Understanding Your Oven Before Your Recipes

When you cook in a Convection or Combi-Steam oven you don’t need unique recipes. However, you just need need to understand the tools you are cooking with so you can get the most out of them. For example, when I read a recipe that tells me to blanch or boil vegetables, I don’t reach for a saucepan, I turn on my Combi-Steam oven and select the Steam mode. Since I know I can cook on multiple racks using Convection, that is my go-to mode for easy oven meals as well as when I am cooking for a crowd.

When it comes to entertaining and outdoor grilling, both ovens can be put to good use to help in the preparation of the food. Baby Back Ribs, for example, can be cooked uncovered in the combination Convection Steam mode at  280 - 300 degrees for 1 ½ - 2 hours and finished on the grill. Grains, vegetables, and hard-boiled eggs for salads can all be cooked in the Steam mode, and of course, remember multiple foods can be cooked at one time.

If I am planning on grilling lean tender cuts of meat such as steaks, lamb chops, fresh sausages, chicken pieces, or thicker cuts of fish, then I usually cook them at very low temperatures in either oven first then finish them on the grill. This is known as the reverse sear method.Some Combi-Steam ovens have a specific cooking mode with a temperature range of 160 - 200 degrees for this method of cooking. Low-temperature cooking can also be done using the Convection mode using the same temperature range.

Cooking lean tender cuts of meat at very low temperatures does take time so either use your oven meat probe or an instant-read thermometer to monitor the internal temperature.  For best results cook the meat until it reaches 5 - 10 degrees below the target internal temperature. The internal temperature will rise when you complete the cooking on the grill.

You will find a wonderful selection of salad recipes in the Combi-Steam recipe section including, Quinoa Salad with Broccoli and Dried Apricots, Curried Sweet Potato and Kale Salad,  Potato Artichoke Salad, and Mexican Street Corn Salad. If you are ready to try some low-temperature cooking you will also find recipes for Low Temperature Roast Turkey, Low Temperature Roasted Prime Rib.

Some of our favorite side dishes to serve with roast or barbecued meats are the Roasted Sweet Potato and Black Bean Salad, Oven Ratatouille, and Spoonbread Casserole. So whether you are cooking for yourself or for a crowd, let those ovens work for you!