September Newsletter 2018

September 28, 2018

Sous Vide News

Welcome to our September newsletter and to the start of spring. The chill is almost gone from the mornings, and the afternoons are getting longer. Blossoms are bursting and you can smell spring in the air wherever you go. If you have been hibernating through winter now is the time to get out and about.

If you’re avid gardeners like us, then you’d know there is bit a bit happening in the veggie patch this month. You could try planting leeks, onions, parsley, parsnips, cauliflower, peas, radish, carrots and turnips. All good for sous vide! But don’t get over excited… it’s too early for tomatoes just yet, especially if you live in the southern parts of Australia.

This month we put a lot of work into compiling the best recipes, tips and tricks, chef interviews and industry news which we hope will inspire you for continued success with sous vide cooking.

In this issue:
Chef Talk – Andrew Ballard of Simmer Culinary talks about life, competing and the Oliso SmartHub™
Product of the Month – Oliso SmartHub™ does sous vide and induction cooking in 1 square foot
Japanese Lamb Shoulder with Pea and Wasabi – Recipe by Kerby Craig from Ume, Sydney
How to Sous Vide – The Perfect Steak
Thanks and enjoy the read this month!

Dale and Libby Prentice

Chef Talk

Andrew Ballard of Simmer Culinary talks about life, competing and the Oliso SmartHub™

By Dale Prentice

I had the great pleasure to talk with the Andrew Ballard this week. Andrew is the chef and owner of Simmer Culinary, which is involved in a large range of events including staging pop up restaurants and haute cuisine private events. Possibly the most challenging part of Andrew’s role is running all kitchen operations for large events nationally around Australia such as The Good Food and Wine Show, Taste Festivals and The Cake Bake & Sweets Show.

I asked Andrew a few questions about his career highlights and the benefits of sous vide cooking using the Oliso SmartHub™, where you’ll often see him carrying it about with him…

Read More >>

Product Of the Month

Oliso SmartHub™ – Sous vide and induction cooking in 1 square foot

The Oliso SmartHub™ is a compact two piece cooking system that works as a works as a sous vide machine, stove and slow cooker. A water bath (the SmartTop) sits atop the burner, and the two are in constant communication with each other.

Designed for sous vide, the double-walled SmartTop holds its temperature to within within 0.1ºC, which means there’s no need to babysit those 48-hour ribs anymore. Just press the button and go!

In addition to a sous vide water bath, you can use the Oliso SmartHub™ for a variety of other applications. Try it for culturing yogurt, making infusions, poaching chicken, brewing beer or creating delicate broths.

The Induction SmartHub™ features 2000 watts of power for extremely fast heating. In fact, you can heat it up to 285°C to get the perfect that perfect sear on your food, plus it will maintain consistent temperatures, every.. .single… time.

But what we really love about the SmartHub™ is its versatility. Having worked in many, often compact kitchen environments, having a multi-functional appliance that only takes up 1 square foot of space and doesn’t require a cord makes it very a very smart choice indeed. And cleaning it is a breeze too!

The Oliso SmartHub™ is available at various stockists throughout Australia. To find your closest stockist please visit our website.

Find Stockists >>

Japanese Lamb Shoulder with Pea and Wasabi

Recipe by Kerby Craig from Ume, Sydney

Kerby Craig served this delectable lamb dish to me at Ume in 2012. High quality ingredients will make all the difference with this recipe, so look for a great, ethically raised local lamb shoulder from your butcher, top quality soy sauce such as Shibanuma, and fresh or frozen wasabi paste rather than the ordinary coloured radish paste or powder. This recipe is mind bogglingly good!

Get Recipe >>

How to Sous Vide

The Perfect Steak

Tender cuts of meat such as tenderloin steak, lamb backstrap and lamb fillets all follow the same cooking methods and temperatures. The delicate structure of these meats gain no benefits from long cooking, but instead they can become mushy if held at temperature for too long.

The consistently perfect results that can be achieved time after time with sous vide will win you over. I quickly sear these cuts in a very hot pan with a small amount of light oil after cooking to give a beautiful crust.

And you can achieve all this by using the Oliso SmartHub™, which can sous vide and sear your tender cuts with ease and precision.