pbear

Interesting. Just to confirm. This is apples to apples, right? That is, raw bratwurst cooked by SV/LT? Cuz a commercially cooked bratwurst would be an entirely different animal, so to speak. BTW, on review it occurs to me I neglected to mention which torch I'm using. It's the TS4000.

BTW, as regards the issue of using the Searzall with a hose, I come out somewhere in the middle. On the one hand, obviously, if one chooses to use a tool contrary to the manufacturer's specs, it's entirely on you to figure out a way to do that safely. On the other hand, having spent a couple hours using mine, this isn't rocket science. The problem is simple. The head gets very hot and stays so for about ten minutes. If I were inclined to use a hose, which I'm not, I'd want a reliable physical solution, e.g., a safe place to set down the head while it cools, not one which depends on care and diligence.

Got my unit over the weekend, but today was my first opportunity to put it through its paces (aside from a quick test drive out of the box for fun). Overall, I'm pleased with the device, but it's not quite the game changer I hoped it would be. On the plus side, and most importantly, it delivers on the promise of a good infrared heat source which doesn't produce torch taste. On the other hand, it's rather slow and requires a lot of manipulation to distribute heat evenly. For today's tests, I went to the market yesterday and grabbed an assortment of proteins: a small salmon fillet, a ribeye steak (prime), a pork chop (loin, boneless), a bratwurst, a chicken thigh (bone-in, skin-on), another chicken thigh (boneless, skinless), a chicken breast (boneless, skinless) and a bit of ground beef (1/3 lb, 85% lean). Also had in the fridge a 2-1/2 lb beef heart I had cooked low temp earlier in the week. Vacuum packed each of the proteins and cooked SV/LT by my usual method (in stages, not all at once); rethermed the beef heart to 120ºF. Working one piece at a time, pulled each and browned with the Searzall. The salmon, pork chop and chicken did best, albeit taking about four minutes per piece (except the salmon, which only took two as I browned only the top surface). All these are things I've found hard to brown by conventional means, including a naked torch. The bratwurst was a disappointment, taking eight minutes and still not truly browned. I'd rather cook that conventionally. The ground beef (made into a hamburger) was a little better, but a lot of fuss for what was, after all, just a hamburger. The ribeye did okay, but I still prefer one cooked conventionally. The beef heart did okay, but I can get the same result with a hot convection oven and a lot less effort. Bottom line, I'm glad to have the Searzall in my toolbox, but its utility for me is limited. It's wizard for delicate proteins, but only practical for small quantities. I can't imagine trying to do a dinner party for eight with one.

FWIW, I have and like the HB Rio, specifically the 32 oz stainless steel model. But, frankly, I liked the HB 909 better. It has a slightly less powerful motor (3/8 hp vs. 1/2 hp), but had a better vortex, it seemed to me. (I gave the 909 to my mother at some point and decided to upgrade on the replacement.) BTW, prices in the U.S for these blenders are about 1/3 what you're seeing in Portugal, See, e.g., Webstaurant for the 909, Rio 32 and Rio 44. I mention this mainly because you're asking for advice against a price point. Wanted you to know we're not really in a position to comment on that. ETA: Not that we're all in the U.S. But relatively few of us are in Portugal.

Waldorf salad. Which both looks festive and works brilliantly as a palate refresher.

Perhaps we're answering different questions. To me, the interesting one - and the one I thought the OP is posing - is whether there's an important difference in cooking meat by SV/LT in a sauce as opposed to adding the sauce later. My conclusion after many trials, admittedly not blind, is "no." If your experience is otherwise, fair enough. As I said, YMMV. On the other hand, if (as appears) you're just working from principles, I'll put my not-blind tests against your well-reasoned intuitions any day. In any event, I reject the notion that only blind tests may be used to develop recipes and cooking techniques. If I had to live by that rule, I wouldn't get much done. Rather, a good cook can draw valid conclusions without blind tests by employing a simple, healthy skepticism. Most science, in fact, proceeds in the same fashion. BTW, I'd appreciate a link to the EdX course you mention. I'm always interested in learning new things.

