pbear

Another veggie roaster, here. It's amazing what the fan does for them.

My workhorse bread pan is a 1/3 steam table pan (four inches deep). It produces something very nearly batard shaped. I oil lightly, then dust thoroughly with rice flour, which releases nicely. For round loaves, I use a 3 qt All Clad saucier. I also have a pair of narrow pans (5 by 12-1/2 inches) which I found in a restaurant supply store; these I use for small baguettes (dividing a dough based on 1 lb flour between them). Another good pan to have, imho, is a Pullman. BTW, I don't have a Breville, but my countertop oven tends to scorch breads if I don't shield them with aluminum foil for the majority of the baking time. No idea whether you'll have the same problem, but thought I'd mention just in case.

FWIW, a double boiler is the first thing which came to mind when reading your OP. Or, actually, a bain marie. I've not done this for creme brulee (that I've always done in the oven), but I have for other egg custards, e.g., creme anglaise and even quiche. One advantage of this approach is that it's easy to cool the mixture quickly, by moving the cooking vessel to a bath with ice water. To unpack that a little, what I do is combine the custard mixture in a stainless steel bowl, which I then set in a slightly larger pot with a trivet. Add enough water to the pot to come to the same level as the contents of the bowl. Apply heat to the pot, stirring the contents of the bowl constantly. This takes a little longer than preheating the water bath, but is more reliable. When the contents have gotten to the desired consistency and temp, pull the bowl from the bath. As I said, if you want to cool quickly, nest the bowl in a larger one containing ice-and-water. Continue to stir. If necessary, refresh the ice water. When cool, divide among custard cups and chill. To repeat, I've not done exactly what you're attempting here, so I can't guarantee this will work. But I've done enough similar things to be confident it's worth a try.

I've been following the Anova thread, and probably will order one as another arrow in my quiver, but my standing recommendation as of today (to friends who are curious) remains the SVS. It's simple, effective and doesn't take any more space than the containers needed to make circulators work. IMHO, the limiting factor at this point isn't technology, but rather that low temp hasn't captured the popular imagination.

I agree with nickrey. When folks speak of salt being damaging, what they're usually talking about is too much salt, which produces a cured flavor. Of itself, not necessarily a defect, but often not the desired outcome. If one keeps salt to a low level, between 0.5% and 1.0% by weight (e.g., 1/2 tsp finely-ground salt per pound boneless meat), the effect generally will be perceived as seasoned but not cured. At least, that's my experience. YMMV

Frankly, I'm stumped. Good luck.

My guess would be that it was the ham rather than the smoker. For example, if it had been frozen, thawed and refrozen (could have happened anywhere, at the processing plant, in transit and/or at the retail store), that would adversely affect the texture. Just a guess, though.

That's what I thought you might be considering (not like we have a lot of Argentine restaurants) and was the concern I was going to mention. (Haven't been myself, but know it by reputation.) Another place to consider is Espetus. Brazilian rather than Argentine, but the approaches to steak are similar. And the space is rather more sedate. Haven't been to in several years, though, so I can't vouch for whether it's still at the top of its game. FWIW, the current Yelp says mostly yes.

Hey shantzzz. Not everyone here cooks SV, but many of us do. Frankly, I haven't seen these problems Chuck, for example, shouldn't be drying out at 133ºF for 24 hours. On the contrary, at that time-and-temp, I find it unpalatably flabby. Rather, I prefer 24 hours at 150ºF. This certainly throws off a fair amount of liquid (which I then clarify, sometimes reduce, and incorporate into a sauce), but the meat isn't dry. So, as you say, you're going sideways somewhere. Troubleshooting at a distance is always difficult, but let's try. First, have you cooked meat from this source conventionally? If so, were you happy with the results? Such a baseline makes comparisons easier. Second, what PID settings are you using? For a crock-pot, I like P = 20 and I & D = 0 (and don't bother with a bubbler). Other settings (e.g., the ones recommended with my Auber controller or generated by auto-train) easily overshoot the target temp, although they eventually settle down. Third, what finishing technique are you using? If you're browning the meat after SV, it's terribly easy to undo the advantages of LTLT. Browning can be done, and I do, but it's tricky. A few other thoughts come to mind, but let's start there.

