Cooking with the Char Broil Oil-less Big Easy Fryer

[dcarch]

I feel dense. Why is this called a "fryer"? Just a marketing ploy (asked the former marketing guy)?

It is shaped like a turkey fryer. I think originally it was marketed as an oil-less turkey fryer.

dcarch

[Dave the Cook]

Can there be such a thing as an "oil-less turkey fryer"?

[gfweb]

So it cooks with IR...what heat isn't IR? I still don't get it. Its just a tube-oven no? How good is the temp control ?

For instance,

1. if you boil food in water, the heat is applied completely by conduction.

2. if you bake food in an oven, most of the heat is by conduction from the food making direct contact with hot air.

3. if you are at an outdoor bonfire, you can still be burnt even the air temperature is - 60, really freezing cold, because you are being roasted by IR radiation.

4. If you broil food, that is mostly IR cooking.

Microwave heat is strange, it is neither conduction nor radiation. The food cooks itself.

dcarch

Fair points. Rephrasing...

What radiant heat isn't IR? Still seems like a tube oven to me.

[Dejah]

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!

[HowardLi]

So it cooks with IR...what heat isn't IR? I still don't get it. Its just a tube-oven no? How good is the temp control ?

For instance,

1. if you boil food in water, the heat is applied completely by conduction.

2. if you bake food in an oven, most of the heat is by conduction from the food making direct contact with hot air.

3. if you are at an outdoor bonfire, you can still be burnt even the air temperature is - 60, really freezing cold, because you are being roasted by IR radiation.

4. If you broil food, that is mostly IR cooking.

Microwave heat is strange, it is neither conduction nor radiation. The food cooks itself.

dcarch

Fair points. Rephrasing...

What radiant heat isn't IR? Still seems like a tube oven to me.

Most radiant heating is through absorption of IR, or rather, most radiated electromagnetic energy happens to be in the infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Ah, to clarify dcarch's second point, solid foods are heated internally through conduction, but when baking, convection heats the outside of the food.

Edited September 11, 2013 by HowardLi (log)

[dcarch]

"-----How good is the temp control ?---"

With IR heating, temperature control is kind of strange. As I said, you can cook and char food in freezing temperature. What do you measure? It also depends on the color of the food being cooked. The darker the color, the more IR energy it will absorb. IR cannot heat up a 100% reflective mirror, no matter how strong.

The only way to control with IR cooking is by using a probe temperature sensor to monitor food interior temperature.

dcarch

[gfweb]

Can there be such a thing as an "oil-less turkey fryer"?

As you said, it seems like marketing jive. Really hard for me to see the utility of this furnace.

[rotuts]

Im about to order mine. a little more work.

the Naan which is pasted to the hot side is not IR: its pure contact conduction, same as a traditional charcoal tandoor.

the IR my guess comes from the gas heating the metal sleeve which then provides the contact conduction and the IR for the inner tube.

[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.

[pastameshugana]

...Gotta admit, many of you spend wayyyyy more $ for a coffee machine. ...

Hey now...don't be talking about the new super-auto espresso machine I'm lusting after...

[dcarch]

...Gotta admit, many of you spend wayyyyy more $ for a coffee machine. ...

Hey now...don't be talking about the new super-auto espresso machine I'm lusting after...

I bet the Char Broil thingy can make wonderful coffee too.

dcarch

[rotuts]

looking forward to as many details and pics on that Leg of Lamb.

[rotuts]

how do you regulate the temp of this thing and how might you check that with a thermometer?

Amazon has two accessories for this:

http://www.amazon.com/Char-Broil-Big-Easy-Bunk-Basket/dp/B0026T6778/ref=pd_sim_lg_1

and

http://www.amazon.com/Char-Broil-22-Piece-Turkey-Fryer-Accessory/dp/B00BN9UOP8/ref=pd_sim_lg_3

would those be useful?

on the bunk basket, can you do two vertical chickens in the thing at once?

thanks

[dcarch]

how do you regulate the temp of this thing and how might you check that with a thermometer?

Amazon has two accessories for this:

http://www.amazon.com/Char-Broil-Big-Easy-Bunk-Basket/dp/B0026T6778/ref=pd_sim_lg_1

and

http://www.amazon.com/Char-Broil-22-Piece-Turkey-Fryer-Accessory/dp/B00BN9UOP8/ref=pd_sim_lg_3

would those be useful?

on the bunk basket, can you do two vertical chickens in the thing at once?

thanks

I don't think those can help much in any IR cookers.

However, a remote read non-contact IR thermometer ($30.00 to $3,000) can give you good readings of the walls of the cooker and the surface temperature of the food being cooked.

dcarch

[rotuts]

I "just happened" to be going by Home depot and went in to take a look a this thing

it is what it is: an on-off propane tandoor. it seems to have a mechanical igniter for the propane. its decent sized, but you can not do two vertical chickens in it I think.

it would be fine for many of the things weve seen above, kebabs, tandoor chicken, char-sui in strips hanging from the basket etc.

its only 99 $ at the amazon. its fairly light and has handles and can be easily kept in the garage when cool.

its construction at that price is " light duty "

still, for the above with an interest in tandoor stuff having a propane tank it might just be the thing.

they say to coat the inner sleeve with cooking spray that will eventually polymerize and turn it dark.

cant say how that will effect the performance. but it is what it is.

