Cuisinart Combo Steam/Convection Oven (Part 3)

[Okanagancook]

I put the pizza on foil then on the rack with the u down and on the highest rack position.

[Kim Shook]

I did more chicken pieces in the CSO last night.  Cooked legs and thighs at 400F on the bake/steam function for about 20-25 minutes.  I took it out before it got to 165F and brushed with a mixture of BBQ sauce and honey, then broiled it until slightly charred.  It was SO moist.  The skin was crispy from the first cook and, of course, less so after being bathed in BBQ sauce, but not flabby or unpleasant.

[weinoo]

On 9/2/2019 at 8:17 PM, blue_dolphin said:

Hmmm.  I always do chicken thighs, bone in, skin on, on steam bake @ 425 F for 20 - 30 min, depending on size.  Since the steam avoids drying, I'm not sure I see the value in the proposed hybrid system.

 

The way I do them as well.  The pre-salting is nice too.

Edited September 7, 2019 by weinoo (log)

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Hey...woohoo...whatever you call reason for celebration.    Grilled a batch of vegetables.   Removed them from grill pan early.   Held and continued cooking in the CSO.    300degrees for 45 minutes.    Chops cooked stovetop joined with perfectly cooked veg.   

 

Not rocket science, but a start.   

[Kim Shook]

Roasting a whole chicken in the CSO tomorrow.  I plan to salt it and leave it uncovered in the fridge early in the day.  My sister from Florida is coming tomorrow for 3 days.  And possibly another sister from MD is coming with her for just tomorrow.  And then another sister from VA Beach may come on Wednesday - or 1st sister may go visit 3rd sister in VA Beach if 1st sister isn't too tired.  No one can seem to make up their minds.  😬 We need a hair pulling emoji.  I'm trying to prepare for I don't know how many sisters.  Food is an issue and everyone eats roast chicken (they are British).  Sister 3 is very picky and eats only very, very plain food and almost no veggies.  Sister 1 used to be in a cult and doesn't eat pork or shellfish.  

 

Sorry for the meltdown.  As you can see, I'm driving myself crazy and left everything WAY too late.  What I need are any tips for cooking a whole chicken.  I've never done it in the CSO before and wanted to know if there's anything I should do out of the ordinary.  Thanks so much!!!!

[Shelby]

46 minutes ago, Kim Shook said:

Roasting a whole chicken in the CSO tomorrow.  I plan to salt it and leave it uncovered in the fridge early in the day.  My sister from Florida is coming tomorrow for 3 days.  And possibly another sister from MD is coming with her for just tomorrow.  And then another sister from VA Beach may come on Wednesday - or 1st sister may go visit 3rd sister in VA Beach if 1st sister isn't too tired.  No one can seem to make up their minds.  😬 We need a hair pulling emoji.  I'm trying to prepare for I don't know how many sisters.  Food is an issue and everyone eats roast chicken (they are British).  Sister 3 is very picky and eats only very, very plain food and almost no veggies.  Sister 1 used to be in a cult and doesn't eat pork or shellfish.  

 

Sorry for the meltdown.  As you can see, I'm driving myself crazy and left everything WAY too late.  What I need are any tips for cooking a whole chicken.  I've never done it in the CSO before and wanted to know if there's anything I should do out of the ordinary.  Thanks so much!!!!

Hi Kim!  I would be a nut, too.  Hang in there.  Drink wine.

 

Here is a link to my first chicken done in the CSO and I've done it the same way ever since--steam bake at 450F for about 50 mins (depending on how big the chicken is)--I use my thermapen to make sure the internal temp is 165F.

 

I like the crispy crispy skin, but if you leave it uncovered the whole time, it will be burned.  So, I cover it with foil--just a square laid on the top of the chicken, and then take it off when there is about 20-30 mins left.  Or you can do it the reverse way, but it's easier to put the foil on before it's so hot in there.

[Kim Shook]

@Shelby - thank you so much!  That is exactly what I want mine to look like, so that's what I'll do.  Minus the wet brine.  No time (or refrigerator room) for that.  My rotisserie oven hasn't been out of the attic for over 3 years.  I think I need to find someone to give it to.  

[Shelby]

3 minutes ago, Kim Shook said:

My rotisserie oven hasn't been out of the attic for over 3 years.

I haven't used mine since the CSO.  Cover the tray with foil and you'll have less clean up too  

[JoNorvelleWalker]

For a large whole chicken I'd be inclined to use my rotisserie.

 

[Kim Shook]

Flying eG visit (my sister is still here), but wanted to say my chicken was fantastic.  Sister envious of my CSO.  Mr. Kim worked late, so ate his chicken cold and raved about how moist it still was!  Thank you, as always, @Shelby!!!!!

[Shelby]

2 minutes ago, Kim Shook said:

Flying eG visit (my sister is still here), but wanted to say my chicken was fantastic.  Sister envious of my CSO.  Mr. Kim worked late, so ate his chicken cold and raved about how moist it still was!  Thank you, as always, @Shelby!!!!!

