daveb

I did not. I think I purchased mine from Amazon when they had a price dip. Suggest you sort the bag question first. If you pm a shipping addy to me I'll send a few VacMaster Chamber bags your way.

I won't argue with physics. Yes an un-insulated container will use more energy to maintain the bath temp than an insulated one. It might even be measurable. But it's still noise. "Wear and tear" even more so. You started this thread to solicit info to build your first cover for your new Anova. I posted pics of several covers I have modified for several containers that I use frequently. You might consider that.

The customer support guy at vacuumsealersunlimited.com provides excellent troubleshooting over the phone and stocks any repair parts you may need. I had a problem with my seal bar after a couple years and needed a cheap circuit card to get it back into service. My experience with bags is that my chamber sealer, VP112, will not properly seal a food saver type bag, but my strip sealers will seal a chamber sealer bag. I do tend to buy FS types by the roll and cut them and buy chamber sealer bags pre-cut from the same vac sealers unlimited linked above.

In my experience the heat loss is noise. Any cover, foil, film, lid, is enough, and I don't use an insulated cooler for most applications. Applications with a bath above about 160 will require a cover to get the bath to temp. The ping pong balls are to SV what fuzzy dice are to cars. Evaporative loss is much more of a concern, particularly because I do overnights 2 - 3 times a week. Any cover still works though I prefer fitted lids. I do throw a towel around the neck of the unit to keep steam out of the control area.

Those pics were 2015, I've since been cutting the keyhole (good term) all the way so that I can remove lid without removing circulator. For the same reason I've stopped doing "drop in" holes to use without the clamp.

The aluminum lid was a generic one purchased for this purpose - less than 10 bucks. Did it for a friend. Only the lid requires cutting.

2.5" is the magic number for the hole saw. Center hole 1.75" from edge if using bracket. If not using bracket I've recently read that a toilet gasket is the perfect size to put on the lid and drop the circulator into to hold it in place and reduce steam escaping around the unit. Prob goes without saying to buy a new one for this. I have a couple pics but uploading seems to be a challenge 2nite. To use the bracket I cut the hole in the lid first, then use a straight edge to draw/cut parallel lines from the outside of the circumference to the edge of the lid so that lid can be removed without moving circulator. Works fine on all types of lids/containers.

I pay the premium for wild or forego the sashimi. Can do farm raised for sushi rolls or cooking salmon. In either case will do the salt/sugar brine. This was shown to me by a couple Sushi Chefs in a Japanese food group I belonged to and it seems to do well by the fish.

I not afraid to wing it. (Except for reactive ingredients when baking) But as a guideline 3 whole to 1 ground is close enough for Govt work. Peppercorns, Cumin Seed, Mustard Seed, etc. If I'm doing a recipe frequently I'll gram it out and refine it. I do pay attention to ratio's, i.e. recipe calls for a 1T of salt, 1 T of whole cumin - I know that I don't want close to 1:1 ratio but 3:1 is reasonable. So I may use 1t of ground. If spice mixture is overwhelmingly cumin smelling I might revisit other ingredients. A big fail I've seen at Italian places is measuring cheese by volume. I've literally had this conversation: Yes I know that's what the recipe calls for but 1C of grated parm is not the same amount as 1C of snowflake parm. Yes you can insist it's all 1C but one weighs 200g and the other weighs 400g. Which has more cheese? NO! It's not the same! ( No wonder cooks drink too much.) Seasoning with herbs / spices is not an exact science. Think about what you like, what goes well together, and go from there. Don't be afraid to fail and if you do remember why. And always do your S&P 10:1 by grams.

Belated Father's Day. For Stepfather and I guess I qualify. Question was asked "Can I cook a 4" thick New York Strip? Dropped the thick one into 128F bath 3 hours out, 2 mid size (2") two hours out. Bottom right is sister, likes it medium (I think she was adopted), left it on for longer sear and let it rest. Mom wanted salad. I wanted easy. We met.

So would I, But. This was done for residents and families at a retirement center and they've got rules. Lots of rules. 145 took some selling. 160 is norm. The finished product had some pink but did not get a money shot. Now 2morrow, for my Father's Day with Stepfather, we're going to dial down that Anova a bit. He's already asked if I can cook a 4" New York Strip. Can a bear chit in the woods???

Out of the bath yesterday, in the walk in overnight, rethermed then into 500F oven. Hanging out here to keep warm prior to carving. No complaints.

Upthread (is that a word?) I posted about preparing beef tenderloin for retirement center I work for. It went over well. 2morrow I've been given license with 3 boneless prime ribs, just shy of 50lbs. PR swimming at 145F for 6 hpurs.

The fastest way to become a millionaire in the food business: Design a gizmo that will do the job of a knife. Doing it poorly is ok. Taking more time to do it than a knife would is ok. Being a pia to clean up is ok. Sell it.

My skillet selection has ebbed and flowed over the years, for about the last 10 years everything I've added is induction capable. I like my de Buyer Mineral B a lot. Well seasoned they're what I use for searing and other high temp work. Would think the Prima Matera would serve well as well. (may have to try one - this site always costs me money) I've used the Mineral B at home and in commercial applications. For stainless you might consider the Viking 7 ply - It's professional quality, great skillet and saute pans, but prob only available on Ebay or other similar markets. I've not used their more available 5 ply but would expect similar quality. I also have a Viking saucier that gets used quite a bit. I've used a lot of stainless and the Viking is easily the best of them (for me). I've heard good things about Demeyer but have no experience with them. Should you need to re-home the Matter Bourgeat, I run a no kill shelter for abandoned pans where it will live out it's life in dignity.

The carrot and daikon shredded together (and maybe lightly pickled depending on what the muse says) make a nice little salad or accompaniment. Japanese friends refer to it as firecracker salad. No cooking involved.

Enjoy these photo essays. My BGE doesn't venture far from home, like the way you take it up a notch.

The thought that Shermie may today be a millionaire...... Worst customer service rep ever.

Sharpening should be consensual.

In the midst of roasted squash and grilled peppers and onions below is a perfectly MR flank steak, finished on the grill. Like SV for flank, skirt, LB, cause you can't overcook the thin pieces and you can get it a bit more tender than convention cooking. 3 (ish) hrs @ 129F then sear.

Will those spoons work with Pareil Capers? Never got the "non" part, admittedly not spent any time trying to get it I just strain out what I need, reserving brine. Brine goes back in jar, capers get rinsed and into whatever I'm using them for. Caponata anyone?

I have and like the Kunz spoons, they're nice for detailed plating though they would probably be overkill for most earth people. Richmond at Chef Knife To Go offers a knock off of the spoons for considerably less. I have to turn the spoons over to see which one I'm holding. My history with Rolse has been: Who would pay $30 for a (fill in blank)? That's absurd! Then in a feeling flush moment I'll order it. WIthout exception I've enjoyed the products - tongs, plating tongs, peelers (yes I bought a $30 peeler and liked it so well I bought another...). I've stopped looking at their stuff cause $30 at a time starts to hurt. No way I'm looking at their Vegetable Spoon.

I would not pre sear the duck breast per se. But depending on mood might render some or most of fat off of the breast before I bag and tag it. It's not going to come off in the bath and the post sear will be too fast/hot to render much of anything. Quick question. Does anyone know the French term for scoring the breast? Quatrage (or something like that?) Google is not my friend today.y And I ain't skeered of 120F for 6 hours. But don't know why one would do so. 126 - 130 for 1.5 is in neighborhood I usually do duck.

@Rotus The pictured knife with duck breast is a Tadasuna INOX 240 suji. A great lil suji and part of regular kit.