Cooking with the Anova Precision Oven: What did you make?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, TdeV said:

@JoNorvelleWalker, if you were (hypothetically) to have purchased a 5.5 quart All Clad (Second quality) Dutch Oven with a tall lid (because there are enablers all over eGullet) which just happens to fit inside the APO, would you use the Anova or your regular oven to cook a cassoulet (with the lid on, to start)?

 

Depending on the fit, I'd use the anova.  These days I don't use the big oven for anything beyond baked potatoes and pizza.  I've even switched to baking cookies in the APO.

 

[ElsieD]

I did up some carrots tonight using Anova Culinary instructions which were:  sous vide, 185F, Rear heat, 30 minutes.  On their picture, they had nice young carrots.  I had bagged carrots which meant they were BIG.  I. Cut them in half and in they went.  Hard as a rock after 30 minutes.  Added more time.  Took the bigger pieces out and halved them, so they were in quarters.  They were pulled at 70 minutes.  Not the best way to do carrots but I'm partly to blame as I should have cut them smaller.

 

I have not had the oven very long so it's all very new.

[TdeV]

I've a recipe for (dehydrating) carrots which requires the carrots to be blanched for <= 5 minutes first.

 

I'm thinking of using the APO to do the carrots.

 

Presumably APO 212ºF = boiling? Does one engage the sous vide function? Would you add any time to the blanching timeline in order to make up for the APO losing temp because the door has been opened to add the carrots?

 

[FeChef]

2 hours ago, TdeV said:

I've a recipe for (dehydrating) carrots which requires the carrots to be blanched for <= 5 minutes first.

 

I'm thinking of using the APO to do the carrots.

 

Presumably APO 212ºF = boiling? Does one engage the sous vide function? Would you add any time to the blanching timeline in order to make up for the APO losing temp because the door has been opened to add the carrots?

 

sous vide mode doesn't go above 212F

[JoNorvelleWalker]

3 hours ago, TdeV said:

I've a recipe for (dehydrating) carrots which requires the carrots to be blanched for <= 5 minutes first.

 

I'm thinking of using the APO to do the carrots.

 

Presumably APO 212ºF = boiling? Does one engage the sous vide function? Would you add any time to the blanching timeline in order to make up for the APO losing temp because the door has been opened to add the carrots?

 

 

If a recipe called for blanching I'd do it in a large pot of rapidly boiling water.  No disrespect to the APO.

 

[ElsieD]

I cooked a small prime rib roast (just over 3 pounds).  The settings were oven 152F, probe 133F, steam 100% and rear.  It took a little,e over 2 hours and was perfect.  We had some left over so it was reheated using the same settings.  That worked perfectly.

[KennethT]

4 hours ago, ElsieD said:

I cooked a small prime rib roast (just over 3 pounds).  The settings were oven 152F, probe 133F, steam 100% and rear.  It took a little,e over 2 hours and was perfect.  We had some left over so it was reheated using the same settings.  That worked perfectly.

What did the exterior of the roast look like after that?  Was it browned as it would be in a normal oven, or just kind of grey?

[ElsieD]

34 minutes ago, KennethT said:

What did the exterior of the roast look like after that?  Was it browned as it would be in a normal oven, or just kind of grey?

 

After it reached temperature, we took it out of the oven and preheated it to 475F, no steam, no probe.  When it was at temperature we stood the roast up and left it in the oven for 7 minutes.  It was brown but not as brown as it would have been seared in a hot pan on the stove.  Re-heating it did not change the colour.  I do like the sear the stove gives you and would brown it that way next time.  I got the instructions from the Anova site.  As an aside, the roast would not stand up for the browning part.  The solution was to put it in a taco holder.

[FeChef]

I had issues holding a prime rib roast following the 101 recipe on anova's site. Seems 132F in sous vide mode with 30% steam is more toward 136F. I was on pins and needles the entire 3 hour hold time i accounted for till  guests arrived. Had to keep reducing oven temp to 127F till the roast fell back down to 132F, but then it would start clibing down lower so i had to settle at around oven temp of 130F to keep the roast below 134F. It was fustrating, and im not sure how good this oven works for temp crucial holding.

Luckily all the guest preferred medium rare more on the medium side.

Edited January 12, 2023 by FeChef (log)

[FeChef]

I Have very late eating habits, so sometimes i have to order food before i actually want to eat due to them closing early, or in this case shutting their pressure fryers off at 6pm. That said, Now, yes i could hit up a KFC at 8pm and pay $30 for an 8pc, but i prefer to hit up my local grocery store and pay $8 for an 8pc. So i wanted to test the APO, and to my delight, non sous vide, no steam, 140F for 3 hours and i just tested a breast that was probed at 135F IT was still delicious and juicy. Slightly almost Original recipe texture, but so worth the savings.

Edited January 15, 2023 by FeChef (log)

[Rickbern]

I steamed couscous in mine. Swelled the grains two time at room temperature and then put it in 185 oven with steam for 15 minutes. Worked well. 

[ElsieD]

Is it a really, really bad idea to bake crème brûleè in the APO at 100% steam rather than cooking it in a water bath?

