G
Guest
Guest
Verdict: The Big Easy® Smoker, Roaster & Grill
I've cooked on The Big Easy Smoker, Roaster & Grill several times over the
past week. Despite my early misgivings regarding the overall build quality of
this unit, I will say that its performance has definitely surpassed my
expectations.
You may recall that my first cook was roasting two chickens. This was
clearly a success, but it only tested one of the three cooking methods that
this unit boasts.
Last night I decided to try filling the supplied chip/pellet box with some
Jack Daniels pellets while grilling some steaks. My thought was that the
smoke would give me a more authentic grilled flavor.
I fired The Big Easy up and let it preheat on high for 15 minutes. I put a
grill surface thermometer on the stainless steel grate (seasoned earlier)
and, as you can see, it hit 525º. This is a good temperature for grilling.
I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised at how much smoke this
thing produced. It was almost overwhelming for what I was after. You can
easily get 75-90 minutes of smoke from one load of pellets. I don't know
how chips compare, but the manual states that you can expect about an
hour.
I cooked the steak to medium-rare, and the flavor was outstanding. The
heat was consistent and about as even as one could expect.
Tonight I cooked several more steaks, minus the smoke box, and the
results were equally impressive, as the picture at the top of this post
attests. I will say that the more you load up the grill grate, the less
impressive the grill marks.
My verdict on this unit is that it is great for those that want an
easy-to-use cooker that will allow them to grill, roast and smoke. In short,
I think it lives up to its name. It's simple to use and produces good food
with very minimal fuss. The downside is that its grilling capacity is limited,
with a grate that is only a 15" in diameter.
-----
John
I've cooked on The Big Easy Smoker, Roaster & Grill several times over the
past week. Despite my early misgivings regarding the overall build quality of
this unit, I will say that its performance has definitely surpassed my
expectations.
You may recall that my first cook was roasting two chickens. This was
clearly a success, but it only tested one of the three cooking methods that
this unit boasts.
Last night I decided to try filling the supplied chip/pellet box with some
Jack Daniels pellets while grilling some steaks. My thought was that the
smoke would give me a more authentic grilled flavor.
I fired The Big Easy up and let it preheat on high for 15 minutes. I put a
grill surface thermometer on the stainless steel grate (seasoned earlier)
and, as you can see, it hit 525º. This is a good temperature for grilling.
I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised at how much smoke this
thing produced. It was almost overwhelming for what I was after. You can
easily get 75-90 minutes of smoke from one load of pellets. I don't know
how chips compare, but the manual states that you can expect about an
hour.
I cooked the steak to medium-rare, and the flavor was outstanding. The
heat was consistent and about as even as one could expect.
Tonight I cooked several more steaks, minus the smoke box, and the
results were equally impressive, as the picture at the top of this post
attests. I will say that the more you load up the grill grate, the less
impressive the grill marks.
My verdict on this unit is that it is great for those that want an
easy-to-use cooker that will allow them to grill, roast and smoke. In short,
I think it lives up to its name. It's simple to use and produces good food
with very minimal fuss. The downside is that its grilling capacity is limited,
with a grate that is only a 15" in diameter.
-----
John
