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elbow posted:I'm probably going to offend a number of people in here when I relate my sub-par cooking skills, but I really need help finding a fry pan and/or a saute pan. The reason I've come here to ask you guys is because I've only read conflicting advice everywhere, so now I'm completely incapable of making a decision. Stainless and cast iron have their strengths and weaknesses. Cast iron is great because of the thermal mass. Because of this, it is great for searing, cooking batch after batch of something (pancakes, bacon, etc). It does take a smidgen of babying to prevent grody sticky plasticized grease on the handles or rust elsewhere, but even if you gently caress it up you can always fix it with some steel wool, some oil, and an hour. Because of the thermal mass, it does not respond quickly to temperature changes, this means that if something is trending towards burning, unless you take it out of the pan, it will probably burn whereas if you are using gas and stainless you could turn it down and it should respond quick enough to avert crisis. It also takes considerably longer to heat up than stainless and weighs a shitton, so you can probably forget about 'flipping' food, if that's what you want to do. In general, handling a cast iron pan is a bit more clunky. They are great tools, though. Stainless is great because it heats up super fast, responds quickly to changes in heat (assuming your range can change quickly), and is pretty easy to keep clean and maintain. Because of its conductivity, your experience using one will depend greatly on the heat source you are applying. If you have a weak heat source it will respond weakly. Tf you have an electric range that is slow to respond to changes, it, too, will respond slowly. If you have an induction range you may need a special type of stainless pan that uses a ferromagnetic core. Both are fine for eggs, pancakes, meat, whatever, so long as you use correct technique. If you can swing it I would get both. If you have to choose one or the other I would choose based on what your heat source is and what you plan on cooking. If you have a nice high powered gas range or a quick responding electric or induction, stainless. If your range is electric or weak, perhaps cast iron. If you plan on searing a lot and don't really ever saute, cast iron. If you plan on sauteing a lot then stainless. Cast iron: you really can't go wrong with Lodge. Stainless: Cuisinart multiclad is nice, All-clad is a perennial favorite of a lot of people (including me) but a skosh pricy, Emerilware pro clad is actually All-clad made overseas so it is also pretty good. Edit: just read about your lovely electric range. Cast iron is probably best then. Don't cross out stainless though. You can just heat it up and then move it on and off the burner as "heat control". GrAviTy84 fucked around with this message at 03:23 on Apr 19, 2013 |
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Apr 19, 2013 03:19
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Anyone got a recommendation for/warning against a brand of standalone wok burner?
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Apr 19, 2013 04:10
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SubG posted:Anyone got a recommendation for/warning against a brand of standalone wok burner? Good Eats recommends using the burner from a turkey fryer kit
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Apr 19, 2013 04:27
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Thank you! That's really useful information and it's given me a good idea of what I need and what I should look out for. Our stove is definitely slow to respond to temperature changes but I've got the multiple-burner thing down pat. Think I'll go with both cast-iron and stainless, and I'll check out the brands you recommended. I can't wait to cook with decent cookware again 
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Apr 19, 2013 04:41
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signalnoise posted:Good Eats recommends using the burner from a turkey fryer kit
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Apr 19, 2013 04:49
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SubG posted:And does St Alton offer a suggestion about how to cope with the fact that the burner is about half a foot off the ground? I use a jet cooker similar to the turkey fryer thing and use a steel yard table to get it to waist level.
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Apr 19, 2013 04:59
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Boris Galerkin posted:I heard thermapens were heavily recommended by at $96 a pop it seems really pricey. Are there really no other instant read thermometers out there that are cheaper? Alternatively, are there any sales/discounts on these things? The first page had a few but it's years old. it's worth it. there are no other cheaper thermometers I've seen that work even 1/3rd as well. if you cook several times a week, you'll get your moneys worth in a couple months. then you'll spend the next couple years after that wondering why you didn't get one sooner. and the $80 dent it makes in your monthly grocery budget shouldn't stress you out too much. if you cook once a week, just suffer through the lovely $20 joe blow thermometers, you probably wouldn't appreciate the difference anyways.
