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

Super heated water (more than 212F) can be dangerous. Super heated water is not easy to make. You need pure water in a very smooth vessel and no vibration. dcarch

Sorry if you feel I quoted you out of context. I disagree with your statement that most commercial units are not frost free. dcarch

I am not sure you need to drill to attach tracks. Epoxy works well. I have done it. dcarch

I think most commercial units are also frost -free. dcarch

Whatever the refrigeration machine is, it still has to follow physics laws. I am aware of the following situation: When you open the door to a smoker, you feel a blast of hot air, and you get yelled at, " If you are looking, you are not cooking". When you open the door to your freezer to get food when the power is out, you feel a blast of chill air, and you get yelled at for ruining all the food in the freezer. But the following is the reality: Specific Heat of air =.018 Btus per cubic foot. Assuming room temperature is 80F, and refrigerator temperature is 35F, 80F – 35F = 45F x .018 = 0.81 BTU Assuming you have 8 cu ft of free air in your refrigerator and 100% of the air is replaced with room temperature air: 8 x 0.81 = 3.24 BTUs is all the energy you need to cool the air back down. That’s less than 2 watt of electric power. And for a freezer, relatively full, with one cu ft of free air, at -5F, you are talking about only 1.62 BTU lost. dcarch

"--------and I was jut itching to get rid of one chest freezer that was hogging space in the kitchen. I scrounged up a pick-up truck and drove off to the city dump.------" There are all kinds of rules/laws regarding the disposal of refrigeration machinery. Check with your local authorities first. dcarch

"----------------Just drill from the side that doesn't have coils. " The electric power wiring from the thermostat to the compressor may be there. dcarch

IR thermometer is not reliable unless you know exactly the characteristics of your particular model. It is very misleading that the laser beam is not the beam that is doing the reading. dcarch

There are a couple of easy ways to find out: 1. Get an infrared camera $10,000. or 2. A sheet of liquid crystal temperature sensing film to put on the surface, to show where the coil is attached. $10.00. dcarch

There is no single answer. It depends on lots of factors. 1. What is the recipe? 2. How thick are the chops? 3. What kind of heat source, induction? gas? electric? 4. construction of the stainless pan? 5. Do you want grill marks? 6. Does your cast iron pan have a cover? I use both stainless and cast iron. dcarch