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yesterday, someone wrote in to us to ask: I am a little confused by volume 6. On page 6-68 the table Best Bets for Cooking Tender Meats Sous Vide suggests 58C as the suggested target temperature. Later though on page 6-86 in the table Best Bets for Cooking Tough Cuts beef hangar steak is listed with a target temperature of 50C. Is this an error or am I just not getting something. I have a hangar steak I butchered and I'd like to see what this cut is like done sous vide with a quick char after. Should I be using 50 or 58C? For hangar steak, short ribs, and many other cuts of meat, a variety of time/temperature combinations can produce great results, but each will have a unique texture. If you're after a result similar to traditional slow-braised hangar steak, use the lower temperature recommended in the table Best Bets for Tough Cuts, and hold it at that temperature for a couple hours. But if you'd rather have more of a grilled or pan-fried texture to the steak, cook it to the higher temperature given in the Best Bets for Tender Cuts table, and pull the steak out of the bath as soon as the core temperature reaches the target value.

Modernist Cuisine(page 2-291 et seq.) has an extensive discussion about using pressure cookers and pressure canners to make stocks, and their conclusion is that cooking the stock at 1 bar or 15 psi over ambient, resulting in a temperature of 121C, generally produces the best results, although some recipes call for using an autoclave at temperatures up to 130C. However, as I live in Taos, NM, at an altitude of 7000 ft/ 2133 m, some adjustment is required. To reach the same temperature, I would have to run the pressure up to 18.5 psi. Unfortunately, most pressure cookers either use "jiggle" weights or spring loaded valves which come in 5, 10 and 15psi increments. Also, most pressure cookers don't have an independent pressure gauge, and none that I am aware of have a means to actually measure the temperature of the water/steam, much less the temperature of the stock or other food you are cooking. In addition, experiments by Dave Arnold and Nils Norén have shown that pressure cookers that vent the steam cause an undesirable cloudiness in the stock, and some loss of flavor/quality, perhaps as a result of venting the aromatics. And finally, without venting steam, it is difficult to maintain a desired pressure/temperature, even with a pressure gauge, unless you are willing to stand there and monitor the pressure and adjust the gas flame. There had to be another, better way. After discussing this with Douglas Baldwin, I bought a 25 qt. All-American Sterilizer, model 1925X, and proceeded to modify it to use a PID controller, the Sous Vide Magic (SVM) controller from Fresh Meals Solutions, to control an electric griddle to control the temperature, and a second SVM to monitor the temperature within the stock pot. I removed the pressure regulator, fitted a T-adapter, threaded two SVM probes through it, and then reassembled the regulator. Now I can bring the water in the sterilizer to very close to the boiling point, drop in a stainless steal pot (an All-Clad Pasta Pentola) with the stock, secure the lid, and let the pressure build up. I can vent the steam manually, or not, as I see fit. And if I am canning something, I can monitor the temperature inside a jar filled with water to make sure it is getting hot enough to sterilize the food. For further details, seehttp://freshmealssolutions.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=71:high-altitude-pressure-cooking-and-stock-making&Itemid=100088.

I found a recipe for eggless ice cream that calls for mono- and di-glycerides. I have searched but can't find a source. Does anyone know of a source for small quantities of these, or substitutes that will work?

I want to make pumpkin cracklins with the same texture of pork cracklins, or at least the texture of the tapioca puffs from the book. I sliced pumpkin flesh thin and dehydrated it. My guess is that I need to vacuum-impregnate the dehydrated pumpkin with a starch slurry. Should I use Tapioca? Cornstarch? Or, following this method, will I end up with a pumpkin chip instead of a pumpkin cracklin?

With chamber vacuum sealer, I learned that I can pickle the food instantly. Can I use this technique for speed brining? so that I can brine the chicken breast in brining liquid few minutes instead of brining the chicken breast 24 hrs. If I can speed brining with chamber vacuum sealer, can I use the rigid container, brining liquid, and meat to brining it without vacuum bag?My friend showed me that he used pickling liquid with sliced onion in the stainless bowl and operate the the sealer without bag. I wonder if this affect the quality of chamber vacuum sealer.

where do you buy the pastry bars shown in the book? Can't find anything online. thanks

Any experience on pros/cons of spice rubs on ribs before smoking? Wondering if flavors get funky in the sous vide process.

I just had a look at the errata page and noticed that it was dated April 26, 2011.Are there plans for similar list for the second printing? I assume that while most of the errors on the list will have been corrected (I haven't checked yet), some new ones might have crept in?

We've now put the recipe, with a video, tips, and introduction by Nathan, online here!

Thought I'd share this... http://seattlefoodgeek.com/2010/02/diy-sous-vide-heating-immersion-circulator-for-about-75/ It ended up costing me a little over $100 because of different parts and shipping costs... but mine looks exactly like his and works great. Just takes a little spare time

I see that MC has instructions for Lamb stock but not Lamb Jus.Do you think this would be a similar procedure as in the Beef Jus recipe with the pressure cooker? Thanks

I received the following response to an inquiry to DOW: METHOCEL SG A150 FDG has been discontinued. Possible replacements are METHOCEL SG A7C, METHOCEL SG A16M, or METHOCEL MX. For samples and pricing information please contact Ciao Imports at (866) 249-0400.

