btbyrd

Ruhlman's tools are 35% off through Saturday with coupon code "cheer." I must say, this BlackFriday/CyberMonday has been a bit of a bust (at least for me). I haven't seen any good deals apart from the Anova and Instant Pot (and I already have 2 circulators and an IP). The grass is always greener? Last year, Ruhlman's discount was 40%, and the year before that was 50%. Bah humbug.

It doesn't really have to be that tall. I've cooked eggs in an 8"X8" glass casserole dish. (Try that with any other circulator.) And I've used several dutch ovens and All Clad pots with the magnet (which is great). The clip from the factory is pretty small (too small to clip on the classic "big Cambro" that many use for SV) but they designed Joule so you can swap the clip out for a larger one that will fit Cambros and premium coolers like the Yeti. The bigger clip isn't on the market yet, but should be soon.

I've been very happy with mine so far. It's so much smaller and SO much quieter than my Polyscience. It also heats marginally faster. The pump isn't nearly as strong (which is a good thing -- the PS is, if anything too strong) but it doesn't need to be because its impeller sucks in the coldest water from the bottom. Apart from the size and noise benefits (which are substantial) I think my favorite thing is that you can use it in basically no water. It's feasible to use it in pretty much any pot or container, however small. This not only saves water but also heats up faster so you're ready to cook in a shorter amount of time. While I'm kinda tempted by how cheap the Anovas are, if I was going to get another circulator, it'd be a Joule for sure. Now, if only they'd update the software so you can control multiple Joules from the same device...

How Guy Fieri ruined nachos.

Reheating isn't any faster than cooking (unless you're holding something to tenderize). With something four inches thick, the earlier you throw it in the better.

The dip needs to happen at the beginning or not at all; after it's been in the bath for a while, the ship has sailed.

Not especially. After 2.5 hours @ 142F, the surface of your meat is as pasteurized as it's going to get.

It's my impression that all induction burners under $200 (and perhaps under $450) are essentially the same, with the differences being primarily in aesthetics and fit/finish. They're nice if you need a cheap, extra burner and don't need much in the way of temperature control. It's hard to maintain a simmer with these units; the power settings are either "not really a simmer" or "full-on boil." But if you're not using it for simmering work, pressure cooking, or other application that requires finessed heat, I'm sure it'd be fine. I am, however, wary of any sort of burner that comes as a set with a pan. Or any pan that comes in a set with a burner. Or any other unnecessary package deal.

This pan is overpriced and underwhelming. Making a cast iron pan lighter doesn't do anything for it and actually makes its performance worse (since the main advantage of cast iron is its mass). Just buy a carbon steel pan. Lighter than cast iron, smooth interior surface, excellent non-stick properties, and has the gently rounded sloping sides of a saute pan (rather than the almost straight sides of cast iron). Oh, and they're (generally) much cheaper than this lightweight cast iron pan is.

Mine too! If you happen to pick the book up, let us know your thoughts. I would have bought it myself, but I have to leave some affordable things on my wishlist for the holiday season...

I recently added Ronni Lundy's book Victuals: An Appalachian Journey, with Recipes to my wishlist after hearing an interview with the author on the Eat Your Books podcast. I haven't gotten to really look at it yet, but it seems like an excellent addition to the recent round of books on Southern food. I appreciate its emphasis on mountain foodways, which are often overlooked in the cookbook world. Most "southern" cookbooks I've seen are either generically southern or focused on the cuisine of the low country and coastal planes. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

Any more thoughts on this one? It's currently on my Amazon wishlist (where most of my Christmas presents will ultimately come from) but I haven't really been able to get a good sense of the content. Hoping it's not style over substance.

Or just use less water the first time.

I bet it would make for a decent to pretty good burger. You may have to add some fat to the grind though.

Utility is a USDA grade of beef that ranks lower than select, standard, and commercial. Speaking only for myself, I can't imagine purchasing meat described as "utility," even if that wasn't the USDA certification for some of the lowest quality beef around.

One hour is not a long time at 60C, and I doubt that the core even got to the temp of the bath in that time frame (especially since you say "the rolls were huge"). Whatever the problem was, it wasn't going too long or too hot. 60C isn't too hot and 60 minutes is, if anything, not long enough.

