Ovens & combi-microwaves - what to get/avoid?

[TheAnimus]

So you won't find a good pyrolytic that's a microwave.

Apparently it's very hard to combine the technologies.

Right now there's a covid19 shortage of what you can get.

Myself I'd settle for a separate microwave and oven, get a very good pyrolytic oven and a reasonable microwave. I've had a Panasonic combi microwave oven for almost six years now, it's still going strong, but the cleaning experience could be better.

Remember a good pyrolytic oven of any real size will need more than a 13amp pull. So might be worth checking out how your current one is wired.

The current new exciting trend in ovens is having a meat insertable heat probe inside the oven, so you can do long slow cooks very accurately, but nothing like sous vide mind. Oh and the usual smart connected nonsense.

[Saracen999]

Covid has made proceeding a bit awkward at the moment, given the number of showrooms that are shut, or very restricted. We are also contemplating a different approach. That is, maybe table-top ovens, like those from Sage, and not bothering with built-in at all. After all, it is just the two of us and rarely do we use the "main" oven now. So I rather fancy their smart-oven, a microwave (maybe Sage, maybe Panasonic tt-less) and, ahem, a Sage Pizza Oven.

Dunno. It's a thought right now, but not thought through. But a set of oven shelves, and we can add what we want, when we want, and probably save thousands because the full refit is going to include a massive electrical overhaul, too. This way, if I understand it, it won't.

Time will tell.

[TheAnimus]

Have you seen the new anova

https://anovaculinary.com/anova-precision-oven/

Having a temperature probe is going to be more a thing in the really high end fitted oven game, these guys are doing it with full PID control of the heat.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I feel like I am cooking with stone age implements compared to some of the cooking tech some of you chaps have. I tend to give things a good prod and poke to see if they are cooked well enough!!

[TheAnimus]

Haha, so I've been having a lot of fun with this:

https://www.trustedreviews.com/revie...-blumenthal-4k

Doing pizza's in it takes less than 4 minutes, even when there's snow on the ground. Super easy to start and clean.

But really having for meat probes allows you to be a bit bolder, and unlike the wireless ones they tolerate high heat.

It's amazing how just a reliable temperature gauge, including change gauge, makes BBQ so much easier.

This tech is really useful, a lot of the benefits of sous vide precision.

[spacein_vader]

Haha, so I've been having a lot of fun with this:

https://www.trustedreviews.com/revie...-blumenthal-4k

Doing pizza's in it takes less than 4 minutes, even when there's snow on the ground. Super easy to start and clean.

But really having for meat probes allows you to be a bit bolder, and unlike the wireless ones they tolerate high heat.

It's amazing how just a reliable temperature gauge, including change gauge, makes BBQ so much easier.

This tech is really useful, a lot of the benefits of sous vide precision.

I've got one of these for my BBQ (OOS but usually circa £40,) which is heatproof to around 380c and I can use it in the oven too if needed. Above that temp is more burning than cooking anyway. How well does that thing hold temperature for low and slow (around 110c) cooking over long periods? 4 minute pizzas are good but it's 8 hour briskets where it'll really make the difference having that kind of fine control.

[Saracen999]

Have you seen the new anova

https://anovaculinary.com/anova-precision-oven/

Having a temperature probe is going to be more a thing in the really high end fitted oven game, these guys are doing it with full PID control of the heat.

I hadn't, no. Not heard of it. Looks worth checking out.

[Saracen999]

Well, about 2 minutes into a video review, it turns out that you can't even fully control which heater elements are used from the control panel on the oven. Oh, no. You have to use the "app", on your phone.

No.

Just no. In fact, hell, no.

No way am I even considering an oven I have to control from my phone. Not happening. Not in this or any other lifetime. That's just .... no.

A oven that has an app? Maybe. If I can ignore it. As in not even install it. But one where I can only get full functonality via an app? No way.

Thanks for the idea, Animus, but it's not for me.

[TheAnimus]

I didn't realise they'd done that.

In the previous sous vide it is app for anything advanced, like step up temperature after a few hours.

You could set the temperature directly on the device, which is how I use it 95% of the time.

It sounds like you can do that with the oven, but reviewers say the keypad sucks.

[TheAnimus]

So far I've found it's very constant so long as you keep the fuel topped up.

As it's got a rate of change as well as current temperature gauge, it's easy to keep at temp.

However, because it's more insulation than solid ceramic and cast iron, the trade off of getting to temp, very, very quickly is you have to keep an eye on the fuel, I've only used it for one long cook, I used a mixture of bricketts and lump wood. I was topping it up every 45 minutes, but I didn't use much coal overall.