COOKING GEAR OBSESSION: CONTROL FREAK
Some Michelin-level cooking gadgets remain only dreams to home cooks. The Thermomix, the chamber sealer, the Pacojet — all tools necessary for professional-level finesse but not a justified cost for home use.
I used to feel that way about the Breville Control Freak, too. But then I did the unthinkable and bought it. In this post, I share why I’m totally obsessed.
GEAR
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USE CASES
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GEAR 〰️ USE CASES 〰️
The GEAR
WHAT’S THE BREVILLE CONTROL FREAK?
Put simply, the Breville Control Freak is a stovetop with sous vide-level precision.
Whereas most stovetops can be controlled with specificity ranging from low to high, the Breville Control Freak can control temperature to the degree. What’s more, you can even control which degree you care about: the temperature of the pan (via a sensor on the stovetop itself), or the temperature of the product you’re cooking (via a probe that measures the temperature of your food).
Restaurants use the Control Freak for repeatability and precision. Home cooks benefit from repeatability and precision too, but for different reasons. Imagine how freeing your home kitchen cooking experience would be if you were asking questions like:
What’s the highest temperature I can sear my steaks without setting off my fire alarm? I’ll set my pan temperature to that temp every time to sear stress-free.
When is convenient for me to make my hollandaise sauce? I’ll make it whenever and keep it at a food-safe temperature until guests arrive.
How can I perfect this recipe? Let’s try a different pan temperature each time until it’s perfect.
Later on, I provide more specific examples of how I use this tool, but suffice to say — it’s converted how I think about heat from an art to a science.
WHY NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY A CONTROL FREAK
Breville just launched a consumer version. It’s 20% cheaper than the original, but 100% of the benefits from the consumer point of view. Yes — it’s still stupidly expensive — but this is a lifetime investment, and we were never very logical with our cooking purchases :)
Breville Control Freak: The OG. Built for a hotter, wetter commercial environment. Hardware controls. Comes with a very sturdy carrying case.
Breville Control Freak Home: Smaller, quieter, and more affordable. Touch controls.
Now for the good stuff — the things I love to do with my Breville Control Freak.
GEAR
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USE CASES
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GEAR 〰️ USE CASES 〰️
THE USE CASES
SEARING STEAK
Some people think the pan should be as hot as possible to sear a steak. It’s a huge misconception — you just need your pan hot enough to sear.
With the Control Freak, you can dial in a temperature where you get a perfect sear without:
Burning the steak
Burning aromatics you’re cooking the steak with
Burning butter you’re finishing the steak with
Setting off your fire alarm
I’ve found that, when setting my Control Freak to 350ºF, I can get a perfect sear without any fear of burning. A little lower at 325ºF, and I can even sear in butter — ending up with a nice browned butter that never burns.
GETTING CRYSTAL CLEAR STOCK
Stocks get cloudy when the fat in the stock emulsifies. Avoid boiling or simmering and the fat never emulsifies. With the Control Freak, you can set the probe temperature to around 205ºF and guarantee a clear stock at the end.
The same level of precision is perfect for dashi too, where you want to remove kombu at 140ºF and add bonito at 176ºF.
LOCKiNG IN FLAVOR AND AVOID EVAPORATION
A chef once told me that aromas in your kitchen are flavors lost to the air. If you cook your low temp stock with a pressure cooker, you can get a crystal clear stock without losing any aroma.
I cook my chicken stock in a pressure cooker set to 205ºF pan temp. The end result is crystal clear, full of aroma, and no evaporation.
COOKING WITH EGGS
Eggs are finicky. Hollandaise, custards, omelets, ice cream — all the life of a party when you can get it right, but a mess when they curdle, break, or overcook. And with the Control Freak, you can always get it right. Just check out how easy this hollandaise recipe is…
MakING food in advance
Set it and forget it. You can keep food at 140ºF indefinitely (well, for 72 hours straight) so it’s always ready when your guests are. Now I do that with butter sauces, demi glace, etc.
DITCHING THE SLOW COOKER AND THE DEEP FRYER
You don’t need them anymore, because the Breville turns any pot into these but with way higher precision. At least that makes up for the space that this gadget takes up.
