Techniques Archives - HLCooking https://hlcooking.com/category/get-cooking/techniques/ Mastering Your HOTLOGIC® Personal Oven Thu, 30 Oct 2025 21:40:57 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://i0.wp.com/hlcooking.com/wp-content/uploads/untitled.jpg?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Techniques Archives - HLCooking https://hlcooking.com/category/get-cooking/techniques/ 32 32 215873330 Overnight Bacon https://hlcooking.com/overnight-bacon/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=overnight-bacon https://hlcooking.com/overnight-bacon/#respond Wed, 22 May 2024 01:20:07 +0000 https://hlcooking.com/?p=2316 Yes, you can cook bacon overnight in your HOTLOGIC® and have crispy bacon the next day. Usually, everyone who has tried cooking bacon says that it comes out floppy and unappealing. This is true when the raw bacon strips are sealed in a container and placed in the HOTLOGIC® for cooking. Because of this, nothing […]

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]]> Yes, you can cook bacon overnight in your HOTLOGIC® and have crispy bacon the next day. Usually, everyone who has tried cooking bacon says that it comes out floppy and unappealing. This is true when the raw bacon strips are sealed in a container and placed in the HOTLOGIC® for cooking. Because of this, nothing wrapped in raw bacon is an ideal choice to cook in a HOTLOGIC®. Let me show you how to cook bacon in a HOTLOGIC® and have it come out crispy.

Method to Use

The way you cook bacon is make a tray of aluminum foil to set directly on the heating plate. Then lay the pieces of bacon on it. Be careful to not puncture the aluminum foil. Otherwise, the bacon grease will leak out. I, also, lay a piece of parchment paper over top without touching the bacon. If the parchment touches the bacon, it tends to stick to the bacon. I am not certain that the parchment is necessary. I do it to keep any condensation that forms on the HOTLOGIC® lid from dripping onto the bacon.

The bacon is cooked for 8 hours or overnight. After one hour I checked the temperature of the bacon in the HOTLOGIC® Mini’s and found the bacon to be within a few degrees of the temperature of the heating plate, in the high 190’s°F. The aluminum foil is an extremely efficient heat conductor. Whenever I check the temperature of my HOTLOGIC® Mini heating plates, I find that they are typically around 200°F.

Thin and thick cut bacon cooked overnight in two HOTLOGIC® Mini's
HOTLOGIC® Max filled with bacon that was cooked overnight

If you are able to look closely at the picture of the bacon in my HOTLOGIC® XP Max, you may notice that the bacon on the lower left and on the top does not look to be as well-cooked as the rest. It is not. I took temperature readings and found that they reached 150°F to 170°F after about 1 hour. This does prove people’s belief that the HOTLOGIC® Max does not heat their food as fast as the HOTLOGIC® Mini. It cannot if the heating plate is not uniformly hot across the surface. If you find that your HOTLOGIC® Max has the same issue, you may wish to lay your bacon in a different pattern, so that each piece has a portion laying on a hotter section. By doing this, the heat may transfer from the hotter section to the warmer given enough time.

What Bacon is Best?

I tried thick cut and regular cut bacon. In the pictures the thick cut is on the lower left and the regular cut is on the right. In another test I cooked lower sodium bacon. No pictures are available of the low sodium bacon cooking.

All of the pieces were greasier that oven cooked or pan fried. The thicker cut did not have crunch, but it would work well in a breakfast sandwich. The regular cut had crunch. The lower sodium bacon has the best crunch of all of them. When my No. 1 Taste Tester was testing the results, I heard the crunch six feet away. The optimal crunch was probably due to it being an even thinner cut that regular cut bacon.

box of lower sodium bacon
holding a piece of crisp bacon baked overnight in a HOTLOGIC®

Now you know how to cook bacon in your HOTLOGIC®. You can make it overnight and have it ready to serve in the morning or add to a sandwich.

Breakfast Recipes

tray filled with bacon cooked in a HOTLOGIC® overnight
Thick Cut Mini-Thick Cut Max-Regular Cut Max-Regular Cut Mini

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]]> https://hlcooking.com/overnight-bacon/feed/ 0 2316 Frozen Food https://hlcooking.com/frozen-food/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=frozen-food Fri, 10 May 2024 23:52:12 +0000 https://hlcooking.com/?p=1893 One of the basic ways for making the HOTLOGIC® so easy to use is to have frozen food ready to take out and pop into the HOTLOGIC®.

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]]> One of the basic ways for making the HOTLOGIC® so easy to use is to have frozen food ready to take out and pop into the HOTLOGIC®. You can use store bought frozen goods or prepare them at home. Frozen foods have the added benefit of being able to pack in a cooler and stay at food safe temperatures for a day or two when traveling.

