Christmas dinner with our "toys".

[Anna N]

This interesting piece in The Post & Courier discusses the Joule, the Instant Pot and the Air Fryer and their potential role in the holiday feast. 

[rotuts]

interesting article  , thanks for the ref.

 

never occurred to me as Ive never run two SV'd at the same time that App controlled devices can only rein one.

 

very fairly reported.   loved the iPot review.  I know you can run more than one of those at a time

 

@Shelby  runs 6 or 7 at I time I believe.

Edited December 10, 2016 by rotuts (log)

[Anna N]

2 minutes ago, rotuts said:

interesting article  , thanks for the ref.

 

never occurred to me as Ive never run two SV'd at the same time that App controlled devices can only rein one.

 

very fairly reported.   loved the iPot review.  I know you can run more than one of those at a time

 

@Shelby  runs 6 or 7 at I time I believe.

 

That info about the Joule also struck me as odd. I, too, had never considered such a limitation. I did feel that anyone who was attempting to fry corn fritters from batter in the Air Fryer was either lacking in intelligence or desperate for filler for the article. 

[chromedome]

I did chuckle over her summation of the air fryer as "a glorified Easy-Bake oven."

[blue_dolphin]

5 minutes ago, chromedome said:

I did chuckle over her summation of the air fryer as "a glorified Easy-Bake oven."

 

And I laughed at this:  "the Instant Pot, a fearsome multipurpose tureen"

[rotuts]

 "the Instant Pot, a fearsome multipurpose tureen"

 

that's exactly what it is .

 

now lets get them to make their own MaxiVolume  basket which would sit on the trivet that comes with it.

[kayb]

28 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

And I laughed at this:  "the Instant Pot, a fearsome multipurpose tureen"

 

Lines like that are why some people write for the NYT and people like me work for 20 years in small-town dailies. Damn, I do admire someone who wields words like that!

 

[quiet1]

To be fair I am contemplating using SV for the main protein this year because it will hold so well if timing is a little off.

[btbyrd]

 

Thanks for posting this -- it was a fun read!

 

1 hour ago, rotuts said:

never occurred to me as Ive never run two SV'd at the same time that App controlled devices can only rein one.

 

For now. They're working on an update that will allow you to control multiple Joules from the same device. I expect that update should be coming quite soon... they've been "working on it" for a while now and there are many people who'd like to buy a second (or third or fourth) Joule.

[rotuts]

@quiet1 

 

make sure your timing is a little off on the ++ side if trendiness is something you home the SV to improve on.

 

or better yet , do it ahead just to your liking , do a rapid chill and refrigerate in the coldest part of your refrigerator and then just re-therm on the Big Day.

 

lost of other stuff to worry about that day.  but not the SV

[rotuts]

@ btbyrd  

 

interesting.  makes sense  if it just a software issue.  Im ordering how this works if they all are on a single WiFi ' spot '

 

probably have to update the SW in the hardware too.

 

if you hear how they plan to do this  Id be interested in it.   I have several Anova's so Im not in their market.  but curious.

[quiet1]

8 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@ btbyrd  

 

interesting.  makes sense  if it just a software issue.  Im ordering how this works if they all are on a single WiFi ' spot '

 

probably have to update the SW in the hardware too.

 

if you hear how they plan to do this  Id be interested in it.   I have several Anova's so Im not in their market.  but curious.

 

'Depends how the Joule is configured - all wifi chipsets have a unique address from when they pop out of the factory, so if the Joule is using that to say 'this is who I am' to the app, then all the changes should be on the app end as far as identifying more than one Joule. But if they didn't consider the possibility of people using more than one at a time, then they may have set it up differently, in which case they would need to upgrade the Joule internal software.

 

As far as my own plans - I have an Anova so it doesn't matter what they do with Joule.  But yes, I was planning on having the SV meat finish a little early and just hang out waiting for the rest of the stuff to be done. Though I'm thinking of doing beef tenderloin so I'm not sure how I will manage the post-SV sear. Maybe I can convince a helper to go out in the cold and get the grill going for a few minutes? (That's playing with fire, playing with fire is fun to do on a cold winter day, right?) Our exhaust fan is being crummy so I don't really want to smoke out the house searing on the stove.

[rotuts]

if you are using a gas grill, they don't get very hot unless you have a cast iron to get really really hot.

