Quote:
Originally Posted by RKR
I like the idea of an oil-fryer. Does it come out pretty much the same as with oil ? What approximate cooking time ? Peanut oil this years was around $11 a gallon. OUCH. I use about 2.5 gals in my fryer.
|
I wouldn't say it's quite as good as an oil fried turkey, but it is a real close second......and I mean so close you will get compliments from everyone..........................but is so much easier than using an oil fryer, with the only cleanup being in emptying the drip tray.
You just inject the turkey with your favorite marinade (our daughter has chosen Creole Butter as her favorite, but I like garlic) in different places. Set the turkey in the basket, and set it in the Big Easy. Put the included thermometer down in the thickest part of the breast. Turn on the Big Easy and walk away.
Cooking time depends on outside ambient temp. I would say the average when it is real cold like it is today is around 3 hours to 3 hours 15 minutes on mine. I've seen videos where others do it in about 2 hours, but don't know if that's normal or if mine is just slower than others.
It's so easy, and is basically plug-n-play. It takes me about 15 minutes to prep the turkey and get it to the Big Easy. I have probably fried about 25-30 birds with the one I got so far. I fry turkeys even in the summer because my daughter and I get to craving them. When thru, you just empty the dripping tray (or if you used disposable foil tray, just chunk it), and wipe down the inside stainless steel chamber. That's it, until you use it again.
As far as the marinades go, you can experiment with the ones available in the stores or make your own. Youtube is full of videos on this.
Tips I've learned:
I take the bird out when the thermometer reaches 160 degrees as it will still heat up some even after you remove it, to get to an internal temp of 165. The closer you get to 165 the moister/juicier the meat is.
Don't put the browning lid on top of the Big Easy until about the last fifteen/twenty minutes or cooking time. I've actually gotten to the point I don't use the lid at all.
The Big Easy comes with a wire basket that works well. However the wings like to stick thru the wire and you have to work them back in when trying to remove the turkey from the basket. It's not hard to do, but when dealing with a very hot turkey, it can be a pain. Char-Broil sells a hinged basket for the Big Easy on their website for $20, which makes all the world of difference. You just open the hinge and the turkey falls out of the basket.
I bought the hinged basket, along with the hanging rib racks, and shish-ka-bob skewers for the Big Easy on a package deal for $35. I haven't tried to cook ribs in it yet, but have made several excellent shish-ka-bobs.
As with your RV and other propane power grills, open your propane bottle slowly, so the OPD doesn't limit the propane flow. I was cooking one time and it seemed like it was taking longer than usual. I noticed the flames were smaller than normal. I turned off the cylinder and reopened slowly. This time the flame was three times the size as previously.....and it started cooking as it should.
It really is as the name implies, Easy. I've never ruined a bird, and the closest I came was when the meat thermometer broke, and I cooked it too long....which just made it a little drier. I now use two thermometers just to make sure.
Thing about the Big Easy, is you can take it to the campground with you, and cook many other things besides just turkeys. I saw on Char-Broils site the other day, they even now make a griddle to place over the top so you can fry eggs, bacon, etc with it.
http://www.charbroil.com/the-big-easy-tru-infrared.html
Lowes, Home Depot, Dicks, Wal_mart, Academy, Bass pro, all sell these for around 89-99 bucks. I get mine for 70 off Amazon several years ago, where it is 79 currently.
http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&fiel...tag=mozilla-20
2011 Flagstaff 831 RLBSS
Linear Mode