It is the best thing in my kitchen for melting cheese. That's mostly what I use it for. I also use it to touch up the top of fried eggs. I'd use it for post-SV work more if I didn't have a grill. But even on the grill, I'll often sear the top with the Searzall while the bottom is grilling, flip the steak/whatever, then sear the new topside with the Searzall. I love my grill, but it doesn't get nearly hot enough to put a good crust on a fresh-from-the-bath SV steak. (It's a Weber Genesis E330, and it gets plenty hot... I can push it to near 700. But it's no match for a grate directly on top of charcoal.) I like having the Searzall. Like I said, it's the king for getting cheese nice and bubbly; that alone is almost worth the cost of admission. If you already have a torch (or 3) and are looking for a new gadget, the Searzall is a great choice. I never liked using my "naked" TS8000 on steaks (or my low-powered Rosle kitchen torch) but I'm much more torch-happy with the Searzall in hand. I don't know that it's a "must have" for most people, but if you love torches, it's a must have.

I use a pressure washer to blast any particles off the Thermapen, then soak it in bleach, and finally sterilize it in an autoclave.

Apparently, Open Sky is doing a 30% off promo today as a "Mega Monday" lead up to Cyber Monday, so if you just can't wait, pay them a visit.

DDF beats me to the punch yet again...

They're mostly only sold on his site. I've seen a few places selling Ruhlman stuff online, but the prices were always much (much) higher than just getting it from the source. Like Martin notes, they also sell on Opensky, but the prices are the same. And like he suggests, wait until they run a promo for the holidays. Last year, they ran a 40% off promo on Cyber Monday (and again before Christmas). I'm seriously thinking about getting some offset soup spoons with my wood paddles and the meat mallet. They're made by JB Prince, and JB Prince is the best place to buy them. They're much cheaper on jbprince.com than they are on Amazon, and there's a new "XL" version with an extra long handle available as well. Can't really see a use for the perforated ones, but I'm sure that I'd find one if there was one in my possession. JBP also has some fancy looking tweezers if you're looking for an alternative to normal shiny stainless.

Turns out that I've actually had their bacon before. Zingerman's sells one of their products as "Arkansas pepper bacon," and it's fantastic stuff. I think they used to sell a "plain" applewood smoked bacon from there as well, but I might not be remembering that correctly. Whatever that was was also delicious. I haven't seen their products in the store anywhere before, but I'll give them a shot if I ever run across it in the supermarket. I suspect that the Zingermans stuff is an upmarket version that's made differently from what you can get at a normal grocery. But as for basic grocery store bacon, I agree that it's hard to beat Wrights. (Unless you've got Beeler's in your area.) That must have been a fluke. I've had a lot of their hickory and applewood bacon, and never run into that problem before.

Jaccard tenderizers are relatively cheap and are a great gift for anyone who cooks a lot of meat. Michael Ruhlman has a collection of kitchen stuff that's pretty solid and usually goes on sale around the holidays. The "bad ass egg spoon" is great, and not just for eggs. It's my go-to slotted spoon. I have the mixed-size set of offset spoons (basting spoon and two larger serving spoons) and like them as well. I also have the straining cloths (which are great) but they're apparently out of stock and have been for some time. The Acaia wood paddles and the meat mallet are on my "buy next" list. Just waiting for a coupon code...

Niman Ranch: Very good. Sweeter aroma than I was anticipating, but a good balance of sugar and salt in the finished product. Decent smoke. Probably the new supermarket brand of choice in my area. Boar's Head Bacon: Weaksauce. Almost no smoke flavor. Not a lot of flavor generally. Commodity bacon of the most boring variety. Nice slice sizes... okay for a BLT, but nothing I'd want to eat on its own. I also picked up a pack of Neese's bacon that I'll try soon. Neese's is a local North Carolina brand known primarily for their sagey-spicy country sausage. I didn't even know they made bacon, but I'm looking forward to giving it a try. Father's, Benton's, and Broadbent's bacon are all much better than you can typically find in supermarkets. But they're authentic country bacon, not brine-injected "city bacon," so it's sort of comparing apples to oranges. But... if you have the choice, real country bacon (with a hefty dose of smokehouse smoke) is a superior product, provided you like smoke and aren't averse to salt. Just don't overcook it.

Epicurean cutting boards are also good, inexpensive gifty things. They're made from a paper/fiber composite material that's durable, sanitary, and easy on knives. And they're dishwasher safe. They're apparently also "eco friendly" if you're into that kind of thing. They're nice and thin, so I can stack several in my board-storage drawer. I have 3 of my own (black, brown, tan) that I use for different purposes. It's nice to have a dedicated board for onions, garlic, and other stank vegetables so you can use another board for slicing things like apples or pears. I've had one too many "faintly garlicky" slices of apple in my life.