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Product Description

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Ask anyone to describe food prepared inside The Big Easy and “juicy” is the first word you’re likely to hear - followed by tender, moist, and flavorful. Instead of oil, the infrared heat penetrates the meat evenly and seals the juices inside. The result is a bird thats moist inside and crispy outsidejust as fried turkey should be.

Turkeys cooked in The Big Easy are prepared the same way as in traditional fryers and can be injected with marinades. However, The Big Easy allows for the use of rubs and seasoning flavor to be used on the outside, which can wash away with traditional turkey fryers. A removable drip pan located underneath The Big Easy heating chamber catches all the birds flavorful juices, allowing cooks to retain the essential ingredients of homemade gravy for further preparation on the stovetop.

A healthy alternative to oil frying, the Char-Broil Big Easy actually does more than just fry turkeysit can also safely cook chicken, pork tenderloin, beef roast and most large cuts of meat up to 16 pounds, all in about eight to 10 minutes per pound. Doneness is determined not by cook time, but by the turkeys internal temperature, which is safely measured using a meat thermometer, included with The Big Easy.

Thanksgiving just got a whole lot easier and healthier for those who love the juicy taste of fried turkey but hate the safety, cost and hassle issues related to cooking with oil. Because its oil-less, The Big Easy eliminates the dangers long associated with the incorrect and unsupervised use of deep fryers. Cooking occurs inside The Big Easys cylindrical, double-walled heating chamber, powered by a fully enclosed propane burner. The turkey or other meat is placed inside a drop-in basket that is lowered into the chamber and cooked with evenly distributed Infrared radiant heat.

We love the juicy and distinctive taste of fried turkey, but many of us have become increasingly wary of the fire dangers associated with deep fryers - and for good reason. In fact, firefighters and consumer product safety experts warn that unattended or improperly used turkey fryers can cause devastating house or deck fires. Cooking oil is combustible; therefore, if it is heated beyond its cooking temperature, then its vapors can ignite. In fact, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission noted “the majority of reported incidents occurred while the oil was being heated, prior to adding the turkey.”The Big Easy offers the perfect safe and healthy solutiongreat fried turkey taste without the oil.

Easy

Those who have fried a turkey using a traditional deep-fryer can testify that it is a labor-intensive process. Finding a safe location, buying oil, pre-heating the oil, cleaning up the mess and properly disposing of the used oil is inconvenient and time consuming.

Beyond being a “labor of love” for your family and friends, cooking with a traditional turkey fryer is also expensive proposition. That juicy, mouthwatering, crispy skinned result can put a significant dent in your wallet especially when it comes to buying the oil. Frying with peanut oil usually costs between $35-$40 per use. In addition to the cost, there is the problem of what to do with 3 to 4 gallons of peanut oil when the feast is over. Then the fun begins. Simply getting 3.5 to 4 gallons of used oil from a 26 to 30 quart pot back into a container or several containers is not a simple task. Then figuring out how and where to properly recycle the oil in your community is often a challenge.

The Char-Broil Big Easy eliminates all oil-related issues by simply eliminating the oil, allowing the backyard chef to spend less money and more time savoring the best turkey they have ever tasted. No more oil to buy and pre-heat. No more trying to figure out a safe, easy and environmentally friendly way to dispose of 3 to 4 gallons of used oil. Enjoy the convenience and savor the taste!

The Process

Specifications:

18,000 BTU burner
Requires propane tank
Outdoor use only
Packaged weight: 35 lbs.
Product weight: 30 lbs.
Assembled size: 21.1″L x 21.1″W x 24.5″H
Carton Size: 17.52″ L x 17.52″ W x 20.9″ H

What’s in the box:

cooker, cooking basket, basket lifter, meat thermometer, quick start cooking guide, cool touch handles, rotary ignition, and easy use grease tray.

Customer Reviews on Amazon.com

The Big Easy Oil-Less Turkey Fryer Click for More Information

Popularity: 13% [?]

