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Buster
11-19-2019, 01:01 PM
In an effort to move to a more healthy lifestyle, I've pre-packaged some chicken breasts and salmon etc into single portions. I plan on firing them into a sous vide mid-morning, and then sear or roast when its time to eat. I dont mind pan frying, but its a bit hands on. And firing up the oven to do a single serving is slow and annoying.

Anybody here have any experience with one of the compact counter-top ovens for this type of thing?

ercchry
11-19-2019, 01:18 PM
Like a toaster oven? Love my toast oven. Also use it over a toaster or a microwave... best way to reheat things too. Mine even has a convection setting

jwslam
11-19-2019, 01:51 PM
What are you trying to accomplish?
If you SV the protein, it is already cooked through and your goal now is only to brown it. That only takes 1 or 2 min in a pan, or it would take maybe 5min to broil in a toaster oven (I love mine).
I don't see how the oven would be "more hands off" if the whole process is only 3min in a pan vs 5min in a toaster oven.

You could also consider something like a George Foreman to get the grill marks? Again, not sure how this makes it "more hands off"

Ultimately, yes you would save time over using a conventional oven based on your portion size, but I don't see how the toaster oven / George Foreman would save you time or hassle, especially if you are looking at it only for this one function.

As for results, because the oven is about heating air, whereas the fry pan or grill press is heat on contact, you will see different results. The Oven would only produce better results for evenly browning skin-on chicken breasts, whereas a skinless breast would get better colour from contact with the pan / grill.

ExtraSlow
11-19-2019, 01:53 PM
George foreman style two-sided griddle is a great idea. Get yer sear with no hassle in under 5 minutes.

Strider
11-19-2019, 02:04 PM
For decent results, you're pretty much stuck with pan searing (or you could try a torching, but that's no less hands off than pan searing)... countertop ovens will overcook your sous vide protein before there's any decent browning.
Or take it outside and use your infrared searing burner

ZeroGravity
11-19-2019, 02:06 PM
Butane torch

killramos
11-19-2019, 02:20 PM
Torch Time

Get a searzall

Brent.ff
11-19-2019, 02:33 PM
Also, both chicken breast and salmon will be kinda gnarly texture-wize if you SV them for 8+ hours.... They're relatively fast so even if cooking from frozen they're max 2 hours with the SV, depending on size

killramos
11-19-2019, 02:37 PM
Just automate the SV start for a more reasonable amount of time. Bags in ice bath setup on counter. Start SV from phone from whenever.

Buster
11-19-2019, 03:16 PM
I might just skip the SV and roast the protein directly in the counter-top.

I'm just trying to manage a way to eat non-shitty food for lunch.

jwslam
11-19-2019, 03:53 PM
I might just skip the SV and roast the protein directly in the counter-top.

I'm just trying to manage a way to eat non-shitty food for lunch.
Again that depends what you are using the appliance for, and if you are doing skin on chicken.
If you are roasting a skinless breast in a countertop oven you won't be getting very good results. My favourite way to mitigate this is cheese and mayo but then that defeats health lol
https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/parmesan-mayonnaise-baked-skinless/

To cook a single skinless/boneless your best bet would be fry pan or the George Foreman type. I had a Gordon Ramsay grill and found that I didn't have enough other uses for it to justify. Also beware that there is splatter that comes out from all around
https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/gordon-ramsay-everyday-digital-grill/6000065627093

Overall I really like my toaster oven as it's also good for reheating Chinese bakery buns from frozen, good size for a portion of frozen fries or a few slices of leftover pizza. I get a lot of use out of mine.

Things to consider when getting a toaster oven:
-Size and shape. Some are wide and deep but not tall.
-Functions. Some are literally just "toast" to different temperatures whereas some can let you choose top or bottom elements only.
-Timer. Mine is digital. My experience with dial ones is you hear the endless ticking until time is up.
-They are all generally poorly insulated so be careful where you place them.
-Rotisserie functions?
-Tray functions for clean-up. Mine came with a tray that slides under the main rack to catch stuff, in addition to the bottom crumb tray.
-Door. There's french door ones now and there's ones where the door is so cheap it barely holds up; opens downwards with a clunk onto the counter.

Buster
11-19-2019, 04:21 PM
Thinking this

Breville BOV900BSS The Smart Oven Air Convection Oven, Large, Silver https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01N5UPTZS/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_oQg1DbKX2BCEG

ercchry
11-19-2019, 04:34 PM
Good chicken is easy in an oven... 225F for a while with some seasoning, then slap on some bbq sauce and broil for 5min or so to tack it up. Juicy and delicious

ThePenIsMightier
11-19-2019, 05:08 PM
Am I wrong in thinking that convection is not a useful feature for broiling/browning?

ercchry
11-19-2019, 05:18 PM
Am I wrong in thinking that convection is not a useful feature for broiling/browning?

Not too useful for broiling, but I do find it browns way more evenly

dirtsniffer
11-19-2019, 09:11 PM
Thinking this

Breville BOV900BSS The Smart Oven Air Convection Oven, Large, Silver https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01N5UPTZS/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_oQg1DbKX2BCEG

I have this oven in the man cave. Love it.

90_Shelby
11-19-2019, 10:13 PM
Like a toaster oven? Love my toast oven. Also use it over a toaster or a microwave... best way to reheat things too. Mine even has a convection setting

This. We’ve never owned a toaster and reheat most stuff in the toaster oven.

Euro838
11-20-2019, 10:14 AM
I'm going to get this. Hope the quality of this will solve everything that I have my uni-task appliances for.

https://www.amazon.ca/Emeril-Lagasse-Power-360-Convection/dp/B07NLHMYH4/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=lagasse&qid=1574266294&s=kitchen&sr=1-3

Concept is good, hope it can deliver.

killramos
11-20-2019, 01:48 PM
So how is any of this shit any better than just turning on your real oven?

Seems like 1 more redundant appliance to store.

Disoblige
11-20-2019, 02:03 PM
So how is any of this shit any better than just turning on your real oven?

Seems like 1 more redundant appliance to store.
Faster to heat/cook, more even crisp.

Same reason why I would use my big boss convection/infrared oil-less cooker way more than the oven. That thing cost me $60 and makes such crispy and moist chicken.

jwslam
11-20-2019, 02:13 PM
Faster to heat/cook, more even crisp.

Same reason why I would use my big boss convection/infrared oil-less cooker way more than the oven. That thing cost me $60 and makes such crispy and moist chicken.
Also that glass bowl is dishwasher safe

tirebob
11-20-2019, 02:26 PM
We use a cuisinart convection toaster oven so often now it is just me and the wife. Heats up faster than the oven while using less power and cooks even and reliably. We never use a nuker... Definitely a good way to go!

dj_rice
11-20-2019, 02:28 PM
Get an Air Fryer

Euro838
11-20-2019, 03:05 PM
We use a cuisinart convection toaster oven so often now it is just me and the wife. Heats up faster than the oven while using less power and cooks even and reliably. We never use a nuker... Definitely a good way to go!

I'm looking at this too. I think price is about the same as the Emeril Lagasse one. Any feedback and likes and dislikes about it that you can share? How is the air fryer function? I have the phillips air fryer and thinks it's great but it would be nice to combine more functions into a single appliance as i don't have that much counter space!

TurboMedic
11-21-2019, 12:23 AM
I have a philips air fryer that would do what you need to. It works awesome with almost everything!

jwslam
11-21-2019, 09:18 AM
BF pricing starting at BestBuy

https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/category/toaster-ovens/31257?path=category%253aAppliances%253bcategory%253aSmall%2BKitchen%2BAppliances%253bcategory%253aToasters%2B%2526%2BToaster%2BOvens%253bcategory%253aToaster%2BOvens%253bsoldandshippedby0enrchstring%253aBest%2BBuy%253bcurrentoffers0enrchstring%253aOn%2BSale&sort=priceLowToHigh

rx7boi
11-21-2019, 10:07 AM
True ballers such as yourself should be hiring live-in chefs :rofl:

JRSC00LUDE
11-21-2019, 10:18 AM
I've been trying to get in on this counter-top roasting for 3 days but honestly just don't know how to insult one.

killramos
11-21-2019, 10:32 AM
True ballers such as yourself should be hiring live-in chefs :rofl:

Staff is next level ballin’

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I've been trying to get in on this counter-top roasting for 3 days but honestly just don't know how to insult one.

That was weak af