Brinkman

On 9/16/2018 at 1:05 PM, Icefever said:

The fickle finger of fate strikes again....

And then hovers over a new victim.

Just now, Sarah Duffy said:

Ohbyes, been there! I will likely adapt a box with lid

I honestly don't see the need for the balls! cling film or tin foil with a couple of tea towels over the top work and costs nothing. For wrapping the containers themselves for very long cooks? You know those screens you put in the front of the car to deflect the suns heat? Well cut to fit the container, they cost nowt and work great as an insulator. You don't need to spend vast amounts if you give things a little thought.?

1 minute ago, Sarah Duffy said:

Ha ha! Good to know. Looking at the proper bags, they’re not overly expensive so I’d probably just go with those over the food bags (long term)

If you want the little balls check here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Locisne-Cooking-Drying-Cookers-Container/dp/B06XKWN3W1/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1536862268&sr=1-2-fkmr0&keywords=Sous+Vide+Water+Balls+250+Count+with+Drying+Bag+by+Wasserstein £14.99 or just wrap the top with cling film! As long as you don't cover the wand it will keep the heat in and you don't have to find another place for storing the balls! Remember how cling film reacts when placed over food in a microwave! Pretty good seal with no heat escaping until you lift it off, then you burn your fingers!!

6 minutes ago, Justin said:

Yes. Agree. Though you can clip tops of zip bags out of water to edge of container. No chance of it splitting then?

You can even use a sealer with ziplock bags as long as you use a straw or a small piece of a Vacuum sealer bag to assist in the removal of the air. In essence that straw or piece of sealer bag tricks the sealer into thinking you are using a proper bag!

1 minute ago, Sarah Duffy said:

Ah ok thank you! Yes, don’t want them to melt on the food! Any recommendations on vac seelers? I guess something I can use with rolls would be more cost effective on the long run

I use a Lidl special, £24 when I bought it. Does it have a roll holder? No. How big width wise? 28mm which creates a standard size and you then make the length as long as you need.. Does it have a cutter built in? No. But I do have a nice pair of scissors! I even double bag with these but thats just me, meat and fish is expensive so why take a chance on your investment?

18ltr is the normal size for a 2/4 family portions/people! Well unless they are very big eaters.  25ltr is best for party catering events.  

3 minutes ago, Sarah Duffy said:

Well the sous vide is on its way but what about bags? I can’t get a vacuum sealer just yet. I had planned to use the food zip lock bags from a super market but will they actually be ok with the heat for long periods? They generally do say not to use in heat!

Bags, ziplock/freezer are good, Tesco ones are OK but if using for any longer than a couple of hours I would suggest doubling up or even trebling up for those longer cooks and for very long cooks only use vacuum sealer bags. Thin ziplock bags can melt/split at high temps ruining the food. Just a suggestion... 

I have to ask this question and I already know there is not going to be a definitive answer but here we go. Why are there so very many different suggested cooking times for meats when attempting to cook with SV? Fish products have pretty much fixed cooking/temp times on almost every website you care to check with which makes it very easy for the beginner but when it comes to any kind of meat the temp/time combination varies dramatically! I'm not referring to the thickness of the item because I understand that will vary from cut to cut, well unless you happen to be Heston Blumenthal! I've checked maybe ten sites for a definitive time/temp combination and almost every one gives varying temp/time numbers, some quite dramatic! It seems to be based entirely upon personal preference and or experience! Not what is needed for a beginner who may, very well, get it wrong and end up with a case of the, well least said soonest mended!! Explanations on something way bigger than a postcard please..

59 minutes ago, Wade said:

A number of people have recently asked me about the use of Liquid Smoke and some appear to consider it an anathema. As good quality commercial  Liquid Smoke is simply the combustion products of real wood that have been condensed and concentrated and placed in a bottle (usually with a little preservative) and is something that people should not be embarrassed to include as part of their smoking toolkit. For most things that are smoked at home it should not be seen a replacement for the cold smoking process but it should be used as a flavouring ingredient, in the same way that a BBQ sauce or a rub is used. Liquid smoke is also a great ingredient for use in a home made BBQ sauces to give a natural smoky flavour, as part of a marinade, and also when preparing side dishes like BBQ beans.

