Ozcook

Robirdstx, I did season the Lodge 12" CI skillet in the oven and it came out great. However, that is not an option for the Matfer carbon steel skillet as it has an enormous handle which makes it far too big to fit in either of my ovens. I may have to go down the BBQ route (when Winter ends here).

Many thanks for the replies. I was most concerned about the thermal shock of placing a pre-heated CI skillet on the induction surface, so thanks boilsover for your advice. As to temperatures, Cooks Illustrated suggests placing the CI skillet in an oven until the oven reaches 500F which I'm guessing is not the same as the skillet reaching 500F unless it was left in the oven at that temperature for some time. The reason for oven pre-heating is to ensure that the skillet is evenly heated which is unlikely to occur on most cooktops. I was attempting to get past the smoke point to season the Matfer carbon steel skillet as that is necessary for the seasoning process in a new pan but I only had limited success because the Miele induction kept cutting out due to overheat protection. My thermoworks infra-red thermometer was showing up to 450F at the centre and as little as 280F at the sides so I only got some seasoning in the centre.

(1) I have a Miele Induction cooktop and a recently purchased Lodge Cast Iron 12 inch skillet. I have been poring over recipes from Cooks Illustrated and many of them recommend pre-heating the skillet in a 500F oven and then placing the skillet on a cooktop (no mention of glass cooktop or induction). Before I go ahead and try this, am I running the risk of damaging the cooktop by placing a pre-heated CI skillet on to the (Schott Ceran) surface? (2) A related question is that, on admittedly little use of the Lodge CI so far, I have triggered the overheating feature of the induction cooktop resulting in the burner in use shutting off. I have not used the burner any higher than 7 out of 9 and even then and for about five minutes for pre-heating. This is frustrating to say the least. I have had the same problem with a new Matfer 12" carbon steel skillet while trying to season it.

I'm going from memory, but I thought Douglas Baldwin recommended 135F for 75 minutes in his Sous Vide book. Three and a half minutes at 140F would certainly be a time-saver if I need to quickly make some mayo.

I have a Searzall which I use about twice a week, mainly for putting a crust on beef or lamb. I like it for small jobs but it can be a pain for large jobs. My main problem is that I live in Australia. I cannot buy replacement screens here. Amazon will sell me a Searzall and a Bernzomatic TS-8000 but not replacement screens (they don't ship replacement screens to Australia). I sought assistance on the Searzall forum but that forum is dead: Searzall forum

If you mean squid (and not baby octopus) I have found that frozen squid tubes cooked sous-vide for 3.5 hours @ 138F (~59c) produces tender and tasty results. However I don't use frozen squid from China - which seems to be a common source - so I don't know if that cooks differently.

Has anyone tried searing a sous-vide steak with a sandwich grill either with or without a searzall? I am reasonably happy with the Searzall but it can be time consuming doing 4 or more steaks so I wondered about speeding up the process by putting the steaks onto a sandwich grill and finishing them with a Searzall. It may be that sandwich grills don't get hot enough to do much good but I thought I would ask before experimenting.

I use coconut butter as a spread on my morning muffin. Yum!

i haven't had that experience with Australian shiraz (and I have had plenty). I agree with the suggestion of decanting leftover wine into a half-bottle and storing that in the refrigerator. A glass of red wine can be brought to room temperature by putting it into the microwave for about 12 seconds on medium power (depending on the power of your MW). Then swirl. The best method I have found for wine storage is using the aircork (aircork.com). Remember to rinse the balloon after use and store the wine in the refrigerator. Cheers!

Chris, I would love to know your recipe for octopus. Last time I tried it SV I used frozen baby octopus and guessed the time. It came out soft and mushy.

None that I have ever noticed.

I don't have a problem with mayo made with avocado oil, but I only add about 100ml. The other 200ml is from light olive oil. I have never had it separate on me.

I like using macadamia oil in a stir fry and sometimes as part of the oil component in mayo.

I have the CI book mentioned and several others by CI (which have recipes recycled by CI). I also have Mark Bittman's 'How to Cook Everything'. I go to the Bittman book probably 10 times more often than the CI book. I think it is far more useful.

I have given up on sous vide dash becoming available on Anroid any time soon. Can anyone recommend a good Android alternative?