I bought the Anova Precision Oven in the belief it illuminated the step of having to sear meat in a different utensil. Seems each recipe (although very few recipes available) says to transfer from oven to frypan and sear, seems pointless. Instruction states “top element for searing”. I am going to try a fillet of pork as an experiment. Anyone had success with searing within the oven?
Can be done - see roast chicken recipe - downside is smoke, odor and grease splatter - don’t reccomend
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Thanks Palo, certainly does not sound desirable. Jen
Large fattier cuts sear just fine in the APO! Chicken, whole roast, etc. Small lean cuts like chicken breast, steak, etc are better suited to sear in a pan for best results! The whole roast chicken recipe is SO good.
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Thanks, maybe I need to “give it a go” and just keep my oven cleaner handy.
Yes, the roast chicken recipe is good, but the downsides are big - I’ve done it twice
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And you men probably have more muscles than me so will need to be feeling in a fit state to tackle!
While discussing APO, I replaced a Miele steam oven with the APO thinking it would be more useful. In the instructions for the steam oven they made it very clear that the water in the steam jug needed to be replaced after each use and kept clean. I have not found any such suggestion for the APO, any thoughts?
Perhaps the Miele recycles the water
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No it is much the same system (minus the elements), a container encased on the side of the unit but the water in the steam oven is used at a much quicker rate. Also the inside of the steam oven has a lot of condensation and the instructions tell you to wipe the oven thoroughly after each use. Must admit I have had more use from the APO in a few months than I did with the steam oven over the years - it was great for Christmas puddings (not that I am overly keen on Christmas puddings) which is about all I ever used it for and, oh when our daughter visited from the UK with a baby, for sterilising baby bottles, etc - now that was an expensive “toy”. Think the precision oven is more fun.
Well I presume if it was an issue Anova would list it in the instructions although the instructions are very basic would love to see more hints. Jen
I cook often and expect my tools to get dirty. I just take the care to clean. it’s worth it to me!
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Why was my post deleted?
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It’s probably best practice to do that. Water typically spoils when left in a container for more than a day. Bacteria and other stuff like algae start growing on the walls and mess it up. Unless you’re going to shine a UV light on it while you’re not using it, it will promote unwanted growth.
If you’ve ever used a Brita water filter or something you know what I mean. After a month of storing water in the plastic container, you can basically wipe a layer of crud on the bottom.
Would that depend on the water (bottled/distilled?) -Don’t delete post please
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Nope. Things will grow no matter if it’s boiled, sterilized, bottled, or distilled. Moment it is exposed to air, which is full of things like mold and bacteria.
I always feel Sydney water is very clean but will empty and clean the container and see how it looks after having been away for a few days.
Retaining close to the original reflective internal surfaces is important for oven performance. Cleaning is the achilles heel of all small high efficiency ovens.
This is our combi oven after almost six years of daily use in a small corporate kitchen.
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Wow, most impressive. Will do my best, must admit I always feel satisfaction when my oven is clean.
Of course small ovens do not have the luxury of spray arms in the chamber nor automatic detergent dosing nor plumbing to drain the residue.
@colewaqgoner Please contradict if the following is way off track for the Anova - with a small oven I’d try to don the rubber gloves, pump-spray a good/commercial quality oven cleaner detergent all over the interior - then run the empty oven on full steam at just under 100c. With a bit of luck there will be condensation on the sprayed surfaces which will run off taking some of the gunk with it (afterthought: for easy clean-up probably best to put a shallow oven tray as low as possible without blocking anything to collect some of the water)
And as an aside - in the combi oven - returning soiled oven trays to 100% steam at 100c for 5-10 mins is common practice as a first step in tray clean-up.
Thank you for all those hints. Am hesitant to cook anything too messy at this stage but will have to “bite the bullet” at some stage. Will keep your hints in mind, sounds very practical.
Or you can use a flame torch for searing. It is easier for me to clean the oven if I don’t use it to sear.