Commercially liquid smoke is considered a natural smoking process and products like smoked hot dogs/frankfurters are often showered with a dilute liquid smoke solution rather than being placed in a cold smoker. 

Liquid Smoke is readily available in the UK from large supermarkets or online, and is available for a range of wood flavours. It is also easy to make yourself at home. If you make it yourself you will need to use it within a couple of weeks but it will also freeze.

Here is a video showing how to produce it at home

And here is a video of it being made commercially.

Do not be afraid or ashamed to use liquid smoke in your cooking - but do not think of it as a replacement for cold smoking.

One caveat for the use of any commercially available 'Liquid Smoke' would have to be do not use too much! A tiny amount goes a very very long way! eg three or four drops added to a medium roast or a full rack is plenty more than enough, well it has been in my experience! Others may not agree and tastes vary, wildly. Use to much and the meat can become bitter, just as if over smoked! Take great care would be my advice, for what its worth.? 

11 minutes ago, Raptor72 said:

Is that the limited edition bumblebee yellow ? 

They were that yellow colour that those flat toffee's are wrapped in when you buy a tin of Quality Street at Christmas! You have no idea how bloody miffed I am that I walked away from the damn things? I may never get the chance at them ever again! Though with the number of pubs shutting down every week who knows? 

2 hours ago, Raptor72 said:

Yeah I need to get another container I think ! 

I hear Wades are very good, not seen them on Amazon yet but I'm sure they will make an appearance soon.?

36 minutes ago, Wade said:

The Dartford accent is particularly broad and is unintelligible to all but us true natives 

Oh borderline Essex, but assume the other side of the pipe or indeed possibly bridge!

19 minutes ago, Icefever said:

I think I missed a ,  I asked if the plastic tank was just what you wanted???   as we say where I come from..."did it fit the bill""??  I know it's an accent thing...

It was the 'did it fit the wade' I was confused with! As I have never met Wade I was wondering if he was a Leprechaun or something!? I've read all them Shakespeare books so have no issues with accents! I can even understand people in Dudley and the Black Country.? Now to answer your question, yes its the perfect size, 18ltr is great for four bodies or a couple of chickens or a fair size hunk of flat brisket. Will the lid fit the Wancle? Not sure about that as I still await delivery but if not it will by the time I'm done with it cocker....

2 hours ago, Icefever said:

Did the one you get fit the bill for the wade???  

Ice

 

Don't understand the question?

17 minutes ago, Icefever said:

The fickle finger of fate strikes again....

Can't believe I didn't research! They looked as if the plastic had gone brittle? How was I supposed to know? Oh well they've gone so get over it and move on.? 

10 hours ago, Raptor72 said:

Well I’m hoping I don’t over cook this pork shoulder 1.5 kgs been in water bath since 5pm at 165 f 

turned it to 158 f . Noticed the top part looks white and cooked . Internal temp of 68 c 

Are you going for medium on that Pork shoulder? I would have thought 1.5kgs maybe 145f ish for 69hrs but if you were going for braised then 167f ish for 10 hours or so!

22 minutes ago, Raptor72 said:

Really good at keeping temp . I just need to get a thicker vessel I think 

Have you thought about wrapping the vessel with a tea towel an then with bubble wrap? Or standing it in a polystyrene box or even a cool box to retain heat? After all, they pour boiling water directly into polystyrene cups and I've never seen one melt!

I was offered a collection of polycarbonate containers a few days ago, they were free by the way, went along to a pub that had been sold for redevelopment and there they were ready for me to either take away or be thrown into the skip! I collected the one that I had been contacted about, a very nice 18ltr clear one with lid that had a hole in one end for a wand, I'm hoping my new wand will fit, if not I'll make it, very gratefully I snuffled it up and packed it away before anybody changed their mind along with some very nice stainless steel trays and tanks. I then spent some time looking at a whole bunch of other polycarbonate containers and lids which I could have taken away, but they were all a pale yellow colour, I thought 'they look the worse for wear' and so left them to go into the skip! I've since learned, too late, that they actually come in that colour? Thats how they are sold from new? If only I had known, I've had a look on line and I think I turned down the chance of at least £300+ selling them on a well known auction site! ?