Store Bought

The freezer section at the store is full of possibilities ranging from ingredients to fully prepared meals. You will want to avoid any frozen raw wheat product such as pot pies or dinner roll dough, as the HOTLOGIC® does not get hot enough to bake wheat flour. Also, French fries will not bake. Here are some of the frozen items available at stores that work in a HOTLOGIC®.

  • Frozen meals
  • Lasagna
  • Hot Pockets
  • Burritos
  • Taquitos
  • Samosas
  • Frozen vegetables – broccoli, cauliflower, cauliflower rice, carrots, onions, bell peppers, and green beans

Home Prepared

At home you can prepare your own frozen meals or dishes or ingredients. When you make a meal, one serving can be portioned and frozen for later use. What I find that really works for me is to prepare uncooked meats and vegetables. Then they are ready to grab and pop into the HOTLOGIC®.

  • Precooked spiral-cut ham with glaze– Honestly, I just toss the glaze. Next, I cut the ham and lay the slices on trays to freeze. Once frozen, I store it in 1-gallon freezer bags and go through the ham over time. I use it in soups, hot sandwiches, and meat for dinners.
  • Ground meat – I prepare the meat and then form patties before laying them on trays to freeze. I store them in an airtight container in the freezer. Then in the mornings I need only grab a patty to put in a container and pop into the HOTLOGIC® to cook for lunch or dinner.
  • Pork roast – I slice the pork roast into single serving portions and lay the slices on trays to freeze. I store them in an airtight container in the freezer. To cook in the HOTLOGIC® I drizzle olive oil on the bottom of the container and sprinkle with salt, oregano, rosemary and thyme. After placing the roast in the container, I repeat with the oil and spices on top.
  • Vegetables – I cheat and skip the parboil step for the veggies I freeze. I have not noticed that it is necessary for these particular veggies. The vegetables are washed and peeled when required. After cutting them up, I put them straight into a freezer bag. When they go into the freezer slightly wet, I do end up banging the bag on the counter to loosen the pieces. I always have these vegetables in my freezer: diced carrots, sliced celery, chopped or sliced onions, chopped cabbage, and sometimes chopped bell peppers.

Ready to Go

In the morning when my schedule is tight, I like being able to reach into the freezer and grab my next meal to heat in my HOTLOGIC®. These are just some of the ways I stock my freezer to be able to do this.

tray of frozen ground turkey patties ready to store in the freezer
Frozen Ground Turkey Patties

Pantry

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]]> 1893 Cooking Difficulty Levels https://hlcooking.com/levels-of-difficulty/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=levels-of-difficulty Thu, 09 May 2024 23:03:27 +0000 https://hlcooking.com/?p=1860 This website covers techniques and cooking methods that cover a range of difficulty levels. As you get comfortable using the HOTLOGIC®, you may want to try more involved food preparation methods. In order to give you an idea of how complicated a recipe or technique may be, I am categorizing them as Beginner, Intermediate or […]

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]]> This website covers techniques and cooking methods that cover a range of difficulty levels. As you get comfortable using the HOTLOGIC®, you may want to try more involved food preparation methods. In order to give you an idea of how complicated a recipe or technique may be, I am categorizing them as Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced level.

Beginner

At first everyone is just getting accustomed to the HOTLOGIC®. This appliance only needs to be plugged in order to work. There is nothing to adjust. In the beginning most people use the HOTLOGIC® as a slow, substitute microwave.

  • Heating store bought frozen cooked meals -If the box fits inside, just open one end to verify which way is up. Then fold close and place in the HOTLOGIC®. If the box is too big, you can remove the tray from the box and set directly on the heating plate. The new paper containers are okay to place directly on the heating plate.
  • Reheating refrigerated or frozen leftovers – The HOTLOGIC® can reheat leftovers or food that is cooked, portioned and frozen for future meals.
  • Melting butter or chocolate -Although it takes longer to melt in a HOTLOGIC® than in a microwave, it is a much gentler method for turning a solid into a liquid.

Intermediate

Once you have become comfortable with the HOTLOGIC®, you can cook raw meat and other ingredients. There are some ingredients that require a higher heat than what can be reached in a HOTLOGIC® such as wheat flour, uncooked pasta and traditional rice. These should be avoided. There are still plenty ingredients left from which to choose.

