Smoked then Big Easy "Fried" Turkey!

[Buck36]

http://www.amazon.com/Char-Broil-Oil-Less-Infrared-Turkey-Fryer/dp/B000W74HI2

Amazon has a video explaining the fryer.

Big Cat,

Can you do chicken wings or boil water in it? It looks awesome but I am trying to figure out if it is strictly a Turkey fryer.

[Ontrack]

I just watched the video. Way too cool! Be our 'guinea pig",  Big Cat, and let us know how it performs. All eyes are on you now! :o

[La Quinta]

Yeah...I'm with OnTrack BigCat...tell us what else that thing can do...(I watched the video too). It could be an interesting purchse for us...should we ever have an "issue" such as the "E" word we would need a cooker that is other then natural gas.

[tturaider]

Im on board with the rest of em.  I watched the video as well. I was just wondering how much it dries the meat out and also what all you can use it for.

[Big Cat]

I can testify that it didn't dry the meat out at all, even after 3 hours of cold smoke.  It was very juicy and tender.  I did brine for 34 hours before hand though.  My only beef with it so far is that the cooking accessories are limited to the basket.  I would love if they had some type of shelf structure similar to the Bradley where you could cook multiple items at same time.   

[Habanero Smoker]

I can testify that it didn't dry the meat out at all, even after 3 hours of cold smoke.  It was very juicy and tender.  I did brine for 34 hours before hand though.  My only beef with it so far is that the cooking accessories are limited to the basket.  I would love if they had some type of shelf structure similar to the Bradley where you could cook multiple items at same time.   

Also a stock pot with a pail handle would be a great accessory for steaming clams, lobsters etc.

[La Quinta]

All Clad makes a gem of a lobster pot (with steamer). Looks like it would fit too. We use ours alot...kinda pricey but well worth it.

[EnglishGuy]

I saw one of your American butane-powered turkey fryers on a UK TV program once. :-\

Aren't they just a little bit dangerous?  I mean, I presume you don't let kids go within a mile or two of them. Wouldn't it be safer just to put your head on a railway track?  :o


One of those would never, ever, get European safety accreditation (the 'CE' mark you might see on goods).

[Ontrack]

Wouldn't it be safer just to put your head on a railway track?  :o

No EnglishGuy, then I would have to be at the scene and do a lot of paperwork. We had a train hit and kill a trespasser on Tuesday. Not a pretty sight, for sure... :P

[Scotty-G]

One of those would never, ever, get European safety accreditation (the 'CE' mark you might see on goods).

The other option is fry in peanut oil that is burning in an open pot over an open flame. . .
Now that won't even get UL certification here.

Hey Big Cat,
The Charbroil web site said you could use round baking cooling racks to act as addtional shelves.
One question I have is how does it do with breading coating the outside for some KFC style deep fried chicken??
Probably not too well but there's an experiment if your interrested.

Scotty-G

[Habanero Smoker]

One of those would never, ever, get European safety accreditation (the 'CE' mark you might see on goods).

The other option is fry in peanut oil that is burning in an open pot over an open flame. . .
Now that won't even get UL certification here.

Hey Big Cat,
The Charbroil web site said you could use round baking cooling racks to act as addtional shelves.
One question I have is how does it do with breading coating the outside for some KFC style deep fried chicken??
Probably not too well but there's an experiment if your interrested.
Scotty-G

It should work fine with breaded chicken, and other breaded foods. I often make baked "fried" chicken in my oven. Substituting crushed corn flakes for bread crumbs will give you a crisper coating. If you are thinking of doing this, first do a search on oven fried chicken to get an idea of how to apply the coating, also some recipes call for spraying the coated chicken with a non-stick spray, but I found that is not necessary.

[Big Cat]

Picture Test:

[Big Cat]

Now that I own both pieces of equipment, I couldn't resist but to test them yesterday and here are the results:



1)  In order to keep an apples to apples comparison, I brined two chickens for 12 hours in a salt, sugar, thyme, rosemary solution with a couple of lemons and oranges tossed in.  Here is the pic once the brine was washed off


2)  A picture of the chicken and ribs in the smoker after 3 hours (all Cherry)


3) A picture of the chicken in the oil-less fryer


4) Side by Side Comparison after cooking


5) Sliced Smoked Chicken Breast


6) Sliced Fried Chicken Breast


The results . . . All in all, both chickens were very tender and moist.  The crispy skin from the fryer was outstanding, but have to give overall flavor to the OBS!  The next comparison will be to compare a brined smoked item vs. a seasoned skin fried item!

[Scotty-G]

Hey Big Cat,
Any new upates with the "Big Easy"?

Just saw it listed tonight on Amazon for <$100.
Thanks
Scotty-G

[NePaSmoKer]

I did a smoked fried turkey a few times. They are very good eats  ;D

nepas