Source: www.sizzleonthegrill.com

Beer Can Turkey in The Big Easy oil-less infrared turkey fryer

Ive cooked hundreds of beer can chickens over the years. And it was always a pretty simple process. Open a beer, sample it to perform necessary quality control, place a rinsed, dried and seasoned whole chicken over the can (inserted into empty cavity) and set on a small tray to stabilize then put it all on the grill or in the oven for about an hour at 400F degrees.

The Chicken Roaster is useful for flavoring chickens.

When The Big Easy came along beer can chicken was one of the first meals I cooked in it. And nearly every week since. Last year sometime I began using the Char-Broil Chicken Roaster and now prepare chicken with a variety of flavored liquid infusions.

The premise is pretty basic: The chicken is cooked from the outside by indirect heat of the grill, or direct infrared energy in The Big Easy, and the heat also warms the liquid in the beer can or Chicken Roaster . The warming liquid slowly steams into the cavity of the chicken imparting flavor, adding moisture and helping to cook the bird. Simple and tasty.

So why on earth have I never thought to prepare a Beer Can Turkey?

Last week I did and I gotta tell you the results were just excellent! I prepared an 11.5 pound turkey in The Big Easy but you could just as easily prepare it in your grill if you set it up to accommodate the height of the bird and use indirect heat. I think The Big Easy makes it less difficult but I dont want to limit your creativity!

First I thawed the 11.5 pound turkey in my fridge for a day and a half. Then I removed the wrappings, took out the giblets and neck (to make a flavored stock for gravy) and placed the bird in a very basic brine mixture of about 1/2 cup kosher salt and enough water to cover the bird along with a dash of apple cider vinegar. (Want to know more about brining and the whys and wherefores? CLICK HERE) I use my largest stock pot for this brining process. Since I generally never cook a turkey much larger than 12 pounds, it works just fine for this purpose.

Why never cook a whole turkey much larger than 12 pounds you ask? Younger birds, in my opinion, are more tender. And in my experience two 12 pound birds deliver more meat than one 24 pound bird plus they are easier to manage in my oven or smoker or grill or Big Easy take less time to cook and less chance of meat drying out.

A 12lb turkey fits nicely in a large stockpot for brining. The stockpot with plastic wrap over the top sits in my refrigerated cooler for 4 - 8 - 12 - 24 hours, depending on how I feel about it all at the particular time.

Sometimes Ill place smaller birds in seal-able plastic bags, but still place them in the pot for insurance against leakage.

I stored the pot with the brining bird in my refrigerated cooler.

Later that afternoon I removed the bird from the pot and rinsed it. While you can certainly brine for up to 24 hours Ive found that I get good results in as few as 8 when cooking this size bird.

After rinsing and drying off with paper towels I placed the bird on a platter in the regular fridge for about an hour to air dry a bit. Remember one of the rules of roasting and grilling:

Wet = Steam.

Dry = Crisp & Brown.

Next step was to lightly rub the exterior of the bird with some neutral flavored oil. When cooking in The Big Easy I add just a light coat of peanut or canola oil to the surface of a turkey or chicken prior to roasting. You dont have to but I like to. I didnt add any salt to the skin because brining adds a bit of salt to the meat so I dont think it needs extra. Some folks like to add a rub to the surface of the turkey, even under the skin. If thats your style of preparation you may not need to apply oil on the skin.

The next steps are pretty simple. Place the turkey cavity over a half can of beer -I used a 32 oz. size and place the bird in the cooking basket. I use the Easy Out Hinged Basket and find that is makes the task very easy. The cooking part is pretty easy.

1. Set the basket with the turkey in The Big Easy oil-less infrared turkey fryer.
2. Turn on The Big Easy.
3. Plan on cooking for about 10 minutes per pound.

