Matt's parent were here visiting us & it was still amazingly 80 F in Minneapolis in October so the timing was great. The fryer went together pretty quickly & runs off the same propane tanks we use with our grill. We wanted to use it right away which meant no time to thaw a turkey so, we picked up a couple of chickens to cook instead. Matt oiled the inside of the fryer & let it season for about 15 minutes then we were ready to cook.
We seasoned one chicken pretty basic with a poultry rub & the other with cajun spices. The chickens we placed in the fryer basket with their breasts facing out. Matt put skewers into the chickens to keep a little space between them & allow the heat to flow through.
Then the guys settled in to "tend" the chickens while the infrared cooking went to work.
About 40 minutes later the chickens registered as done on the thermometer so we let them sit a few minutes & then easily pulled the basket with the chicken out. The chickens were beautifully browned & so, so juicy!
I thought we'd have a ton of chicken leftover for the week but almost every bite was eaten up! We really liked the way the Big Easy cooked the chicken but I do have to say I wouldn't really call it fried, it was much more like broiled. It did really cooked the meat evenly on all sides. We did feel like it was a lot safer than having a big pot of hot oil hanging around. We're looking forward to doing a turkey in it (it's portable enough that we may take it with us to Michigan for Thanksgiving). The Big Easy is even set up to collect the juices so we can make gravy. I'd also like to see what it does to potatoes as I used to love broiled potatoes in college.
You can get a Big Easy through the Char-Broil, Amazon
& at most big box hardware stores.*We were given the Big Easy, a hinged basket & a Flip camera through the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program. We were not paid or induced in anyway to write about it. We had hoped to film our first experiment but were too excited to use the Big Easy to wait for our camera to arrive. Look for out turkey film in November.
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Whether your "birds" came out tasting fried or broiled doesn't much matter to a lot of people - what matters is that they were moist. Yeayyy!
ReplyDeleteBut turkey is a far different bird and so prone to dryness. I'll look forward to seeing how it works for you cooking a turkey. The best turkey I ever "made" was one I got all done from the deli department of a grocery store.
I had to heat it on a low oven for two hours - so the house still smelled wonderfully of turkey and I made all the side dishes to go with it. But that bird was deliciously moist and no stress.
Nice, I think I would love this.
ReplyDeleteThose chickens browned so beautifully!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea that you can cook with this outside - you could use this during the summer and not heat up the kitchen.
That is a really cool gadget. I am anxious to hear about how it does with turkey. Hope you can take it with you.
ReplyDeleteThat is gorgeous looking chicken, even if it doesn't taste fried! What a great idea!
ReplyDeleteI think I saw you on the Kingfield Market today. I thought about introducing myself but the ham & swiss scones were calling my name.
ReplyDeleteOh, how cool and what a fun product to review! We still have never fried a turkey. The oil issue worries me a bit so maybe this is a good alternative. I'm anxious to see how the turkey turns out.
ReplyDeletethat's definitely something i'd consider a toy, and an ultra fun one at that. good times!
ReplyDeleteI want a Char-broil deep fryer too!
ReplyDeleteI have been wanting to try a turkey!
Looks great!
I have never heard of such a thing! Very interesting...
ReplyDeletePS. Glad to find another Minneapolis blog!
This is a fantastic piece of kit. The main reason I like it is because it is so much safer to use than a conventional turkey fryer. All you have to do is go on utube to see what can happen with hot oil.
ReplyDeletebig easy oil less infrared turkey fryer