Dejah

I assume it's called a turkey (deep) fryer because it can produce a skin texture like deep frying in oil, as it did on our first attempt when we accidentally over-cooked the chickens by about 30 minutes or so. The meat was still juicy and tender, but Oh My! most of the skin had no fat left in it, and it was crispy like chips! Regardless of whether it's marketing jive or not, I was / am a sucker for new gadgets, especially if it gives me the illusion of having my own tandoori without spending mega bucks. Gotta admit, many of you spend wayyyyy more $ for a coffee machine. This unit just gives me another option for cooking. Call it an circular oven if you wish, and as such, it will keep my kitchen cool when it's hot out. Hope to do a boneless leg of lamb this weekend.

Ok...I'm leaving the technical / scientific talk to the techies...I'm justy not into that. Chicken turned out really good, but the carrots do not do well in dry heat. I had seasoned the chicken 2 days ago with salt, then chilled in the fridge for 2 days, as I would with the Zuni Cafe Chicken. The kaffir lime branches and leaves under the skin really came thru' with flavour and aroma. The drippings in the drip tray was EXCELLENT. Drained off the fat and used the juice just as is over potatoes. The breast meat was tender, juicy, just barely done in an hour. The wing tips were bone-crunchable crispy - my favourite part!

So techie...! I bought it because of the possibility of naan in my own "tandoori" I have my unit set up outside (definitely not meant for inside use!)on a cement pad, beside the BBQ. I think I'll pick up another propane tank so I can use BOTH at the same time if need be. Taking a hint about adding bits of wood to the bottom: I have a bunch of kaffir lime branches from a friend. Stripped off the leaves, stuffed some under the skin on a seasoned chicken, and laid the branches on the bottom of the wire basket. I love the aroma of the lime leaves, so maybe this way, I'll get more of what I like! It's a 2.5 lb chicken. Just set it in the fryer. I tossed in several whole carrots into the basket also. We'll see if they cook well. Should be ready in an hour, and my kitchen stays cool!

rotuts: Check out more info' and pictures on this thread Cooking with the Char Broil Oil Less Big Easy Fryer

rotuts This is the Big Easy - Oil-less Turket Fryer. It is NOT "the Green Egg" The chickens were the first try at using this unit after we got home from our road trip thru' USA

rotuts: I don't have much experience in making naan - just in eating it! The only recipe I am using right now is flour, baking soda, baking powder, milk, oil, and yogurt. It's all mixed, kneaded, rest for 2 hours, roll out and slap it onto a hot Big Easy. I need to try the recipe using yeast. I would appreciate any recipes or suggestions from the forum.

HowardLi: That's exactly what I remembered last night - brush with butter as soon as the naan comes out / off the oven! gfweb: I haven't done naan in the oven, other than warming store-bought stuff before supper. I think it's the contact with the hot "oven wall" like in a tandoori oven. Practice is needed in placing the dough in the oven without burning myself. So far, lucky,

More fun with the Big Easy tonight: Pork ribs with dry rub cooked in foil for 1.5 hours. The foil was removed, brushed with a commercial BBQ sauce, and cooked for another 30 minutes. Also made nasi lemak: While the ribs rest, I slapped on the naan - pretty good results. I should remember to lightly brush the finished naan with butter to prevent it from drying out. Dessert was 5-nut egg yolk moon cake.

Alex: I didn't know that there was an earlier model. I haven't bought any accessories, but I am looking for the cone-shaped stand used in the oil fryers. That's just so I can cram TWO chickens on instead of using skewers. Tonight, I cooked pork ribs with a dry rub in foil for 1.5 hours, then brushed with commercial BBQ sauce and cooked for another 40 minutes. Great results - tender, juicy, and good caramelization. While the ribs rested, I slapped on another batch of naan...getting more sure-handed. I just now realized that lightly brushing the finished naan with butter would prevent drying of the more crispy parts.

More meat from the Big Easy: Pork rib roast: The roast was cut into 3 portions: 2 were marinated in Hoisin sauce as I needed char siu for my hot 'n' sour soup. The third portion was rubbed with a dry rub from a foodie friend - ancho and guajillo. I put them in the Big Easy with the Hoisin chunks at the bottom. They were thinner and were done in 30 minutes. The third portion was thicker and was just done at 45 minutes. All turned out moist and tender, and my kitchen stayed cool! We enjoyed supper with corn from a local farm. This Big Easy is fun and easy! I paid $99.00 for the unit at Home Depot in the states. Tonight, I saw them at our local Home Depot for $139.00 instead of the advertised $169.00.