Im not suggesting you take a nap or watch the game on TV when preparing food in The Big Easy. You should always be attentive to any outdoor cooking appliance but cooking in The Big Easy is not anywhere as worrisome as using a hot oil fryer.

Turkey or chicken placed in The Big Easy will generally be legs down and wings up - allowing you to place an oven safe meat thermometer in the breast so it can be viewed from the top of the cooker.

When cooking a large roast on your grill, smoker or in The Big Easy I always recommend you use an oven safe meat thermometer inserted into the roast so the tip of the temperature probe is in the center of the meat and away from bone (bones conduct heat a bit faster than meat so your readings can be off). The only way to know something is cooked, without cutting into it and looking, is using a reliable thermometer. I place the meat thermometer in the breast meat so it is easily viewed from the top of the cooker when the chicken or turkey is roasted in a vertical position. And I set the timer for about 60 minutes.

An 11 pound turkey will cook in The Big Easy at a rate of approximately 10 minutes per pound and that added up to approximately 110 minutes. I wanted to keep abreast of what was going on in the bird so set the timer to remind me to go check on it. I did and it was still way below 150F degrees. No worries another 15 or twenty minutes I says to myself. I go back to the kitchen and continue prepping the rest of the meal. I can see the cooker through the kitchen window and its a boring site. BUT I forgot to set the timer. I realize its been nearly a half an hour since I went outside! YIKES!

In my minds eye there is a picture of this crispy blackened bird, the meat all dry. And having to go to the store and get another so I can write this story but not tell a soul that I messed up! Using the hook that comes with the cooker I lift the basket and the thermometer in the breast meat is registering 175F degrees. Insert the instant read digital thermometer in the thigh and it reads 180F degrees. OH MAN~! A turkey of this size will continue to cook from internal heat and potentially raise in temperature anywhere from 5 10 degrees. I generally cook until the breast meat reads just a tad more than 165F degrees.

Wellthank goodness I brined the bird (more moisture to begin with) and because of the 8oz of beer that heated up and steamed inside the bird it was not over cooked at all. In fact it was perfectly done and so very moist. Ill let the pictures tell the story.

The 11.5 lb turkey is resting, cross-legged, on a 32oz can of beer set inside an Easy Out Hinged Basket.

One of the drum sticks slipped a bit and the part sticking out was too close to the side of the cooker - charred. No worries - the meat was'nt affected

Side view shows the turkey positioned in the cooking basket.

Turkey set on the side - shows how the 32oz. can fits into the cavity. Most of the beer evaporates and steams inside the bird.

Leg-thigh piece is easily pulled off and joint cut. The dark meat is done, moist and nearly fall off the bone.

The breast meat is removed as one whole piece.

Happy Grilling!

Popularity: 7% [?]

Source: www.sizzleonthegrill.com

Monday, October 12 is Thanksgiving Day in Canada and, even if Im not Canadian, Im going to celebrate it this year because I love all the food associated with Thanksgiving(s). Its also a good reason to have some friends over to the house for a big ol family style meal. Reason #3 is that I appreciate my neighbors to the North and have been welcomed to their country many times over the years so this is a way to honor their beautiful nation and friendly citizens.

To get ready for cooking a full size turkey my preferred Thanksgiving protein regardless of the country! I decided to roast a chicken in The Big Easy to refresh my memory of just how to do this! (I advise this drill for anyone who recently purchased a Big Easy or who hasnt used it for a while.) I havent used it for a few weeks as Ive been distracted by some of my other toys equipment. My next door neighbors here in the industrial zone of Ballard are a large building crane and heavy equipment business, a fishing net manufacturer and the production facilities of Chef Tom Douglas and his Rub With Love tasty line of rubs and seasonings. Recently Tom stopped by to share a cuppa coffee one morning and provided me with a bunch of samples of their product. For this cook I decided to use the Chicken Rub in spite of the fact that one of the key ingredients is brown sugar. Sugar will burn pretty quickly when exposed to infrared so its one of the reasons I try to apply any sugar sauces or glazes off of direct grilling heat. (That and since burned sugar is such a dang nuisance to clean off grates it saves me that extra effort!)

