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

[palo]

Second time around with the "Roast Chicken 101" recipe and the LAST time.

 

Turned out not as well as the first, but the smoke, grease splatter and resultant odors in kitchen and oven have taken this item off the menu permanently!

 

 Anyone else tried this and what was your experience?

 

As an aside, the next day I did baguettes:

 

Dough in Zojirushi BB-HAC10 (https://www.zojirushi.com/app/recipe/baguette)

 

Then proofed and baked in APO using the "Baguette 101" recipe.

 

Worked well, but reduced the browning stage to about 6 minutes as they were over-browning.

 

p

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I came here to say how good the pizza reheating was -- but I see I already said it three posts previously.

 

[palo]

If it's worth saying, it's worth repeating 👅

 

p

[mgaretz]

3 hours ago, palo said:

If it's worth saying, it's worth repeating 👅

 

p

You can say that again……

[palo]

5 hours ago, palo said:

If it's worth saying, it's worth repeating 👅

 

p

Okay

 

p

[TdeV]

I have some chicken drumsticks marinating in the fridge. I'd like to do them in the APO. My thought was to cook them with high steam with the probe and then to crank up the heat to get some caramelization.

 

My questions:

- how much steam in the first phase? (I thought 80%)

- probe for internal temperature (first phase) at what temp? (143°F?)

- oven temp to finish (I thought 456°F)

 

Thoughts?

[palo]

Check out the Roast Chicken 101 recipe - works really well, except...

 

One issue on the finish - grease, oil splatter & smoke in oven and kitchen

 

Go ahead if you have lots of Easy Off on hand.

 

p

[TdeV]

There are several "chicken" and "101" recipes on Anova's recipe list, @palo.  I'm assuming that you meant the Chicken Leg 101 as the closest choice?

 

Thanks for the reminder. I did something some time ago that required major volumes of Easy Off.

P.S. We really need a self-cleaning cycle!

Edited June 13, 2021 by TdeV
Punctuation (log)

[palo]

I didn't realize there was one drumsticks specifically the one I was referring to was:

 

https://oven.anovaculinary.com/recipe/wttK3xUw6HH3zPw5XOzL

 

I chose the more "traditional" target temp of 155F and was quite pleased with the result - comments weren't too supportive of the lower target (each to his own) - the recipe is a winner, but cleanup is not.

 

p

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I reheated more pizza tonight.  As good as the preprogrammed pizza reheating function is, 175C at 20 percent steam is better.  But you have to watch it like a hawk and pull the pizza as soon as the cheese begins to melt.

 

[cyalexa]

I'm ready to start using my new APO. I have a couple packages of lamb shoulder chops in the fridge that need to be used. I had a curry in mind but am considering a sous vide approach in my new toy tool. Has anyone done that? I searched here and other places and came up with 132F for 2 hours but that's what I use for rib chops and don't think shoulder chops would be tender in 2 hrs and that temp seem a bit low for that cut. What have you done/would you do?

 

[cyalexa]

3/4-inch thick lamb shoulder chops at 140F for 5 hours were about right. I cut the meat into chunks for a curry. If I was going to sear and eat as a chop I think a slightly lower temp for a longer time might be better. 

Used as a proofing box yesterday and today to wake up some sourdough starter. It seemed to have a hard time maintaining 77F at 100% humidity. The temp was usually at least 80F, especially the first few hours. No harm done at that temp of course. I left the starter uncovered as I saw somewhere that a cover was unnecessary. A crust formed on the top and the volume was less than expected after 12 hours. The starter was fine and bubbly underneath the crust. I covered the next step (levain) and the dough while it was proofing. 

 

I'm keeping the CSO for toast and quick reheats, and because it is in a more convenient location that is not large enough for the APO. I may get rid of my Brod & Taylor proofing box, or maybe repurpose it to give bottom heat to seedlings or ginger root. 

[BetD]

After letting the beast settle into it’s new spot for a couple days, I tried something very safe from the app’s recipe list, just to get a sense of how it should be used. I made a basic sandwich loaf and now feel ready to try making my usual sandwich bread in it.  The next fling will be baguettes.

 

 

Edited November 24, 2021 by BetD (log)

[FlashJack]

22 minutes ago, BetD said:

a basic sandwich loaf

That is beautiful. Best wishes for your new adventure. You will love it.