What place do you have in mind?

True enough. Freezing won't work if BF wants to slice to order. By the way, it occurs to me storing bread in a vacuum canister might dry it out. Do you know anyone who does this?

Gotcha. Have you tried freezing? It's what I do (and several other eGulleteers, I've noticed). Slice and bag, squeezing out air the normal way without a vacuum. (I put a paper towel in the bag, though I'm not sure it's necessary.) Thaw slices as needed on the counter, in the microwave or in a toaster oven. Microwaving is the one I use most often. Place bread on a plate with a paper towel, use 50% power and experiment till you dial in the right time for the type and quantity of bread you're thawing. The trick is to get it just thawed and warmed through, without getting it so hot it dries out when it cools. (Overshooting is the main reason microwaves have a bad reputation as a way to handle bread.) Takes a little practice to get the knack, but once you do it's easy-peasy. Or, as mentioned, you can thaw on the counter or in a toaster oven.

Can't help with the question, but I'm curious. Why would you want to use a vacuum container as a bread box?

This pretty much answers your question. The spring is measuring pressure inside vs. pressure outside. In other words, it's measuring the difference, not the absolute (total) pressure of the inside. What's true going down a mine shaft is also true going up a mountain..

Looking around this evening out of curiosity didn't turn up much, but did uncover this photo of the pie in question. From the clean cut of the slice, I'm even more convinced they're using gelatin (which originally was based on just your description). Compare that with the photo accompanying this recipe (similar to that in the OP). Notice the cut isn't nearly as clean. BTW, jrshaul, when I said, "hard to know without seeing the recipe," I had forgotten that the OP included a recipe. My bad. For that recipe, a whole packet of Knox gelatin might be overkill. Or, as Mjx says, 'so firm, piercing it with a fork is a challenge'. Instead, I'd start with 1/2 packet (1 tsp) and only increase to a full one if half-of-one proved insufficient. Of course, you could do the trials in reverse order. Also, I notice you mention a problem with granulated sugar not dissolving. Have you tried superfine?

Very interesting. (BTW, here's a direct link to the blog entry, which should be a more stable bookmark in the long run.) The gadget is only a prototype, though, so who knows long it will be (if ever) before it's brought to market. And not easily fabricated, it seems to me, as a DIY project. Meanwhile, what I find helps with a torch (recently started using propylene, aka Map Pro) is to keep a bit away from the product, move around a lot and do the job in three passes. Seems to avoid torch taste pretty well for long-cooked meats (my main use of sous vide). Haven't had as much success with gentle stuff like chicken skin. For that, the gadget looks like it would be wizard.

I'll bet you a bright shiny nickel gelatin is exactly what the diner is using. Give it a try. Hard to be certain without seeing the recipe, but one packet of standard Knox gelatin will stabilize a lot of available water. I'd start there.

Quite simply, it creates a slow cooker with a thermostatic control. As the water bath is closely regulated, the insert can't exceed that temp. One can use this either for conventional braising temps (e.g., 190ºF) or LTLT (e.g., 150ºF). The former nicely solves the problem identified by the OP. (Assuming, of course, one has or is willing to invest in the relatively expensive SVS.) The latter is handy for dishes where plastic bags aren't convenient and/or for folks who don't like cooking in plastic bags. As for your comment, Syzgies, I've used several strategies to elevate the insert, in all cases nonreactive. Early on, I used a silicone steamer, More recently I found a stainless steel chile grilling rack at Sur la Table (lamentably, just discontinued) which is perfect. What I've found is that the material of the insert doesn't matter much, though (by report) the material of the trivet does.

I did a similar experiment a couple months ago, except I used a countertop convection oven rather than a saute and didn't bother with the soda. IMHO, to make the comparison accurate, you have to add back the water lost by cooking conventionally. Doing that, I thought the conventionally-roasted version was slightly better than the pressure-cooked one, and a heck of a lot easier. It did take a little longer, though.

