll stick to my high heat no or very little fat/oil method. Anybody else try or use this oil/butter mix with success? How do you avoid the butter burning to black?

I don't use mine very often, but I'm happy with the All-Clad with aluminum insert. My non stick is still as new. I mostly use it for beans, have not seared much in the pot, though it's a nice option to have. I did never notice any "boiling" at either low or high setting, high might make a slow simmer. Tolerances are probably not very tight with these units, maybe I was just lucky. Should use it much more often, but since it's usually in the closet it's out of sight, out of mind...

I think I recall reading they use a batter, not just breading (i.e. rolling around in crumbs after egg dip etc) and might precook the wings (and other meats) first. Still a mystery to me how the whole thing stays crunchy after being bathed in sauce sometimes, I guess the sauce only softens the outside but not the just as crunchy (from frying) inside of the dough shell? As for the color, it might just be food coloring?