Orion Cooker

quote:

Originally posted by Texianjoe

I was Christmas shopping at Fry's this morning and saw this smoker called an Orion Cooker. It looked interesting so I though I would post something about it to see if any of you had ever used one or even seen one.

http://www.orioncooker.com/

They run about $150.

joe

OK Gentlemen...this Orion Cooker is "da bomb". Neighbor had one and invited us for some BBQ (smoked pork) and it was AWESOME. My husband the engineer LOVED the cooker and had to have one. Got one as a surprise for him today at Academy Sports. It is more than the other smokers (I paid $129-- got a deal...1/2 way through summer here in Texas) but hubby loved how it looked, and worked! Food was fabulous and neighbor's wife raved today about how wonderful the ribs were that he made on it. So there...

quote:

Originally posted by MilwFoodlovers It's a plethora of first time posters who all chose to praise the Orion cooker and then disappear, never to be seen again. Hmmmmm

That's because no one asked for feedback on another decent small appliance.

quote:

Originally posted by PaulBPool Yes, Zinc is what's used today, not lead.

Maybe, but the bottom is soldered on the rest of the can with lead base solder. Of course, so are copper pipes. I'd just be careful my bird doesn't touch the actual can for that reason.

Ok, cbell, Hawaiian, 7-footr, roondawg, DMed and you posters that got deleted, what do you think about the Presto Salad Shooter?
Umm, what about that As Seen On TV $20 can opener?
Chia pets?

I've never had any of those things so I can't give an informed answer. What are your opinions on those products? LOL!

UGH!!!! These 'rave' reviews are making me throw up. I wouldn't buy the thing just because of the 1 time posters. Granted, I haven't been posting long either but I've been reading this forum for close to a year before I felt worthy enough to post along side the professionals like DR of BBQ. Sounds like the guy that made this thing has friends that registered to post some reviews for $$/or a free Onion Cooker. Ummmm.....what to you think??????

I purchased one about three months ago and the ribs are fantastic in terms of tenderness and cooking speed. Chicken cooked in this device has been bland - I haven't tried Turkey yet or brisket.

This is not a smoker -- the wood chips barely get singed - I suspect there's not enough oxygen. I use a chimney and transfer the hot coals -- this is awkward but managable.

I hit on this forum because I was/am looking for recipes to use with this device. I have a hardwood smoker and a charcoal grill, this won't replace them but its great for weeknights when time is short.

If you go to google and type in orion cooker or orion cooker recipes this thread is second only to the orion cooker site (ahh the power of roadfood.com). all the 1 time posters in this thread APPEAR to at least be from the areas they say they are from.


could it be that this thing is the real deal and all these folks are real AND sincere? that we're all just jaded from to many ronco commercials?

It could be... .

I think talent like this is wasted in this forum; Washington DC beckons!

A Google search also turned this up:
From thebeststuff.com-
“The Orion Cooker really is a revolutionary outdoor cooking product,” says Christian Fitzgerald, founding partner of FC Industries, owner of the Orion Cooker. “Imagine cooking a 20 lb. turkey in 2 hours and 15 minutes or six racks of baby back ribs in 1 hour and 15 minutes. Before the Orion Cooker it just wasn’t possible. Now, not only is it possible, but the end result is absolutely delicious.”

Now why does that sound familar? As an admininistrator, can you share why the earliest Orion posts were deleted? There were a number of other first time posters before they joined Jimmy Hoffa.

there were posts that were off topic, not relevant, links to places to buy the product, etc.

any more questions about deleted posts please drop me an email to discuss.

I don't know what everyone would call real deal, but...
I bought one "scratch and dent" at the local Home Depot 8/4. Packing was beat up, but the cooker was intact without dents. $90. It was an intruiging design, and looked simple enough that even my non-cooking fiancee could manage it.
Anyway...

It is not a true smoker. It's an enclosed convection deal. You can put in wood chips to provide flavor. You can also put beer or other liquids in the drip pan. If anything, it is something like crossing a crockpot/dutch oven with a BBQ.
If you want a smokey flavor, use wood that is already very dry (I mean very, very dry. The kind you could set on fire with your reading glasses). Or, what I did was I added liquid smoke to the drip pan along with Yuengling lager.