  • Store bought, ready to cook, simple meals-Except for bacon wrapped items, most of these types of meals work well. Although, I don’t recommend cooking any fish-based meals at work. The smells will get out and will irritate your co-workers.
  • Raw meat – Chicken, turkey, beef, fish all cook well in a HOTLOGIC®.
  • Grains and seeds – Except for rice, all the other grains in grout/kernel form cook well. Wild rice is from a different plant than white or brown rice, and if pre-soaked, will cook just fine.
  • Fruit based desserts – When cooking just the fruit filling, it is easy to mix up the filling and bake it in the HOTLOGIC®. A crumble crust on top will not cook well, if at all.
Pear poached in white wine ready to eat and served with fruit flavored wine.

Advanced

In this category I am putting desserts that have several steps with long cooking times in between the steps. Also included are recipes that require attention to times or the use of additional tools.

  • Chef’s Torch – Used to add a quick browning to food cooked in sealed dishes.
  • Cheesecake – The steps are simple, but it can take more that 24 hours to make if the crust is baked for 8+ hours before the filling is added.
  • Cookies – Specific ingredients are required, which may not already be in your pantry. The smallest batch makes about 18 cooking and the HOTLOGIC® Mini can only cook six at a time for 3 1/2 – 4 hours. The remainder of the dough needs to be stored until it can be portioned and baked.
mini turtle cheesecake ready to cut and serve

Techniques

Hot Logic difficulty levels

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]]> 1860 Desserts: Small Batch Recipes for HOTLOGIC® Mini Cookbook https://hlcooking.com/desserts-small-batch-recipes-for-hotlogic-mini/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=desserts-small-batch-recipes-for-hotlogic-mini Sat, 13 Apr 2024 02:33:53 +0000 https://hlcooking.com/?p=1720 A collection of over 30 original recipes to make in the HOTLOGIC® Mini.

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]]> This cookbook, Desserts: Small Batch Recipes for HOTLOGIC® Mini, is a collection of over 30 original recipes to make in the HOTLOGIC® Mini. You can bake these treats any place you can plug in a HOTLOGIC® Mini. Access to a kitchen is not required. Using a HOTLOGIC® Mini, the right ingredients and time (hours) you can bake small batches of bars, cookies, cheesecakes, and other treats to eat yourself or share with family and friends.

Buy Now!

Cover of Desserts: Small Batch Recipes for HOTLOGIC® Mini including a picture of some of the desserts made with a HOTLOGIC®.
eCookbook on Amazon
Paperback on Amazon

Recipes in Desserts: Small Batch Recipes for HOTLOGIC® Mini

Bars & Torte

  • Cheesecake Bars
  • Chocolate Torte*
  • Fudge Jumble (Revel Bars)
  • Gooey & Chewy Brownies
Stack of cheesecake bar on a blue plate ready to enjoy.

Cheesecakes

  • Chocolate Cheesecake
  • Chocolate Espresso Cheesecake*
  • Grasshopper Cheesecake
  • Original Cheesecake
  • Praline Cheesecake*
  • S’mores Cheesecake
  • Turtle Cheesecake*
  • Zebra Cheesecake
Grind® Double Espresso liqueur Is what makes this chocolate espresso cheesecake so delicious.

Cookies

  • Almond Cookies
  • Chocolate Chip Cookies
  • Ginger Cookies
  • Lemon Cookies
  • Maple Cookies
  • Peanut Butter Cookies
  • Sugar Cookies
  • Triple Chocolate Cookies
Stack of sugar cookies served with a glass of milk

Fruit Desserts

  • Apple Crisp
  • Apple Pie Crust
  • Bourbon Peaches*
  • Baked Mango & Blueberries
  • Elderflower Nectarines*
  • White Wine Pear*
Mini Jim Beam® Bourbon used to poach the sliced Bourbon Peaches ready to eat, and the shot of fruit flavored bourbon ready to drink.

Mousse

  • Butterscotch Mousse
  • Caramel Mousse Cream
  • Chocolate Mousse
  • Vanilla Mousse Cream
Spoonful of chocolate mousse ready to eat on a blue plate with a bowl of chocolate mousse topped with whipped cream.

Toppings

  • Fruit Compote*
  • Caramel Sauce
  • Granola
  • Hot Fudge Sauce
These bowls are filled with toppings such as raspberry compote, caramel sauce, granola, hot fudge sauce, strawberry compote and blueberry compote to add a delicious pop of flavor to plain desserts.

*Alcohol in the form of liqueur, whisky or wine is used in this recipe.