Actually, it doesn't matter whether there's some minimal penetration which can only be detected by washing off the sauce and trimming the surface of the meat. That's not how the dish is served. Marinades can work without penetrating for the same reason. BTW, I expected the opposite result, so this isn't a confirmation bias problem. And I will point out thought experiments stand considerably further down the scientific ladder from non-blind tests.

Well, there are other eggs, e.g., ducks and fish. But, yeah, it's mostly semantic padding.

I've done A/B tests on this question. My conclusion was that there was no advantage to cooking SV/LT in the sauce, i.e., that aside from salt the flavors didn't penetrate. But, it's an easy test to do and YMMV.

Bear in mind they're both varieties of the same species, Capsicum chinense, so there's no sharp dividing line between them. Meanwhile, chiles in general vary greatly depending on seed stock and growing conditions. Where are you located? Do you have access to good chiles at a farmer's market or are you limited to what's in mass distribution?

If by this you mean a heat gun, it can be done but I don't think it's worth the effort. We're talking over ten minutes to do a single pepper. At that point, I'd rather just use a convection toaster oven.

I don't think so, though the main reason I remove them is appearance, i.e., they tend to cloud up a sauce. But, goodness knows, there's no reason they need to be removed. They're in practically every meat dish cooked by conventional means.

Following Lisa's lead, this blog post seems to be the review she found. (At least, it's the only detailed one I could find.) Considering the price and the venue, I think the recipe probably is very simple. As it happens, I've done something similar recently, but rather than give you that recipe, I'll make by best guess at how to replicate Clifton's Emphasis on the word guess. First, prepare some buttered bread crumbs, say 4 tbsp plain dry with 1 tbsp melted butter. Second, prepare a "sauce." Beat 2 lg eggs with 1-1/2 c half-and-half (or milk); stir in 6 to 8 oz grated medium cheddar, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. No heat, just mix 'em together. Cook 1/2 lb macaroni (elbows or other small tubular shape) just barely al dente in salted boiling water; drain well; while still hot, stir into cheese mixture, then transfer to a lightly greased 2 qt baking dish (doubled, this will fit a 9 by 13 inch dish); sprinkle with buttered bread crumbs. Bake in 350º oven (no water bath) until firm and lightly browned, about 40 minutes (a bit longer for a double batch). The most important thing about this, I suspect, it gonna be the cheese. I'd be willing to bet large sums Clifton's isn't using a fancy cheddar. Rather, my hunch is that the right choice will be a mass-market cheese like Kraft or Tillamook, probably medium but maybe sharp. Not only are the flavors of these milder but, because of the production process, they melt more easily. Which, in turn, is probably critical to getting the texture right, defined here as close to Clifton's. Hope that helps. It's all just a SWAG, so feel free to modify in any way which makes sense to you.

All the serious torches will work, i.e., Iwatani butane, propane or propylene (Map Pro). (Have one of each as part of my search for the elusive perfect SV/LT finishing tool, which hopefully the Searzall will turn out to be.) The Iwatani takes longest and cooks the chiles a little bit. Propylene is ridiculously fast and cooks more-or-less none. Propane, of course, is in between.

One cool trick (so to speak) is to use a torch to roast peppers and other chiles. Blackens the skins almost instantly, with very little cooking of the chiles themselves.

First of all, it's not blood. It's stock, mostly water with various molecules dispersed in it, including myoglobin. In theory, you could use this to create an emulsified sauce, but that's not how we usually use it. Rather, heat the bag juices almost to boiling, which will eliminate the red color (which most people find creepy) and coagulate proteins, which can then be strained out. From there, prepare a sauce the same way you would for any meat.

That's encouraging, as being able to measure internal food temp (and monitor oven temp) would simplify the pasteurization guidelines considerably. Seems to me there should be a way to make this work, but there'd be a lot of trial-and-error, A/B tests and data collection before it would be ready for prime time. All of which, if it gets done, will be done by someone not me. I don't have a CSO and aren't likely to get one.