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Apr 19, 2013 05:35
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elbow posted:General recommendations as well as specific lines/brands would be great. I'm in Australia, for reference. Get a cast iron lodge like Grav said, good to hold the heat while chucking in ingredients, ie temp not all over the place if the stove can't put out enough heat. I got a 12" lodge from kitchenwarehouse a few years ago. I just use it for steak and large cuts of meat, and flat breads. Kitchenwarehouse is out of stock, but peters has it. http://www.petersofkensington.com.au/Public/Lodge-Logic-Cast-Iron-Skillet-30cm.aspx For clad stainless like Grav mentioned, you'll struggle to find it in Au, I just bought a whole set of Cuisinart multiclad pots and pans from Amazon in the US and it arrived yesterday. It took 2 weeks to get here I think. Cost me $90 in shipping for a full large set sent to Aus, so a single cuisinart multiclad 10" frypan might cost you $20-30 postage. I'm not sure if you want a fry pan or saute pan, but either or. I use the stainless steel over the lodge for quick browning of cubed meat or strips, saute or sweating veg, and making a saucy one pot dish where I have to stir or turn a lot. As the lodge cast iron takes ages to heat up on the crap stove. I got the 12" fry pan and 51/2qt 12" saute pan, and they are massive. Depending on your stove capacityyou may want the 10" frypan or the 3qt saute pan, not sure if you can buy the 3qt saute pan separately, may only come in the 12pc set. If so, just get the 10" or 12" frypan Of course if you get the saute pan and not the fry pan, then you'll need a light non stick pan for eggs or anything else you need to turn/flip with low wide sides. Harris Scarfe always has cookware on sale, everything from cheap teflon non stick for $9 to hard anodized pans for $30. http://www.harrisscarfe.com.au/store/all-deals/kitchen/loose-cookware.html Edit: peters actually sell all clad now. http://www.petersofkensington.com.au/Public/FrypansSkillets.aspx#&&/wEXAQUOQ2F0ZWdvcnlTZWFyY2gFATCKDEmPN8Lmiqaxhn9Y9yrBa9WX+g== Might be worth buying one of those pans rather than buy the cuisinart from amazon for ~$70-90 and $20-30 shipping Fo3 fucked around with this message at 08:22 on Apr 19, 2013 |
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Apr 19, 2013 07:34
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SubG posted:And does St Alton offer a suggestion about how to cope with the fact that the burner is about half a foot off the ground? Yeah man he just uses it.
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Apr 19, 2013 13:00
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elbow posted:We got a non-stick saute Scanpan like a year ago but it's crapped out on us. I had no idea that olive oil had such a low smoking point and since I do most of my cooking on medium-high, the pan is now covered in an unsightly layer of blackness that makes everything stick to it. If you go from non-stick to some sort of clad stainless steel (and you should), let me give you my cautionarly tale. I got a Cuisinart stainless steel/aluminium frypan a couple months ago and am also on a lovely-rear end electric range. I had mentally calibrated myself on my non-stick pans which, although a solid brand and perfectly fine for what they do, do not heat as quickly or efficiently. I was using the pan for the very first time to caramelize some onions using olive oil and knew that this pan would heat faster, but I seriously overestimated the power setting that would be necessary. When I poured in my oil, it immediately started boiling. I got about as far as "aw, shitballs" before it burst into flame and left an awful black stain on the pan. Luckily, I had ordered some Bartender's Friend and steel wool to go with the pan, so I was able to immediately rectify the situation. And that is the story of how my shiny new pan instantly lost its nice, mirrored interior.
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Apr 19, 2013 15:35
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mindphlux posted:it's worth it. there are no other cheaper thermometers I've seen that work even 1/3rd as well. Agreeing with this and everyone else in the thread who champions the Thermapen. I got mine on Amazon a while back and it was only $89, looks like the price jumped a bit. If you can't afford it right now, occasionally you can find a deal for refurbished Thermapens. Unfortunately I can't remember which website I saw them on...
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Apr 19, 2013 15:37
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Zenzirouj posted:If you go from non-stick to some sort of clad stainless steel (and you should), let me give you my cautionarly tale. I got a Cuisinart stainless steel/aluminium frypan a couple months ago and am also on a lovely-rear end electric range. I had mentally calibrated myself on my non-stick pans which, although a solid brand and perfectly fine for what they do, do not heat as quickly or efficiently. I was using the pan for the very first time to caramelize some onions using olive oil and knew that this pan would heat faster, but I seriously overestimated the power setting that would be necessary. When I poured in my oil, it immediately started boiling. I got about as far as "aw, shitballs" before it burst into flame and left an awful black stain on the pan. Luckily, I had ordered some Bartender's Friend and steel wool to go with the pan, so I was able to immediately rectify the situation. Yeah I had to drop the heat down about 2/3 or 1/2 when I switched to stainless. Definitely wouldn't ever want to go back though. I keep a lovely nonstick pan for cooking eggs in still since it is just so much easier than doing it on stainless.
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Apr 19, 2013 18:01
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signalnoise posted:Yeah man he just uses it. GrAviTy84 posted:I use a jet cooker similar to the turkey fryer thing and use a steel yard table to get it to waist level.
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Apr 19, 2013 22:12
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Couldn't you just put the burner on your counter? I mean, you might have to get an extension cable for the gas line, but that can't be that hard to set up, right?
