Cuisinart Combo Steam/Convection Oven (Part 3)

[rotuts]

my plan was to update my Amps in my kitchen.

 

oddly there is one 20 amp for the whole kitchen , but 6 outlets

 

previous homeowners certainly were either very cheap when a small addition was place on the kitchen and second floor

 

making a ' strait narrowish ' kitchen into an L shape.

 

or got taken for a ride.

 

sloth have prevented me from following through

 

I think 2 CSO's would add exceptional flexibility 

 

veg in one , meats in the other ?

 

Id have to fine a place for my 3d for toast though.

[Smithy]

Actually, I think we have plenty of amps, but the counter space is the issue. I think it would require me to permanently declutter the tops of my roller carts, and that's where the non-refrigerable produce (tomatoes, ripening peaches, avocados) go...and my favorite salad bowls...and the cat and dog treats...and the mail we didn't get to....

[Okanagancook]

I had three fairly large shrimp that I wanted cooked to go in a veggie stew.  I put them in a small pyrex bowl and steamed them at 200F for 8 minutes.  Wow, beautifully moist and cooked perfectly.  Who knew....only trouble is I only have two left to go in the stew 😋

[Okanagancook]

Anyone cooked meatballs in the CSO?

I have ten turkey/zucchini 45 grams meatballs from OL's Jerusalem that need to be cooked for reheating at another time.  Or should I go Convection Bake at 400F for 10 minutes turning at halt time?

 

Thinking 350F on bake steam for 10 to 15 minutes.  Check the temperature (aiming for 165F).  They can be quickly browned after reheating.

[Anna N]

13 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

I had three fairly large shrimp that I wanted cooked to go in a veggie stew.  I put them in a small pyrex bowl and steamed them at 200F for 8 minutes.  Wow, beautifully moist and cooked perfectly.  Who knew....only trouble is I only have two left to go in the stew 😋

Just wondering were the shrimp fresh or frozen?

[Okanagancook]

Thawed without their shells.  They were the large Argentinian shrimp.

[Shelby]

18 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

Anyone cooked meatballs in the CSO?

I have ten turkey/zucchini 45 grams meatballs from OL's Jerusalem that need to be cooked for reheating at another time.  Or should I go Convection Bake at 400F for 10 minutes turning at halt time?

 

Thinking 350F on bake steam for 10 to 15 minutes.  Check the temperature (aiming for 165F).  They can be quickly browned after reheating.

I do mine at 350F on steam bake--15 mins.  I brown mine in a skillet first.

[Okanagancook]

Ok, thanks @Shelby...I'm on it

[dtremit]

Got a nice surprise from FedEx on Saturday -- despite my refurb being scheduled for delivery on Tuesday, it managed to trek up from NJ in less than 24h. Put it to work pretty quickly:

 

Started with some single ingredient wonders. First, toast (no picture, sorry!) -- and I can see why people like the toasting function, though it's not someplace where I'm picky. I was worried the edges wouldn't be crisp but they were, despite a moister center. Wasn't using my usual bread, though, so will have to investigate further. 

 

Second up -- oven fries, since we needed a quick snack. Two russets, peeled, cut, and tossed with oil:

 

 

Tried these on steam bake @ 400F for 20min, and they weren't quite done; flipped them and went for 10min more. The interior was amazing, though I didn't think the exterior was as good as ones I've done with the BSO convection setting.

 

Also tried a couple of beets per @weinoo 's method which came out nicely. Not hugely different than my Instant Pot results, but way less hassle -- no foil wrapping is a huge plus.

 

Sunday morning I needed to make bacon for breakfast, and decided to do a literal bakeoff:

 

  

 

Same bacon, same pan (TeamFar), same time. 400F convection in the BSO and 400F steam bake in the CSO. Both very good, and *very* similar. The BSO bacon was crisper, but the CSO had better flavor and rendering. I'd take either any day, though.

 

Final test -- bread. I won't duplicate my pics from the baking forum, but I'm very pleased at the results from a first effort. Frankly, I wasn't really sure my dough would even come out, so I didn't put much care into the process; I preheated the (empty) oven to 450F and then switched to the Bread cycle, also at 450F. (As an aside, the steam cycle was also really helpful for coaxing my very reluctant naturally leavened sourdough to rise in our over-airconditioned apartment.)

 

I'm definitely going to need a stone or skillet to get the results I want, and will need to play with the cycles / timing; I pulled it a little early due to the browning on the top, and didn't get much color on the bottom. Fantastic oven spring, though.