Umm, to clarify, although the West Bend slow cooker has an adjustable heat control, it's not a thermostat. I never tried using it as a slow cooker for that reason, together with the fact that it's completely uninsulated. On the other hand, the cooking vessel makes a fantastic bain marie insert for a Sous Vide Supreme, which is why I bought it in the first place. (Gave away the base.) Which, incidentally, is another solution to this problem and, in fact, the one I use most often. (Various inserts, not just the WB). Be sure to elevate the insert somehow, so heat will flow around it.

andie, that looks like a really cool unit. Not sure I'm going to get one, as I've already solved this problem by other means and have rather limited space. But it's definitely going on the "recommend" list for friends looking for a small slow cooker. And, really, it's plenty large enough for lots of dishes, especially those like Beef Bourguignonne and Roghan Josh which are basically just meat in a sauce. Indeed, those sorts of dishes are about half my slow cooker repertoire. And, yeah, Syzgies, "boggles the mind" nicely captures my annoyance that no one has brought a temp-controlled slow cooker to market (besides the unit Andie mentions, which isn't quite the same thing). It would be darn easy to do. By the way, in case anyone wants to try my solution, here's what I do. As mentioned, this only works with an old-fashioned analog slow cooker. I hook this up to an Auber PID controller, but the Sous Vide Magic (linked above) is similar. Rather than the settings recommended in the manual (or those generated by auto-train), I use P = 40 and I & D = 0. (The manual explains how to do this.) Those settings were suggested by someone in the original sous vide thread (at a time when I was a lurker rather than a poster) and I find they work very well. What happens is that, when the controller senses the target temp is being approached, it dials back the flow of electricity. (This is why only an analog cooker will work; a digital one would have fits if that happened.) In effect, the controller becomes a thermostat and prevents the cooker from exceeding the target temp. Problem solved.

Not my experience. And I did a lot of work with crock-pots over the period fifteen to twenty years ago. Had pretty much every size and shape they made at the time (all with analog controls), a dozen in all, a few of which were duplicates. (I used them as buffet servers for parties, as well as cooking with them.) Worked up slow cooker variations for pretty much every recipe in my then-repertoire where they fit (that ended up being more than 150 recipes), There was a pretty consistent trade-off of convenience vs. quality, which I eventually realized was because the crock-pots always ended up at a low boil. (Not to be confused with a rolling boil, like one can get on a stove-top.) Venting the lid slightly helped with this problem, but didn't eliminate it altogether. I've since solved the problem by using a PID controller (although, in fact, I rarely use a slow cooker as such anymore, preferring sous vide, a pressure cooker or, crazy talk, a conventional simmer), but apparently this solution doesn't appeal to you. Your choice. Good luck in your search.

According to Cuisinart, it's "an oval ceramic cooking pot." IOW, the same glazed pottery as traditional Rival crock-pots. The thing to remember about slow cookers is that none of them (AFAICT) have an effective thermostatic control. The upshot of which is that they all end up cooking at a boil eventually. The only way I've found to beat this problem is to use a PID to control the cooker. And, for that, you need to use an analog rather than digital unit. Don't know whether you have a PID controller (e.g., an Auber or Sous Vide Magic) but, if not, you're likely to be frustrated no matter how much (or little) you spend. Conversely, if you don't care about boiling, a cheap unit will work as well as an expensive one.

Of the commercial brands, the only one I've tried that I like is Stubb's. Not sugar free, but much less sweet than most. Available in a spicy version. (They also make a sweet sauce, but obviously you'd want to pass on that.) YMMV, but worth a try.

You're crossing up two things. The spores of Clostridium botulinum are extremely hardy and laugh at sous vide temps. Indeed, only the high temps achievable in a pressure cooker will kill spores. The reason they're so hardy, though, is that they're not doing anything. Once they come out of suspended animation, the normal vegetative state of the bacterium is a delicate little flower, active only between 38º and 113ºF (3.3 to 45ºC). See here, citing Hauschild, A.H.W. 1989. Clostridium botulinum. In Foodborne Bacterial Pathogens. Doyle, M.P., ed., Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, NY. Recommended sous vide temps generally are well above that, and those that aren't are for brief cooks of foods safe to eat raw.. ETA: Bear in mind no authority (at least, of which I'm aware) recommends using acidity in sous vide to prevent or control botulism. I'm just trying to explain why.