Jump to content

  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

New Toy: Breville/Polyscience Control Freak!

CanadianHomeChef

By CanadianHomeChef
in Kitchen Consumer

 Share

Recommended Posts

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

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites
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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted
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.

  • Like 2

Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
Host, eG Forums - nsmith@egstaff.org

Follow us on social media! Facebook; instagram.com/egulletx

"Every day should be filled with something delicious, because life is too short not to spoil yourself. " -- Ling (with permission)
"There comes a time in every project when you have to shoot the engineer and start production." -- author unknown

Link to comment
Share on other sites
iPat

iPat

Posted
Posted

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...

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
CanadianHomeChef

CanadianHomeChef

Posted
  • Topic Starter
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. 

Sizzle and Sear

Owner/Editor

https://www.sizzleandsear.com/

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ElsieD

ElsieD

Posted
Posted
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?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
chromedome

chromedome

Posted
Posted

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

  • Like 2

“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

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
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

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ElsieD

ElsieD

Posted
Posted
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.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
chromedome

chromedome

Posted
Posted
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.

  • Like 2

“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

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ElsieD

ElsieD

Posted
Posted
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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
chromedome

chromedome

Posted
Posted

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

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

  • Like 2

“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

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
iPat

iPat

Posted
Posted

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 😑

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ElsieD

ElsieD

Posted
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)
Link to comment
Share on other sites
ElsieD

ElsieD

Posted
Posted (edited)

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)
  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...