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The "Big Easy" lives up to its name.
In the short time that we have owned this piece of equipment We have done a 16lb. turkey, two 7lb. chickens (not at the same time, two boneless pork loins (one at a time), a standing rib roast (4 ribs) and a pork butt. All were great.
We are experimenting with mounting shelves that can be adjusted to different levels by using the basket structure to support them. We have baked 4 sweet potatoes on a shelf (its a stainless steel cooking grate from a previous vertical smoker) we just cut it down to fit the diameter of the basket. Fixin' next to try Bar-B-Q cabbage on the shelf while the meat is in the bottom.
If I could figure a way to have it clean itself I'd give it a five star rating.
It will never replace smoking but it sure is a lot faster and easier.
I don't have to split the wood like I do for smokin'.
Chris
October 3, 2008
Updater after 10 months of use.
I felt that this cooker was worthy of minute of my time to offer an update about it.
I do a great deal of outdoor cooking all year long. I cant think of anything I haven't cooked on this unit. It has all been excellent. (Oops, I just thought of something. The briskets still get done in the smoker and that ain't gonna change. It takes 2 days prep and 24 30 hrs of smokin' @ 180 200 deg.)
I have been using metal skewers that are cut to the diameter of the cooking basket plus 1" so they rest on the rungs of the basket. I have hung ribs, multiple pork loins, multiple beef roasts of various cuts and use an electronic meat thermometer with two probes to monitor the progress. When I do multiple chickens I use the skewers just to balance them in the upside down (tail up) position.
I have not needed to spend the money for peanut oil to use in my regular deep fryer. I haven't used it since I purchased the "Big Easy".
A word of note; I do use slightly more propane than if I would cook the roasts on one of my hooded grills, but the key word here is SLIGHTLY, the outcome of the meat far outweighs the propane used. As far as chicken and turkey in the deep fryer, it would require more propane to run the burner to heat the oil than what I use to do them in the Big Easy.
I hope that this helps anyone who is thinking of purchasing a "Big Easy".
One last thing. I have a friend who is always lifting the lid of the smoker and the grills. Well poof there goes the cooking time out the window, real noticeable when cooking at 200 deg. and below.
With "The Big Easy" I don't use the mesh cover when I cook, my buddy's got nothing to open, its all there for the world to see and the temperature is not effected. The meat gets done on time.
Chris
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I have never owned or used a turkey frier. I am very safety minded and the thought of all that peanut oil at a high temperature and the open flame, well I just cant bring myself to buy one. I did, however purchase the Char-Broil Big Easy Oil-Less Infrared Turkey Fryer. So far in three weeks I have cooked three turkeys. Since I have never used a real deep fat turkey frier, the operational part of my review of the product is a bit one-sided. I can say that of all the appliances that have more than 2 moving parts, the ease of operation of the Big Easy is just that. Big and easy. The three turkeys I have cooked in the cooker were just under 12 pounds. The first was rubbed with olive oil, it was delicous and moist but a bit dark on the outside. The subsequent 2 were rubbed with peanut oil and had a better complection, but were just as moist and flavourful. I did experience a bit of overcooking of the drumsticks and wings. I believe that this could be cured by sheilding them with some aluminium foil (that will be my next experiment). I have yet to cook anything but turkeys, when I do though, I will make an addendum to this review. All in all, I am pleased with the product and highly praise its ease of use and safety in producing a nice fried turkey. My son is a proffesional Chef and agrees that my terminology is correct, oil has been used and as he states, "technically Dad, it is fried, but not deep fat fried" Thats ok by me.Best Deals for Char-Broil The Big Easy Oil-Less Infrared Turkey Fryer
Where I live, people rave about fried turkeys. I've never had the chance to taste one, so I decided to buy a turkey fryer and give it a try. However, I had concerns about the safety of turkey frying, plus the health issues of frying in oil, plus the expense of buying all that peanut oil, plus disposing of the oil...so, when I saw the Big Easy Oil-less fryer, I went for it.I have to admit, I was skeptical. I really wanted to taste fried turkey and I didn't see how a device which appeared to be more of an oven could fry my turkey without oil. Well, today I cooked my Thanksgiving turkey and I have to say we were blown away. Crispy on the outside, moist and flavorful on the inside just doesn't even begin to do justice to describing this turkey. I still haven't tasted an oil fried turkey, so I can't say if this turkey tasted the same, but I can't imagine any turkey tasting better. My husband raved about it long after the meal was over. He was not too happy about my spending money on a turkey fryer, but after he tasted the turkey, he decided I "did good." He is already talking about cooking a turkey when his sister comes to visit next spring.
Once put together, this appliance couldn't be any easier to use. You hook it up to the propane tank, put the turkey in, turn it on, and wait for the meat thermometer to get to the right temperature. No turning or basting.
I had to do a little finagling because I had already bought a 21 pound turkey. The maximum is supposed to be 16 pounds. It did fit in the basket, though, so I gave it a go. The top of the cooker is open and it was cold enough to be snowing (remember, this is an outdoor cooker). Because the turkey was so large, the end that was up wasn't getting cooked enough. I don't think this would be an issue with a smaller turkey. I took a piece of foil, poked vents in it, and put it over the top of the cooker. This can only be done for a few minutes because the top of the turkey started getting cooked very quickly with the foil over it. However, it did the trick and the whole turkey came out perfectly.
By the way, I basted the turkey with a healthy oil with Omega 3, made of a combination of canola, soy, and olive oil. I stuffed the inside with a chopped apple, a small chopped onion, and four kinds of fresh herbsoregano, thyme, rosemary and basil. The herbs infused the whole turkey with a wonderful flavor.
Honest reviews on Char-Broil The Big Easy Oil-Less Infrared Turkey Fryer
Lets start by saying that I used the big easy to cook my first ever turkey, so I am obviously not a professional. The assembly was pretty straight forward and the hardware was organized nicely. I followed the included instructions for preparing and injecting the marinade in the turkey. Then all you have to do is insert the thermometer, put it in the big easy, and turn it on.I cooked a 15lb turkey, and I found that it actually cooked a bit faster than 10 minutes a pound. Overall it took about 2 hours to fully cook it. The math said it would take 30 minutes longer, but I pulled it when the thermometer hit 170.
The results were as advertised. The turkey came out nice and crispy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside. The rub and marinade (Cajun butter) really gave it that little something extra. the bird got rave reviews from all that tried it. Matter of fact I think I may have sold at least two other people on the big easy. One of which is looking for alternatives to peanut oil based frying due to allergies in the family.
Overall, the only way they could make this thing better is if they included a sample marinade and injector for your first cooking experience. Oh and I think I might research a little about the infrared technology so that I can answer the questions the next time I have people over.
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