 

I think I've seen others here post about preferring the Steam Bake cycle to the Bread cycle for bread baking. I'll probably review those posts and try that next. I'm curious, though, if anyone has played with Super Steam in their bread-baking process? Since that only uses the bottom element, I would think that starting on Super Steam and then switching to Convection Bake might prevent over-browning on the top rack.

 

Edited July 22, 2019 by dtremit
fix pics / typo (log)

[rotuts]

@dtremit

 

nice work

 

what TeamFar pan did you use ?

 

Im sure i have some but unless you took your pic straight down

 

i don't have one with a vary shallow lip[

 

keep up the good work.

 

toast is really a very individual sort of item

 

for the CSO if the bread is really fresh , the sealed ' box ' adds a dimension to the toast

 

that can't be duplicated any other way

 

it also interesting to me that the toast setting , my CSO V₁ goes to 7

 

and sometimes id wished an 8 or so

 

and some people report very well done on lower settings 

 

toast i used to buy a long time ago that i loved

 

was Pepperidge farm Toasting white

 

could not find it on their site

 

maybe D/C'd?

[dtremit]

7 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@dtremit

 

nice work

 

what TeamFar pan did you use ?

 

Im sure i have some but unless you took your pic straight down

 

i don't have one with a vary shallow lip

 

Thanks!

 

It was straight down, but the pan is the 12.5’’x10’’x1’’ pan that was recommended...somewhere upthread. Smaller than a quarter sheet but otherwise pretty similar. I bought two a while back to have something dishwashable for the Breville. 

[Okanagancook]

@ShelbyThey turned out great although slightly higher temp that I was aiming for....probably related to ball size!  Thanks

Edited July 22, 2019 by Okanagancook (log)

[rotuts]

@dtremit

 

thank you .  I believe those pans were recommended by

 

@JoNorvelleWalker

 

a while back.   I have a set that fit the CSO thanks to that advice

[Okanagancook]

Meatballs, before and after.If you haven't made these from OL's Jerusalem maybe consider.  Many positive comments on Eat Your Books.  My second time making them.  The yogurt-sumac sauce is a must.

 

[Smithy]

Once again tonight we were confronted with the need for 4 separate appliances for as many elements of the meal. We have a tried-and-true method of cooking chicken thighs in the oven: coat with our generic homemade mix, place in a baking pan for 35 minutes at 375F, eat. I have been reading wonderful things about chicken thighs - especially the skin! - in the CSO, so I chose the CSO for the chicken thighs. I used steam bake, 425 for 25 minutes based on (a) what I read in the accompanying pamphlet and (b) my bad memory. I was using the temperature and time established for pork steaks with the same breading; chicken thighs and quarters get lower and longer. I am terrible at rote. My darling's only cooking mode is rote, but he wasn't around.

 

Meanwhile, the Wild Harvest version of "tater tots" was in the main oven, because it couldn't cohabit with the chicken. Actually, if I'd used the correct chicken temperature they could have, but I don't know where it all would have fit. It's a shame the CSO doesn't have room for 2 racks at once.

 

The peas went into the microwave. The bread went into the toaster, which was retrieved from storage in the spare bedroom and placed inconveniently on the kitchen island.

 

The chicken crisped up ... well, the skin was a bit tough and it cohered more to itself than to the chicken. I can see how this machine can produce good cracklings. The meat was a bit more done and the skin more tough than we would normally get - but it was cooked at a hotter temperature than normal. That particular comparison isn't a good one.

 

 

 

Here were our dinner plates. You may correctly deduce that one of us likes peas and the other doesn't. The tater tots weren't as good as the previous batch, which were done in the (tentatively retired) air fryer. 

 

 

Nest time, we'll try the tots in the CSO and the chicken in the oven. 

 

When I lamented needing to pull the toaster out of its retirement spot, my darling surprised me with the suggestion that we could make room for a second CSO! Then he noted that the coffee maker would have to go to make room. Nuh-uh. Deal breaker.

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

45 minutes ago, Smithy said:

Once again tonight we were confronted with the need for 4 separate appliances for as many elements of the meal. We have a tried-and-true method of cooking chicken thighs in the oven: coat with our generic homemade mix, place in a baking pan for 35 minutes at 375F, eat. I have been reading wonderful things about chicken thighs - especially the skin! - in the CSO, so I chose the CSO for the chicken thighs. I used steam bake, 425 for 25 minutes based on (a) what I read in the accompanying pamphlet and (b) my bad memory. I was using the temperature and time established for pork steaks with the same breading; chicken thighs and quarters get lower and longer. I am terrible at rote. My darling's only cooking mode is rote, but he wasn't around.

