So here is my review of the new Cook-Air Grill. Came shipped from Amazon prime...
It came packaged pretty well. I imagine the box can take some abuse without damage to the cooker itself...
At the bottom of the grill is where you can install 8 size D batteries for total portability. It also comes with a cigarette car lighter 12V adapter and A/C plug to run off of regular power...
The cooker comes pretty much pre-assembled. Only assembly required is the handle. Four bolts, nuts, and washers. Pretty simple. Handle lined up with the lid without issue. Also comes with a tool that lifts the insert and grill off easily for removal when hot. 12V and A/C adapter. Instruction manual and DVD video...
Here is a view of the inside of the cooking chamber. A fan from the bottom of the cooker induces air into the chamber to feed the wood fire. Appears to be quality stainless. It will need to be to hold up to the temps it gets exposed to I imagine. Looks like it can handle good size chunks of wood...
The front control panel. Pretty simple. On/off, LCD display, and up/down buttons like a thermostat...
Here is the toggle switch to run off of power or batteries. Funny my battery test ran when switch was set to power so my switch may have been reversed I guess. Does not matter as long as it works...
Warning label is correct. This thing get's seriously hot lol...
Comes with a cover/carrying bag. The cover slips over the cooker and tightens to where it also acts as a carrier. Seems to work fine. Bag seems well made. Only time will tell on it's durability. But since it is so portable storing inside is not an issue...
Ok so here is the deal. I am a non-conformist. When they say not to do something I do it anyways. You are supposed to start the wood with starting material(paper) soaked in fat or these little wooden starting sticks. The manufacturer also has these hardwood pucks you can buy from them. I did not get these with my cooker. They do come with the cooker if you purchase directly from the manufacturer but I don't believe shipping is free. Amazon has free shipping with prime. So not sure which is the better deal because I really was not interested in using their wood pucks or way of starting it.
So I got a bag of Weber made hardwood chunks(Apple) for $5 and grabbed my lighter fluid... Yes my lighter fluid. The manufacturer specifically states not to use it but I am a professional right lol. I assume that is because someone would probably pour the fluid directly into the chamber. Hence the warning sticker with the burning hand.
I added wood chunks then applied a small amount of lighter fluid to one smaller wood chunk outside of the grill on the ground. Then placed that piece in and lit it...
Then I turned on the cooker and set it to one so it can get established for about 30 seconds...
Then I cranked it up to the highest setting of 5. You can really hear the fan crank up so it is not super quiet. But then it is an outdoor cooker so sound is not a big deal. The fan does not sound labored but does not sound smooth. A little rough but I assume that is normal. I do like that the display is lighted but not sure how much that kills the batteries more. I guess when you use 8 size D batteries it is a non issue...
So I got her really hot after literally 5 minutes. She was roaring! I burned off all that manufacturer oil to get ready for the first cook. After the wood settled I dropped it to level one and let it cool...
Here is how the chamber looked after the initial burn off. I only had a couple wood chunks in there...
So now for the first cook. Some stuffed scallops. I pre cooked them in the nuclear vessel because this cooker is really geared for short high heat cooks...
And a couple of nice rib eyes seasoned with some BDs rub...
I reloaded the Cook-Air with more wood chunks and followed my same lighting process. After about 5 minutes she was ready so on they went...
Ok this thing cooks seriously hot on level 5. They recommend that you trim excess fat and of course I did not because this is a review and I wanted to see what would happen. Well it renders the fat quickly. Flare ups did happen but I never felt they got completely out of control. But man did that fat vaporize! About 4 minutes later I had some Pittsburgh style steaks...
After pulling off the steaks I placed the scallops on there to warm them up a bit and give them some color. With the heat intensity they did not take long...
Plated with tater salad...
And a nice beer to wash it down with...
And definitely a Pittsburgh style steak. It is what I was trying to accomplish...
Ok I am pretty impressed so far with what it can do. It get's really hot and that is what I was looking for. It is entirely portable. And again something I wanted. Does it give wood fired taste? Oh yes it does. That steak tasted fantastic! Is it ready quick? 5 minutes like they say? Yes to that! So if that is what your looking for then look no further.
Is it going to replace a portable gas grill? Nope I don't think so. I think it is a great grilling machine for anything you want to cook at high heat and quickly. Stuff that would take longer you need a regular charcoal or gas grill for. It burns through wood fast. So having to lift off the grill and inner chamber to reload with fuel is just not practical IMHO. But it gets hotter than anything I have ever used... Seriously!
What I really would like to try is get a set of custom grill grates made for it and see how they work. That would be a really great mod I think!
Updated 1-18-2016So I have used this grill for several cooks now and thought I would update this review a little.
The more I use this grill the more I like it. I have a starting method that works well for me using a small amount of lighter fluid outside of the chamber on a stick of wood.
The ideal way to load it is like this with a couple of wood chunks...
Then place the smaller stick coated in fluid in the middle and light. Turn the fan on 1 for 30 seconds...
Then move to setting 3 for a minute. Then got on setting 5. And in less than 5 minutes this grill is searing hot and ready to go!
I have also been running on strictly batteries to see how long battery life is. After several cooks it is still going strong. I also had left it set on number 5 for around three hours on accident after I was done with a cook so even though it takes 8 size D batteries it seems to be efficient enough for many cooks when your camping for example.
I think next cook I am going to try my grill grate on it and see what results I get.
Also I am finding that adding additional wood chunks during a cook is very simple with the supplied tool. The tool easily grabs the grill and heat diffuser at one time with one lifting motion then just drop another chunk or two in the chamber and your ready to continue. Much easier than I had anticipated it being.
I am finding that this grill is almost self cleaning. Because of the extremely high temps most things are incinerated to ash. The little supplied steel brush works well on the chamber. Just swirl it around and then pick up the whole unit and dump. The unit is fairly light so the process is fairly easy. The batteries add some weight but without batteries it is much lighter. Even with batteries it is still not bad.
I still plan on adding an adjustable air opening on the hood like on a Weber. Why they did not put one in I have no idea but without that I feel like the hood is not useful. That much fire must move air out of that hood quickly. Also an optional hood that has an opening like a pizza oven would be good I think. I might check and see how much they will charge me for a replacement hood and modify it to try that. It sure gets hot enough to produce a nice thin pie quickly. Might make a great pizza oven too!
Updated 1-19-16I added some adjustable air openings to the hood with a simple mod...
Updated 1-21-16So I ended up getting 5 full cooks before the batteries started losing their juice. I noticed a decrease in fan speed and the fan surging slightly. Still pretty good for a portable grill!
