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New Toy: Breville/Polyscience Control Freak!

CanadianHomeChef

By CanadianHomeChef
in Kitchen Consumer

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ElsieD

ElsieD

Posted
Posted

Today I decided to use the Control Freak to sous vide a strip loin.  I set the probe to 133 and set the timer  for an hour and a half. When time was up I  set my Lodge cast iron pan on the CF and set the temperature to 450.  The steak was dried well and seasoned and when the temperature hit 450 in went the oil followed by the steak.  It took maybe a minute, minute and a half to sear.  It was done the way we like it.  The picture is of the end product - the lighting in the picture is not very good.

20181106_185130.jpg

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gfweb

gfweb

Posted
Posted
On 10/30/2018 at 8:26 AM, NoahWhey said:

New Control Freak owner here.  I would love to see a forum/webpage/dropbox for shared recipe files.  I'm actually a little surprised Breville hasn't set something like this up.

 

I bought mine off Ebay.  I got a deal, but not quite as good a deal as CanadianHomeChef did.  I'm still thrilled with the unit!  So far, I've not done anything terribly exotic with it, but just being able to cook things to the exact doneness I want is a wonderful feature.  Looking forward to frying, poaching, butter poaching, making sauces, and all sorts of other things with it.  It's an absolute pleasure to use.

 

eG is perfect for this very thing. Prowl around and see what has been done for sous vide recipes and methods.

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Smithy

Smithy

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47 minutes ago, gfweb said:

 

eG is perfect for this very thing. Prowl around and see what has been done for sous vide recipes and methods.

 

In addition, if you develop a recipe that you'd like to share, feel free to post it in RecipeGullet.

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iPat

iPat

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Really glad I found this thread. I've been using this thing pretty much since it came out, and I have always thought that I was the only one using it, since I could never found anyone talking about using it anywhere 😕

 

Not only that, to find someone else that actually has 2 units like myself is definitely mind blowing 😲

 

Thanks for the tip about getting the firmware. I've been looking for it forever. Didn't know I was supposed to contact Breville for it. I wonder why they don't just let you download it yourself...

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CanadianHomeChef

CanadianHomeChef

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Posted
10 hours ago, ElsieD said:

 

That looks good.  I take it that 325F is the best temperature or would you dial it up or down next time?

I read somewhere that the sugars begin to caramelise at 320. It seemed to have worked well but I’d like to experiment a bit more. 

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ElsieD

ElsieD

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23 hours ago, iPat said:

Really glad I found this thread. I've been using this thing pretty much since it came out, and I have always thought that I was the only one using it, since I could never found anyone talking about using it anywhere 😕

 

Not only that, to find someone else that actually has 2 units like myself is definitely mind blowing 😲

 

Thanks for the tip about getting the firmware. I've been looking for it forever. Didn't know I was supposed to contact Breville for it. I wonder why they don't just let you download it yourself...

 

I am a Luddite when it comes to computers.  At the risk of embarrassing myself what is firmware as it relates to the control freak?

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chromedome

chromedome

Posted
Posted

It's the built-in software that determines how the beastie operates.

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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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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

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2 hours ago, CanadianHomeChef said:

Smothered chicken. Cooked slowly in butter at 266F (temp at which butter browns) for 50 minutes. Final 30 minutes of cooking at 205 in a gravy. 

40E4903C-F9A1-4BAC-980C-EB3AF3FB04B3.jpeg

 

What happened to the cooking butter?  Did it wind up in the gravy?

 

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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ElsieD

ElsieD

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On 11/15/2018 at 10:01 PM, chromedome said:

It's the built-in software that determines how the beastie operates.

 

Thank you.  I guess I don't understand @iPat 's question.  Why would you need to download firmware to make this thing work?  I mean, mine worked right out of the box.  Am I missing something here?  (That would not be improbable.)

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ElsieD

ElsieD

Posted
Posted
On 11/15/2018 at 8:23 PM, CanadianHomeChef said:

I read somewhere that the sugars begin to caramelise at 320. It seemed to have worked well but I’d like to experiment a bit more. 

 

I just tried caramalizing some onions @325.  They burnt.  Pot is soaking in the sink and will try again in an hour or so.

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chromedome

chromedome

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44 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

 

Thank you.  I guess I don't understand @iPat 's question.  Why would you need to download firmware to make this thing work?  I mean, mine worked right out of the box.  Am I missing something here?  (That would not be improbable.)

 

The built-in code that makes a piece of equipment run can often be improved over time, as bugs are discovered or new features/abilities are written. If that device is designed in such a way that the firmware can be upgraded, it means the user can expect its usability to improve over time.

A recent example is Tesla sending out an over-the-air upgrade to car owners in the path of the autumn's hurricanes, so they'd have extended range while getting out of Dodge.

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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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ElsieD

ElsieD

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2 hours ago, chromedome said:

 

The built-in code that makes a piece of equipment run can often be improved over time, as bugs are discovered or new features/abilities are written. If that device is designed in such a way that the firmware can be upgraded, it means the user can expect its usability to improve over time.

A recent example is Tesla sending out an over-the-air upgrade to car owners in the path of the autumn's hurricanes, so they'd have extended range while getting out of Dodge.

 

That is such a good explanation that even I can understand it.  Thank you.

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chromedome

chromedome

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Posted

LOL "It's my job, ma'am. It's what I do." :)

(Literally...as a freelance writer, I get paid to explain stuff.)

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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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iPat

iPat

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Sorry I'm always late to answer the questions. But chromedome did all the answering so well I have nothing to add!

 

By the way, I still have yet to acquire the firmware; the Breville live chat is always unavailable when I'm free to chat with them 😑

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ElsieD

ElsieD

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Posted (edited)
On 11/23/2018 at 4:15 AM, iPat said:

Sorry I'm always late to answer the questions. But chromedome did all the answering so well I have nothing to add!

 

By the way, I still have yet to acquire the firmware; the Breville live chat is always unavailable when I'm free to chat with them 😑

 

@iPat Try sending an email to David.Pietranczyk@polyscienceculinary.com

 

Edited by ElsieD (log)
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ElsieD

ElsieD

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Clarified a pound of unsalted butter.  Set it at 240F for 20 minutes and ignored it until the buzzer went off.  Skimmed off the white stuff and poured it into a Mason jar.  When I started to pour you could see through it, it was crystal clear.  I then managed to bump the pot and a bit of the dregs got mixed up in it so the end result is not quite as clear.  Still, the process was nice and easy.

 

 

20181126_192135.jpg

Edited by ElsieD (log)
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