weedy

Short ribs. Sealed with wine, onions, cumin, ancho chile powder. 144F for 70 hrs. Seared in cast iron pan. Bag liquids strained and reduced. Thickened with xanthan.

I do it in the ISI whipper with co2 cartridges. No need for another device.

more like $70-100 more on average

I'd smoke as the last step prior to serving i.e. AFTER cooking

if it helped with the mixing, measuring, settling for bubbles, etc. I might be interested. But all it essentially does is replace using a syringe to make the spheres... that's not the hard part

So once more? No one? Any opinions on the Versa vs (no pun) the Cleanblend or New Age?

i've had TWO wear out in the last year. One wore off the plastic 'teeth' on the cog at the bottom of the bowl... the other wore those AND the teeth in the coupler on the base. I'm over it. metal is the way to go... there's a reason it's what the professional machines do

it's kind of tough to pick one base only on other people's reviews and opinions but that's what one has to do! which is why I'm asking here just judging by youtube videos (admittedly a risky way to judge) the Oster seems a lot faster and more powerful.... but that shouldn't be the case based on motor power (which should be about the same)

and there New Age, clearly both are metal to metal connections, which is good:

this is the Oster Versa

I'm pretty sure both the New Age Living and the Oster Versa are metal to metal connections

I do really want one with metal teeth on both ends (bottom of the blender jar, and business end of the base) that won't grind down. I liked my Kitchenaid just fine, except that it's plastic gears wore themselves down way too quickly

so it's been a while... anyone have some direct experience/opinions on the New Age Living BL1500 versus the Oster VERSA 1400-watt Professional? $200 is about my limit for a replacement blender

Yes. the ONLY way to do chicken breasts

the answer is to have a good, trustworthy, fishmonger some friends think I'm crazy to drive 35 mins each way to my fish store, but it's worth it to me

thus

did a very nice D'Artagnan Wagyu Rib Eye today. 2 hrs approx at 133F, then gave them a quick dry rub (coffee, cumin, salt, paprika) and a sear in cast iron pan. I also had planks of sweet potatoes in the bath at 145F for a few hours before I started the steak, then into the oven to roast them, and finished by cubing them and frying with some oil, onions and serrano chiles my 'Voltaggio sous vide in the microwave' rainbow carrots chimichurri and Vesper 'martinis'

what places are "like China"? <g>

removed it I didn't want the skin for this... I actually rendered the layer of fat and crisped the removed skin in a pan, and then chopped the crispy skin to sprinkle on top of the finished dish. I did bag the breast with some of the removed fat as well as some oregano and dried thyme. after 2 hours at 135, I breaded (egg wash, bread crumbs with grated parmigiano reggiano), quick pan fried in duck fat to crisp the crumbs, and then a layer of provolone tomato sauce and under the broiler for a minute to melt the cheese, and then a layer of mozzarella and more sauce and under the broiler again it still came out totally pink and juicy inside.

I have duck breast in the circulator now, heading toward duck parmigiana later!

the Polyscience Chef series has three tiers: the Professional (made in the USA) which is the one that's really comparable to the Anova 1 (polyscience is $800, ANova about $200) the Creative (much more plastic, made in Asia) for $400 (twice the Anova 1, three times the price of the Precision Cooker) and the Discovery for $300 http://polyscienceculinary.com/collections/sous-vide-circulators

that may be true for the $1800 "professional" circulators. but it doesn't seem to me that the $800 Polyscience is any sturdier or more reliable (by reports) than the $200 Anova, even though it's labeled "professional"

my understanding is that the $800 Polyscience Professional unit has the ability to work in a somewhat bigger maximum volume of water bath than the Anova that's the biggest difference. but the less expensive Creative and Discovery models (made in Asia) seem much more plastic-y to me than the Anova

Interestingly (or not?) it's the opposite for me. because of its footprint (and because I don't think it works nearly as well) my SVS hasn't been used since I got the Anova, and so it sits on a shelf out of the way. The Anova is also stored on a shelf as are the various Cambros and containers, but it's not a big deal for me to pull them out and use as needed. once set up,the 12l Cambro is about the same footrprint as the SVS, but it doesn't have to sit out on the counter all the time.

in the last week I've done duck breasts, chicken, lobster (poached in butter), potatoes (cubed, which I later finished into patatas bravas), and hamburgers all in the circulator. It's like asking "do you use your stove" or oven or microwave or blender... you can use it as much or as little as your imagination and cooking style determines