dcarch

One "green" idea: Every summer, I have a few big backyard BBQs. 50 + guests? I don't do paper plates plastic forks. You can buy stainless steel silverware by the pound on eBay cheap, not the best looking, but metal forks and knives makes food taste better. After a party, all goes into a tub with a few buckets of hot water and some dish washer liquid. Over night just blast clean with a garden hose. I buy a few hundred shop cotton towels from HD instead of paper napkins. Easy to wash, no need to iron. I use very good looking heavy plastic plates from a party supply store and reuse. Clean them the same way as table ware. dcarch

When I want extreme high heat quick, I use the broiler. Totally non-stick. dcarch

Over the pass many years my kitchen scrap contribution to the landfill = 0. I recycle 100% of my kitchen waste. Meat, fat and large hard bones are also all composted. I use my garden shredder to pulverize bones. I use a converted rototiller to bury kitchen waste deep to avoid animals digging things up. I must have buried several thousand gallons of kitchen waste. Incredible fertile soil I have. Water from the sink is collected to water the garden. I repair many appliances, so I seldom have to buy machines and throw away machines. I have seven computers, all are repairs from sidewalk throw aways. Instead of "recycle" electronics to poison African children, I save money not having to buy new ones. I don't trust farmers market "organic", and I don't believe buying local is energy efficient. My kitchen and house is 60F in the winter. Dough doesn't rise well in my kitchen. :-) dcarch

"---its been argued that fat completely rendered ie with no supportive animal issue in the fat does not have a animal-specific taste. ---------------------------" Dry rendered or wet rendered may make a difference. dcarch

But you wouldn't call bacon fat "lard". dcarch

Lard (commercial) is bleached to be white and filtered to be non-"porkie" ? dcarch

Not an expert, just some questions: 1. Is it true that Clostridium Botulinum can grow in any environment, including vacuum. But you don't need vacuum to promote botulinum growth? 2. Isn't it true that using a Foodsaver type machine to bag food doesn't really give you true vacuum (14 lbs/sq in atmospheric pressure in vacuum)? Airless and vacuum are two different conditions. dcarch

I know I will be doing smoking for many years, especially cold smoking, I decided that I should put some effort into a more complicated smoke generator. Basically it is an external smoke generator made from a stainless steel cylinder. The fuel is wood chips or pellets. The smoke is piped out thru a 24" brass flexible accordion stove gas pipe. The smoke is cooled by the accordion brass pipe and lots of black liquid (creosol?) is condensed and collected into a bottle (cancer in a bottle?) before it enters into the smoker. The smoke is pulled by a small motorized blower with a speed control for smoke density adjustments, and blown thru a viewing window. The viewing window is lit with LED light to allow for visual view of smoke density going into the smoker without having to open the smoker. The system is very stable and economical in pellet use. I have had over 24 hour continuous smokes with no need for supervision or adding more fuel. dcarch

Foiling does the following, I believe: 1. Allows steaming of the meat. 2. Aluminum is a very effective reflector of infrared radiation. Depending on you heat source/cooker, it changes the thermal dynamics on how the meat is cooked. Your end result may not be the same as someone else who has a different cooker/heat source. dcarch

I often wonder: Same cut of meat, one oven cooked to 212F IT, the other boiled in water to 212F. Which one will be more "juicy", "moist" and "tender" inside (not considering the "bark") Or will they be the same? dcarch

I keep the following in mind when I am dealing with meat, any meat: Once temperature gets up to above 212F, as long as there is still water in the meat, no amount of heat can get the temperature higher than 212F, whether the oven is 213F or 600F. (except in a microwave oven). Once the outside temperature gets to a certain point, the rate of temperature travel to get to the interior is fixed, and is distance dependent to the center. It is not dependent on the weight of meat. Meat texture only knows temperature and how long it stays at that temperature. dcarch

Sous vided, smoked pulled pork at 150F 24 hours. Tender, juicy. dcarch

I sous vide 24 hours at 150F. Works very well. dcarch

Oven temperature can be highly inaccurate. +- 30F is not unusual. I don't think sous vide bags should be used. dcarch

For each burner, it is a jet, not "jets". The jet is designed to optimize gas pressure (PSI), gas quantity (CFM), and air in take design for complete combustion based on the Venturi effect. Don't do it. If you make a mistake, it is not reversible. Buy a stove which has higher BTUs. dcarch

Wood carver's chisels. dcarch http://www.thesculpturestudio.com/images/wt2-V-gouge.jpg

You are of course correct that convection oven is not identical to a water bath sous vide cooker. However, a convection oven with PID temperature control can give you precise temperature control just like a water bath, and circulating hot air will promote thermal conduction and even temperature distribution just like a water bath sous vide cooker. The fact that circulating hot air will dry out food is precisely an advantage for certain kinds of cooking. I do chickens this way regularly, convection oven at 160F until internal T gets to 140F, then set convection temperature to 450F. The convection air dried skin gives me incredible cracklin skin, yet the meat remains tender and moist. dcarch

Very true. 1. Toaster oven has un-insulated glass door. 2. Toaster oven's heating elements are too close to the food, and cooks food by infrared radiation as well. You can't "convect" infrared radiation. dcarch

Convection oven = sous vide by circulating hot air. dcarch

Depends on the oil. Many oils have strong flavor, which can add to recipe's flavor profile. Truffle oil? Sesame oil? mustard oil? dcarch

" I will be traveling with a poly circulator ( first will that be a problem through security?) i prefer to carry it on!!" If you have the original packaging, literature, etc. put it in, and gift wrap it. dcarch

That is the only way to get tender juicy meat and true crispy skin at the same time.Most other methods lie about crispy skin, or crispy skin and lie about tender juicy meat. dcarch

I am sure this was not what happened, just in case: When you measure, do not let the tip of the probe touch the bottom of the metal pot. You can be measuring the metal temperature. The very tip is where the temperature senor is located. dcarch

That is a very significant deviance. It is possible if the water is not pure. Heavily salted water can be that high in boiling point. Try again. If you read over 212F again then the thermometer should be returned. dcarch