 

if doing tenderloin , make sure you pick a low temp for the SV

 

pat dry and torch very quickly ?

 

good luck

 

pls post your results !

[btbyrd]

If I need to sear anything that big, I put my baking steel on the grill and use it as a plancha.

 

But really, the center cut of the tenderloin isn't that big and you could sear it in a large skillet. If you're dealing with a whole tenderloin, that's where Activa can come in handy. Trim the membranes, cut off the ends, dust with Activa and stick the ends back on and roll up in plastic wrap so the entire tenderloin is the same thickness. After a night in the fridge, you can cut it in half and have 2 pan-searable "center cut-looking" tenderloin roasts. That's the route I'd take if I was going to serve a tenderloin roast for the holidays. 

Edited December 10, 2016 by btbyrd (log)

[gfweb]

11 hours ago, kayb said:

 

Lines like that are why some people write for the NYT and people like me work for 20 years in small-town dailies. Damn, I do admire someone who wields words like that!

 

I think you are much better than that writing... from what I've read from you.   I think that the piece is somewhat "over-written". Whenever writing style is so (painfully) obvious I think it is likely overdone. You don't know John Updyke is great instantly...it grows on you.

Edited December 11, 2016 by gfweb (log)

[Kerry Beal]

I wonder if one Joule could be run off my phone - the other off the hubbies?

[daveb]

A little problem with tense, but otherwise a good line.  "Then along came the Joule circulator (and its main rival, Anova)"

 

I tried once to drive two bluetooth Anovas with one phone/app.  Did not work out but didn't have time to play with it at the time and I've not had occasion to try again,

[quiet1]

23 hours ago, rotuts said:

if you are using a gas grill, they don't get very hot unless you have a cast iron to get really really hot.

 

if doing tenderloin , make sure you pick a low temp for the SV

 

pat dry and torch very quickly ?

 

good luck

 

pls post your results !

 

Charcoal grill. I do have a cast iron griddle thing I could put on it to heat up.

 

I'm waiting on confirmation from the family that no one is going to be horribly put out by beef for dinner instead of turkey or something (some people care more about food traditions than I do, and there are only 5 of us so I feel like it is reasonable to ask first) but if we do it, I will definitely report back.

 

Another reason for the SV is I can do a lower temp for the meat and still make sure it is cooked long enough to be safe for my mom, instead of having to turn her meat into hockey pucks. She's rather tired of having to get well done for safety.

 

CostCo almost always has really good tenderloin at good prices this time of year, so that is hard to pass up. Often I get more than one and freeze the rest as steaks or the trimmings for beef stroganoff, etc.

[MetsFan5]

Interesting article. I stalk my Amazon wish list (mainly so if I buy somethings on it for my husband's an delete them)but discovered I am getting this item:

 

Breville BOV450XL Mini Smart Oven with Element IQ

Edited December 15, 2016 by Smithy
Adjusted link to be Amazon-friendly (log)

[MetsFan5]

Just bought a 5qt Kichten Aid mixer for $250 in Amaxon prime in the color "cinnamon". It looks very pretty on my countertop. My inlaws gave us a check to by one two xmases ago since we traveled across the country and lugging it home was completely impractical. Well, I know my MIL will look for it as it will be my inlaws first time at our home (that we own not a rental) so we finally bought it. Now we just have USE it. 

Edited December 19, 2016 by MetsFan5 (log)

[paulraphael]

I'm packing my v.1 Anova to Chicago tomorrow. Going to turn some prime chuck into rib-eye surrogates and save my mom a couple of hundred bucks. This is one application where I'd be interested in the Joule ... it's tiny and would be great to travel with. Otherwise, I'm not too excited about being locked out of the thing if I don't have my phone / don't have a charge / the app's not working / there are wifi issues, etc. etc..

[rustwood]

Our big holiday meals now center around sous vide and a kamado grill because our faulty oven can't be repaired and can't be replaced without a kitchen remodel.  We are planning the remodel for the summer, but I will probably continue to do the big meals this way simply because it makes the timing so much easier. 

 

I am planning beef for Christmas.  I'd like to do chuck roast as per Chefsteps, but I didn't get around to trying it in advance so I am probably going to cave and play it safe with a rib roast instead.  I am mulling doing a small chuck roast in the same cooler though (different schedule).  If I do that I won't have to worry about a 4 bone rib roast not being big enough, plus then we can directly compare them.