Temp drop opening the door leads to overcooking (not sous vide)

Anova Precision® Oven
1

Hi,

I just bought the APO, tried some easy stuff, getting to know it

I noticed that when preheating to a high temp (say 200-250°C), when I open the door to insert the food, the temperature obviously drops quite a bit (even 30-40°C or more) as I would expect

The point is that it takes around 10 minutes or ore to get back to the target temperature (and the last few degrees are really slow to reach, undoubtedly to avoid temp overshooting), and the timer starts only when about half a degree from the target temperature

I have seen some posts about this for sous vide recipes, but poaching eggs or cooking for many hours at low temperature are a completely different thing

If I want to broil my roast chicken for say 5 to 15 minutes. and it takes 10 or more minutes just to get back to 250°C, following the timer I will overcook the chicken (as it happened), or if the recipe is to cook at 200°C for 20 minutes, again 10 minutes are way too much before the timer starts, and in both cases i overcooked my food (using a shorter time defies the usefulness of the timer and the recipe, it’s a variable temp between 170 and 200 for 50% to 100% of the required cooking time)

How do you go about this?

2

Hi Leo, how? - In several ways.

First, as you say, getting to know it. All ovens have some operational idiosyncrasies that require some period of getting acquainted. It’s like dating. Keep notes and adjust recipes based on your experiences.

For short cook times this cook preheats to 50C above recipe target temperature and reduces it after adding the food.

Get yourself a baking steel (best), or a baking stone (OK). The additional mass in the preheated oven helps stabilize temperature. I always leave the steel on the bottom rack in my oven.

Broiling isn’t so much dependant on oven temperature as distance from the top element because it’s mostly cooking by radiation, not convection. I don’t own an APO, but most ovens in broil mode have the top element on most of the time.

3

Hi chatnoir,

Thank you for the reply, it makes sense (I actually did set a higher temp today to compensate the drop :slight_smile:

Actually having the precise temp information like that in the end makes me notice things that have always been there with any oven, I just didn’t know

I was also wondering if there is some “software” way to achieve that result, this oven is really more complex than my traditional one, still learning…

I like it very much, after a few uses I’m quite happy with my purchase, I have to say

Thanks

4

Hi Leo, glad to know my information was useful.

I regret i can’t be more helpful as this cat is persistently old school. Most of my software resides between my ears. For me successful cooking is based on observing and understanding the complex changes food undergoes in each cooking technique. It’s the combination of acquired cooking skills, culinary knowledge, and an ever-better attitude.

You have a favourable attitude towards learning. Enjoy the journey.