Convection Cooking Fall Meals        Combi Steam Oven Cooking Tips        Combi Steam Oven Recipes        Dishwasher 101        Cooking with the CornuFé        Cuisine La Cornue        Cucina Bertazzoni Gaggenau Combi Steam Oven Cooking Tips Print Recipes   It doesn’t take long to discover that foods cooked in the Gaggenau Combi Steam oven have superior flavor and texture but it does take some time and practice to adapt your cooking to incorporate using the Combi on a daily basis. Being creatures of habit we tend to reach for saucepans for much of our cooking but with a Combi you first have to ask yourself, can this food be cooked in the Combi and most likely the answer will be yes. In addition to the great cooking results, Combi cooking is easy because you can use the timer to control the cooking time and with the new BS Series Ovens you can also use the Memory Program to automatically adjust temperatures and humidity settings during the cooking process. Remember, when steaming or cooking in convection you can cook several different types of food at one time without flavor transference and that makes meal preparation even easier. I hope these tips and recipes for warming winter foods will inspire you to use your Combi oven frequently and if you have further questions, please e-mail me, ltaboryski@purcellmurray.com Larissa Steaming – 240 Degrees – 100% Humidity Anything that is normally cooked in a saucepan can be steamed in the Combi Oven. The advantage of steaming in the Combi is, no accidental boil overs so no messy cooktops to clean, the timer can be set to turn the oven off when the cooking time has elapsed and the cooking inserts can be washed in the dishwasher. Grains - white rice, rice blends, barley, buckwheat, bulgur, quinoa and oatmeal can all be cooked in the Combi. When steaming grains use the solid pan and only 2/3 of the amount of water specified for cooking in a saucepan, no lids are required. Dried Beans – lentils and split peas; beans must be pre-soaked as per the package directions prior to cooking. Lentils and split peas can be cooked in the solid pan with 2/3 of the amount of water specified for cooking in a saucepan, however since beans require a fair bit of water, at least 6 cups of water for every 2 cups of beans you may find it easier to cook them in a deep sided oven safe container. Beans take a while to cook so ideally cook them ahead of time and re-heat them in the Combi before serving. Vegetables - for added flavor when steaming vegetables, toss them in a little kosher salt and olive oil or steam them in the solid pan with a little chicken stock. Chicken – steaming a whole chicken yields two delicious results, wonderful flavorful stock and delicate flavor filled chicken perfect for salads or sandwiches. Butterfly a small 3-4lb chicken by cutting down one side of the backbone, flatten it out and put it in the solid pan. Add 1-cup or water and your preferred seasonings and steam for 40 minutes. Strain the cooking liquid, cool and refrigerate; discard the skin and bones of the chicken and shred or cut the meat into chunks when cool. You can also steam chicken breasts but you won’t get the same amount of flavorful stock. Fish, Crab & Clams – steaming seafood highlights the delicate flavor of the food. Season the fish and cook it in the solid pan with a little water or stock. Braising - 325 Degrees - 80% Humidity Braises and stews are the perfect warming winter foods and while quick to assemble they require long slow cooking time. Cooking these types of food in the Combi oven has many advantages. No heavy pans are required, the oven can be set to turn off when the cooking time has elapsed and generally the cooking time will be reduced by as much as a third but the greatest advantage is the falling off the bone melt-in-your month texture and flavor of the food. Braised foods are best cooked a day or so in advance, not only does the flavor intensify but once they have cooled it is easier to skim the fat off the top of the sauce and large cuts of meat are easier to slice when cold. The solid pan or an oven safe casserole pan set on the wire rack can be used for braising. Pot Roast, Brisket, Beef Short Ribs, Lamb Shanks and Stews These dishes are often cooked with a variety of vegetables to infuse flavor into the sauce. At the end of the cooking the juices are pressed out of the vegetables and they are discarded and freshly cooked vegetables are served with the meat. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots and green vegetables can be steamed in the perforated pan while the meat is re-heated in the solid pan with the sauce. BBQ Baby Back Ribs and Chicken The texture of ribs steamed in the Combi oven is so extraordinary be sure to make extras because they will be devoured. Ideally begin by seasoning the ribs and chicken with a spice rub the day before you plan to steam them. The steaming process will take about 1½ hours for the ribs and about 40 minutes for the chicken, then the meat can be glazed with your favorite BBQ sauce and finished on the grill or cooked with high heat in the Convection mode. Pulled Pork or Turkey Perfect for sandwiches or to serve over cornbread, polenta or mashed potatoes and oh so easy to make, these are terrific year round dishes to have in your recipe repertoire. Roasting – 400/350 Degrees – 30%/60% Humidity The moisture retention when