Martin Fisher

FWIW, Grace Young is one of the people who suggested a cast iron wok for those without a high BTU wok burner. I'm no expert....I've never been to China and I will never be going to China. I'm simply trying to do the best that I can with somewhat limited equipment.

Tom Colicchio starts his stocks with a brief boil and drain. James Beard started his with a 15 minute boil. I start with a brief boil or a sauté à la Edna Lewis. I've evolved to using just meaty bones, onion and water.....nothing else.

The way I've come to roast turkey - which is roasting a spatchcocked bird in a cast iron pan after the bird's skin has been dried for 3 days - basting is a total waste of time. A spatchcocked bird naturally roasts in about half the time of a conventionally prepared bird and with the dry skin there's very little if any evaporative cooling.....plus...the skin crisps up nicely. Even when preparing a bird in the conventional way, I haven't found that basting is a good use of time when there are so many other things to be done in the kitchen. Rather than run a mad race to get finished via basting and other nonsense, I'd rather start a bit earlier. YMMV.

Removing the pressure cooker from the heat source in order to cool down and reduce pressure to slowly and naturally. Reducing the pressure rapidly via other methods can cause violent boiling.

I think that it's a waste of time. I haven't noticed any great advantage to basting. I don't bother.

Even Kosher salt's weight per volume varies greatly from brand to brand. Morton's Kosher weighs 37% more than Diamond Crystal Kosher for any given volume! Weighing is always the best course of action. 1% salt suits me when dry-brining chicken or turkey.

Unless you have a high BTU wok burner I think that a properly seasoned 14-inch heat-retaining flat-bottomed cast-iron wok that's used on a gas stove works best.

To minimize boiling, use the 15 pound weight and operate the pressure cooker at just below venting. Depressurize using the natural release method only so the pressure drops slowly. I'm not yet completely sold on pressure cooker stock. Does the pressure cooker extract more flavor? Yes, I think so. Is the flavor of pressure cooker stock better than stock made via other methods? I think that the jury is still out on that one. I think that the flavor of pressure cooker stock is a bit 'tired' but I'm working to correct that.

Hi DiggingDogFarm, would be please be so kind as to give some more details/tips/profiles on this usage? I make some charcuterie but never though to ferment it sous-vide. The idea was highlighted in Modernist Cuisine. Discussion here.... http://forum.chefsteps.com/discussion/comment/7323/#Comment_7323 Temperatures and times will depend on the culture used and desired results.

I also rarely use vacuum, but when I do it's an older $35 clamp-style machine that has issues, but gets the job done. Liquids go in either Mason jars of various sizes or in chamber sealer bags where air is removed via the Archimedes principle or other tricks, they're then sealed with $50 impulse sealer.....no big deal.

Bread machines, ice cream makers, George Foreman grills and the like, juicers, slow cookers, microwaves, rotisserie ovens, coffee makers, sandwich makers, toaster ovens, popcorn makers, waffle makers, blenders, food processors, rice cookers, various mixers, dehydrators, toasters, electric can openers, etc. etc. etc. They ALL appear in yard sales and thrift stores in large numbers. My sous vide rig is one of the most versatile pieces of equipment in my kitchen. Besides the obvious, cooking meats, eggs and veg at precise temperatures, I also use the rig as a slow cooker via 1/2 gallon Mason jars (I hate modern slow cookers---the temperatures are too high--the original slow cookers were so much better), I make stock in sealed 1/2 gallon Mason jars, I ferment charcuterie in the sous vide rig, I par-cook sausages and cured meats, I make cheese, yogurt and the like, various confits, braises, etc. etc. etc. It's very handy, I can't imagine living without it.

Added to my wishlist.

Does the convection fan work at lower temperatures?

Do you happen to know the lowest heat setting possible with the big SO?

I agree.

Well, yeah, but there are capacity limitations. An immersion circulator has the advantage of being portable, conveniently storable and easily paired with different size vessels. Check out this scary potential product........YIKES!....... http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/193384747/aquachef-clarity-sous-vide-cooking-made-simple It exudes cheapness!

Other advice....... Nomiku: Hire an extremely talented engineer and completely re-engineer your unit. I think keeping the initial general design is fine. Sansaire: Tool-up big time, shoot for a retail price of $149 (or less) and enter the 'mass' market much the same as SVS has done. Underground: Improve accuracy and temperature stability....rethink your marketing strategy and put a skirt on that thing!!!! Anova: Hmmmm....hopefully Anova will continue to make more firmware upgrades that add more features without increasing the price of the unit. I'd really like to see the timer count up when it's finished counting down. I find the fact that you can't read the temperature/time from across the room mildly annoying, but it doesn't appear that can be easily remedied.

The SVS remains somewhat unique so I'm not sure that SVS needs to do anything different at this point...well...other than correct the issues with the anodized aluminum components in the Demi...if that hasn't already been addressed! I'm sure they'll lower their prices when the time comes....as I understand it......the Demi has been on special for $199 in the past. Polyscience....poor....Polyscience! What were they thinking when they conceived the DISCOVERY??? The product is wrong in SO many ways!!! They're definitely diluting their brand with its introduction. As I mentioned in another thread, it's akin to GM putting the Cadillac name of the Cimarron! To top it all off, I find it incredibly ironic that it's the color of a lemon!!! Polyscience definitely needs to rethink the DISCOVERY and develop something that competes directly with the Anova. It appears that Anova is the product to beat at this juncture.

That's scandalous!

Is the big one large enough to accommodate an un-spatchcocked 5 to 6 lb. chicken?

What? Where the heck do you live and what restaurants are that bad? Chemung County, New York. It's a culinary wasteland. There are no good restaurants here.

@C. sapidus.... That looks great! You can't go wrong with BBQ! Southern Tier Brewing Company....are you a southern tier resident?

I stopped eating in restaurants (other than a couple good New York style pizzerias) because nearly every meal I've been served over the past few years has had something seriously wrong with either it or the service. I'd been craving a good fish fry leading up to our last time out at a restaurant ---this was a couple years ago---a place that was, at one time, pretty good. The fish was horribly dry, I mean crazy dry. I tartar sauce tasted like coleslaw. The fries were over-salted and overcooked. The Caesar salad that I had was just plain horrible with a tasteless watery dressing and soggy croutons. The glass of water with a wedge of lemon looked good, but the server "eagle clawed" the glass so I sent that back. The server also spent way too much time chit-chatting with certain patrons when she should have been attending to the needs of others. Anyway......I don't waste money on restaurants anymore...it's not worth it when food at home is so much better and I know for sure what I'll be getting. Even the Italian-American joints in this area, of which there are dozens and dozens, can't be trusted to provide good food anymore.

Stubborn sink and drain, ay? When all else fails, I guarantee that the following option will work.....it's an expanding pipe stopper/test plug.....when you turn the wing nut the rubber stopper expands closing off the drain tightly! They work like a charm....I've used them for years to stop stubborn drains. They should be available at your local plumbing supply. http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/pipe-and-test-plugs/pipe-and-test-plugs/plumbing/ecatalog/N-n0s

Norton stones are good but it does take a bit of talent and a lot of practice to properly sharpen knives freehand. I've seen a lot of folks butcher knives with freehand stones. Guided systems are a good choice because they allow you to keep a consistent angle with minimal metal removal. IMHO, The Wicked Edge system is the best. Followed by the KME system. Gatco provides the best value in a budget system.