IndyRob

If you can get your hands on one in a store, try pressing the back plate (the piece the face of the meat would slide along) at the top near the blade. If it flexes, walk away and don't look back. You'll never get a properly thin cut. The ChefsChoice seems to get good reviews on Youtube and elsewhere, but for me it too much resembles a similar unit I bought long ago and thought was a nightmare. I think it's gear driven like that one. I describe the alternative I'm pleased with in this thread. This is similar to the ChefsChoice model 667, but about $150 less.

Having read the complaint (which, of course presents only one side), CK is not so much competing as plundering.

I am not a lawyer, although I sometimes pretend on the internet. I think challenging the look and feel is not going to be conclusive - except in conjunction with the other claims. What seems more damning is that - while creating a competing entity - CK held an ownership interest in ATK. I wonder if - in his mind - this gave him the right to the product(s). That's exactly the opposite of fiduciary responsibility that a board member would normally have. Still, in the interest of America, I think this thing must be fully litigated at Jack Bishop's tasting table. (Jack: Yes, you might think that Chris, but....)

Breakfast burritos. I used to scramble up ten eggs at a time with a little sausage and cheese, wrap them in tortillas and refrigerate them. I'd like to think that they'd freeze well, but never tested it. They were just too handy as out-the-door nuked snacks in the morning.

It doesn't seem like you have a problem with the performance of the Anova, just that it can break. But if you can buy four Anovas for the price of the PS Chef (and still save some money), what problem are you trying to solve? If your top priority is repair-ability, you need to build your own rig. It would still be cheaper than the Polyscience options. And you'd know how every little piece is supposed to work. These things are really just a sort of glorified water heater.

I think I need scrunchons in my life.

I still will watch GE episodes on Netflix when I'm bored. But, yes, for someone for who was initially much helped by AB, it can seem like going back to 5th grade. The chains-off aspect sounds good. I just hope the tone is more seeky than preachy.

IANAL, but it appears that the compensatory damages were $300K, so $1M would not be much outside the standard punitive standard of 3X (treble?) damages, This would seem to indicate that the jury found that beyond just being responsible, that they knew (or should have known) that they were doing a big no-no. Not many details in the story though.

This confused me as it seemed to say you might be eligible for a new unit. But I guess the upshot is that yours is no longer under warranty, and hence, no deal. Still, historically, we could rely on third party repair services for appliances. But they've never been cheap. I recently had a clothes dryer stop working. I guarantee it would cost around $200 to have someone come fix it. Luckily, I found some Youtube videos and was able to do the job for under $20 myself. Presumably, someone could fix your unit. But it would take knowledge, time and skills (soldering really tiny bits, for instance) to do. It wouldn't be cheap. I recently bought my Anova for $170. If it lasts 3 years, I wouldn't spend $200 to fix it, I would consider other options, but I'd go for something more state-of-the art. I don't think it's Walmart's fault. They demand what their customers demand. We're all to blame for wanting cheap tech. As these things become more mainstream, reputations will be made and lost. Mass markets will be created, and repair services may become available accordingly. But eventually, these things will become so mainstream that we won't be talking about replacing a $170 unit. It will be more like $25 like a Presto Kitchen Kettle today - which is arguably a cleaner, more complete solution except for the fine temperature control

So you will serve chicken if you know it's a possibility that someone will get sick? Or would you never serve Chechens, er, chickens?

If you and nathanm are ever at a food event and you ask him "Is it possible I will get sick from eating this piece of chicken?" He will say yes. If you ask him if it is probable, he will likely say "No." Make your own choice.

It's not a risk assessment if in your mind all roads lead to the possibility of death. Ask the chicken. He crossed the road ('though no one is sure why)

Well, inserting your own words into someone else's quote is a novel way of making an argument, I don't think nathanm would agree with your reasoning.

As I only used the term 'what if' once in reference to chicken (implied sous vide), I assume you must be LOL'ing at Douglas Baldwin? [Edit] Sorry, I also used 'what if' with the thermapen in the salt thing. Argue with either.