I have a question about the garlic confit recipe in a pressure cooker. Do the jars have to be closed? thanks! 'dmg

Does anyone know where I can find the perforated spoons that I always see being used in spherification demos? There is a picture of one being used on this site as well.

I have always wondered if it makes a difference what side of the foil one uses when roasting/baking/braising in an oven. I would assume that having the shinier side face down (facing the food) would reflect the heat onto the food better and create a more stable cooking environment. Thoughts?

heres some good suppliers here in the UK that i have used, or know others that have used: http://www.msk-ingredients.com/

MC says to not use a spring-valve pressure cooker for canning purposes because you can't make sure that all the air has vented when the valve shuts due to pressure. However, the instruction manual of my pressure cooker (Fissler Vitavit) includes a chapter with canning times (20-25 minutes on level II/0,8 bar for food containing meat). In addition, I can always manually vent (there is a switch that opens the valve when you press and hold it). So is it safe or not? BTW, I haven't seen anything but spring-valve pressure cookers in Europe. Do the American style cooker/canners even exist over here?

where do you find a reasonable (small) quantity of crisp coat uc for sale?

While I followed the recipe carefully, I found the mix too thick to properly and completely dispense from my ISI whipping siphon. Too much of the mixture remained in the bottom even though I sharply rapped on the bottom after inversion. The whole mixture seemed a bit gloppy after using the thickeners. Has anyone tried making this recipe without the thickeners in the potato broth? Larry

We were at Maxim's Sur la Table demo on Modernist Cuisine at home last week, and enjoyed the evening thoroughly. For me, one of the highlights was the very simple, but very scrumptious carrot soup, made in a pressure cooker. So for dinner tonight, I thought I would attempt to replicate that soup. What could go wrong? Carrots, butter, baking soda, salt, and a pressure cooker -- all things I have on hand. I followed instructions to the letter, painstakingly cutting out the core from about 30 tender new carrots, ensuring that I actually ended up with 500 grams of carrots, weighing butter, salt, baking soda, then plopping everything into our pressure cooker. Husband and I both wondered at the lack of water in the recipe, but thought that, since it wasn't called for in the ingredients, we wouldn't add any. So then we ramped up the PC to the recommended 15 PSI, and set the timer for 50 minutes, as per the instructions. At about 30 minutes, the carrots were smelling wonderfully sweet and caramelly. At about 35 minutes, there was a whiff of scorch in the air. By 40 minutes, I knew things were hopeless, but persevered. At 50 minutes, we opened all the windows and turned the fan on high, then scraped out bits of carroty charcoal from the PC, before putting it into hot soapy water to soak for a day or two, and went to plan B, and defrosted some lovely tomato bisque we made earlier this week. What went wrong? My strong suspicion is that 50 minutes cooking time is just too long. If so, perhaps the recipe should be amended. Or maybe we should have gone ahead and added some water at the start. If so, how much? I really, really liked this soup, and would dearly like to be able to make it for Thanksgiving dinner next week.

I posted a recipe for this under the discussion of the mushroom broth, together with some observations and suggestions for making the consommé. If you have any comments about the oxtail consommé itself, please post them here.

In mc, traditional braising is suggested by slow cooking first and browning the meat through the pot lid under the broiler. If the meat is slow cooked on the stove first, doesn't that prevent the maillard reaction from taking place under the broiler at the end since the meat is effectively done? Thanks David

Well after great success with the Caramalized Carrot Soup it's time to move onto the French Onion Soup. I've picked up my Preserving Jars 500ml * 4. Anyone got any tips before I proceed, I'm using a Fagor Pressure Cooker which is fine as this is not a sterilastion canning as I take it. I do not have a tray for the bottom of the pressure cooker except for the steamer basket on a trivet which I'll put the cans on or in whichever way you look at it.. I'm not sure how much water to put in. The PC instructions state to put 2 cups in for >20mins cooking so I'll do that as it is a 40min cook. I think that's it! Anyone have any comments before I proceed? I'll get back to you with the results. Reagrds, Vol.

We recently put up a blog post about one of our favorite Asian markets. Do you use ethnic grocery stores? What type of stores are in your area? What items do you get? How often do you go there? Do you ever feel "out of your comfort zone?"

Made the Crispy Corn Pudding this weekend as an one of the appetizers before dinner. Photo before I floured and breaded them. (Sorry no finished pic), by the time I set them on the table to eat they were gone. They turned out great, just make sure you have a napkin if you don't eat it in one bite. The pudding explodes once you bite into it with rich corn flavors that melts in your mouth. Lots of work to make (acutally lots of dishes to clean, but its worth it). Highly recommend, your love the crunch and richness.