roasting with Convection is amazing, but combined with the humidity of the Combi the results are stunning. Roasting Meats Fish & Poultry Small cuts of meat such as pork tenderloin and chicken breasts that cook in 20-30 minutes can be roasted on a rimmed baking sheet. Larger roasts that take longer to cook should be placed on the oven rack with the solid pan underneath to catch the drippings, if they are roasted directly in the solid pan the heat of the pan will leech the moisture out of the meat and the fan will splatter it all around the oven. Roasting Times Meats up to 14lbs in weight can be roasted in the Combi. Small Roasts up to 5lbs will cook in standard recipe time but the cooking time for large roasts 7lbs and over will be reduced by at least 25% of the recipe time; use the meat probe to monitor the internal temperature to avoid overcooking. Roasting Temperatures 2- step roasting using a combination of different Convection temperatures and Humidity settings is ideal for searing and rendering the fat then cooking the food without loss of the natural juices. Use this method for chicken, turkey, prime rib, leg of lamb and pork crown roasts. Step 1 - 400 Degrees/30% Humidity for 15 minutes Step 2 - 350 Degrees/60% Humidity for the remainder of the cooking time For duck and goose the same process is used but the temperatures and humidity settings are reversed. This method prevents a lot of fat from being splattered around the oven while cooking the meat to tender perfection. Be sure to pour off the rendered fat before increasing the temperature. Step 1 – 320 Degrees/80% Humidity for 90 minutes Step 2 – 400 Degrees/30% or 0% Humidity for 15 minutes When roasting meats with virtually no fat such as pork loin or tenderloin, ham, beef tenderloin, turkey breast, and fish use, 350 Degrees/60% Humidity When roasting rack of lamb, crab, lobster tails or mussels quick high heat roasting is best, 380- 400 Degrees/30% Humidity Vegetables – the natural sugars in vegetables caramelize during the roasting process making them especially flavorful. A combination of vegetables tossed with a little olive oil makes an easy and delicious side dish or a main dish served over grains. Whole squash cut in half can be roasted and added to soups, casseroles or risotto. Slow Roasting In this process the meat is first seared over high heat on the cooktop then transferred to the oven and slowly cooked at 180 Degrees/30%Humidity. This style of cooking, often used by restaurants because it allows them to hold the meat for long periods of time, yields a thin browned crust and perfectly pink meat. Cooking time depends on weight varies from 2hours for a 4lb roast and 6 hours for a 10lb roast. Meats cooked in this way can be held for up to one hour at 140 degrees. Baking When baking in Convection always reduce the recipe temperature by 25-30 degrees. Convection is a strong driving heat and if the temperature is too high the edges of the food will overcook and the interior will not be cooked through. When baking pies, cookies or cakes in the Combi oven use either 0% or 30% Humidity settings. Bread and Yeast Pastry The Combi oven is an extraordinary tool for the bread baking or pastry-making enthusiast. Proofing dough – place the bowl with the dough in the oven without a cover and set the oven to a low temperature and moderate humidity. 95 Degrees/60% Humidity Raising the dough – punch the dough down and place the formed dough in the oven and use the same settings for raising the formed dough. Baking with steam injection – 380/400 Degrees – 30% Humidity Finally, without removing the formed dough from the oven the temperature is increased and the humidity decreased to quickly bring the oven to the correct baking temperature. In this setting bursts of steam can be injected into the oven to crisp the crust and increase the volume of the bread. Custards and Bread Pudding Dishes that contain a lot of eggs and cream are traditionally cooked in a water bath as a way to gently diffuse the heat and prevent curdling. With the Combi use low temperatures combined with humidity to replace the water bath. Individual ramekins can be placed in the perforated pan and larger dishes can be cooked on the wire rack. Custard or Flan - 220 Degrees and 30% Humidity Bread Pudding & Oven French Toast - 330 Degrees and 30% humidity Baking Casseroles & Gratins Since these dishes are usually densely layered they require gentle slow cooking the best temperature setting is 330-350 Degrees – 80 Humidity, however towards the end of the cooking process the temperature can be increased to 380 or 400 degrees and the humidity dropped to 0% for browning or crisping the topping. Re-Heating Reheating food in steam is ideal because rather than drying the food out the natural juices are gently re-hydrated. Food can be placed directly on a plate or serving dish or in the solid pan. 200 – 250 Degrees/Humidity 60% Defrosting When defrosting in the Combi oven the ice crystals in the food are dissolved but no cooking takes place so meats are not discolored. Place frozen foods in the perforated pan with the solid pan underneath to catch the drippings. 115 – 140 Degrees/Humidity 80% Additional Uses The Combi oven can also be used for Extracting Juice, Preserving, Blanching Vegetables prior to freezing and Preparing Yoghurt, for specific instructions refer to the Use and Care Manual.