The Good: It does cook fast. I've only done chicken and pork in it so far (I found this board looking for ideas for a BBQ this weekend.) I made 10 pork chops, with a mango chutney rub, on Saturday. From the start to finish, including the time to light the charcoal and place the meat on grates, it was 35 minutes. They came out perfect, moist and tender, and according to my handy thermometer, they were a parasite killing 175 degrees.
Unlike the impression of a few comments above, the charcoal is never in contact with the food, nor is the smoke from the coals. It is completely enclosed. This also means it is not a good tool for folks that like to play with their meat (yes, yes, I said it) while it cooks. As soon as you remove the lid (nearly the whole top half) the heat escapes, and you'll need to add more time to the process, and maybe add in more liquid to cover the vapor you just lost. If you use a dutch oven or crock pot often, this is a concept you've mastered.
Back to the charcoal: I think the maker recomends instant light because it lights quick and easy. I had to buy some, since I never cook with the stuff at home (don't need that stuff in my ribs, thank you). Since it never gets near the food, I can see why they recomend using it.

The Bad: Not a real smoker. If you are from the soak the wood school of cooking (like planking trout), you will get little if any flavor out of the wood. As I said above, liquid smoke works rather well.
It is also not very good for small jobs. You need to use a whole bag of charcoal to use this thing (the ones in the grocery, not the big ones from the hardware store). So if you are cooking for 2, you are wasting alot of coals.
Also not great for really big jobs. Not a comercial unit.

The Ugly: Not much to complain about here. Looks nice, cleans up easy (all the parts are stainless steel and can be put in a washer).
A bit pricey, unless you find it on sale (look for the fall sales at your local big box store).

All in all, I like the unit. Simple to use, has given me good results. Looking forward to trying a turkey in it when the heat drops down (so I can sit out side with it for 2 hours and not drip with sweat).

Now, for those that want to cry shill. Sorry, no. Just a guy that has a bit of a gadget fetish and a love of cooking. If I want a big batch of smokey goodness, I'll fire up the 50 gallon beast and work it all day. If I am having an impromptu party or going to someone's house to help the party, I'll pull the Orion off the shelf. Until I find a another shiny new toy, I suppose.

quote:

Originally posted by Larry - RibRater - Jay

If you go to google and type in orion cooker or orion cooker recipes this thread is second only to the orion cooker site (ahh the power of roadfood.com). all the 1 time posters in this thread APPEAR to at least be from the areas they say they are from.


could it be that this thing is the real deal and all these folks are real AND sincere? that we're all just jaded from to many ronco commercials?

Now thats a review that I can live with. Nice touch. And Welcome to Roadfood. Chow Jim

hello I have a new brunfels smoker with an offset fire box. I love this smoker and have used it for 9 years. I was at ace hardware yesterday and saw a orion cooker/smoker for $40 reduced from $149 I have never seen this cooker and from what I have read on your site there is quite a difference of opinion of its worth. for $40 should I give it a try? thanks for your input Mike

I think if I had $50+ in TOTALLY expendible income, knew I was going to spend it somewhere and had ABSOLUTELY nothing else I wanted to buy, and with it being on sale at 1/3 of its normal price, I might do it. I would be prepared, though, for a bit of a surprise. No preconceived notions whatsoever. I also would pay a lot of attention to what the good folks here have had to say about its best uses.

thanks for the reality check

I don't me to run you off. LOL. I'm sure it's a lark, but Christmas is coming up and all that. Right now I could use a new Smokey Joe. That's probably what I would get, instead, with some charcoal and chips, too.

quote:

Originally posted by matilda

I think if I had $50+ in TOTALLY expendible income, knew I was going to spend it somewhere and had ABSOLUTELY nothing else I wanted to buy, and with it being on sale at 1/3 of its normal price, I might do it. ...

... Unless, of course, the lottery jackpot is more than $100 million. Then you'd only have 10 small pieces of paper to toss, instead of a large stainless steel device to find a place to store.

Even if we didn't get the obvious shills for the product turning me off, it still takes an entire bag of match light instant charcoal for each use. The statements that there are no petroleum tastes would mean that there could be no smoky tastes either, right? Still, it is ingenious in a way. I enjoyed SCSIwuzzy post and I wish he would post more. This thread has way more than its share of one time posters only.

I'm glad you said his name; I've been meaning to ask SCSIwuzzy if he's an IT.

And JRPfeff, that flew completely over my head. I think I almost get it, but you must have some expensive lottery tickets whever you are... .

