Markdmd

Thanks for the links! I have cooked pasta 'risotto' style and liked it. I was hoping someone with better facilities than I had tested pasta at various temperatures and moisture levels and had developed a chart like exists for eggs or beef.

Ya, thats why I want to measure the amount of water it absorbs when cooked right, then only put that much in the bag. Instead of the normal bloating of the bag from escaped juices, I imagine the pasta would swell to fill it. Probably have to lay the pasta flat to try and keep the water absorption even. If it works, it would mean I could cook pasta in more expensive liquids than I would otherwise (not wanting to turn a couple gallons of duck-stock or Sauternes into pasta water.) ← 100% semoline dough absorbs about 80%-85% water to obtain an al-dente texture. When you take into account the regular ratio of dough/filling in a raviolo, the absorption is about 35%-40% (YMMV). However, you would have to check what the minimum temperature is for the semoline starch to gel, which I would guess is in the 60-70 C ballpark. Given that the temperature you're looking for the yolk is closer to the lower bound of this ballpark figure, I'm not sure this is the best approach for what you're trying to obtain. You should also take into account that the pasta will stick together, that the yolk can break when you seal the bag, etc. Freezing the yolk and then filling the raviolo might be a simpler low-tech solution with better results, IMHO. Is there a followup somewhere on this topic? Specifically cooking pasta sous vide, the temperature required and ratio of liquid for al dente from dry pasta? What if the pasta is cooked directly in sauce rather than water? What if I filled my water oven with sauce rather than water then cooked the pasta directly in the sauce without vacuum? I'm thinking for a really light fluffy ricotta gnocchi/gnudi dough?

'Break out the calculator....' Yikes! Fingers and toes, too. Thanks!

'If you take the weight of curing salt 1 as 100, you'd need to add 3.77 of sodium nitrate to achieve your aim.' That sounds right, thank you! Say, you wouldn't happen to know how Curing Salt #1/#2 compare to Morton Tender Quick?

96.37 g Curing Salt #1 + 3.63 g Sodium Nitrate ?Right?

D.Q Curing Salt #2 has: Sodium Nitrite 5.67% Sodium Nitrate 3.63% So if I have a bottle of Sodium Nitrate and I add 3.63% to Curing salt #1 I have effectively made Curing salt #2?

Presumably the insulated lid eliminates the need for circulation?

I got the 'Sous Vide Supreme water oven' for Christmas. There is no virtually assembly, it is intuitive to use right out of the box. Slick looking, the footprint is relatively small, it is easy to lift for water fill/empty, quick to ramp up to selected temperature and seems quite accurate (verified with IR thermometer). Compared a ribeye v tri tip (salt/pepper/garlic/butter)132F for about 6 hrs, both perfectly medium rare, the tri tip incredibly tender and succulent. Yesterday did eggs 148F for 1 hr and they were exactly as documented here: http://amath.colorado.edu/~baldwind/sous-vide.html Still a rookie having used it only twice but thus far I give it two thumbs up.

I have acquired a used commercial counter top gas char broiler which I plan to install in my residential outdoor kitchen. 24" X 30" , I would guess about 30-50,000 BTU, 1/4" grill marks carved out of a 1 1/2" solid steel cook top such that nothing can fall through, there apparently can be no flare-ups, the cook top alone must weigh 200 lbs. What will this beast cook best given it's presumed ability to maintain constant temperature for a long time secondary to it's mass? Can I simply drop a piece of equivalent size stainless steel onto it's surface to convert it to a smooth-surface griddle? Thoughts? Thanks! Mark

Normally a petit, puffy, sweet italian fried doughnut. I've made them savory with roasted garlic dough and loads of good salt. Addictive.

Roasted garlic bombaloni

New guy here with a 6 month old wood/gas fired brick oven suggests thus far nothing has come out more professionally than duck. High heat/smoke combo yields top quality crispy whole duck. Last weekend I served the breasts as an entree but took the leg/thigh confit and made a tortilla soup along with fire roasted sweet potato and jalapeno that had a smoky depth that was out of the ballpark. Topped with crispy tortilla strips and cilantro fried in duck fat! Mark