Thanksgiving & Charbroil in October

OK Guys.  Here is what we have all been waiting for... how Charlotte, NC Fire Station #27 liked the use of as well as the taste of the turkey cooked in their new Charbroil's Big Easy Turkey Fryer.  Just to recap, Foodbuzz and Charbroil chose me to test the Big Easy.  The Big Easy fries your turkey without the use of oil.  It cooks using infra-red heat.   Well, I thought about this and decided that the best people to test this on would be the men at my son-in-law's fire station.  So, here are the results.

Mr. Tom gets an oil rub down.  This is the only oil used during the cooking of the turkey.

After his oil rub, Mr. Tom gets a massage using a dry rub.  In deep frying a turkey, you inject the solutions into the meat and/or under the skin.  Not with the Big Easy. You only use the dry rub.  So, with the elimination of the oil, you have saved a nice chunk of money and the ease of using the rub cuts down preparation time.  A big plus for the Big Easy.

Fire Fighter Eddie is now preparing to put Mr. Tom into his sauna.  The Big Easy will take up to a 16 lb. turkey and the cooking time is about 8-10 minutes per pound.  Mr. Tom weighed just over 14 lbs. so his cooking time ended up being about 1 3/4 hours.

                  Watching the pot "fry."

I think the guys are getting hungry and Mr. Tom is sure looking tasty.

                                                       Oh Yeah!  165 degrees!  Lets eat!

The browning of the outside is perfect.  Now, lets see what the inside looks like.

Bring this picture up and enlarge it so you can see the juices seeping out as Firefighter Eddie slices.  Boy this turkey is moist!

Time to chow down!  While enjoying our meal I asked the guys to compare the Big Easy with the standard oil type turkey fryer.  Their comments were; "it's healthier since you are not using the oil for frying"; "preparation time is quick and easy"; "clean-up is a breeze, you don't have to re-store the oil or find a way to dispose of it"; "taste is wonderful and the meat is very moist"; "you can practically put it on to cook and walk away without having to worry about the oil boiling over"; "there are no oil spills to clean up".  Negative "cooking time is longer but not enough to be a problem."

Now that we all have full stomachs, its time to clean up the kitchen.  So how do Firefighters determine who's turn it is to do the dishes?  They play cards... winner is exempt.

I left the Charbroil Big Easy with the "Boys of Fire Station 27."  I do have a promise of a video to come when they cook venison as their next meal using their Big Easy.  Total rating - from 1 - 10.... a 15+!