 

Meanwhile, the Wild Harvest version of "tater tots" was in the main oven, because it couldn't cohabit with the chicken. Actually, if I'd used the correct chicken temperature they could have, but I don't know where it all would have fit. It's a shame the CSO doesn't have room for 2 racks at once.

 

The peas went into the microwave. The bread went into the toaster, which was retrieved from storage in the spare bedroom and placed inconveniently on the kitchen island.

 

The chicken crisped up ... well, the skin was a bit tough and it cohered more to itself than to the chicken. I can see how this machine can produce good cracklings. The meat was a bit more done and the skin more tough than we would normally get - but it was cooked at a hotter temperature than normal. That particular comparison isn't a good one.

 

 

 

Here were our dinner plates. You may correctly deduce that one of us likes peas and the other doesn't. The tater tots weren't as good as the previous batch, which were done in the (tentatively retired) air fryer. 

 

 

Nest time, we'll try the tots in the CSO and the chicken in the oven. 

 

When I lamented needing to pull the toaster out of its retirement spot, my darling surprised me with the suggestion that we could make room for a second CSO! Then he noted that the coffee maker would have to go to make room. Nuh-uh. Deal breaker.

 

 

 

@Smithy do you have a bedroom?  Don't insult your chicken in the oven.  @weinoo's high temperature chicken thighs are great, but better in my humble opinion are the thighs steam baked 300F for 60 minutes, per the CSO instruction manual.  The skin is not quite as shatteringly perfect as at 450F, but O the flesh!  Peas?  Defrosted frozen petit peas in a colander, 7 minutes on 210F steam.  You'll cook peas no other way.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

12 hours ago, dtremit said:

I think I've seen others here post about preferring the Steam Bake cycle to the Bread cycle for bread baking. I'll probably review those posts and try that next. I'm curious, though, if anyone has played with Super Steam in their bread-baking process? Since that only uses the bottom element, I would think that starting on Super Steam and then switching to Convection Bake might prevent over-browning on the top rack.

 

You're welcome.  I took another for the team...

 

 

 

This was 10 minutes (OK, actually 11 minutes) Super Steam at 400F then switched to 450F Convection Bake.  The crust looks a little heavy.  Perhaps too much of a good thing.  Though oven spring was fine.  I don't plan to cut into this loaf for a day or two but if I can I'll report back with results.

 

[dtremit]

8 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

You're welcome.  I took another for the team...

 

 

This was 10 minutes (OK, actually 11 minutes) Super Steam at 400F then switched to 450F Convection Bake.  The crust looks a little heavy.  Perhaps too much of a good thing.  Though oven spring was fine.  I don't plan to cut into this loaf for a day or two but if I can I'll report back with results.

 

 

That looks great! Out of curiosity, what did you use for a pan/stone/etc?

[rotuts]

@Smithy

 

try a lower temp for the CkTh and for longer

 

@JoNorvelleWalker mentions 300 F

 

I think Ive done 350 F S-B until the skin was not just crisp , but bubbly.

 

if way back on the CSO thread.  well worth perfecting for that bubbly crisp CkTh skin

[dtremit]

We did some wing flats last night @ 400F S-B and they came out well, though only crisp on one side. They were done enough (skin brown, and meat pulling away from the bone) after 25min that I pulled them. Was worried they were overdone but the meat and skin (on one side) were great.

 

Think I may indeed try the next round at a lower temp. 

 

Also, I did these on a rack; that allowed for great drainage, but there was no crisping on the underside. Wonder if doing them in a pan would provide better results due to the contact.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, dtremit said:

 

That looks great! Out of curiosity, what did you use for a pan/stone/etc?

 

For bread in the CSO I use a preheated half inch sheet of stainless steel.

 

[rotuts]

@JoNorvelleWalker

 

and where did you get that ?

[Okanagancook]

@Smithy  Why not use the air fryer for the tator tots?  Use a more moderate temp and I bet they would be good.  If your timing is off a little they would reheat in a flash.  Don't retire your AF, it's a gem...bet you could have toasted the bread in there.

 

[Kim Shook]

17 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And there's Himself's toast!

[ElsieD]

Someone on a thread mentioned putting bread in the CSO on super steam for a bit and then transferring the loaf to a regular oven rather than using the bread setting on the CSO.  I have looked through this topic and the CSO topic and can't find it.  Does anyone recall this?  (Also posted in the Bread Topic)