[Wisp]

I played with making bagels in the APO last year. Made these by steaming in the oven instead of boiling, and then baking in the APO also. I've never had a true NYC bagel, so no idea how they compare. The bottoms were a bit pale, the tops were crackly in a fun way, and there are little bubbles all over the top! No seeds or toppings, just bubble. I need to try these again sometime.

 

My picture broke; hopefully this one will work better.

Edited December 8, 2021 by Wisp (log)

[Wisp]

On 4/26/2021 at 11:39 AM, Lord_Pall said:

Now here's the question(s) - 

 

Baked a cake in it last night for my Son's birthday. 350, no steam, top and bottom. Cake cooked too fast. Rose super fast, and the edges were overcooked before the center finished. Still tasty though.

 

I know you can adapt a cake recipe to a steam oven. But what about a cake in sous vide mode? 210 until cooked, then bump temp to get a bit of crust if you want that? lower temp with steam? Combination of heat and steam?

 

Can you sous vide a cake? Can you sous vide a cake with no steam to avoid it being a steamed pudding?

 

I feel like there's some oddball cooking processes I could try out here that might make a better cake. 

 

Hi, I'm new here, and noticed your post back in April. I thought you might be interested in an APO cake test that I did a while back, using boxed cake mix. My DH bought three box mixes, to lure me into experimenting.

 

Unfortunately I can't find any photos [edit: found photos, if anybody is interested], but here are my notes. I baked them to temperature, so I wouldn't need to keep letting the steam out to check with a toothpick. I started with a 9" cake pan, then switched to 8" because two 8" will fit on a singe APO rack. The "one large crack" mentioned in the notes was actually a rift that reached to the bottom of the pan, and was maybe 5" long; but hey, the cake was done in 14 minutes instead of 29!

 

The cake baked very nicely at 300°F/60% steam, with the 8" pan taking a couple minutes longer to bake than the 9" pan. It would be interesting to know how well this temperature and humidity setting does for other box mixes and homemade cakes.

 

Cake test notes:

cake is done at 200-210°F

Bake cakes at 300°F/60% steam 

 

Duncan Hines Classic Yellow Cake Mix, 930 g when mixed, 465 g per cake

 

9” pan

 

212°F/100% steam 14 min: 

pale, odd looking, one large crack, very homogenous texture; I think it was at 200°F

 

350°F/40% steam 10 min: 

appeared done, but not 200°F, was raw in center 1.5” cylinder, golden brown, better taste than 212 cake where cooked

 

320°F/100% steam cracked 12 min: 

pale, multiple large cracks, a bit dry even though took out at 200°F internal temp

 

300°F/60% steam 15 min: perfect; very lightly browned, moist, no cracks, even texture but in a somehow better way than the 212 cake. 

 

8” pan

300°F/60% steam; 16-17 min, 205° doneness

 

Box instruction: 350°F/0% steam 29-33 min / 34-38

Edited December 8, 2021 by Wisp (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Has anyone else tried the new (11/17/2021) anova Toast 2.0 recipe?  It is said to work well with split English muffins.  Well, it wasn't.  At least not for me.  I like my English muffins soft on the inside, and these were crunchy through and through.  Plus the recipe took 10 minutes.  I haven't gotten great results from the anova Toast 101 recipe either.  However the Toast 101 recipe makes no claims for English muffins.

 

In defense of the Toast 2.0 recipe, my English muffins looked unappetizingly like the toast pictured in the app, so perhaps the problem is with my expectations.

 

[cyalexa]

A Pike's Peak roast was tossed in as a freebie on a recent order from the farmer from whom I buy my beef. It's a pyramid-shaped roast from the bottom round. It has minimal marbling and connective tissue and weighs about 3 lbs. I want to try to sous vide at 135 F, in a bag, in my APO and slice it thin for sandwiches. I am not sure how long I should cook it. Recipes for chuck roasts (which are a different shape and have marbling and connective tissue) range from 24-36 hours, depending on the source. I'm interested in suggestions. 

 

BTW, I didn't like the fan running while proofing dough so put a shallow dish of previously heated water on a low shelf, the bowl (covered) with the dough on the shelf above the water. Bottom heat, 78F, sous vide and fan off. Works well for me.

