Cooking Protein Without TempSensor

While many Brava users love the TempSensor, we are excited to give you more options!  Brava released several programs that enable any Brava user to cook a variety of proteins without the TempSensor. As of February 2021, the proteins that you can now cook using a Brava recipe program without a TempSensor include: 

• Chicken Drumsticks 
• Ribeye Steak
• NY Steak 
• Filet Mignon 
• Salmon (skin-on and skinless) 
• Sausage, Fresh 
• Flank Steak 
• Pork Chop (bone-in and boneless) 
• Spatchcocked Chicken 
• Whole Chicken 

This has been a longtime customer request, and our test kitchen chefs have been working hard to bring you this release. You’ll still be able to cook these cuts of proteins with the TempSensor if desired; Brava is simply giving you more options.

What is the Difference Between Cooking With or Without a TempSensor?

The TempSensor-less cooks are simply time-based cooks. Instead of tracking the internal temperature to determine when the cook is done, Brava uses the size, weight, and/or thickness (which our test kitchen chefs determined using Brava’s cooking data and then rigorously tested) to determine exactly how long the protein should be cooked.

Brava chefs used historical data to determine the average time of thousands of protein cooks using the TempSensor in order to determine the appropriate time to cook them without the TempSensor. Note that this feature is currently only available for single protein cooks and not for combo cooks. 

Tips for the New Cooks Without the TempSensor

A couple of things to note about our new cooks without the TempSensor:

• Some of the proteins will require flipping the meat (this includes: Ribeye Steak, NY Strip Steak, and Filet Mignon). Brava will tell you exactly when to flip the meat.
• Additionally, since there is no TempSensor used, the Brava chefs decided to tune each cook to medium-rare doneness for steak. If you like your steak cooked more, no worries! You can always touch it up afterward to cook it a bit longer.
• Also note that each piece of meat is unique, and therefore results may vary with a time-based cook. If you are looking to achieve precise doneness, we highly recommend using Brava’s patented TempSensor, which has three unique reading points to signal Brava exactly what temperature your protein is at throughout the cooking process.

We have some additional helpful tips for cooking steaks: 

1. First, make sure that your steak is cold (straight out of the fridge at roughly 35º F) and patted dry. 
2. Before cooking, gently press the steak onto the Metal Tray so that the meat is in full contact with the tray.
   • After flipping the steak, make sure to press the steak down again. This will ensure that you are able to get a great sear on the outside of your steak. 
3. When your steak is done, immediately remove it from the Metal Tray and slice it within 2-3 minutes. 

If you are cooking two steaks, you will need to arrange your steaks diagonally on the Metal Tray so that they are able to properly fit into Zones 1 and 2 (see below): 

Here is a quick video tutorial on how to cook without the TempSensor: