Not great: Isi Gourmet Whip

I have heard a lot of really good things about this whipper but I am thinking that was before they moved production from Austria to China. First impressions were good but using it shows a product that is rough around the edges. Actually rough... The finish is not great and I found myself with quite a few cuts over my knuckles and fingers. The machined edges looked as though they were barely touched to a rough disc sander and put out for sale. I wanted a little more polish at this price. I considered sanding down the edges myself but chose against it.

As you can see above, a couple of the main components are plastic and neither are removable. Since they are not removable, it is a little more difficult to clean properly. The rubber/silicone? around the neck of the whipper (see top pick) seemed nice at first, especially when dispensing a hot hollandaise, but it started to get noticeably loose each time it was washed in the dish washer (it says dishwasher safe). I do not think this is a terrible whipper, just overpriced. Amazon occasionally has the whipper for around eighty dollars which I think is closer to what the price should be. I don't think the Isi Gourmet Whip is terrible, just ok. The device is made a fairly heavy metal and, apart from the plastic pieces, appears durable. In this price range, I would like to see all metal components and removable pieces for easy cleaning. I understand the Liss cream whipper is made in Hungary, all metal and has removable pieces but the Liss whipper is not available at any locations in the area. It seems that even Amazon no longer sells the Liss whipper directly. Although this Isi whipper is not terrible, I am hard pressed to recommend it at the price it is currently retailing for ($150).

Favorite Restaurants: Yellow City Street Food (Amarillo, TX)

Clockwise, Bottom left: Animal Fries, Tacos: Puerco Loco & the Imposter, Bulgogi Burger, and side salad 

You can find this little restaurant in Amarillo, Texas.  It is a drive through joint with a few picnic tables.  They have a good selection for both carnivores and vegetarians with daily specials as well. Everything is made fresh when you order and the flavors are fantastic. The animal fries has nice THICK bacon, the aioli is creamy and flavorful, the burger is juicy and the tacos are phenomenal. I am going to miss this place when my girlfriend graduates and I no longer have a reason to go to Amarillo. Definitely try this place if you're ever in in town.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/yellow-city-street-food-amarillo

Sous Vide: Ribeye Steak

 I am still testing how salting beforehand affects the texture of the meat. Some say it makes it less juicy or tougher. My main reasoning for salting early is so that the salt can penetrate into the meat. I am not a fan of having a salty exterior with a relatively bland interior. I like the steak seasoned through. I applied a dry rub (a little brown sugar, cumin, salt, garlic powder and pepper), vacuum sealed the steak and left it in the fridge for a day. I have found that the water loss is not too significant.

Pat the steak dry, put on a drying rack (or paper towel) and let it sit in the fridge to allow the surface to dry. A steak that's dry will sear better and lets you avoid those strange boiled meat flavors that come with searing a wet steak.

I like using a cast iron skillet heated in oven set to high broil but my girlfriends kitchen only had a nonstick skillet. I set it to high, let it heat up and seared each side for about a minute in some butter. The steak went straight from the fridge to the pan. Most say to let the steak come to room temperature before searing but I prefer this method. The pan needs to be ripping hot to overcome the cool temperature of the steak but having a cool center keeps the heat from penetrating too far into the meat.

The exterior looks almost burnt (don't worry, the burnt flavor really mellows as it cooks in the circulator and adds a great smoky flavor) but the center is very raw.

I like to put the steak back into the fridge as I get the circulator and bag ready.

With this steak, we tried the ziploc vacuum sous vide bags that come with a $3 hand pump. You really do not need to spend a few hundred dollars on a foodsaver. A little butter on top and bottom adds flavor and improves cooking in the water bath.

Cook the steak sous vide at 54 degrees celsius for at least one and a half hours in the water bath.

AFTER cooking sous vide, I find that the steak is not as hot as like my steak to be. The center is perfectly cooked but I really like the surface of my steak to be sizzling. Take the steak out of the bag and dry off with paper towels.

Refresh the sear in a pan set to high with a little butter. This makes the crust a little crispier and gets that sizzling crust and high temperature you would expect with a steak fresh off the grill.

As you can see, the heat did not penetrate the meat too much and the steak is very juicy.

