David Arnold, the man behind cooking issues and the searzall, is awesome and super-smart. He also has a weekly podcast by the same name[0] that I find enjoyable. He's basically a mad scientist w/ food + drinks. His bar in Manhattan[1] is crazy cool. He's also done a lecture series at Harvard[2] if you're interested in learning more about the science/engineering of food.
As far as the Searzall goes; very cool product. If you get in to Sous Vide it's definitely one of the better ways of finising a protein. I still default to a broiler or hot cast-iron because it's often easier + faster w/ similar results. But, I still use the searzall ~weekly just as a hand-held broiler for toasting things. hah
Existing Conditions is probably my favorite bar in the world. I think nowhere else can you get (relatively) unpretentious drinks that are as perfectly executed. (And if you read Dave's Liquid Intelligence, you'll know why.)
Amazon is the exclusive retailer. It sells out often and Amazon has been very bad about putting it back in stock, so if you're interested in one, waiting can be frustrating.
You'll also need to buy the torch and propane canisters.
(Amazon recommends the tall skinny canisters, but that's not safe. Get the squatter, coleman canisters)
The Searzall is on Amazon[0] and as mentioned you'll need a torch like this[1]! It's actually in stock right now so if you want one within the net 6 months I recommend buying it. They sell out quickly and they're manufactured in laggy batches. You'll also need to buy some of the propane locally. Their challenges with Amazon comes up regularly on their podcast... apparently it's been lots of headaches.
My friend bought something similar when he got a sous vide circulator, and let me tell you... it really works. You get the perfectly cooked steak, plus that Maillard reaction we all know and love. It’s also killer for anything you want to melt cheese over, to get that lovely brown crust.
I'm honestly flabbergasted that Mornay sauce isn't more popular, given that it can be stored in the fridge for up to a week: it's the only reliable way to (consistently) achieve perfectly browned cheese on bread. I put a thin layer on toast, broil it for 2min, and then top it with caviar and watercress. Great way to get Omega-3s in the morning.
Many (most?) mac and cheese recipes involve making a mornay sauce, but they rarely call it that. The slightly more informed recipes will actually call it a béchamel sauce and then have you add cheese.
I really hate that when I'm reading a recipe, if it just said "make a mornay sauce with 4 oz cheddar and 4 oz gruyere" you'd cut out 3 steps from the recipe. It's loop unrolling for recipes.
There are plenty of recipes that are made for people that do know the basics, or where the basics are literally factored out separately in the same cookbook. The latter is more common in large cookbooks with fairly deep coverage, the former in ones targetting a more specialized, experienced audience.
Just another data point: I have an Anova Immersion circulator and have made some good steaks with it, but in my experience, reverse searing works even better [1]. Reverse sear entails pre-cooking the steak in your oven at a lower temperature and then searing.
The steak from the oven is less wet compared to sous vides so it sears better. The crust tastes better than a sous vides steak.
A hot cast iron is just as good. I'd recommend against buying special purpose cooking equipment until you actually get into cooking. Otherwise your kitchen cabinets are going to be filled with doodads that you pull out once every 18 months.
I have one. It's just okay. It's great for finishing things melting cheese on dishes, etc., but it's a little under-powered for searing a steak nicely, especially if there's any moisture present. It's fine for one steak. For two or three, the first would get cold before the others were ready.
If, for example, you were intending to prepare a meal for yourself and your romantic partner, I would recommend getting two. I doubt there are many things more attractive than being fed tasty food by a person dual-wielding a couple of torches.
Trying to use two at once sounds dangerous, and you'd lose the ability to move the meat around so that searing the edges of the steak would be very difficult. An equally sexy option is a deep fryer.
I've found that the searzall has a relatively steep learning curve. The learning curve is more like a knife than a pan. The kind of person who is buying the searzall is probably not used to being unskilled with a kitchen tool; I certainly wasn't.
I've successfully seared four porkchops with it, with none of them getting cold. The trick is getting each chop up to the searing point, where you can see bubbling on the surface, and then keeping it there. It's a little like spinning plates. You have to get them all going, but once they're there you only need to give each a little push once in a while. That also gives me a more satisfying crust than if I blitz through in a single pass.
Searing both before and after the immersion circulator is a strong option. I believe Dave Arnold recommends it (or deep frying) for folks interested in maximum crust formation.
It's really a transformative tool because it allows such high heat with such fine precision. It's my preferred tool for cooking the top of an egg that I still want a runny yolk. Also useful in any kind of home pizza-making. I've occasionally brought it to the office, though only when there's an outdoor space I can use.
Oh, the egg thing! I've done that. It's great for that. Definitely brought mine to work to crisp up an entire porchetta. I want to try it on steak that's been reverse-seared, I wager that starting with a dry surface will work much better.
Yeah, that's my impression too, you need to pat them very very dry, which might take time if you sear them directly from e.g. a sous vide bag. I still use it to sear single steaks, because the fire alarm is a bit overzealous and the searzall creates less smoke than a Cast Iron skillet.
I use my air fryer to sear (highest temp, checking every two minutes), and it seems to work very well for my taste. Although, admittedly, I don't have much else to compare it to except what I've tasted from other's cooking.
http://www.cookingissues.com/category/ike-jime/