Supper from my new toy: Char Broil Big Easy Oil-less Turkey Fryer - pork tenderloin with Thai coconut curry marinade; chicken with Mediterranean marinade, and shrimp with citrus - ginger marinade, plus hot Italian sausage. Last night was experimenting for the first time When I first saw this unit in action, I immediately thought: tandoori oven = naan! Tonight, I tried a different method of hanging the skewers - just by the hook on the basket - Leftover chicken and pork from last night plus lamb chops with rosemary - red wine vinegar marinade And I tried keema naan. Off the Big Easy: Anyone else using this unit? Any hints and recipes would be appreciated!

Been admiring and drooling over all the meals posted for the last while. First day back into my kitchen after a 3-week road trip that took us to Louisville Kentucky, to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Toronto, back across the border thru' Chicago before home to Manitoba. Got inb just in time to receive a bag of fresh green beans and yellow squash. Supper tonight: grilled lamb chops that were marinated in whole grain Dijon mustard, chopped fresh rosemary, and red wine vinegar.

Never thought I'd like the mix of rhubarb and strawberries together in pie. Last week, I had way too many freshly picked strawberries, so I decided to be brave Oh My goodness! I couldn't believe how aromatic the strawberries were when I cut into the pie. Their sweetness balanced the tang of the red rhubarb I used, along with some brown sugar and lemon zest. Today, I made a 13" pie using a roasting platter my potter friend made for me. It will be just the right size for a family birthday party! In fact, I made 3 strawberry rhubarb pies today, and one cherry pie. Kitchen smells wonderful.

Ann_T: Is your German Bread Dumpling recipe available on your website? That looks so good, and my family would love it.

Grill up some bell peppers, onions in fajita seasoning. Throw in the sliced steak for a quick stir-up on a hot sizzling cast iron platter. Add fixings and have a fajita party! Or do up stroganoff noodles and sauce, add sliced beef at the last just to heat up. A big salad and bottles of nice wine, and it's party time!

I had 18 egg whites in the fridge from making creme brulee for a dinner party. Made an omelet with some of the whites, fresh curry leaves, bacon for hubby's and my brunch, topped it with homemade spicy chili on a toasted "everything" bagel...

Food...Glorious food...want all of the above! A new way for beef short ribs other than my usual stew - love the left over sauce on anything! And, after watching Spice Goddess on TV, I tried the Sweet Potato Fries with Chili Coconut dip. LOVED the dip - again, one that can be used on almost anything. I finished the last few spoonfuls as dip for raw cauliflower snack in the evening. Fresh curry leaves rock!

Thanks, Ann_T...and I'll take a piece of that Coconut Cream Pie. Is the recipe in your blog / website? You've got one smart hubby...just like mine;-)

You may find it a bit slimy when cooked. My Chinese "aunties" gorw it in their gardens but I am not a fam.

This should really be posted in Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner threads as that's what happened yesterday! Rhubarb pie!

Ann_T's lamb riblets had me wanting lamb, cumin lamb to be specific. But, I forgot to pull the lamb out of the freezer, so I made Hunan cumin beef instead as I had top sirloin in the fridge. Instead of the 15-20 dried chilis this dish often calls for, I used Old Mother Chili oil, 4 chopped dried hot chili peppers from my garden last year, cumin powder and cumin seeds. It was hot enough and full of cumin flavour. I love it when I bite onto cumin seeds!

Kids and families were home this weekend, and they reminded me that Fifth day of the Fith month is June 12: dragon boats and joong season! AND, they brought home packages of bamboo leaves...How clever! So, this morning, I was up at 6 am, got all the ingredients ready: lap cheong, salted pork, salted duck egg yolks, peanuts, dong goo, Spanish onion, glutinous rice, jasmine rice, seasonings, and leaves (soaked and washed leaves 2 nights ago). Reminded my daughter how to wrap the joong as she had made them a few years back with my Mom. Taught my 8 months-pregnant daughter-in-law how to make them ( I took my Mom's role:-), and left them to it while I made another of their requests: steamed Chinese sponge cake. They ended up with 84 packets of joongzi. I am boiling the last 2 doz now. Each family left with 18 packets plus cake.

heidih: This is the chili oil I added to my congee: It has a nice flavour and I love the crunchy bits from the chili peppers and the few peanuts. huiray: THose baby zukes look lovely. Our FM doesn't start until June, and I imagine it'll be slim pickins' as we didn't get spring until this week!

It's a cool dreary cloudy day but perfect for gardening. Congee in the slow cooker seemed to fit the bill while I spent time working outside. I made the congee thicker than usual, with several chicken backs, necks, and thighs. I swear, I eat congee just for the fixings: century egg, pork floss, Old Mother Chili with peanuts, and a lovely grind of white peppercorns that I brought back from Malaysia. Missed the cilantro tho'.

So, will there be a run on Lee Kum Kee Char Siu marinade now?! Good job on the wonton hats!