btbyrd

I've found that I don't much care for finishing a steak in a cast iron skillet. For me, sous vide grilling does exactly what I want it to... imparts a lot of flavor in the final sear that you just don't get from a pan. I find that this matters much less for pork and chicken though. If you don't have a grill and must finish in a skillet, I find that the best flavor comes by using butter (which facilitates browning and also tastes good) and constantly basting the steak. Toss a clove of crushed garlic and a couple sprigs of thyme in there while basting and you'll get something with a lot more flavor than just searing it off in oil. Also +1 Chris's suggestion to presear the meat before cooking. This not only helps develop a deeper flavor but also helps you refresh the crust much more quickly in the final sear, reducing the risk of overcooking.

I contacted Polyscience to ask about their 300 series chamber vac and they report that the pump can achieve 0mbar or a 100% vacuum. That's about as strong as it gets. I also contacted ARY Vacmaster about the VP-112 and they responded that their quality control tests to make sure that the machine can pull at least 10 Torr, or about 13.33 mbar. This is strong enough to achieve compression and flash pickling (as fellow eGulleter's have testified). I read on ChefSteps that the crucial factor for compression is that you can get below 20mbar. I was sold on the Polyscience unit when it was first announced, but now that I'm almost ready to buy I realize that there's no way I can fit it into my kitchen; it's about 30 inches tall with the lid open, so unless it sits out on a table I won't be able to fit it anywhere. It also costs twice as much as the VP112 and still isn't available in the US (though it's probably going to be available widely in the next few weeks). So I've been eyeing the Vacmaster pretty hard. It's also going to be hard to squeeze into my space, but it should fit. It's got a larger footprint but isn't nearly as tall.

I recently did some SV ribs that came out great. I can say with certainty that cooked ribs DO INDEED take smoke flavor very well... it's not something you have to do to raw meat. Smoking is best used as a finishing step; I wouldn't ever smoke something before putting it in the bath. One exception is using the Smoking Gun, which isn't really used for long smoking times. I'll sometimes hit meat with the Smoking Gun two or three times before the SV step and then hit it 2 or 3 times again once it comes out. Again, this is because of the inherently short smoking times with the SG. If you want to do smokey ribs without smoke, liquid smoke is your best bet. ChefSteps has a great recipe for "Apartment Ribs" that uses liquid smoke, but that's more as a finishing step (cook SV, apply rub and liquid smoke, and roast in the oven). I'd look to that recipe as a guideline for what you're wanting to accomplish. Since the liquid smoke is used only at the end, I doubt it'll smoke up your house too much.

I make most of my stock from scratch, saving whatever bones I generate in the freezer until I reach critical mass for pressure cooking. I try to make big enough batches that I can freeze copious amounts of leftovers. I also do this for more involved stocks... I've got a couple quarts of the Momofuku ramen broth in my freezer right now. But when I can't make something from scratch (or it's too much hassle to thaw something) I use the More than Gourmet stocks/demis which taste very good for most applications -- far better than store bought stocks. A 16oz tub can seem expensive, but they last forever (about 6 months) in the fridge and they take up much less space than boxes or cans of broth from the megamart. Did I mention that they taste better?

Cooking from frozen is a well-documented (and safe) technique for sous vide water baths. It's acceptable to both cook raw frozen proteins and to retherm frozen but cooked items to serving temperatures. If you don't want to use a circulator, most cuts of meat (except for large cuts) can be thawed in a cold water bath in an hour or two -- no need for ice water. But even roasts will dethaw relatively quickly in cold water; the thermal conductivity of water is much higher in water than in air, so keeping a vacuum sealed cut of meat in a water bath in the fridge is the fastest way of thawing it without cooking.

I'm not sure that this is a limitation of dry piston pumps as such since the new Polyscience unit employs a dry pump but is apparently able to do vacuum compression. It might just be an issue with the VP-112. But since the Polyscience costs almost twice as much as the VP-112, it might not be worth the price difference unless you're looking to do a lot of pickling or melon-crushing.

My favorite all around bacon is probably Beeler's. It strikes a perfect balance between smoke, salt, and sugar flavors and cooks up well without much fuss. I prefer it to Niman Ranch's bacon, but I can't find it in my area (I moved recently). Niman's is my current go-to bacon and it's excellent but the slices are a little thinner than Beeler's and it isn't as sweet tasting. Benton's bacon is amazing, but it's more of a special purpose bacon than an everyday bacon. The salt content is pretty high and because of the dry cure I find that it's less forgiving when it comes to cook times. A minute or two too long in the over and Benton's turns into salty shoe leather. But cooked properly, it's fantastic on a BLT or cut into lardons to garnish other dishes. So much smoke flavor, you can smell it through the packaging -- and the box it arrives in! Plus it makes your house smell like a porky campfire when you cook it (a good thing).

New video of the Polyscience 300 series chamber vac. I'd been looking at the VP 112 and VP 210, but when this was announced I thought I'd wait for it. It's a few months behind schedule, and I'm still waiting to read some first-person reviews... but it looks like it might be a winner!

Any particular reason you're feeling the urge to upgrade? What's wrong with your current torch? An advantage of the Bernzomatic over the Iwantani is that the former will work with the Searzall while the latter will not (at least, not without investing in an additional stand to make it stable).

I keep Wild Planet tuna on hand at all times, as it's the best water packed tuna I've found. Whole cuts of tuna loin (not shredded random bits) with loads of flavor and Omega 3. It's perfect for making tuna salad. Ortiz bonito del norte tuna is my favorite canned fish, but it's more for eating straight up (with a squirt of lemon) than for making salads with. The Wild Planet sardines are also solid.

Just an update: I ran into an issue with the Burton burner using it with a dutch oven to do some deep frying. Well before the oil could get hot enough, the burner begins to beep and issue an error message indicating that the surface is too hot. It really doesn't seem that hot, but tell this to the sensor. All this is disappointing since I was hoping to be able to crank this thing up hotter than my modest gas burners. Alas, I'm stuck with them for now!

My most disliked trend is the bacon explosion. Bacon flavored soda, bacon ice cream, bacon spread, chocolate covered bacon. The Baconator. Pork is like a religion to me; that garbage is blasphemy.

I just picked up a Max Burton 1800W induction burner from Amazon and used it for the first time today. It got top marks from Cook's Illustrated in a recent test, and so far I'm pleased with its performance - especially for the price. It heats up faster and hotter than my gas range, but it's a pretty lousy range. I used it to sear off and then pressure cook a leg of lamb. The sear was deeper and faster than I can achieve otherwise, and my PC came to pressure very quickly. Once there, it held a perfect simmer that I didn't have to babysit (again, unlike my range). And it didn't make my kitchen hot. The response is very similar to gas; you can stop a boil in its tracks by nudging the power down (or turning it off). I bet it will be useful for deep frying. The only real downside to portable induction burners (aside from their inherent power limitation) is the sound they emit. It's not the fan noise, but a high-pitched buzz that may or may not bother you. I'm pretty sensitive to these things because I record and produce music in my spare time. I may just wear some noise canceling head phones when I use it. Like Brian, I also wish that my unit had more control over the heat. A continuous analog controller would be nice, but it could be done in digital if there were 20 or 30 power levels. 10 power settings is too coarse grained for me. The dual burner models offer similar performance, but the wattage will be split between two burners. This just means that you'll never be able to crank both burners up to 11. I like this technology a lot, and am considering eventually having a commercial 220V cooktop in my kitchen. But if those things buzz like the portable ones do, I'm not sure that will happen.