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New Toy: Breville/Polyscience Control Freak!

CanadianHomeChef

By CanadianHomeChef
in Kitchen Consumer

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  • 2 weeks later...
CanadianHomeChef

CanadianHomeChef

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Any Control Freak plans for the Christmas season? I’ve been super busy at work (teaching), and I feel like I haven’t had the time to really play with my units. Looking forward to the free time to experiment :) the problem is choosing what to try 😂 

Sizzle and Sear

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IEATRIO

IEATRIO

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Posted (edited)

FYI, before anybody runs to buy the Breville, there is a new precision induction cooker on the imminent horizon.  I think I saw it on Chefsteps packaged with a Joule, (but can't find it at the moment, so maybe it was someplace else.  I think it's roughly $500.

 

I love the aesthetic and functional design of Breville stuff, but I feel very burned with my two malfunctioning SmartOvens with the identical start button defect and would think carefully before spending so much money on another one of their products.

Edited by IEATRIO (log)
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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

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Posted
34 minutes ago, IEATRIO said:

FYI, before anybody runs to buy the Breville, there is a new precision induction cooker on the imminent horizon.  I think I saw it on Chefsteps packaged with a Joule, (but can't find it at the moment, so maybe it was someplace else.  I think it's roughly $500.

 

I love the aesthetic and functional design of Breville stuff, but I feel very burned with my two malfunctioning SmartOvens with the identical start button defect and would think carefully before spending so much money on another one of their products.

 

 

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/153880-current-sales-deals-and-bargains-part-2/?do=findComment&comment=2180967

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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CanadianHomeChef

CanadianHomeChef

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Made some mushroom risotto on the Control Freaks for lunch today. Simmered a broth on one (207f), while I fried some mushrooms on the other (250f). Kept the broth warm (140f) and ladeled it onto the risotto at the end. 9089A364-DDC4-4589-A901-025F2A845715.thumb.jpeg.2d6bedf66192d599491fa1a04d08b561.jpeg00C023B1-A5CB-4CB2-AF50-12F5A5F119A3.thumb.jpeg.0d9132de26e508ff7f4133475b770415.jpeg75A7689B-DD75-4784-BC0C-FEB8B6AE6EF8.thumb.jpeg.694aaa1d376297c072c9dfb83d2e6786.jpeg13B41C94-ED14-4968-9E86-0D06EBC7DDBE.thumb.jpeg.ea7d822ae59473cd8f21ae513082c154.jpeg

 

ACCA79F8-F267-4004-A27A-DBB76C956306.jpeg

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Sizzle and Sear

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CanadianHomeChef

CanadianHomeChef

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Thinking about trying some slow cooker recipes on the Control Freak, using a enameled dutch oven. For temps, I'm going to use Cook's Illustrated's top rated slow cooker. They say that at "low" the cooker got to a max temp of 193.5°F. And at high 203.8°F. I will start with those temps, but may adjust as I'm at a relatively high altitude (Calgary), so simmering happens at different temps. Also on the Control Freak I expect consistency of temp, whereas in a crockpot it probably fluctuates a lot (meaning an overall lower average temp). But I think these two temps are a good place to start.

 

I'd also like to program a rice cooker temp. Already did one for my stove top pressure cooker. The Control Freak is making many of my counter top appliances redundant :)

Edited to add: Also might need to adjust temps a bit since Cook's Illustrated measured content temps, not pan temp. If I use a clad pan, fill it with water, and set the pan temp, I usually find the temperature of the water to eventually equal the pan temps (+ or - 1 degree). Thicker viscosity contents (e.g soups or stews), might be a few degrees off.  I could solve this by drilling a hole in my dutch oven to take a probe temp, but I don't really want to do that, and I really don't think slow cooking needs that kind of accuracy :P 

Edited by CanadianHomeChef (log)

Sizzle and Sear

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CanadianHomeChef

CanadianHomeChef

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6 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Depends what you are slow cooking.

 

 

True. And with the kind of precision and accuracy the Control Freak affords, I can get better results than traditional slow cooking. Just want a starting point for existing recipes though. Then I will adjust. 

Sizzle and Sear

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iPat

iPat

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I've done slow cooking in a dutch oven with limited success.

 

With the slow cooker, the heat comes from the side of the pot (cooking vessel) so the content is heated quite thoroughly.

 

With the Control Freak, the heat only comes from the bottom, and the top portion of the food stays under-cooked (tough).

 

It will work out a lot better if you use a braiser instead of the dutch oven.

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CanadianHomeChef

CanadianHomeChef

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On 12/12/2018 at 9:59 AM, iPat said:

I've done slow cooking in a dutch oven with limited success.

 

With the slow cooker, the heat comes from the side of the pot (cooking vessel) so the content is heated quite thoroughly.

 

With the Control Freak, the heat only comes from the bottom, and the top portion of the food stays under-cooked (tough).

 

It will work out a lot better if you use a braiser instead of the dutch oven.

Must depend on what you’re cooking? Most of the things I slow cook are submerged in a liquid. I have a stew going right now on the CF and the liquid matches the pan temp exactly. Any parts sticking out are in a steam environment heating it up. Once it starts to thicken up, maybe I’ll run into problems?

Edited by CanadianHomeChef (log)

Sizzle and Sear

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  • 2 weeks later...
chromedome

chromedome

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LOL "When you have a hammer..."


(Not judging even a little bit. I remember using my first Swiss Army knife for everything, up to and including giving my friend a haircut with those tiny scissors.)

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“Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too.” - William Cowper, The Task, Book Three

 

"Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition...The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning-Kruger club.” - psychologist David Dunning

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
iPat

iPat

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Posted
On 12/16/2018 at 3:24 AM, CanadianHomeChef said:

Must depend on what you’re cooking? Most of the things I slow cook are submerged in a liquid. I have a stew going right now on the CF and the liquid matches the pan temp exactly. Any parts sticking out are in a steam environment heating it up. Once it starts to thicken up, maybe I’ll run into problems?

 

 

Could be.

 

It also depends on the size of your dutch oven too I guess. I always cook in a giant one. LOL.

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  • 4 weeks later...
eugenep

eugenep

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I live in an apartment and my stove just broke - the main burner. 

 

So I can't sear things etc. anymore. 

 

My landlord likely won't fix it and I was planning to move soon anyway. 

 

I saw on a thread here that the Control Freak by Breville is good. Do you recommend any equipment or ideas? 

 

https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/breville-smart-cooker/?pkey=s|control freak|1

 

Do you know of anywhere I could get a good price in an emergency situation like this? I hate to buy something not on sale like this but..I"m really desperate (I can't cook anymore). 

 

Thank you

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Joe Blowe

Joe Blowe

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I like you. You need a burner to tide you over, and you go right to the top of the line :wink:

 

I used one of these during a protracted kitchen remodel, and got one of these towards the end of that remodel, just because.

 

P.S. The butane burner and cartridges are available at your local Asian market, or even a good sporting goods store.

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So we finish the eighteenth and he's gonna stiff me. And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money. But when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness."

So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.

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CanadianHomeChef

CanadianHomeChef

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Hey. I started the Control Freak thread. Got my first one in the summer  and my second one in the fall. Got both for a steal on eBay, but that was rare. I had been folllowing the price for 2 years and never saw it budge. 

 

 

I do know TesTek was selling the Canadian version for around $1700CAD which is a savings. Only difference I know between the US and Canadian one is it requires 20amp outlet. 

Sizzle and Sear

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