Char Broil Chicken Roaster

Ill spare you all the preparation details because getting a roaster chicken or turkey ready for cooking in The Big Easy is about the same as getting it ready for the oven or slow cooking on a grill. I simply rinsed, dried and rubbed the whole chicken and placed it on a Char-Broil Chicken Roaster and set that in the Easy-Out Hinged Basket. I use the Chicken Roaster all the time for both indoors and outside cooking, because it holds about 8 10 oz of liquid in the reservoir and I can concoct my own elixirs with aromatics like shallots, lemon and herbs or just pour in a half can of beer for a version of beer can chicken. Since I started using the Easy-Out basket Ive had no troubles placing or removing full size turkeys in a basket before placing in the cooking chamber of The Big Easy. And for roasting a full chicken placed atop the Chicken Roaster it makes it so easy to set it in the basket without spillage. I placed the basket in the Big Easy which was sitting level on the cement driveway outside the back door and turned it on. I came inside and set the timer for 40 minutes and forgot about it whilst I enjoyed a cool beverage prepared the rest of the meal. When the timer dinged it reminded me to check the bird internal temperature. Using an instant read digital meat thermometer I checked the internal temp of the breast meat and the leg/thigh area. In just a few more minutes it was registering 160F degrees and I pulled the basket from the cooker, placed it on a large jelly roll tray for easy carrying and managing any juices that might drip out and let it rest to finish on my kitchen counter. I could have also removed it and placed it in an insulated spot like the oven, microwave or a cooler (no ice) to hold it as it finished cooking with residual heat. The USDA recommendation for poultry is 165F degrees.

Here are the results for this 3.5 lb chicken after just under an hour in The Big Easy:

Chicken has finished roasting. The sugar in the rub did burn a bit, but not much. During cooking the chicken will stretch a bit and relax. I coulda prevented some of this by trussing the legs.

Cooking chickens & turkeys is easier when I started using the Easy Open Hinged Basket. I don't wrestle with getting them in or removing after cooking.

Removing the chicken from the Chicken Roaster is very easy. You can see the way it centers in the cavity so the aromatic liquid in the reservoir flavors the interior of the chicken. I always perform this task on a large tray to catch any spillage.

The chicken is browned with crisp skin. The blackened skin is due to the sugar in the rub. Sugar burns quickly when exposed to infrared.

As I prepared to carve the bird, the first step is to pull down the leg/thighs and cut at the joint. Juices ran clear and the temp was 165F degrees.

Want more tips on cooking chicken and turkey in The Big Easy or on your grill? Check out the Users Forums and find useful information already posted or post your questions and get answers from fellow outdoor cooks who enjoy sharing.

Happy Grilling!

More Information: The Big Easy Oil-Less Turkey Fryer

Popularity: 12% [?]

Source: www.sizzleonthegrill.com

Holiday Tradition

A holiday tradition for many folks is preparing deep fried turkey for the big meal at family gatherings. For years the only way to cook a turkey so that you got crispy skin and moist tender meat was to deep fry it in hot oil. And lets all be honest its tasty and its a hassle. I got tired of all the effort and investment of time to fry a turkey. It got so that I only pulled out the fryer equipment once or twice a season because it was soo much extra effort involved in cooking a turkey that way. Yes we liked the results crispy skin, moist meat but the overall time it took to measure the oil and heat it, cook the bird, cool down the oil and filter it sos I could freeze it to get at least 2 uses outta the stuff (hey peanut oil isnt cheap!) was often as much as 5 hours or more!

