boilsover

Sure, you can do it that way. You can slice bacon the same way, too. I guess I'm not as stingy with my smoked salmon--I slice on the diagonal, thicker, and down to the board. But I also rarely smoke to that lox consistency; I can see how the style of slicing might be good for that.

Yeah, I'd rather have a Rorgue, too. $4,000 for a sheeter versus $70 for a pin? I'd rather have the $3,930 in Bitcoin Amazon stock.

OK, I get it. You're using the temperature setting as the arbitrary numerical setting, even if it's objectively inaccurate. I even get that, e.g., if the setting of 267F is lower than the setting of 286F, that might be valuable regardless. I just like to acknowledge arbitrary things as being arbitrary, rather than thinking that a sharp, pointy-number temperature setting is true. This stuff tempts users to think and talk and judge like they have beaucoup accuracy and precision, when maybe they don't. When they share temps for preps between owners of a different brand/model with a different sensor or algorithm (ControlFreak, Cue, etc.), what? Someone's an idiot? Everyone should buy the Tasty Cookbook because only that works true to their readings? Sounds like political discourse more than science. I just want to cook.

The better question is: Consistent with what? PICs have heretofore been wildly INconsistent with their temperature settings, even if they are repeatable between uses. In the typical PICs, the temperature settings have been a joke. What makes this one different? If you set 267F at the controls, what confidence do you have that it means 267F in the pan? Frankly, I'd rather have an arbitrary numerical setting that I've vetted than a false temperature setting. But if this appliance is accurate, then it could change my mind. Seems easy enough to test...

Yes, unless a knife is extremely sharp, serrations rule with crusty breads. Still, I'd still like to try a guillotine...

I'm not sure what to make of this. If the PC is burbling, and it's an Xpsi unit, don't you already know the water temperature at sea level? If you're at altitude, it might be slightly lower, but it's a known, right? Also, these button thermocouples are measuring the outside bottoms where the heat is induced, not the interface temp or the temperature of the food. Is there some algorithm that converts into a floor surface temperature? If so, does the algorithm know the difference between a cast iron pan and a thick clad one like Proline? It would be interesting to compare temperature readings from the button with those from a good contact probe inside across a range of pans.

Sounds great. Try smoking the bird for 30 minutes before you spit it up...

Gosh, I'm having a hard time getting my mind around how you'd slice salmon (or bread, or charcuterie) without board contact. I totally get slicing certain things, e.g., turkey breast, ham/venison joints, etc. "in thin air", but I don't think slicers were intended for such limited use. Would you please explain?

Yes, of course. But a lot of the time you are, even close to the heel. Or am--today I thin-sliced some leftover NYE prime rib for French Dip sandwiches. I have an ancient, thin, 14" Henckels slicer that would only contact the board at the extreme tip if I wasn't prepared to hang the handle over the edge.

Pinch grip and palm that thing. A lot of bread knives and other slicers are like this or worse. Just keep your handle off the board's edge.

Great minds think alike. I've probably roasted 100 fat migratory ducks, brant and geese indoors on mine with no appreciable spatter.

I'm with JoNorvelle on this one--no spatters out of my Farberware, either.

Thanks, andie: That looks like a really good design. I bet the gears are heavy metal, too. Now I'm looking for a Black Angus!

Saved me a trip to W-S, thanks. I can see now why Phillips put the elements behind glass. So that folding thing is what, just a spatter screen?

It's like a tanning booth for chickens!

I guess I need to see one of these in person, because it looks like the folding reflector is planar and bass-ackward. Is the parabola under the food? This is not ideal, but it's better than nothing. See, above. Also, the Phillips elements seem very similar to those used in the Breville Smart Oven and its ilk. My experience with the largest BSO cooking things roasted and toasted is that the elements are too far from the food to do a good job. Farberware instructed users to adjust the spit downward to the point that the food barely clears the element. We're not talking about a heliostat here...

Obviously not andie, but (a) the reflector setup looks awesome; but (b) it looks like there's no distance adjustment. AS she said, I would prepare for spatter and cleanup. Oh, I just remembered: for the horzontal 1/4" square spits, there's an aftermarket tumbler basket add-on for things like wings and chunked meat.

Hi, Andie: What make and model? Do you know of any modern version of the old tournebroches that hang vertically? I have a project going with grates and an large outdoor, permanent, elevated grill that I'd like to outfit for a larger side-fire for rotisserie. With one of these, I can just use a tripod, rather than fiddle with spitjacks. Thanks.

It's called the "Farberware Open Hearth". I'm not sure which exact model number it is (mine is at my beach house), but it is this one. These can be found for peanuts at estate sales, because if you haven't used one they don't look very practical. Right now there's one up on Ebay for $65.

Ouch! MSRP $569? I've not handled one of these, but it is the functional equivalent of the old Farberware. In fact, it might not work as well, since this has one elements along each side, some distance from the food. The Farberware has 4 "turns" of calrod element both at the sides and under the food. I also don't really understand how that folding reflector improves anything--for it to work well as an IR reflector, it would probably have to tip inward instead of outward. The Phillips also appears not to have a spit height adjustment, which can be very important. I've cooked a lot on the Farberware, and the "smokeless" thing is a red herring--even with the under-food turns of calrod, there is not enough smoke from drips to worry about. It's also an absolute SS tank; all the metal is thicker than it needs to be, and the only plastic is on the handles. It's easy to disassemble for cleaning, too.

Long story, but I have a friend with whom I share a lust for French patisserie in general and kouign aman in particular. We have another friend, kind of a starry chef in France. We'd like to surprise our Parisian friend by being at least marginally competent with the kouign the next time we meet up. I had always heard of a specialty rolling pin called a Tutove (I think it's the name of the manufacturer). It's supposed to be the Secret Weapon of puff pastry. The idea is that the pin has grooves/ridges that better place butter into the layers of dough. So I found one (a real one, made by Tutove) on Ebay at a good price, but I need any basic tips y'all have for using it. Anyone here use one, or have a resource for how to roll with a Tutove? Many Thanks!

I'm with Cronker on this one. Considering how hard it is to find matching pieces of discontinued cookware, I think it's a shame to break up sets. This happens all the time with vintage copper saucepan sets (and worse, their covers). There are pieces/sizes I've been looking for for >10 years that I may never find.

Then allow me to bestow on the escapees the name "Houdini".

Do you call the ones that crawl back out "Jonah"?

Don't get me wrong, I think they're very useful. I was just visualizing Brad alternating between floor, countertop and cutting board. You wouldn't touch your food contact surfaces with your floor mop, would you?