8 hours ago, Raptor72 said:

pork shoulder 1.5 kgs been in water bath since 5pm

How are you getting on with the Wanacle? You did go for that one didn't you? Has it been consistent, temperature wise, so far? I'm awaiting delivery of mine this week, hope its a bloody sight better than the last thing! I accept that they may have received a bad batch from the manufacturer but potential food poisoning is not a good advert for a product! I'll test it with some poached eggs and if it cooks them well I'll move straight on to a spatchcock chicken and some root veg. It seems that 85c+ area is where they all seem to struggle maintaining the set temperature! Anyway I'm sure the Wanacle will be better than the two AJ baths I tried.

2 hours ago, Raptor72 said:

My grandad was northern India but his family moved to Guyana ?? South America . My gran is Portuguese and South American . So I had an interesting mix of Indian and Caribbean food . Hey smoked some plantain the other day was lovely. 

Made roti and phoularie. 

Paneer and chicken curry 

Looking and sounding good. I'm partial to anything from Rajasthan and the Punjab but also enjoy Biriyani from the Pakistani/Afghan border. Not done anything on the curry front for a week or more and to be honest in my area you either have to cook it yourself or go without as the food served locally is, at best, mediocre and at worst utter crap! Most cooks, locally, are either Bengali or Goan, don't get me wrong I'm very partial to a fish curry but its not popular in this local, most people eat chicken or lamb dishes and wouldn't consider a goat dish because its out of their normal range! Don't even get me started on Cantonese! Been this end of the country for very nearly 27yrs and still not found a halfway decent restaurant for any type for Chinese!! Did have some real good Afro Caribbean curried goat on the outskirts of Birmingham but don't go that way very often.

35 minutes ago, Raptor72 said:

So I’m not bad at curry 

I was lucky enough to spend a week being taught how to cook Indian food at an Indian restaurant by an Indian in London. Most people are unaware that there is even a difference between each country! People know some of the dishes from some of the regions but thats about it and as for the difference between Northern Pakistan, Bangladesh and India! To most people the expression lets have an 'Indian' encompasses the entire continent, which is a great shame as each has a great deal to offer.

On 9/3/2018 at 5:59 AM, Icefever said:

In the thread from @HeyBertHeyErnie about the Landmann offset the topic turned to tuning plates. I've been reading up on this and my search this morning came across this Pinterest page.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/244742560976475291/?lp=true

Then found this one..

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/467600373806995444/

It's just a bit of fun.. crazy fun.

You honestly don't need to waste money on tuning plates! If and when you decide you want to use some form of heat control give me a shout and I'll pass along my Money Saving Tips for all things 'Offset'?

On 7/4/2018 at 7:00 AM, Icefever said:

I've seen many dawn's in my time as a trucker...but this one was taken from a dash cam at 04.40 this morning on the A46.

Looks like Armageddon ?...but what a view. 

Ice. 

What a beautiful stretch of open blacktop! You don't get to see many like that nowadays! Great Shame....?

5 minutes ago, Justin said:

I have has no problem with heat of wand against plastic box, the clip is such that the wand does not touch the box

Give it time Justin, you'll all be doing it...

8 minutes ago, Justin said:

Cutting polystyrene. How will you do it hot wire, hacksaw blade,  dremel, sharp knife?

How thick do you think the lid is? Three foot? No they are not, most are less than an inch so a sharp knife a little longer than that should be more than adequate to do the job! Then if you are worried about the heat from the wand you can create a sleeve to line the hole, a bit like an o-ring but made from plastic. The weight of the wand should keep it in place so no worries about it falling through into the water below but if one was still concerned then a length of wooden dowel laid across the top of the lid should suffice to doubly secure the wand.