HOT LOGIC Cookbook recipes

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]]> 1720 Sausage Egg Bake for Travel https://hlcooking.com/travel-sausage-egg-bake/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=travel-sausage-egg-bake Fri, 24 Mar 2023 03:03:14 +0000 https://hlcooking.com/?p=1387 I wanted to see if a Sausage Egg Bake could be assembled, frozen and later cooked overnight in a HOTLOGIC®.

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]]> I wanted to see if a Sausage Egg Bake would make a good menu item for travel. Two of the common questions I have seen repeatedly are: “What can I make for breakfast?” and “What can I take on a road trip?”. I thought an egg bake would be an answer for both of these questions, that it could be assembled, frozen and then cooked overnight in a HOTLOGIC®. So I did an experiment.

I assemble a double portion of the Sausage Egg Bake. Instead of placing it in a dish to bake, I poured it into a silicon mold. I used the one pictured. The silicon has heft to it, and the rim is steel reinforced.

Kinggrand Kitchen 2-Cup Silicone Freezer Tray with Lid - 2 Pack - Make 4 Perfect 2-Cup Portions - Easy Release Molds for Food Storage & Freeze Soup, Broth, Stew or Sauce
Kinggrand Kitchen 2-Cup Silicone Freezer Tray with Lid – 2 Pack – Make 4 Perfect 2-Cup Portions – Easy Release Molds for Food Storage & Freeze Soup, Broth, Stew or Sauce
Frozen sausage egg bake in a glass dish on a countertop before being cooked in a HOTLOGIC®.

This mold froze the food into a shape that fit in a 4-cup or 6-cup container for cooking. The egg bake came out the same as if it had been cooked immediately after assembly.

Taking It on the Road

So now the question is how this would work to bring on a road trip. Once the uncooked egg bake is frozen, place it in a freezer bag or vacuum sealed in a bag. You can carry the frozen egg bake in a cooler bag. If you are using a cooler without ice, you may only be able to have it to bake the first night. If you are supplementing your cooler with a combination of dry ice and water frozen in a block, then you should be able to keep food frozen for 2-3 days and still be cold at safe temperatures for a day or two more. This would allow you to have an egg bake for several breakfasts.

For baking, remove the frozen egg bake from the bag and place in a container. I like to use the collapsible silicone container I found on Amazon for cooking in my HOTLOGIC® while traveling. My mold makes a block that fits in this container. You will need to select a mold that produces a block that will fit in your preferred container. If you have enough space, you may choose to use disposable, aluminum or plastic food prep containers for both freezing and cooking.

This method will work well if you need your breakfast ready as soon as you wake up in the morning. If you can get up in the morning and wait two hours before eating, you can still use an uncooked egg bake or you can re-heat a precooked egg bake that has been portioned and frozen.

The egg casserole recipe will also work with this method of food prep.

Sausage egg bake in a red silicone dish on a countertop after being cooked in a HOTLOGIC®.
Print

Sausage Egg Bake

Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 hours
Servings 2

Ingredients

  • 3 lg eggs
  • 1 T milk
  • 1/4 c sweet onion, diced
  • 1/4 c carrots, peeled & diced
  • 1 c frozen broccoli, chopped
  • 1/2 c mozzarella, shredded
  • 1 ea sausage, diced

Instructions

  • In small bowl crack eggs and add milk. Whisk with fork. Set aside.
  • In medium bowl combine vegetables, cheese and sausage. Stir.
  • Add egg mixture to vegetable mixture and stir until coated.
  • If doing meal prep, pour into selected mold and freeze. Once frozen, placed in sealed bag to store in freezer.
  • When ready to bake, remove from bag and place in a 6-cup, heat-safe dish. 
  • Place the dish in the HOTLOGIC®. Plugin the HOTLOGIC® and zip shut. Cook overnight. It will actually be done in 2-3 hours, but still be moist 12 hours after being placed in the HOTLOGIC® to cook.

Breakfast Recipes

Hot Logic Sausage Egg Bake

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]]> 1387 How to Add Maillard Reaction (Browning) to HOTLOGIC® Cooking https://hlcooking.com/maillard-reaction/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=maillard-reaction Sat, 01 Oct 2022 02:49:02 +0000 https://hlcooking.com/?p=378 The browning can easily be done by using a chef torch...

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]]> The one thing people miss when cooking in a HOTLOGIC® is the browning (Maillard reaction) of the food. The Maillard (pronounced “my-YARD”) reaction causing caramelization (the sugars to brown) typically happens starting at 300ºF. Since the HOTLOGIC® only goes to the mid-170’sºF or the mid-180’sºF, depending on your device; it cannot cause the Maillard reaction which gives a delicious smell and taste to foods. The browning can easily be done by using a chef torch either before or after the food is cooked in the HOTLOGIC®.