To do that, you need to use the off button. Stop works as DDF says, i.e., it seals the bag.

Interesting. For others, here's a link to Post #52. I notice Unpopular Poet avoided most of the tricky issues of low temp by cooking two hours at 140ºF. A complete protocol for other times, temps and proteins would be rather more complex. In which regard, has anyone had success operating the CSO with a remote probe thermometer? That would be the easiest and most reliable way to do this, but I'm worried about the gasket.

Matt, I have a VP112. Unfortunately, it seems to me you have a defective unit. As a double check, I just did a run with a substantially empty chamber - normally I use fillers to reduce the amount of dead air - just a very small book (3-1/2 oz, i.e., 100 g) in an 8-by-10" bag. The unit had no problem pulling a full vacuum (as full as mine ever gets)* in 30 seconds. I suggest you write Ary (the manufacturer). Sounds like this is a new unit, so you should still be covered by warranty. * My pulls always come in at 0.9 bar according to the gauge. Several sources report that the VP112's gauge isn't obsessively accurate, though, which is why they use a timer. What worries me isn't the reading you're getting, but rather the fact that your bags float. Mine don't. (Well, proteins don't; veggies, of course, are a different problem.) Heck, I just reran the test with 7 oz cooked meatballs - the only protein I have in the house at the moment - and even those sink. Again, just a 30 second draw.

Over in the Palate Smart Grill thread, rotuts mentions using the CSO for low temp cooking (sous vide without the bag, if you will), which would indeed be a wizard application. Has anyone tried it?

rotuts, I don't find the thin band hard to believe, given that the steak is pulled from the grill while being brought to high heat. See Post #14. As for browning the sides, isn't that the obvious thing to do as you're finishing? I mean, you have a hot grill, right there. I have several reservations about the grill, but the basic tech isn't one of them.

That was my reaction too, upon reading the recipes above. Indeed, when I gave it a whirl (hand grated cheese and home made mayo), I found the combination unpleasantly unctuous. FWIW, to anyone else who feels the same way, what I have found experimenting the past few days is that a combination of two parts cheddar plus one part each cream cheese and nonfat fromage blanc works very nicely. (So, for example, 8 oz cheddar and 4 oz each of the other two.) Mash the cream cheese and fromage blanc together (or puree in a mini food processor then transfer to a bowl); stir in the pimentos and other flavorings as desired; then stir in the cheese. Not the same as the Southern version, obviously. But arguably this is just as valid an adaptation of the original, which it should be noticed did not have mayo. See the Serious Eats article linked by heidih upthread.

Frankly, I think the ceramic surface will be the Achilles heel of this project. What I've found, as have others, is that the stuff starts out well but doesn't hold up in the long run, meaning more than two years of moderate use. And I've long since given up on using it for high heat applications. Maybe you can get around this by offering replacement plates at modest cost, but I can see this blowing up on you down the road, much as anodized aluminum blew up on Calphalon. At the time (circa 2002), it was their flagship product, but they had already diversified the product line sufficiently to make it through. Whereas you folks, ISTM, have no where else to hide. Also, I have to point out that your enthusiastic promotion of the gadget as a point-and-shoot solution (my paraphrase) isn't quite accurate. It doesn't plan. It doesn't shop. It doesn't prepare sauces. It doesn't prepare side dishes. It's not going to be the panacea for non-cooks you seem to think. Whether there's a market among experienced cooks who are interested in low temp but haven't bought into sous vide (largely, I'll agree, for the reasons you mention) remains to be seen. In any event, that's going to be a pretty slim market.

Well, yes, that's how one calculates the strength of a brine. But to calculate the cure, i.e., how much will be taken up by the protein, its weight has to be taken into account. This isn't important for strong, quick brines, but it's essential for equilibrium brines, which is what you're doing here. In fact, for something like this, you could eliminate the brine altogether, simply rubbing the chicken with the amount of cure you want it to absorb. That's particularly handy if you're going to cook by SV/LT, as you can cure in the bag.