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Apr 19, 2013 22:24
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uber posted:Couldn't you just put the burner on your counter? I mean, you might have to get an extension cable for the gas line, but that can't be that hard to set up, right? I think it's generally considered a bad idea to put huge, poorly contained gas burners indoors.
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Apr 19, 2013 22:26
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Just use some cinder blocks if you need to raise the burner up some. I'd think that you'd have to be wokkin' pretty hard to knock those over.
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Apr 19, 2013 22:28
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Zenzirouj posted:I think it's generally considered a bad idea to put huge, poorly contained gas burners indoors. So put it on a card table outside. My point is that BUT IT'S SO LOW is an easily fixed problem.
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Apr 19, 2013 22:30
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SubG posted:Hm. None of my yard furniture is suitable for that. Is there a name for the portable burners that you see on the streets of, say, Hong Kong? There are ones that look kinda like narrow oil drums, which I assume are homemade, but there are also ones that look more or less exactly like a steam cart with a wok burner mounted on it. So this is my setup:  The burner itself was bought for me by Casu Marzu in lieu of the forschner chef's knife from winning ICSA: Mustard. I believe it is something like $35. (fake edit: oh i guess it went up: http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-SP1-Jet-Cooker/dp/B0002913MI) Perhaps you could mount it inside an scrap oil drum at your desired height? at 40bux it's easily the cheapest wok burner solution I've found. Not saying that there isn't better, but I don't know of any if there is.
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Apr 19, 2013 22:32
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uber posted:So put it on a card table outside. My point is that BUT IT'S SO LOW is an easily fixed problem. GrAviTy84 posted:So this is my setup:
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Apr 20, 2013 00:57
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SubG posted:Cool. I think I want something a little higher end. Like you see street vendors using things that look like this, but googling for `wok cart' pretty much just comes back with exactly that model. So I assume there's some other term for the thing that I just don't know. A wok burner or wok range?
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Apr 20, 2013 01:08
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Yeah, that kind of thing, only portable and with a little prep surface. I've seen 'em that look something like the one I linked---basically like a steam cart with a wok burner on it---and other things that were obviously homemade out of expanded metal or welded onto a sanlunche/pedicab or whatever. I'm thinking of just buying a used steam cart or something like that and building my own, but it's one of those things that you see so much that I figured there has to be some way to buy them straight from some factory in China if you just know how to look.
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Apr 20, 2013 01:23
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What about using a tub filing cabinet on wheels and just putting the burner on top or modifying it? http://www.officemax.com/office-furniture/file-cabinets-accessories/mobile-files/product-prod2980381 Link to first one I've found, but there may be cheaper ones. Definitely will be second hand ones about.
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Apr 20, 2013 02:56
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SubG posted:
This is way too expensive. Go find a steel drum, take it to a shop, and have them build you what you want for less than 200bux. Then paint your steel drum or something.
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Apr 20, 2013 03:02
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Yeah, I think the shipping for something like that from China would be pretty prohibitive, even if you could find one certified to US safety standards. Shipping something that large/heavy only makes sense if you're a business buying shipping container lots. Auscrown does make a little stand designed for use with a burner, but the problem of "getting it over from Australia" is not much better than "getting it over from China". I guess in the middle of these options, a competent metal shop could shorten the legs on one of those $1000-ish units, weld a shelf onto the side, and put the whole thing up on casters for you. You'd come in under the $3000 for the Town unit, but by how much I really don't know. I'm sure they could give you an estimate beforehand.
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Apr 20, 2013 03:36
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SubG posted:Have you actually ever done this before or is this something that you just figure is probably okay? That burner that GrAviTy84's using right there? It's rated at 185,000 BTU. Your typical burner on a home range is rated at around 7500. Which is to say what we're talking about is probably around 25 times as powerful as what you find on the typical stovetop. If you try to use one indoors and don't have the hood/venting/ceiling for it, you'll start a fire. My guess---although I haven't actually experimented with it---is that if you put one of those burners on the average card table you'd catch it on fire. Literally---if we assume that 96% of the heat is going up and about 4% is being transmitted to whatever you're setting it on, then this would, per the earlier numbers, be like putting the card table on a standard rangetop burner and turning it all the way up. Actually done before. In Florida, my parents had a horrible electric stove. We all hated it. So instead, my mum bought a turkey fryer to use as a gas stove. It was glorious, and would get everything screaming hot, really fast. We had it on a wooden card table. It was fine.
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Apr 20, 2013 13:56
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I wouldn't touch that set up with someone else's 10 foot pole. That sounds dangerous as gently caress.
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Apr 21, 2013 14:10
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Why not just buy a metal card table?
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Apr 21, 2013 15:14
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Or just go to Harbor Freight and buy a cheap metal work stand like for a bench grinder or whatever. They are like $40.
