Dejah

I love cauliflower fries, but have gotten lazy, having to turn all those little pieces. Now, I make cauliflower steaks: Looking forward to your pork roast in The Big Easy. The chicken you did looked great! Was wondering about the "pinkish" tinge on the thighs...from salting? When I do the Chinese salted chicken, the meat tends to have that colouring. I have followed the Zuni Cafe Roast Chicken method of salting the chicken and air-drying for a couple of days in the fridge to achieve the crispy skin. But I found with the Big Easy, I can skip the two days of sitting in the fridge! Tucking fresh herbs under the skin really makes wonderfully flavoured chicken. I used to buy Safeway rotisserie often for quick meals. They've since lost their most regular customer.

Anna: The horizontal skewer is from 2 packets of 4 that I got from Superstore a couple of years ago. They are just barely short enough able to go in horizontally. The vertical ones I just got from Walmart or Superstore. I also found some "twisted" ones, thinking they would keep vegetables from sliding off, but I can't find them in my kitchen! The vertical ones are lighter and longer. I can bend the ends to fit horizontally when used to hang the poultry, but I don't remember WHY I use the lighter ones! That's a good tip on the paper clips, dcarch! I have lots of them in my desk. I found potatoes stay on well, and these never budged on the skewers. I have also used potato at the end of veg skewers to keep everything from falling off. The mini peppers work better than chunks of peppers, but they are often too expensive. This weekend, a bag, which filled the above skewers plus 5 more were for $2.98!

Hurray for Kerry and Anna! Hope you'll enjoy the Big Easy as much as I do. Our temps have been around 10 C when I usually put protein into my Big Easy. So far, it's been about 75 minutes for a 3 lb. chicken at full heat. It'll be interesting to see how the unit operates in the Manitoba winter! Yesterday when we had our Thanksgiving turkey, it was chilly and really windy - 30 40 km wind. I sheltered the Big Easy between the BBQ and the house. The turkey was 7.45 KG, injected with Creole marinade and coated with the dry rub (commercial combo that came with a scary syringe!) At full heat, it was done to perfection in 3 hours. The skin was a gorgeous mahogany, crispy, and the meat was tender and juicy. I didn't get a chance to take a picture of the bird as it came out of the oven. S-i-l was too quick with the cleaver while I was hustling around getting the rest of the meal onto the table. So here's a picture of the cut-up bird. For tonight, I made another Cantonese BBQ duck as requested by the kids. After the duck was done, I added skewers of mini-sweet bell peppers and little taters. These don't seem to go with this kind of duck, but the s-i-l also made his specialty - oven BBQ ribs with his own rub and sauce. I augmented the veg. with fried green tomatoes from 2 plants in my pallet garden

I use it as a dipping condiment with noodles in any form: soup, stir-fry, dumplings, anything savoury. Love the heat, crunch, and sometimes the peanuts in the sauce. I am sure you can use it in stir-fries too, for that kick.

Braised lamb shanks with Middle Eastern Spices, stir-fried vegetables, jasmine rice sprinkled with toasted jeera.. I made this one day ahead, let it sit in the fridge overnight and re-heated for supper last night. Really great for cool fall evening.

Did a chicken with a commercial Chinese salted chicken spice mix: (basically salt and 5-spice powder) in The Big Easy - beautiful colour and crispy skin (sounding like a stuck record / CD). I cooked some wild rice 2 days ago. It took forever, so we had it tonight. It didn't have much flavour even though I used half water and half chicken stock. So, I diced up some veg and sauteed it all together with the drippings from the chicken. Good stuff! Did the same thing with green beans.Even hubby ate a few green beans - most unusual for him. The little dish was a dip - smoking drippings added to the chopped ginger, cilantro, and some of the spice mix.

Yes. The stuffing was done on top of the stove while the halved squash were baking in a 375 F oven for 30 minutes - when they were soft. Then I stuffed the squash, topped them with cheese, and baked for 15 minutes at 325 F for about 15 minutes.

First time making stuffed squash! A friend gave me a very pretty squash and I hated to cut into it to cook...But tonight, I caved. It was 7C when I got home from work, so, baking in the oven was a good choice! I had 2 kinds of squash: one was called veg. marrow by the lady who gave it to me. The other one may be a bi-coloured acorn? The stuffing is ground beef, chopped red bell peppers, garlic, cilantro, onion. The spices were cumin, coriander, chili powder, , and I added a glug of chunky salsa instead of hot sauce, and a can of mixed beans (didn't have black). It was a bit of southwest flavours in the house tonight. The cheese topping was meant for tacos or nachos, so I thought it would suit. My first attempt turned out pretty good!

It's a blustery day, and temperatures are dipping down to single digits by nightfall. It's the time for braising! Tonight, Braised Chicken with Dates. The kitchen smelled wonderful with coriander, cumin, cinnamon, paprika, fresh ginger with lemon juice, honey, dates, and orange blossom water added at the end. The liquid thickened from reduction and the dates. Wonderful flavours served with mashed red skin potatoes, beets and brussel sprouts.

The grains came preblended. The leftover was good next day, reheated and eaten with milk and brown sugar.

THAT is summer! Lovely...

