First Cook: The Big Easy® Smoker, Roaster & Grill (pics)

[PatioDaddio]

First Cook: The Big Easy® Smoker, Roaster & Grill

In my last post I gave my first impressions of The Big Easy® Smoker,
Roaster & Grill from Char-Broil. Now it's time to see how this bad boy
performs. I figured that a roasted chicken is a great place to start.



I started with two chickens that were as close in weight as I could find.
They were both within a couple tenths of an ounce of 5 1/4 lbs in the
package. By the time I drained and trimmed them, they were probably right
at five pounds.

As for prep, I trussed them and seasoned each liberally inside and out with
my bold rub. This is essentially the same as my standard mild rub, but with
half the sugar and double the chiles and pepper.

I put each one in a zip-top bag and marinated them for 36 hours. Whoa!
That is a long time, but it was just because I couldn't find time to cook
them sooner. Overnight is more than enough time.



Because I was in a hurry the night I cooked them, I took them out of the
fridge and warmed each in the microwave (still in the bag) on defrost for
about 2 1/2 minutes each. I would normally just leave them out at room
temperature for an hour, but this worked well.

Next I preheated the cooker on high with the basket and half-racks in it for
about 10 minutes. Then I removed the half racks, put the first chicken on
the bottom of the basket, installed the half racks about an inch above the
top of the first chicken, then added the second.



Although the instructions for roasting tell you to cook with the lid open, I
was in a hurry and decided to cook with the lid down for 30 minutes then
open it to brown the skin. This turned out to be a good plan.

Here is how they looked after an hour of cooking on high; 30 minutes with
the lid closed and another 30 with it open. As you can see, the top bird
was pretty brown, but what you can't see is that the bottom one wasn't
nearly that brown, so I simply rotated them.



When I rotated them I checked the temperature in the thigh and they
were at about 150º. They need to get to 165º, so I closed the lid and
checked them again fifteen minutes later.

At 75 minutes they were at about 160º, so I opened the lid to give the
skin a final crisp. I pulled them off at 90 minutes and rested them for about
15 minutes.

The final verdict with the family was unanimously great. My wife raved
about how moist the breast was, and the shorties loved it as well.

I am really impressed with how well this thing cooked the chickens. It was
easy and the results spoke for themselves. This is only my first cook, but I
am intrigued to see how it smokes and grills.

-----

John

[Neil]

Nice review John. Thanks.

[SmokinAussie]

Looks very interesting John.

The colour on those Chooks is great! Nice and moist too... would like to see more!

Cheers!

Bill

[deguerre]

OK, this turning out to be an interesting device! Nice birds!

[Rich Parker]

Thanks for the review that is tempting.

[BlkJeep]

thanks. My dad would enjoy something like this. Makes him think he is smoking something!!! Really enjoyed BOTH post on this little unit.

[Derek]

Very nice John, How was the skin on the chicken?

[PatioDaddio]

Thanks.

The skin struck that perfect balance between crispy and tender.

John