Matilda - Sorry, I was trying to be too clever. We can buy five $1 chances on one Powerball ticket.

Now let me tell you about my AWESOME experience with the Orion Cooker ...

One can never be "too" clever.

Yes, please tell us of your encounter with the alien sustenance preparer... .

An IT or an ET?
Anyway, for $40 I would buy another and give it as a Christmas gift. As another poster noted, you do burn through a whole bag of charcoal if you follow the directions.
I've used it for 2 parties and some home cooking since I wrote my previous comment. What I've found is that you can easily use half a bag if you are cooking something with a shorter cooking duration. The whole bag recomended will give you 3 hours of heat.
So to do a goodly sized tukey, you will use the whole bag on just that bird. Is it worth $5-10 to cook your bird in 2ish hours? That's your call. I'll be trying it this fall.

Anyway, charcoal usage strategies that have worked for me:
1) Use less. If you have some of the ceramic blocks that look like charcoal that some folks put in gass grills, or just some busted up red brick, use some to fill out the pan and keep the real coals close to the core cylinder. Add 5-10 minutes of time for something thin like ribs or pork chops.
2) Cook more stuff!
Since you have 2+ hours of heat from that bag of coals, cook more food. Again, add a couple of minutes to the cook time on the latter batches.
On labor day I had the Orion running along with a gas grill.
We did 6 backs of ribs with a standard dry rub then some whiskey based sauce (brownsugar, honey etc). I put liquid smoke in the drip pan, and that added some extra flavor (though not enough to taste like a smoker, but it could fool you into thinking I was using wood chips on a kettle grill). The ribs came out, fall off the bone tender, at 1 hour 15. I then put in a pair of pork roasts, one 9 lb the other 8. I left the drippings from the ribs in the bottom, and gave both roasts rubs but no sauce (one with mango and pepper, the other the standard rub used on the ribs). Left that in for 1:45. Both came out at a nice 170.

Ribs: I've made ribs for 20 years now. Smokers. Broilers. Weber grils. These ribs were tender and moist and took to the rub like cancer to a prostate (but in a good way). I've had more flavorfull ribs, but that also meant alot more work and babysitting. Everyone at the party Monday loved them, and even though I made a full length per person, there were no leftovers in my kitchen. There was a run on alum. foil as people took ribs and pork roast home (in one case without my knowledge, ruining my plans for dinner Tuesday).

If you are cooking for a number of people, you normally have 3 choices, in my experience: mutiple fires, cook something BIG or cook in shifts. Same applies here.

Anyway, the tactic of choice right now is to get 2+ hours of cooking out of the thing when I fire it up. That means that I will make a weekend dinner/lunch, then the second shift is prepping meat for use in the week. I've got 9lbs of pork in the chill chest(take out for the bone, fat and what we ate) that is perfect for sandwiches, a caserole or a stew.
And as I said above, the thing is as simple as a crockpot or dutch oven. Add food, close lid, walk away. My fiancee that counts Kraft dinner as her signature dish is comfortable with the Orion.

We would cook more when using kettles simply because they reach temp and stay there forever, except, I can't stand meat of any kind heated or reheated in the microwave. Blleackkkh. As I said earlier, I'm in need of replacing both my Ws, the big kettle and the little Smokey. Right now, and I was skeptical, I'm using an ancient, portable, little, heavy, heavy thing that an old shrimper friend, (bless his soul), used to use out on the water. The thing is great! I don't THINK it would be so friendly for lengthy cooking times and the cooking surface is small, but if you didn't know better, the flavor it imparts is just as if you HAD smoked the meat. It's amazing. When folded up, it looks like a little, rusty box. When unfolded, it resembles a hibachi. It also has a little drawer you can use to pull out and empty ashes. If I can find a pic somewhere, I'll post it.


EDITED to include a wee, little more correct info..."He told me they used it on the research boat he was running down in the Caribbean. That's all I know."

I don't need no stinking Orion, the Rocket Roaster has landed.



http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=6529105

I still say it looks like sumthang my ol pappy uses to make corn squeezins wit.

Did Abe Lincoln wear one of those?

I think that was used at the first Thanksgiving!!!!Only thing is a Pilgram was hatless after that feast

Please Lord, let this Topic go away!!!

no,no,no,no,no....bump for topic!!!!!!!