Tag Archives: smoker

Sustainable tabletop smoker adds to your dinner aesthetic

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If you’re having a dinner party and you need to smoke some of your food like meats, vegetables, fish, cheese, and nuts, you probably will have to do it outdoors. But if you don’t have space to do actual smoking and you just have your table as your space, then that can be a problem (or you might have to just change your menu). There are options out there for table smokers but not all of them are convenient or emit minimal smoke or worse, they can make your food a bit charred.

Designer: Guillaume Bloget

The Cloche table smoker may be the solution to that particular problem. It uses aromatic plants and wood chips as your smoker so that the food you’re cold smoking will still be able to retain their original flavors but this time with a smoky note added to it. It can also serve as part of your dining table decoration as its beech and stainless steel aesthetic can add to the atmosphere of your meal. You can create a ritual out of arranging the food, lighting the fire, then putting it out and presenting the food for eating.

Using it seems pretty easy on paper. You place the ingredients on the metal part and then put the aromatic plants or pine needles on the hearth. You can use matches or a blowtorch to light your “fireplace” then close the smoker with the beech cover. The fire will be put out once you put the cover on (hopefully). After 30 minutes, you can lift the cover and then start consuming whatever it is you were cold smoking. You will still get some residual smoke but hopefully not to make anyone cough or choke.

Having a table smoker like this can help alleviate the pressure of having an actual smoking grill if you just need to cook a bit of food for your party. But of course this is assuming you’re just having a few guests over since the Cloche table smoker is a bit small. If you’re not using it, it can also just be part of your table decoration or a food container.

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This portable three-way smoker makes you the Master of the Pit anywhere you go

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There are many techniques and tricks these days that try to recreate certain food smells and tastes with minimum fuss, but they can only go so far. The distinct flavor and scent of smoked food, for example, is extremely difficult to emulate without actually smoking the ingredients. Unfortunately, typical smokers are large and cumbersome to use, and they can only be used outdoors. Smoker guns, on the other hand, are too simplistic and sacrifice quality for convenience. Fortunately, the situation isn’t as hopeless as it sounds, and this portable smoker isn’t just easy to use indoors and outdoors, it even supports three styles of smoking to suit your food and your taste.

Designer: KIWAMIYATEI

Click Here to Buy Now: $159 $250 ($91 off). Hurry, less than 72 hours left! Raised over $182,000.

Barbecues and smoked food are some of the more difficult types of dishes to make, mostly because of the inconvenience of where you can do the smoking. Measuring only 24cm x 24cm by 21cm, SMOKER-X tears down those barriers and lets you smoke wherever you want to, even indoors. In fact, this smoker’s body is so compact that it works with any kind of stove top, whether it’s gas, electric, or induction. Whenever you feel the craving for a good smoked dish, you can quickly whip out the SMOKER-X to satisfy your appetite.

Mouth-watering hot bacon.

Hot Smoking – Fire up your wood chips and smoke passes right through to cook your food and infuse it with smoky goodness.

Portability, however, is just one of the tricks up the SMOKER-X’s sleeve. Its versatility lets you smoke any type of food or ingredient using the exact same smoker. Want a traditional hot barbecue? Just place some wood chips inside the main frame, light up a fire underneath, and you’re on your way to a great slab of bacon or steak. The built-in thermometer gives you a precise readout of how hot it is inside.

Perfect cold smoked salmon.

Cold Smoking with Ice – Add ice cubes to the saucer and place it over the wood chips. The smoke cools off as it passes through the ice, infusing your fresh salmon, cheeses and meats with smoky flavor without them heating up or melting.

Smoking more delicate food like salmon, nuts, and cheese? Put ice on the saucer between the wood chips and mesh rack, and you have an instant cold smoker that separates the heat from the smoke.

Wine-infused wings.

Water Smoking with Beer or Wine – The smoke from the wood chips passes through the liquid so that the smoke and beer/wine vapor is absorbed, resulting in juicy spare ribs or chicken infused with flavor.

Cook savory meats by pouring wine into the saucer for water smoking, infusing the food with a special blend of flavors in the process. Whatever the smoking style you want or need, SMOKER-X can handle it without breaking a sweat. Part of the secret is the smoker’s unique design that creates a narrow 6mm pathway for the smoke to pass through the saucer, making it possible to create all types of smoked foods.

Despite its small size, this multi-talented smoker is built to last. Unlike typical smokers that rust over time, SMOKER-X is made from durable and rust-resistant materials, employing three layers of stainless steel 304, aluminum, and stainless steel 404 for good measure. At the same time, the smoker is easy to clean as well and can be safely placed inside dishwashers. They say that productivity is about working smarter rather than harder, and smoking doesn’t get any smarter than this. With a portable yet durable construction and its three-way smoking capability, the SMOKER-X lets you become the barbecue hero of the party anytime, anywhere.

Click Here to Buy Now: $159 $250 ($91 off). Hurry, less than 72 hours left! Raised over $182,000.

The post This portable three-way smoker makes you the Master of the Pit anywhere you go first appeared on Yanko Design.

The best grills and grill accessories in 2023

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Cookout season is here, so now's the time to make sure you have everything you need for your ultimate grilling setup. To help you prepare to spend more time outside, we’ve compiled a list of the best grills and grill accessories for culinary adventures on the porch, deck, patio or backyard. We’ve reviewed and tested a wide range of grills and other devices, and we’ve selected our top picks to help you stay on top of your BBQ game. There are other outdoor cooking items too, with selections that should help you become a grill master, serving up delicious food all year long and expanding your skills in the process.

