Hmm - Oven mats?

[Richtee]

Mr. Curious Ardvaark sent me a gift I received today (Thank You Alex!) Hmmm something I have never seen. It's apparently a type of hi-temp something- not metal. It's flexible mesh about 3/16" grid and is kinda made into a shallow basket form. Says it withstands up to 500°F temps. Promises "Crispy Chips" by allowing air flow under the stuff you have in it. I'm sure there's alot of other applications too.

Interesting. I don't eat many fries, but I'll have to give them a shot and check it out. Again, thanks Alex!

[Kyote]

Got all my ovens lined with them. bed bath and beyond I believe I bought them at. works sweet.
CA's a hook up.

[scotth]

Is it different from a Silpat?

A Silpat is silicone with a glass weave. It helps a lot with cookies.

[Richtee]

Yes...it's a mesh...like a screen.

[RowdyRay]

Interesting. I saw Alex's posts about them. Let us know what you think.

Dad just told me about some silcone mats he got from BB&B, that are made for the bottom of the oven. Supposed to help with cleanup. He bakes a lot of pies and such. Unfortunately, they bubble over sometimes and it's a bitch to clean up. Supposed to wash them and re-use. I'm waiting on his review, before spending the dough.

Incredible what they come up with these days.

[teeotee]

Yes...it's a mesh...like a screen.

Rich, is it anything like this product ..

http://swedishproducts.co.uk/index.p...d44c6612660682

Never used one but if you cook your chips in the oven i can see how it would work good for that.

[Richtee]

Dad just told me about some silcone mats he got from BB&B, that are made for the bottom of the oven. Supposed to help with cleanup.

They work pretty well. I have one in the bottom of my oven. Just pull it out, scrape and wash. You still have to clean the oven once in a while, of course, but it sure cuts down on how often and how difficult it is :{)

[Richtee]

Rich, is it anything like this product ..

http://swedishproducts.co.uk/index.p...d44c6612660682

Never used one but if you cook your chips in the oven i can see how it would work good for that.

Yeah, kinda...but it's "bunched" up at the corners to form a shallow basket maybe an inch deep.

[Bassman]

I can think of one good food to try it with and that would be thinly sliced sweet potatoes. I haven't tried them that way, but sweet potato fries are super.

[curious aardvark]

lol as rich never told me he'd got the parcel this is the first time I've seen this thread
And obviously as I didn't know he'd received them I haven't yet told him what they are for :-)

Moral of this tale children, someone sends you a present - make sure they know you've got it

The baskets are made of kevlar (we think) I use them in the smoker for: nuts, cheese, fatties, ribs, basicallly pretty much anything that might stick to grates or is flat and might melt.
Makes food very easy to move around too. the mate generally can be handled with bare hands almost immediately after opening smoker.

for nuts they are great as smoke and air can circulate all round the nuts.

they are totally non-stick and any crud that gets in the mesh can be easily cleaned out with a standard grill brush and a gentle brushing.

gunslinger has a couple as well - so at some point I'm expecting reviews :-)

I'll see if I can find a picture


like that but with shallower corners so the whole thing is flatter.

[Fatback Joe]

Hmm.....seems like that could be something handy to have around.

[SMOKE FREAK]

Right. Now I need to find where I can get them on this side of the pond...

[PitRow]

Where do you find those at? I'd love to have something like that for the smoker.

[curious aardvark]

don't think you can get them over there yet - but I costed it out when i posted rich's and for 2 it costs me about £5 including envelope and postage.

so anyone who wants a couple let me know and we'll sort something out (volcano's dependant of course ;-)

couple of pics of them in my smoker:
as a general purpose tray of mixed starters:



with cheese:



and nuts:


Recently I've used them for grilling marinated slices of haloumi cheese, so they can be used directly over charcoal on a low heat grill.

Think I used them for the stuffed chicken legs too - but can't put my finger on those pics at this moment in time.
Smart bits of kit :-)

[Richtee]

Pretty versatile indeed! Thank you again!