Any suggestions on a cheaper torch head?

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #1

I know Guga uses the Searzal… But WoW! $80 !? I was expecting $20 or $25 :frowning:

Already spending $110 on a Sous Vide machine, + container and lid…

And still really need a vacuum sealer… at some point.

This is turning into an expensive endeavor ! I’m confident it will be worth it, but I’m a working poor guy, and would rather be spending my $$$ on food !

Are their any decent $20-25 torch heads out there ? I already have a 30" extension that lets me hang a propane bottle on my belt (used for some art projects) but all I have is the little standard narrow point head, like one you might use to solder pipes…

(Full Metal KETO AF) #2

Just get your grill screaming hot or use the searing burner if your grill has one. You can always pick a torch head up later if you want. I don’t use a torch much but mine has a standard tip. It just takes longer. Usually I use a really hot skillet with a high smoke point oil like coconut or avocado, or sometimes bacon grease. I like the coconut oil for frying salmon or just about any meat. When the meat fat mixes with it I don’t even taste the coconut element.

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #3

Yea’… I just don’t get why these torch heads are so darn expensive ?
I saw one just now made by Benzomatic and thought, well that should be cheaper… Ha ! $179 !
https://sansaire.com/sansaire-searing-kit/

(Full Metal KETO AF) #4

Blackened Sousvide Porterhouse from Monday

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933EC7F4-5CE9-4E97-B456-837008FD941F.jpeg3264×2448 2.25 MB

Done in a skillet with Bacon grease.

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #5

That does look good… And I could do it that way if I had to… And I might, until I spend a paycheck on a torch head (not really, but…)
I just really want to throw it on or BBQ grill and torch it.

I’d think the torch would allow one to focus more specifically on like the fat shoulders and such…

#6

I’m fighting the same fight! The Searzal is perfect but a screwjob 100% Many times I get my grill going just for the sear but having charcoal only even with my chimney of insanity (awesome btw) it’s to much sometimes.

#7

I much prefer the sear you can get on cooking a raw steak in a pan to the one you get after it’s precooked. The torch is one way around this. Another way, that I haven’t tried yet, is to use a thin layer of mayonaise on the steak because it accelerates the maillard reaction. OK, I actually did try this once, but I did it with raw steak and it got a bit too browned.

How to solve the dips and bumps in the meat though… sigh Maybe it’s time to get hubby that welding equipment. :grin:

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #8

About the welding equipment… I think your just being funny… But that thought actually crossed my mind too. Then I thought, "Wait… I bet acetylene gas might impart a horrible taste, and might even be toxic ? Probably should stick to butane, or propane… but then, what is “map gas” ???

#9

I had to Google it. They’re all nasty sounding to me. I propose a taste test to determine the best gas to use.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAPP_gas

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #10

Interesting. From what I’ve read, allf these gases are fine “so long as” they are completely combusted. You know that by the flame being light blue. If it’s getting yellow and flamy looking, it’s not completely burning, and will likely impart a nasty “fuel taste” to your food.

Hey, I just used a simple little torch head that I bought for arts and crafts, attached to our big 15 lb propane bottle for or BBQ’er, to Brown and melt the cheese on my tuna melt ! Worked so well, that’s what I’m going to use for my Sous Vide… At least starting out. Might get something else for that later :slightly_smiling_face:

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #11

In terms of a vacuum sealer…

You will find uses for it and can buy food in bulk and freeze it or cook in bulk and freeze it in portions. I’m on my 2nd sealer in 30 years. First one lasted 29 years. We use it almost every week.

For example, we cook pork putt in a roasting pot (like a big crock pot) and freeze up dinner portions for the 3 of us. It saves us time and money.

I don’t sous vide yet. But I will do pan searing when I finally get there.

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #12

Two downsides of pan searing though…

  1. it’s hard to focus browning on specific parts of your meat, such as, the fat border around the outside of a steak.
  2. it’s a lot easier to end up “overcooking,” your meat… Which you really don’t want to do, as it is already cooked with Sous Vide. Definitely be sure to let it cool down after the Sous Vide bath though (no matter how you Brown it, actually)