The duck was blanched in honeyed water before I filled the cavity with brown bean sauce mixture. The honeyed water is what promotes the lovely colour. I think the shortfall on the "rendering and crisping up" of the skin was caused by not hanging the duck to air dry longer, and the too low cooking temp. Found 2 more ducks in the depths of my freezer, so there will be more experiments.Dejah, How are you able to control the temperature? Ann: It works the same way as a propane BBQ. Doesn't have a temperature gauge as it were, but I should just crank it up. The friend who introduced me to this baby is going to "enlarge" the holes and see if he can raise the temp. up even more! Not sure how I feel about that;-)

The duck was blanched in honeyed water before I filled the cavity with brown bean sauce mixture. The honeyed water is what promotes the lovely colour. I think the shortfall on the "rendering and crisping up" of the skin was caused by not hanging the duck to air dry longer, and the too low cooking temp. Found 2 more ducks in the depths of my freezer, so there will be more experiments.

Last night, I tried to replicate the kampung style of little fried fish we loved while visiting friends in Malaysia last spring. Instead of frying in about an inch of oil, I cooked these in The Big Easy. My friend said they were a kind of mackerel, and I found "horse mackerel" in the Chinese grocery store. The fishies were rubbed with salt, turmeric, and a drizzle of olive oil. I strung them onto a skewer and cooked them for about 30 minutes on high. We enjoyed the mackerel and wished we had the climate and the surroundings as well. The "sides" were leftover curry chicken from the weekend, blanched and sauteed gai lan, and jasmine rice. However, I found the mackerel a bit fishy. These were frozen ones. I thought the turmeric would have solved that problem. The squeezes of lime helped. Any suggestions?

Need work on the temp control to produce crispier skin without drying out the meat. The results today had the right flavour, aroma, and texture, but I DO love crispy skin on Cantonese BBQ duck.

Had chickens in the fridge that needed cooking (couldn't fit another thing in the freezer problem), so I seasoned them, one with Jamaican curry powder and fresh curry leaves, and the second with Italian seasoning and fresh rosemary. Tossed them into the basket and into my Char-Grill Big Easy Oil-Less turkey fryer at 7 am! Had chicken for sandwiches at lunch, then I fixed up a curry sauce to eat with the Jamaican flavoured one for supper tonight. The sauce was butter, chopped onion, fresh curry leaves, brown mustard seed, and Jamaican curry powder (commercial). It worked well with the chicken. Sides were cardamom-brown sugar carrots, steamed green beans, and "ancient grains" - a mix of medium grain red rice, barley, rye berries, quinoa, whole oats, and Himalayan long grain red rice. The grains had a nice chewy texture; the leftover will be eaten as breakfast tomorrow with milk and brown sugar.

Kerry: Good idea! Will check the dimensions, talk with my potter friend and another friend who's also experimenting with his BE.. Might save a lot of messing about.

Dakki: The highest setting provides 450 - 500 F. It's hard to really regulate the temperature, but using the mesh lid can produce the higher temp. by reflecting "some" of the heat back into the chamber. I was chatting with a "specialist" on their website and was shown a "smoker" tray that I can use with TBE. They sell disposable wood chip trays, also usable with this unit. Guess I will be giving these a try. I took the two chickens above for supper with our kids (in a city 3 hours away) the day after I cooked them. Wrapped in foil and reheated in the oven, they were perfect for supper. The kaffir lime infused flavour was incredible, and the drippings made great gravy on creamy mashed potatoes.

For naan, I am working with a potter friend to make a "bib" to hang against the liner. The bib will have to be porous and un-glazed, of a special type of clay that will withstand high heat. I imagine it will be similar to a pizza stone except it will be curved to fit snug against the liner. Yeah...I am an addict and I need a 12-step BEA program...

larryroohr: So glad someone else is trying out the fryer! I did two more chickens with kaffir lime leaves to take into the city for supper with the kids. I stuck a finger into the drippings, and OMG...Must use tomorrow for a light (as in not too thick) gravy. I was tempted to take the unit into the city and cook the chickens there, but I was afraid I wouldn't be allowed to leave with it! LOL! And while I was pulling the chickens out, a brainwave! Why not Cantonese BBQ duck?! They are traditionally cooked hanging in an oven surrounded by even heat. So, perhaps by next week, I will have a duck seasoned, air-dried, then into the Big Easy. I think I am obsessed and will need to find a 12-step BEA program soon.

Attended a farewell party for friends, hosted by another good friend. It was like a come 'n'go (except no one "go - ed") and finger food was the menu. I took my Moroccan Spiced Beef Cigars, the most substantial item on the table. Took a total of three hours from start to finish. The 42 pieces took a few minutes to crisp and warm up (made last night), and a few minutes to be devoured! Served with Mango Chili sauce and salsa.

Anna: I don't think the wall of the unit are meant to be used for cooking. It would expose the food to the ring of flames down at the base. But I didn't try...It would be hard on the hands? Tonight's offering: Tandoori chicken!

Thai green curry with baby cuttlefish, basa fillet, and huge 8-12 shrimp. Eaten with nasi lemak and small piece of coconut milk yeast-base naan.

The cylinder is 12" wide, so shouldn't be any problems with bigger hands. The only time naan fell off was when I turned them to borwn the top side better. If I don't sprinkle enough water on it, then it might slip off. I just use long tongs, pull it out and stick it again. I looked at the naan thread in the India forum. There is a video. The audio is off on my desktop, so I don't know if the cook was smearing oil or water on the naan before he slaps it on the tandoor wall. It also blistered a lot more than mine - perhaps even hotter? I must get on my laptop to check out the video again. The recipes I've googled are pretty much all similar...yeast, or baking powder and baking soda with milk, yogurt. The ones last night used yeast and COCONUT MILK, which I forgot to mention. Seemed a waste as there was no coconut taste to the naan.

Use crackermeal. Used to buy it in 50lb bags. Now that I am no longer in the restaurant, I break up soda crackers and whirl them in a small processor until fine crumbs. They are crispy already and would brown quickly. Coupled with frozen chicken, it should work well.