[Kerry Beal]

4 hours ago, cyalexa said:

A Pike's Peak roast was tossed in as a freebie on a recent order from the farmer from whom I buy my beef. It's a pyramid-shaped roast from the bottom round. It has minimal marbling and connective tissue and weighs about 3 lbs. I want to try to sous vide at 135 F, in a bag, in my APO and slice it thin for sandwiches. I am not sure how long I should cook it. Recipes for chuck roasts (which are a different shape and have marbling and connective tissue) range from 24-36 hours, depending on the source. I'm interested in suggestions. 

 

BTW, I didn't like the fan running while proofing dough so put a shallow dish of previously heated water on a low shelf, the bowl (covered) with the dough on the shelf above the water. Bottom heat, 78F, sous vide and fan off. Works well for me.

Here's my notes on eye of round - Finally got around to the test of combining CI's method with sous vide. Trimmed some of the big fat cap, left enough for later. Salted for 24 hours, bagged and cooked at 58 C for about 36 hours. Cooled and browned off on the Big Green Egg. Something between 24 and 36 is probably ideal as 36 hours was approaching mushy. 

[ElsieD]

I did an eye of round and what worked for me was 24 hours at 132F.  It was used for sandwiches.

[palo]

Two things:

 

1. Wanted to be the first to post in this forum in 2022

 

2. Melba (like?) toast - cut sliced bread (rye/pumpernickel etc) into pieces - 125F - bottom heat - 1 to 2 hours (until dry - no moisture)

 

Great as an inexpensive cracker - buy day-old as even cheaper

 

p

 

Edit: Did I mention no steam and prop door ajar - should've

 

p

Edited January 1, 2022 by palo (log)

[Muffinzz]

I purchased an APO thanksgiving weekend but got a lemon that wouldn’t connect to WiFi. Even with the good customer service, because of the holidays my replacement arrived this weekend. The good news - I got a new build with the black plastic casing around the reservoir, so fingers crossed for durability! My first experiment was the challah from Babish. I overkneaded a bit, but the overall product was tasty and got very good oven spring with the steam. Not bad for my first braiding! 

Edited January 3, 2022 by Muffinzz (log)

[cyalexa]

Aldi occasionally has lamb racks for $9.99. After an APO sous vide session they were seared on my gas grill (upside down grill grates). Really good and no cumbersome bag!

Edited January 8, 2022 by cyalexa
clarity (log)

[andrewk512]

Host's note: the "thanks" sentence refers to a discussion here about using demineralized water and where to find it.

 

Thanks everyone! My container of demineralized water is holding out, but at least I know where to look when it runs out.

 

Does anyone find steaming in the APO insufficient from a moisture standpoint? I think the mandatory oven fan with the steam function is drying things out. I just did presoaked pearl barley at 100C 100% steam as per the Noma guide and it dried out. I also had issues with my koji growing at 30C and 100% RH where the cloth wrapping the koji also dried out and required spraying with water. I am now going to add a bit of water to the pan when steaming and I am wrapping my koji batch today in plastic to prevent moisture loss .

 

Growing koji has been awesome though so far. I can fit two 9x13 pans in the APO which is about 3x what I could fit in my previous setup. The probe and the app really help reduce constant monitoring and tinkering. My first batch was yellow peas with wheat which run really hot so once things started heating up half way through I took it out of the oven and finished the growth in ambient air.

Edited December 21, 2022 by Smithy
Added host's note after topic split (log)

[Gnulio]

12 hours ago, andrewk512 said:

Thanks everyone! My container of demineralized water is holding out, but at least I know where to look when it runs out.

 

Does anyone find steaming in the APO insufficient from a moisture standpoint? I think the mandatory oven fan with the steam function is drying things out. I just did presoaked pearl barley at 100C 100% steam as per the Noma guide and it dried out. I also had issues with my koji growing at 30C and 100% RH where the cloth wrapping the koji also dried out and required spraying with water. I am now going to add a bit of water to the pan when steaming and I am wrapping my koji batch today in plastic to prevent moisture loss .

 

Growing koji has been awesome though so far. I can fit two 9x13 pans in the APO which is about 3x what I could fit in my previous setup. The probe and the app really help reduce constant monitoring and tinkering. My first batch was yellow peas with wheat which run really hot so once things started heating up half way through I took it out of the oven and finished the growth in ambient air.

Can you share time and tempo?