Cuisinart Combo Steam/Convection Oven (Part 3)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Down to $236.00 on amazon...

 

[rotuts]

I wonder where BezosBot spotted this price.

[weinoo]

Anyone ever tried using a Smoking Gun with the steam girl? I have some lovely king salmon filets, and I was thinking of filling the chamber with smoke before cooking them?

 

Also, how does everyone like to cook salmon in the steam girl?  I was thinking of doing a very slow steam roast.

[rotuts]

Id say your Temp would be critical.

 

120 F or so ?

 

Id SV and torch myself.

 

maybe dilute a little liquid smoke and paint it on the salmon first.

 

looking forward to your results.

[Kim Shook]

Look what Mr. Kim got me for my birthday:

Now I have to read this whole frickin' thread! 

[Shelby]

4 minutes ago, Kim Shook said:

Look what Mr. Kim got me for my birthday:

Now I have to read this whole frickin' thread! 

I am so excited for you!!!!  You guys will LOVE it.  I promise.

 

And the thread is fun to read, too

 

Be sure and look at/save @Okanagancook 's chart  

[Shelby]

And, Happy Birthday Kim!!!!!   🎂

[FauxPas]

14 hours ago, weinoo said:

Anyone ever tried using a Smoking Gun with the steam girl? I have some lovely king salmon filets, and I was thinking of filling the chamber with smoke before cooking them?

 

Also, how does everyone like to cook salmon in the steam girl?  I was thinking of doing a very slow steam roast.

 

Have never used Smoking Gun so cannot help with that. 

 

I have tried a slower steam roast, but it's not my thing, would rather just do a proper poached salmon and add the aromatics, etc. And I like the idea of mi-cuit but usually want a quicker cook. We get a lot of salmon here, sometimes our neighbours show up with fish off the boat same-day and we just quickly marinate (or not) and cook at 400 or more at steam-broil. No matter how much I like the idea of other cooking methods, I always come back to that one for salmon. But I do use the CSO a lot for cooking it! 

 

 

[weinoo]

Well, my experiment was pretty much an abject failure.  Not that the salmon was bad, cooked at the lowest steam temp for about 20 minutes, the fish was delicious.

 

But after futzing around and loading (I believed) the oven with smoke form the smoking gun, I got barely any smoke flavor into the fish. The apartment smelled like a nice barbecue, however.

 

I've had much better success using my stovetop smoker.

 

@FauxPas That sounds great. I have a friend who lives in Bow, Washington, and he works with the native American tribe on fishery rites.  Every year, he's able to procure a fair amount of salmon at ridiculous prices. And he cooks/hot smokes them the old school way - or the Native American way - and they're delicious. Firm, flaky...and smoky!

[kayb]

12 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

Look what Mr. Kim got me for my birthday:

Now I have to read this whole frickin' thread! 

Whoo hoo! Welcome to the Dark Side!

 

Just remember to shield with foil anything that's too close to the top baking element. I use my CSO more than any appliance in my kitchen except for my coffee maker.

 

[blue_dolphin]

Another Happy Birthday, @Kim Shook!  I hope you will enjoy your CSO!  It's absolutely brilliant for reheating things, something that will probably come in handy even if you are not doing a ton of cooking due to the changes in your household.

 

6 minutes ago, kayb said:

I use my CSO more than any appliance in my kitchen except for my coffee maker.

I use my CSO more than any appliance in my kitchen.  MORE than my coffee maker !

 

[ElsieD]

I used the toast setting for the first time today to toast sourdough.  I set it to #5, and in went three pieces of bread.  At the end of the cycle, the smaller piece was close to burnt, the other two pieces had hardly any color to them and required further toasting which I did in the CSO.  When I asked my husband about the texture of the toast, he said it was dry almost all of the way through as opposed to having a moist centre when done in the toaster.  I know from reading this thread that people love CSO toast.  Based on this initial test, I fail to see why.

[blue_dolphin]

1 minute ago, ElsieD said:

I used the toast setting for the first time today to toast sourdough.  I set it to #5, and in went three pieces of bread.  At the end of the cycle, the smaller piece was close to burnt, the other two pieces had hardly any color to them and required further toasting which I did in the CSO.  When I asked my husband about the texture of the toast, he said it was dry almost all of the way through as opposed to having a moist centre when done in the toaster.  I know from reading this thread that people love CSO toast.  Based on this initial test, I fail to see why.