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Apr 21, 2013 15:23
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I see that there. posted:I wouldn't touch that set up with someone else's 10 foot pole. That sounds dangerous as gently caress. Thinking about it, I'm now kinda leaning toward getting a cheapass kettle grill off craigslist or something and just retrofitting it for a propane wok burner.
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Apr 21, 2013 20:02
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As far as safety is concerned yeah if I was into it I'd fit one of those fryer burners inside a grill or just stick the whole thing in a fire pit. You wouldn't seriously find me using one of those just out on its own, which makes the whole Turkey Derrick episode kind of pointless.
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Apr 21, 2013 20:13
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Fo3 posted:Get a couple/few pans and use the best one for the job, rather than try do everything with one pan. Yeah, I'm definitely getting both a cast-iron frypan and a stainless steel saute pan/frypan (undecided about which to get right now). Thanks for the link to the All Clad pans on Peter's by the way, I'll definitely order from them just in case I need to return it or something. I'm getting the cast-iron pan from them as well. Zenzirouj posted:And that is the story of how my shiny new pan instantly lost its nice, mirrored interior. Ha, that's scary stuff, so thanks for the warning! I'll try it out first when I'm not in a hurry to cook something, and I'll see how much and how quickly it heats up.
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Apr 22, 2013 07:34
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Yeah, good move. Due to the weight of a 12" lodge CI pan, I wouldn't hesitate in suggesting the 10" all clad pan also from peters, as the extra cost in postage is $0. So if that suits, then that's the best buy and what I would say to anyone. But wanting a saute pan may cause me to start thinking of getting it from cuisinart at amazon though, edit: because I haven't found a saute pan here that is all/multi clad under $200 The 8" all clad frypan from peters is a bargain, the 10" frypan is worth the bit extra over personally importing a pan from the USA. Over all because prices here are by hype and brand, the all clad brand is a bargain if you can find it, because it's not celebrity chef endorsed. Prices are suprising really, on par with lesser brands, and sure to change once word gets out. edit: All clad 3qt saute from peters: http://www.petersofkensington.com.au/Public/All-Clad-Stainless-Steel-Saute-Pan-w-Lid-28L.aspx $180 though. It would cost about $120 for the cuisinart multiclad 5qt from amazon delivered. Bare in mind the 5qt is massive, so would be great for large stirfries to serve 4-6 people, only if you stove was good enough to deliver the heat though. Also if you can find the 3qt cuisinart on amazon, it's probably only $100 inc post. Fo3 fucked around with this message at 14:50 on Apr 22, 2013 |
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Apr 22, 2013 14:35
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Fo3 posted:. Thanks again for all the advice everyone.
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Apr 22, 2013 22:47
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I cannot say how fantastic the Tojiro kiritsuke is, and at $80, it's a steal.
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Apr 22, 2013 23:52
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Chef De Cuisinart posted:I cannot say how fantastic the Tojiro kiritsuke is, and at $80, it's a steal. What makes the kiristuke attractive as compared to, say, a gyuto? I have a Tojiro gyuto that I love so I totally get the recommendation, I just wondered what the kiristuke shape is for.
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Apr 22, 2013 23:57
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The lack of a belly makes it ideal for chopping. If you're a push cutter, or like push cutting, the kiritsuke is for you. I've never really cared for the rocking motion of french knives. As for the shape, it just looks cool. The tip does have some use, but it's comparable to a nakiri, I would say. Extremely thin blade, great for slicing, basically any kitchen task.
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Apr 23, 2013 00:45
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Chef De Cuisinart posted:I cannot say how fantastic the Tojiro kiritsuke is, and at $80, it's a steal. Seconding this. It's a really fantastic knife. Holds an edge well, but also easy to sharpen, somewhat reactive, but nothing crazy, very thin, slightly flexible. The geometry takes a little getting used to. It forces you to work differently, but there's a lot of overlap between it and a gyuto.
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Apr 23, 2013 01:32
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Anyone know if there is an aftermarket spiral dough hook that fits Artisan series Kitchen Aid Mixers? The C hook is alright, but it's not the best...
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Apr 24, 2013 23:57
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GrAviTy84 posted:Anyone know if there is an aftermarket spiral dough hook that fits Artisan series Kitchen Aid Mixers? The C hook is alright, but it's not the best...
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Apr 25, 2013 00:29
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microplanes wear out, right? I'm not just imagining it? also can someone recommend me a silicone pastry brush? all the ones I've used have either been too big, too small, didn't hold on to enough liquid, released it unevenly or all suddenly at once, etc etc. on the other hand, I'm tired of my normal pastry brushes soaking up all my sauces/butters/whatever and being hard to clean. argh, first world problems.
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Apr 26, 2013 19:41
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