So you can bet I was very happy a few years back when Char-Broil developed The Big Easyoil-less infrared turkey fryer. It uses 100% infrared energy to fry the turkey in no time at all (about 10 minutes per pound) and there are 4 reasons why I like it better than deep frying:

At 10 minutes per pound from the time I placed the turkey into the cooker, turned it on and removed it from the cooker when it reached 165F degree temperature in the thigh and breast. The turkey was ready in significantly less time that it used to take to measure and heat the oil, fry the turkey and wait for it all to cool down so’s I could spend 30 minutes filtering and cleaning up. Same results - less work.

Reason 1.
No oil to purchase and that saves $ each cook.
Reason 2.
No worries about over heating oil too excess temperature and having it boil over onto the grass or, worse, actually catch fire!
Reason 3.
No messy clean up.

And for me and just about everyone I talk with who uses one the best reason to stop deep frying turkey in oil and start frying it in The Big Easy is

Reason 4.
Taste

______

Turkey fried in The Big Easy tastes every bit like deep fried turkey crispy skin and moist tender meat -without the hassle and worry!

______

Since getting The Big Easy I just dont fry turkeys any more. It was always a bit anxiety producing having to watch the pot during the entire time it was warming up, cooking and cooling down. And to be very honest the cost of the oil really got to me as well. I always tried to use it twicebut filter ing and storing that much oil until the next time is a hassle. Now I only fry turkeys, chickens, prime rib, pork loins, fish, lamb well you get the picturein The Big Easy oil-less infrared turkey fryer. And I think the results are equal if not better than when I used to deep fry. And now I cook turkey and other food this way alot more often with The Big Easy because it just doesnt take as much effort. At least once a week I cook a beer-can chicken in it. I am definitely getting my moneys worth outta this cooker.

BUT for those of you who are die-hards when it comes to risky outdoor cooking adventures with hot oil, I want to be sure to help you with your efforts this holiday. Here are 13 steps to remember this season as you clean out the deep oil cooker for its annual appearance.

Turkey Hot Oil Deep Fryer Safety Precautions

1. Never operate a hot oil turkey fryer on a wooden deck, porch or within 10 feet of a wooden structure.
2. Operate away from overhangs, trees, leaves and buildings.
3. Never operate hot oil turkey fryer on a table, boat, truck bed or tailgate as the chance of tipping the hot oil is greatly increased during the times when you place the turkey in the hot oil or remove it.
4. Use only in well ventilated OUTDOOR areas, away from all combustible items such as landscaping, leaves and brush
5. Keep children, pets or any recreational games away from the fryer at all times during the use of the hot oil deep frying cooking process approximately 5-6 hours.
6. Never move pot containing hot oil after the frying is done until all of the oil cools down to ambient temperature of approximately 70F degrees or less. HOT OIL BURNS! The oil must cool before it can be removed from the pot this will require several hours.
7. Never cover the pot when cooking with oil
8. Never fill the pot more than half full with oil. Calculate how much oil your specific bird will displace when immersed into the oil to ensure it does not overflow onto the sides of the pot and come into contact with flames in the burner.
9. To catch oil spills, drips and splashes and avoid damage and stains from cooking, place foil under the cooker before lighting the burner and well in advance of adding oil or food.
10. Never cook alone use a buddy to ensure your safety when adding or removing the turkey from the hot oil. And Always wear protective equipment such as leather gloves when immersing and removing the turkey.
11. Never put a frozen or partially frozen turkey in hot oil. The hot oil may cause the ice to melt and expand as steam which could create a hazard.
12. Never allow oil to rise in temperature above 400F degrees. Always use a deep fry thermometer and maintain temperature around 350F degrees. Over 400F degrees is unsafe and oil may vaporize and ignite.
13. Never put an empty aluminum pot over an open flame. A dry aluminum pot can melt quickly.

Whew I think you can see why I enjoy not having to pre-heat The Big Easy and more so that clean up is a breeze. I put the cooking basket in the dishwasher and can either save the drippings for gravy or easily dispose.

Happy Grilling!

The Big Easy

More Information: The Big Easy Oil-Less Turkey Fryer

Popularity: 13% [?]