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Steve Hiller

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Posts posted by Steve Hiller

  1. It's been a while since I've cooked from MC@H, but with dinner tonight I decided to make the @H version of the potato purée, in particular the one where you infuse the skins in cream. I made a number of modifications to the recipe: I used red-skinned potatoes of some kind rather than Yukon Gold, I cut the amount of butter in half, and I infused the cream sous vide at the same time I was retrograding the potatoes rather than doing it in a separate step. The result was fantastic: still rich, though not quite as in-your-face as the full-butter version, and with a really terrific potato flavor.

     

    Have any of you had problems with the texture of the purée being almost grainy? I haven't been sending it though a tamis because I don't have one but I find it to have a grainy mouthfeel. It's probably because I'm skipping that step but thought I would bounce it off all of you.

  2. Just something fun list night. A more refined version of an amuse I've done. Soft cooked quail egg, dried iberico ham, fried onion cream and chives.

    643868_10151459054284908_1912397299_n.jpg

    How did you do the fried onion cream? Sounds great!

  3. one question: the 'burp' : is that opening the lid partially first to let out the hot air, then opening the lid fully?

    That's exactly what it is. If you open it right away you can end up with what is essentially a backdraft. I've never seen anything that major but it is real. Please note this is only a concern at high temperatures.

    This site has a good description of it: http://www.nakedwhiz.com/flash.htm

  4. If you read the forums people are making amazing and hard to blielve claims about their grills. (cook a pork butt for 16 hours at 250F and the temperature never wavers and there is still 2/3 of your charcoal left unburned...)

    I was in the same boat as you. I own a Bradley as well as a Weber kettle. I received a large BGE as an early wedding present and since then I haven't fired up either the Bradley or the Weber. The BGE is pretty amazing in terms of it's versatility.

    I quoted the 250F for 16 hour comment because it can be done but I would argue not without the help of a DigiQ or some other controller. The BGE does hold it's heat very well and is pretty easy to keep fairly stable but with the DigiQ you can literally get it to temperature and not worry about it. It really does amaze me every time I use it. I had a PID for my Bradley but it had the problem of heat retention after the door was opened. The temperature recovery time for the Bradley is poor unless you do modifications to the chamber. No worries about that with the Egg. In fact, if you go way over in temperature with the Egg you will have trouble getting the temp back down because the ceramic holds the heat so well.

    The grill size is limited versus other smokers as bigbump mentioned. You only have the one level to play with unless you get some aftermarket pieces. It's plenty big enough to do 4+ racks of ribs on a vertical rack or a pork butt and has plenty of space for normal direct grilling. You have a Bradley so this isn't a huge concern. If you are cooking multiple pork butts or briskets for a party you have ample space in there.

    It holds moisture very, very well and seals nicely when closed. Again, someone mentioned the burping. This is necessary because it's sealed so well that when the cover is down there is no flames being produced. When the cover is opened, a large rush of air runs in and the flames come up VERY fast. It's cool and a bit scary at the same time.

    For indirect cooking and smoking you should invest in the plate setter. It raises the rack and blocks all direct heat. It works very nicely.

    I'm still working on getting a great pizza out of it but I know it's possible. It's pretty easy to push the temp up to 600F-700F. High enough to break a cheap pizza stone after only one use.

    I don't think you will regret your purchase for a second!

  5. It's time for me to pull the trigger on the purchase of a chamber vacuum sealer. I'd love to get a couple opinions on the ones all of you have purchased.

    For me, it's coming down to about four models. The VacMaster VP210, VP215, VP112, and the Minipack MVS31X. I'm leaning towards the VP210 or VP215.

    1) For those of you with a VP112, do you ever wish you had a bigger unit?

    2) Is the oil pump of the VP215 worth it for home use or would the VP210 work just as well for the light use it will get?

    3) What's the advantage of stepping up to something more expensive like a Minipack or a similar chamber?

    Keep in mind, this is all for home use, primarily for sous vide and freezing meats and stocks.

    Thanks,

    Steve

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