Applying the Maillard Reaction When Cooking

This video shows how easy it is to perfectly cook a steak and create Maillard reaction with a chef torch. He uses a water bath (sous vide) method for cooking the steak instead of a HOTLOGIC®, but the principal is the same.

Tools

So now that you know how to do it, what tools would help you do this yourself?

A metal pan provides a safe dish to hold your meat while torching, There are some that can fit in the HOTLOGIC® Mini and Max/XP.

(Click images to see in Amazon.)

Fits a Mini

Right sized for a Mini

Fits a Family Size

To safely handle the meat while torching it, metal tongs or a meat fork will work. These two suggestions are each under $6 on Amazon at the time of writing this post.

A meat thermometer with wire probe will let you know when your meat has reached your desired internal temperature. You can check the temperature with your HOTLOGIC® zipped closed.

Of course a butane chef torch is required.

If you don’t already have one in your kitchen, it’s always a good idea to have a fire extinguisher in easy reach, like this one pictured. Click image to see in Amazon.

For more information on how to select a fire extinguisher, click here.

With these tools to create the Maillard reaction when cooking in a HOTLOGIC®, it should be easy to prepare food with the caramelized finish. This will give you a larger selection of food prepared in a HOTLOGIC® that looks, tastes and smells delicious.

stock photo-juicy chicken breast seared golden and sliced.
Grilled chicken breast served with salad

Hot Logic Maillard Reaction Cooking

Techniques

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]]> 378 Select a Portable Power Supply for Your HOTLOGIC® https://hlcooking.com/portable-power-supply-for-your-hotlogic/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=portable-power-supply-for-your-hotlogic Mon, 26 Sep 2022 02:45:48 +0000 https://hlcooking.com/?p=376 Help you determine the portable power supply you need to power your HOTLOGIC®.

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]]> One of the many benefits of a HOTLOGIC® is that is works easily with a portable power supply. This enables you to take it almost anywhere and make a hot meal. The HOTLOGIC® Mini uses only 45w. The HOTLOGIC® Max/XP uses 100w. The low amount of power required makes it easy to find power supplies that will work. Before you choose portable power supply there are a few things you will want to keep in mind.

Your Requirements

How Much Power Do You Want?

The first thing you need to do is determine what appliances you want to plug into the power supply and the watts they require to operate.

Output Wattage-Add up all the watts for the appliances that you want to run at one time. If only one will run at a time, take the highest watts needed.

Watt Hours (WH)-Multiply the watts required per appliance by the number of hours you want to operate each of the appliances.

e.g. If you want to operate a HOTLOGIC® Mini for 5 hours, then you need 225 watts.

Add up the total watt hours for each of the appliances to determine the number of watt hours you want for your power supply.

Lead Acid vs. Lithium-Ion Batteries

Lead acid batteries are usually found in 6-in-1 car starters. They are larger and heavier than a lithium-ion battery that have the same capacity. Generally, they cannot be recharged (cycled) as many times as a lithium-ion battery. But the cost per Watt Hour is typically less than the lithium-ion battery.

e.g. Wattage 500w, 270WH & weighs 11 lb.

Lithium-ion batteries usually cost more per watt hour than the lead acid batteries. But they can weigh less and be recharged more times than a lead acid battery of equivalent capacity.

e.g. Wattage 300W, 280WH & weighs 5.08 lb.

Does Your Power Supply Need a Pure Sine Wave Inverter?

Based on the information provided in an article from Livewire.com; it is devices with motors and medical equipment, that need the pure sine wave inverter for optimal performance and life. Since your HOTLOGIC® does not have a motor, it doesn’t need a pure sine wave inverter. If you want to run a portable compressor refrigerator, then you should get a power supply with a pure sine wave inverter.

Other considerations

  • How many times you want it to recharge (cycle)?
  • How fast will it recharge?
  • What power source do you want to use to recharge it?
  • How much money do you have to spend on it?

Portable Power Supplies and Banks

There are many choices available for portable power supplies. Here is just a sampling of what can be found on Amazon.

266Wh 12v Power Bank
Under $200
 

500Wh with 2x110V AC Outlets
Under $300

1132Wh with 4 120V AC Outlet
Under $750-

Solar Package

If you are planning on using your HOTLOGIC® during a power outage, while camping or when living in a van full-time, you may want a portable power supply solution that includes solar panels to recharge your power station. Here are some options found on Amazon.

260Wh
Under $250

720Wh
Under $800

1132Wh
Under $900

Questions about what power adapter to get? Adapter options can be found here.

Hot Logic Portable Power Station Supply

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