No, if it were a game of possibilities, nathanm's quote would mean fuck it - we're all doomed. Nothing we do can ever be right. It is a statistical phenomenon. i.e. probabilities.

Well, it's gonna be a difficult position for anyone to oppose all precautions, but I'd say, for instance, that 'No Gloves' is not a dis-qualifier. I've watched many vaunted chefs prepare chicken and almost never (and that's being generous) see gloves. It's about the totality of the thing. What if I never wash the probe of my thermapen, but always store it buried in salt? What if I don't get my chicken heated to 165F, but keep it at 145F for three hours? Food safety is a game of probabilities. You can't just look for one 'gotchya' (unless it's massive).

Beer, bread, sauerkraut, kimchi are all fermented. Fermentation in and of itself is not bad. Removing water is also referred to in cooking as reducing. Except, perhaps, with curing meats where it's referred to as 'making it safe to consume'. Traditional meat curing has been practiced for over 2000 years. The 'no nitrates added' thing is a bit deceptive, However, it could be a reaction to the pseudoscience from the other side.

While out today, I noticed that our local Logan's Roadhouse had closed. As I neared home, I also noticed that our local Applebee's had closed as well. I decided to do a news search and found an article: Why Are So Many Restaurant Chains Closing Locations, Filing For Bankruptcy? It appears that there's a significant change occurring, Change for the better?

Never a good sign. However, it's also the ultimate measure of chefliness - which is why I'm so interested in it. You could try this...I believe it's from America's Test Kitchen. For me, it was merely OK. It sounds like you have a slicer, which will be invaluable. http://www.food.com/recipe/tender-eye-of-round-beef-roast-atk-465509

Curious....How did you connect top round to the roast beef you sampled? If anyone can make round steak palatable, I'm in for $50 to the kickstarter.

I don't know if I can say 'never again', but I really don't ever again want to click on any YouTube video advertising itself as 'the best ever...', 'the worlds' best...' or 'the perfect....' something or other. It only ever seems to confirm how small the poster's world is.

They seem to have sold themselves on their own 'connected appliance' spiel. As a satisfied Anova Precision Cooker owner without a device that works with it, I don't care. I don't know why I would. Their pitch sounds like they're selling a crock pot. Steam + convection sounds great for bread. I have hope for this product, but forget the network capabilities.

I've been to four of them in my general area. Really, they're no different once you account for age and neighborhood. Of course, the newer ones appear brighter and cleaner (because, well, they are by their very nature). The ones on the more upscale neighborhoods appear a bit better. And, to be frank, the clientele will be a factor in one's impression. But, that said, I'm not sure that I'm not more comfortable at my lowest end store because the shoppers tend to understand the concept better and are often more friendly. But the products are all the same..I don't think they franchise, but they do run an extremely tight ship. So I think the older stores might start getting behind on maintenance and cleaning.

One year I had to figure out a way to do a TG dinner ahead of time and transport it 85 miles and be ready to serve within an hour or two with limited equipment. So I got a turkey and took all the meat off the bone in strips running along the grain. I laid all the strips down in parallel on cling wrap, starting with the dark meat. Then I spread a mixture of spinach, mushrooms and cheese (and such) over it and rolled it up so the dark meat was outside (as it would survive direct heat better). Then I SV'd this big sausage and chilled it at the end. I finished it in the oven onsite with a bread crumb coating. Then it was sliced and presented on a platter, The visual effect was enough that my sister (who has a chef of some note for a son-in-law) grabbed her phone and posted it to her social media. I originally wanted to to take the skin off the turkey intact and wrap the whole thing in it rather than the breadcrumbs. But my trial run with a chicken didn't live up to my expectations and I had to resort to the breadcrumbs which I decided would be more reliable. I'd still like to go back and try to refine that one.

I've often wondered whether there are laws that govern/limit this sort of thing. My wife's company built a brand new 11 story downtown office building. When it was done I joined her for a weekend open-house tour day. They had a beautiful kitchen area with tons of stainless steel everywhere. But virtually no appliances. Refrigerators and microwaves was all. I've only seen one toaster oven, a few toasters, and a popcorn machine in my entire career.