Favorite Restaurants: Tony's Deli-Hofbrau (Anaheim, CA)

There's nothing like a great traditional deli sandwich with all the cheese and meat fresh cut. The veggies are fresh and the portions generous. I took a chance with a tuna sandwich with pickled eggs, which sounds questionable, but it was fantastic.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/tonys-deli-hofbrau-anaheim-2

Sous Vide: Smoked Pork Shoulder Ver. 2

Before I purchased the immersion circulator, MANY of the articles I read on cooking sous vide described it as being much easier and simpler than cooking in a traditional way (oven, grill, pan etc...). All of my experiences cooking sous vide says the opposite. The immersion circulator lets you control texture and doneness; it does little, in my opinion, for flavor and you no longer have the crust that comes from searing. It is, however, amazing how juicy the meat is. After tinkering with the method for some time, this creates my favorite pulled pork but it does take some work.

MY METHOD

Dry Rub: Apply any drub you prefer. Alton Brown's recipe is a good base and allows for customization depending on personal taste (I added curry powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne and some liquid smoke). A little extra brown sugar gave the nice bark from the image above. I added some more salt and brown sugar than normal. I vacuum sealed the pork shoulder and left it in the fridge for two days. the extra salt and vacuum sealing (cut the bag a little long, then reused the bag for the immersion circulator portion) added a cured ham flavor to the meat. In previous trials, less salt and sugar meant the shoulder came out with a flavor and texture closer to brisket. Both are pretty good. If you really like that cured ham flavor, some pink salt (nitrite salt) might be something to try.

UPDATE: DON'T DO THE SEAR. Having a constantly wet surface on the meat instead of searing will allow the smoke flavor to penetrate MUCH better. Skip drying the surface and the sear and just start smoking on the cooler side of the grill.

Grilling: Prep the meat buy removing it from the bag, patting it relatively dry (leave as much of the dry rub as possible since it makes a great crust) and letting it sit in the fridge on a drying rack for at least thirty minutes; this really dries out the surface of the meat. Having a dry surface on the meat  will give a better sear and keeping it cold keeps the heat from searing from penetrating too deep into the meat. I like to use lump charcoal for searing since it burns hotter and briquettes for the smoking portion since it burns longer (I hate having to light and add more coal). After lighting some lump charcoal in a chimney starter, adding it to one side of the grill and letting the grill grates (cast iron grates are my favorite) get nice and hot I seared the meat. I like to get a fair amount of burnt sections on the surface. I wouldn't be too worried about black char on the surface since cooking sous vide will mellow out any burnt flavor. After you get a good sear/char, move the meat to the cool side of the grill.

Smoking: There are many woods to choose from, I prefer hickory, and many ways to get the smoke going. I like to take an old cast iron skillet, fill it with hickory chips and cover it with aluminum foil with a few small holes poked in it. You don't want the wood to burn since it will give the meat a sooty flavor. The aluminum foil keeps it from getting too much oxygen and burning. Suspend the cast iron skillet of wood chips above the coals so the chips begin smoking but do not catch fire. Make sure to put a pan of water underneath the meat (on the side without coals) to keep the exterior of the meat moist. If the surface gets dry, the smoke flavor will not penetrate the meat as well.

Cooking in a Water Bath: Set your circulator to 60 degrees celsius, bring the water to temperature, vacuum seal the meat and drop it in for twenty four hours. Slice across the grain and enjoy.

The meat is very soft, incredibly juicy and the sugary/salty crust is my favorite part of the dish.

Favorite Restaurants: La Grande Orange (Phoenix, AZ)

The reuben sandwich has a fresh bread, crisp sauerkraut, and a pretty great salty corned beef.

Pizza is made on the spot with a crispy crust and fresh mozzarella. Everything I tried here has great flavor and came out tasting fresh and piping hot.

http://www.lagrandeorangegrocery.com

Update: Cream Whipper Pancakes

I've tried so many pancake recipes recently that for the first time in my life I thought "I think I've had enough pancakes." But then I loosened my pants and ate more. Any recipe that used just all purpose flour ended up being tough. Stirring to combine then having to filter out the chunks, so the whipper wouldn't get clogged, ended with too much gluten and really tough pancakes. Once the recipe was supplemented with oat flour or buckwheat, the pancakes were a little more tender. Oddly enough, the batters that made tough pancakes made better waffles but better pancake recipes made rubbery waffles. The world is full of mysteries... kind of.