[TdeV]

Steam baked meatballs including 1.4 lb of ground pork, 1 lb ground beef, 1 cup matzo meal soaked in 1 cup milk, 1+ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, 1/2+ cup ground dried mushrooms, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons dried garlic, and 1 tablespoons each of basil and parsley. Used a 1.75" scoop to make 27 meatballs, then stored in fridge until ready. Oven set to 350ºF, rear convection. Used the probe set to 160ºF, took slightly longer than 10 minutes (wasn't checking, less than 20, I think). Anova says that these meatballs can be held indefinitely in Sous Vide Mode at 140ºF/50% steam.

 

I did not add additional salt (Andrea Gentl says ground mushroom can take place of salt) but these meatballs lacked pizazz.

 

 

Tomato sauce made in Instant Pot with the usual ingredients plus plenty of Zinfandel.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 19, 2023 by TdeV
Correcting amounts of ingredients (log)

[FeChef]

Asiago and olive oil Focaccia 

473F 20% steam for 20 min each. I pulled them at around 18 min.

I used Joshua Weismann's dough recipe with instant dry yeast no sour dough starter.

Makes two 10 inch rounds.

 

Edited January 20, 2023 by FeChef (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

7 hours ago, TdeV said:

Steam baked meatballs including 1.4 lb of ground pork, 1 lb ground beef, 1 cup matzo meal soaked in 1 cup milk, 1+ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, 1/2+ cup ground dried mushrooms, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons dried garlic, and 1 tablespoons each of basil and parsley. Used a 1.75" scoop to make 27 meatballs, then stored in fridge until ready. Oven set to 350ºF, rear convection. Used the probe set to 160ºF, took slightly longer than 10 minutes (wasn't checking, less than 20, I think). Anova says that these meatballs can be held indefinitely in Sous Vide Mode at 140ºF/50% steam.

 

I did not add additional salt (Andrea Gentl says ground mushroom can take place of salt) but these meatballs lacked pizazz.

 

 

Tomato sauce made in Instant Pot with the usual ingredients plus plenty of Zinfandel.

 

 

 

 

 

The meatballs look like they could have been browned more thoroughly.  And I question that ground mushrooms can really take the place of salt.  Nonetheless, I would not mind eating them.

 

 

[TdeV]

10 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

The meatballs look like they could have been browned more thoroughly. 

 

They were done with the probe to 160ºF, using the middle rack and rear convection oven. How would you have finished them?

[ElsieD]

Has anyone tried using 100% steam to make crème brûlèe rather than putting the ramekins in  water bath?

[Kerry Beal]

40 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

Has anyone tried using 100% steam to make crème brûlèe rather than putting the ramekins in  water bath?

Yup - steam for 25 minutes. 

[ElsieD]

7 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

Yup - steam for 25 minutes. 

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[Kerry Beal]

7 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Steamed a couple of flan yesterday in my CSO. Never going back to water bath!

 

I use the little silicone cup covers to keep the steam out of each of the little cups. Much cheaper than these of course

Edited January 22, 2023 by Kerry Beal (log)

[ElsieD]

10 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

Steamed a couple of flan yesterday in my CSO. Never going back to water bath!

 

I use the little silicone cup covers to keep the steam out of each of the little cups. Much cheaper than these of course

 

I actually have a couple of those.  I know where one is, I'll have to dig out the others.  And no, I didn't pay that price for them either.

[KennethT]

1 hour ago, Kerry Beal said:

Steamed a couple of flan yesterday in my CSO. Never going back to water bath!

 

I use the little silicone cup covers to keep the steam out of each of the little cups. Much cheaper than these of course

What about a bit of aluminum foil?

[ElsieD]

On 1/22/2023 at 6:21 PM, Kerry Beal said:

Yup - steam for 25 minutes. 

 

I forgot to ask, now that I found a recipe I want to make.  At what temperature and does rack position matter?  And about how long for single size servings?

[TdeV]

I'm going to sous vide some halibut this evening in the Anova.

 

My recipe calls for painting with mayonnaise and then dusting with a spice mixture (lemon zest, dehydrated minced garlic and onion, fresh pepper, bit of dill .

 

If I sous vide in the APO for 25 minutes at 100% steam, will the steam rinse off the spice mixture?

 

(Also 115ºF, rear heat, rack #2. When done I will add roasted, chopped pecans)

 

 

Edited February 25, 2023 by TdeV
Added full details (log)

[ElsieD]

1 hour ago, TdeV said:

I'm going to sous vide some halibut this evening in the Anova.

 

My recipe calls for painting with mayonnaise and then dusting with a spice mixture (lemon zest, dehydrated minced garlic and onion, fresh pepper, bit of dill .

 

If I sous vide in the APO for 25 minutes at 100% steam, will the steam rinse off the spice mixture?

 

(Also 115ºF, rear heat, rack #2. When done I will add roasted, chopped pecans)

 

 

 

I have done fish glazed with a hoisin-based sauce.  It was glazed before it went in and most of it fell off.  I think that was because the fish had been previously frozen and as it exuded moisture, the glaze went with it.  My experience may or may not be helpful.