 

Better stick with your toaster if it works better for you!

 

Personally, I tossed my toaster as the CSO works so much better.  I usually start my toast on # 3, maybe #4 for thick, frozen bread.  Sometimes I give it another round on #1 if necessary.  

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, ElsieD said:

I used the toast setting for the first time today to toast sourdough.  I set it to #5, and in went three pieces of bread.  At the end of the cycle, the smaller piece was close to burnt, the other two pieces had hardly any color to them and required further toasting which I did in the CSO.  When I asked my husband about the texture of the toast, he said it was dry almost all of the way through as opposed to having a moist centre when done in the toaster.  I know from reading this thread that people love CSO toast.  Based on this initial test, I fail to see why.

 I think the secret is the bread needs some sugar. I tried toasting Kerry’s bread the other morning and I ended up with very pale rusks.   Commercially made white and multi-grain breads seems to toast wonderfully but anything that is low in sugar does not do well.

[rotuts]

@ElsieD

 

I find that a bit odd

 

I do appreciate  your result

 

take a single piece of fresh bread

 

with the crumb collector in palce

 

I don't think that changes thing

 

on the toast

 

but try again

 

# 5 can't incinerate any bread I have in mu Locale

 

and yes  

 

sugar give your browning

 

cheeers

[ElsieD]

Thank you @Anna N and @rotuts  The sugar thing makes sense.  I will try it again with commercially made bread.  I'll also try to remember to put the crumb collector in place.😳

[weinoo]

2 hours ago, ElsieD said:

Thank you @Anna N and @rotuts  The sugar thing makes sense.  I will try it again with commercially made bread.  I'll also try to remember to put the crumb collector in place.😳

Is the rack positioned properly for toasting? And there are so many other variables, just a few of which are mentioned above.  How thick is the bread, for instance?Fresh, frozen, day old, stale?  

 

I uusally start toasting on the 3 setting, and then add a #1 if it needs a little more.

[gfweb]

I wonder about rack position.. if that was right, I wonder if the unit is messed up 

[ElsieD]

This is the rack position, in the middle.  When I went to take the picture I discovered the crumb collector was in place.  The bread was thawed commercial sourdough between 1/2" and 3/4" thick.  It had been frozen for maybe a month.  That was the last of it so I can't measure it.  I will thaw a piece of Dave's killer bread, toast it, and see what happens.  I'll report back.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I am of the opinion my toaster gives better toast than the CSO.  Forgive me.  But the toaster is so buried in the bedroom I can't get to it.  (I can see it.)

 

And the CSO toast is adequate.

 

[rotuts]

@ElsieD

 

I don't think that's the correct position for bread.

 

go one slot down , but flip the tray

 

the flip part is a bit difficult to initially grasp , but it offers more total positions 

 

page 6 from the manual

 

 

I actually printed this and for a time had it above the CSO.

 

there are 4 final positions for the rack , but only two  levels on the sides.

 

 

 

Edited July 12, 2018 by rotuts (log)

[weinoo]

Interesting.  I read the manual as toasting goes in the middle rack position, and that's definitely the position of the rack in the oven in question.

 

I'm just jealous of how shiny clean ElsieD's oven is.

[rotuts]

I guess Ive been toasting wrong for some time.

 

I have noted that the bottom of my toasts are lighter than the tops.

 

the true middle of the space is  inverted rack , i.e.  " lower broiler position '  regarding their pics.

 

however , there are three heating elements on the top of the space , and two on the bottom.

 

I changed the rack position and have an experiment in the CSO as I type

 

result :

 

very even toast !

 

no Idea how long Ive been doing it wrong 

 

Edited July 12, 2018 by rotuts (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I had a CSO dream last night:  the price was $86!  (In real life at the moment it is $235.)

 

[Kerry Beal]

7 hours ago, weinoo said:

Interesting.  I read the manual as toasting goes in the middle rack position, and that's definitely the position of the rack in the oven in question.

 

I'm just jealous of how shiny clean ElsieD's oven is.

A clean oven is the sign of a sick mind! (adapted from a bumper sticker - that replaced oven with car)