[KennethT]

the polymerized cooking spray (or other oil), when darkened, will emit IR more efficiently - so it will work better and be "hotter" over time.

From looking at the manual, it doesn't seem like there's a temperature control - but IR doesn't really work that way... they said that if you add teh included top screen, it will get hotter inside since the screen reflects IR - they recommend you run the machine after use for 10-15 min with the screen on to burn off any gunk from cooking - like you might for a barbeque grill.

[rotuts]

at amazon there is a more expensive version also:

http://www.amazon.com/Char-Broil-Infrared-Smoker-Roaster-Grill/dp/B00365FIAS/ref=pd_sbs_lg_6

its well worth reading the comments re rust. but if you put in a little maintenance now and then ...

the 21 $$ accessory package might allow vertically hung items to be rotated just a guess like a lot of char-sui strips ..

very intriguing find.

[dcarch]

the polymerized cooking spray (or other oil), when darkened, will emit IR more efficiently - so it will work better and be "hotter" over time.

From looking at the manual, it doesn't seem like there's a temperature control - but IR doesn't really work that way... they said that if you add teh included top screen, it will get hotter inside since the screen reflects IR - they recommend you run the machine after use for 10-15 min with the screen on to burn off any gunk from cooking - like you might for a barbeque grill.

That is basically the "Black Body Radiation" theory.

What I don't understand (yet) is how the screen can reflect the IR energy, perhaps the screen's perforation size is such that the wave length of the IR ray cannot penetrate, just like the screened door of a microwave oven can prevent leaking of microwave energy.

dcarch

[rotuts]

or it reflects a % of IR back with a trade off to let out hot air. the hot air must come from the sides by contact transfer.

it would be very interesting to see how hot that air gets.

the 2 X $$$ version seems to have two different * or more * BTU settings.

• "Use the smoker box for added flavor; temperature control from 9,000 to 18,000 BTU's
• Measures 18" x 24" x 36"

its also electric!

scrolling down the amazon page it shows, at least their version, of how it works.

16,000 BTU propane

the add-on package:

http://www.amazon.com/Char-Broil-22-Piece-Turkey-Fryer-Accessory/dp/B00BN9UOP8/ref=pd_sbs_lg_1

has two semi-circular 'grates' for hanging Ck Legs etc perhaps also wings? look to the left of the above link

Edited September 11, 2013 by rotuts (log)

[KennethT]

the polymerized cooking spray (or other oil), when darkened, will emit IR more efficiently - so it will work better and be "hotter" over time.

From looking at the manual, it doesn't seem like there's a temperature control - but IR doesn't really work that way... they said that if you add teh included top screen, it will get hotter inside since the screen reflects IR - they recommend you run the machine after use for 10-15 min with the screen on to burn off any gunk from cooking - like you might for a barbeque grill.

That is basically the "Black Body Radiation" theory.

What I don't understand (yet) is how the screen can reflect the IR energy, perhaps the screen's perforation size is such that the wave length of the IR ray cannot penetrate, just like the screened door of a microwave oven can prevent leaking of microwave energy.

dcarch

Right... I wondered the same thing about the screen - I just sort of assumed that it was made from shiny metal so that a percentage of IR energy would be reflected (albeit in random directions).. Sort of the reverse of how shade cloth works in a greenhouse.

[dcarch]

or it reflects a % of IR back with a trade off to let out hot air. the hot air must come from the sides by contact transfer.

it would be very interesting to see how hot that air gets.

There will be a lot of hot rising air. It's the same design as a Charcoal chimney.

I can see the heat and the shape of the thing might be good enough for a wok cooking while a turkey is being "fried".

dcarch

[rotuts]

thats an interesting idea. however, having looked at its construction, its not 'heavy-duty-made' the heat build up might seriously

damage the metal materials, which look to be 'stamped' grade.

after all, its not very heavy over all.

the lower picture at the Amazon pages gives a schematic of heat flow. you have to scroll down.

[dcarch]

the polymerized cooking spray (or other oil), when darkened, will emit IR more efficiently - so it will work better and be "hotter" over time.

From looking at the manual, it doesn't seem like there's a temperature control - but IR doesn't really work that way... they said that if you add teh included top screen, it will get hotter inside since the screen reflects IR - they recommend you run the machine after use for 10-15 min with the screen on to burn off any gunk from cooking - like you might for a barbeque grill.

That is basically the "Black Body Radiation" theory.

What I don't understand (yet) is how the screen can reflect the IR energy, perhaps the screen's perforation size is such that the wave length of the IR ray cannot penetrate, just like the screened door of a microwave oven can prevent leaking of microwave energy.

dcarch

Right... I wondered the same thing about the screen - I just sort of assumed that it was made from shiny metal so that a percentage of IR energy would be reflected (albeit in random directions).. Sort of the reverse of how shade cloth works in a greenhouse.

The screen need not to be shiny. It is very possible to have efficient reflectivity in antenna design with very perforated reflectors, it all has to do with wave length. IR is exactly like microwave and radio wave, except the wave length is shorter.

dcarch

Microwave antenna

http://antennasystems.com/Merchant2/graphics/rfsworld/APL-3T.jpg

[dcarch]

------ after all, its not very heavy over all.-------

But the turkey weighs 18 lbs. LOL!

dcarch

[rotuts]

empty.