You've got me wanting roasted chicken now.  So glad it was good  

[KennethT]

I reheated 3 NY style pizza slices last night (from the refrigerator) - one at a time, all done on the rack over the square pan...  I first tried it at 425 steam-bake for 5 minutes.  Reheating was even, but it came out very floppy - not quite damp, but certainly not like the original.  #2 was started at 425 convection bake, but the edges started bubbling way before the center, so I dropped it down to 300F, which seemed to be the winner for slice #3 - 300F for about 4-5 minutes on conv bake...

[dtremit]

2 hours ago, KennethT said:

I reheated 3 NY style pizza slices last night (from the refrigerator) - one at a time, all done on the rack over the square pan...  I first tried it at 425 steam-bake for 5 minutes.  Reheating was even, but it came out very floppy - not quite damp, but certainly not like the original.  #2 was started at 425 convection bake, but the edges started bubbling way before the center, so I dropped it down to 300F, which seemed to be the winner for slice #3 - 300F for about 4-5 minutes on conv bake...

 

To get a crispy crust on steam bake, I think you'd want to use a pan, rather than the rack. I've noticed that things flat against a pan tend to brown much more than exposed surfaces. A little counterintuitive relative to standard ovens.

[KennethT]

When reheating leftovers, how do people usually do it?  Our typical routine is to put the leftovers (from dinner, say) on the original dinner plate - this gets covered with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator.  To reheat, we just put the dinner plate in the microwave.  I assume one couldn't put a standard dinner plate from the refrigerator into the CSO... so would we need to put the leftovers in an oven-safe dish to reheat?

[blue_dolphin]

53 minutes ago, KennethT said:

When reheating leftovers, how do people usually do it?  Our typical routine is to put the leftovers (from dinner, say) on the original dinner plate - this gets covered with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator.  To reheat, we just put the dinner plate in the microwave.  I assume one couldn't put a standard dinner plate from the refrigerator into the CSO... so would we need to put the leftovers in an oven-safe dish to reheat?

 

I suppose it depends on the dishes in question.  The bowls I use for pasta have no problem going from the fridge into a room temp CSO, then turning it on to steam-bake @ 250 or 275°F.  Usually takes ~ 8 min for one serving.  
The same is true for most of the plates I've tried.  I don't have any fine china nor have I subjected anything delicate to that treatment.

Often, I prefer to heat things separately.  Say, rice in one bowl and a saucy meat or veg dish in another.  In such cases, I usually store the leftovers in various Corning or Pyrex dishes that I know can handle the temp. 

[gfweb]

I have a bunch of 25 year old Lean Cuisine melamine plates that are perfect for CSO leftovers. 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

We transfer leftovers to small Corningware pieces that have no problem with temperature shock, fridge to microwave or oven.   

[weinoo]

I'm a fan of using cazuelas for reheating.  And I have some 1-quart, enameled cast-iron Le Crueset oval bakers, which are also just perfect.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

27 minutes ago, weinoo said:

I'm a fan of using cazuelas for reheating.  And I have some 1-quart, enameled cast-iron Le Crueset oval bakers, which are also just perfect.

 

I'm afraid of putting (cold) clay from fridge to oven.    Am I wrong?

 

[weinoo]

6 hours ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

 

I'm afraid of putting (cold) clay from fridge to oven.    Am I wrong?

 

I don't store stuff in the cazuela - I store it in storage containers, then I put it into the cazuela, which goes into a cold oven and start the oven then - it's fine.

 

But yeah, don't move cold clay to hot oven, or vice versa.

[Kim Shook]

I've taken to buying different sizes of covered Pyrex like this.  

[JoNorvelleWalker]

45 minutes ago, Kim Shook said:

I've taken to buying different sizes of covered Pyrex like this.  

 

I wonder if those containers are Pyrex or real Pyrex?  I recently purchased a German pan with glass lid labeled Pyrex.  Hoping my lid is real Pyrex.

 

Pyrex is something I've hesitated to use in the CSO.  Perhaps I'm over cautious.

 

[Kim Shook]

1 hour ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

I wonder if those containers are Pyrex or real Pyrex?  I recently purchased a German pan with glass lid labeled Pyrex.  Hoping my lid is real Pyrex.

 

Pyrex is something I've hesitated to use in the CSO.  Perhaps I'm over cautious.

 

Honestly, I wouldn't know the difference.  Mine were bought at Walmart and have all the Pyrex company wrapping and paper labels.  I've never had any trouble with them in the CSO.  Isn't it made to go in the oven??

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, Kim Shook said:

Honestly, I wouldn't know the difference.  Mine were bought at Walmart and have all the Pyrex company wrapping and paper labels.  I've never had any trouble with them in the CSO.  Isn't it made to go in the oven??

 

When Corning made Pyrex it was borosilicate.  In the US Pyrex is now usually ordinary tempered glass.

 

[dtremit]

7 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

When Corning made Pyrex it was borosilicate.  In the US Pyrex is now usually ordinary tempered glass.

 

 

The risk for soda glass Pyrex is pretty specific -- rapid cooling of a hot pan. As I understand it, you're more at risk taking it *out* of the oven than putting it in. I always try to put hot pyrex on a dry, insulated surface (like a cork trivet) when it first comes out of the oven to avoid any issues. 

I'll probably buy borosilicate going forward (there's lots available to buy), but I have a lot of Pyrex already, and this has always served me well.