Traeger Timberline and Timberline XL

Last year, Traeger went all out for its smart grills. The company completely redesigned its high-end Timberline series, turning its premium pellet grills into outdoor kitchens. While the cooking chamber may look like any other Traeger grill, the company decided to put these new models on a rolling cart instead of four legs. Of course, this gives you more storage, but it also makes it easier to empty the pellet hopper. There’s a rail system on the front and sides of the grill to hold a range of accessories from paper rolls, to sauce, tongs and rub compartments.

In terms of tech, Traeger swapped out the basic controls from its previous WiFi-equipped D2 grills in favor of a color touchscreen. There are more sensors inside to keep tabs on the cooking process and added lighting to help you see the cooking surface better after dark. The new Timberlines will also work with a specially-designed version of the wireless Meater probes (Traeger bought Meater in 2021), so you’re not reliant on the corded version that comes standard. Perhaps most importantly, the company added what it says is the first outdoor-rated induction burner for sauces, sides and searing.

All of those upgrades lead to a starting price of $3,500. If you can forgo some of those niceties (I’d argue your grill doesn’t need a touchscreen, for example), the first-gen Ironwood has been a workhorse for me since I reviewed it in 2019. It still runs like a champ and works well with the company’s full-featured app. It’s a great option for someone looking to dive into pellet grills, offering a bit more than the entry-level Pro series from Traeger. The company still sells the original Ironwood even though it updated the model for 2023, and you can get the larger size for $2,000 less than the smallest of the new Timberlines.

Weber Genesis II EPX-335

In 2021, Weber introduced its first smart gas grills. After developing its Weber Connect platform for the SmokeFire pellet grills and the Smart Grilling Hub, the company brought its Wi-Fi-connected cooking to a more widely used fuel source. Last year, the company refined things a bit with PureBlu high-heat burners, sear zone, side table, expandable top cooking grate and "Nightvision" LED lighting. If the 2022 EPX-335 doesn’t suit your needs, there are other options that come in three- and four-burner configurations with porcelain enamel or stainless steel finishes. Plus, there are both propane and natural gas models, and some come with a side burner if you need it.

Of course, the main attraction here is the Weber Connect integration. Just like it does on the SmokeFire pellet grills and the Smart Grilling Hub, the technology can guide you through every step of the grilling process. A mix of instructions and videos inside the Weber Connect app offer assistance to grillers of all skill levels, right down to when to flip your steak. What’s more, the system offers real-time food temperatures and estimated readiness countdowns right on your phone so you can better time side dishes like veggie skewers (and keep the hangry crowd at bay). On its gas smart grills, Weber Connect can also keep tabs on fuel level so you’ll know when it’s time to swap tanks.

Weber has also introduced a host of grill tool sets and accessories that expand the capabilities of its gas grills. The company makes grilling gloves, searing grates, a grilling basket, rotisserie items and a pizza stone, as well as grill cleaning tools, like a scraper and brush. There’s also a griddle insert that allows you to make everything from breakfast to smash burgers. And if you want to transform the entire grilling area, Weber has a full-size griddle accessory that will do just that.

Ooni pizza ovens

Ooni has built a stellar reputation for its pizza ovens, and rightfully so. The company’s gear is easy to use and it helps you create restaurant-quality wood-fired pies at home. Its latest oven, the Volt 12, is an electric model that can be used indoors but still has the capability we’ve grown to count on from Ooni. In terms of solely outdoor ovens, the Karu 16 can accommodate multiple fuel sources and has room for larger pizzas. Out of the box this model can burn wood or charcoal, but Ooni sells gas burners for $120 and $150 (propane and natural gas versions).

In addition to overall size, the Karu 16 also has some conveniences that differentiate it from Ooni’s other ovens. First, a hinged door allows you to see what you’re cooking through a glass window. Second, there’s a front-mounted digital thermometer that shows the ambient temperature inside of the oven. Like other Ooni pizza cookers, the Karu 16 heats quickly, reaching 950 degrees Fahrenheit in about 15 minutes. And of course, the larger cooking area will allow you to make things besides pizza. If you can stand a smaller oven and analog thermometers, the company recently introduced the Karu 12G that still has the glass door, increased fuel efficiency and can be outfitted with a gas burner add-on ($100).

Thermoworks Thermapen One

Over the years, a Thermapen has become my most-used BBQ grill tool. I rely on it like a sous chef to make sure I’m cooking things to the correct internal temperature, especially chicken. It’s a versatile and sturdy tool at the grill and in the kitchen. ThermoWorks' Thermapen One is the follow up to its best-selling Thermapen Mk4. This new model shows temps lightning quick, giving you a reading in one second. ThermoWorks also improved accuracy and used a brighter display than the previous model. An automatically rotating screen makes the numbers easy to see no matter how you hold it, plus an auto-wake and sleep feature preserves battery life and IP67 rating protects it from accidental spills.

Meater Plus

A wireless meat thermometer may seem like overkill when there are so many great (and affordable) wired options available. I too was skeptical at first, but I can assure you that not having to avoid those metal cables when you’re flipping or wrapping a large cut of meat is definitely worth the investment. For the Meater Plus, the Traeger-owned company extended the Bluetooth range from the original model. Each probe has two sensors, so you can keep tabs on both internal food temp and the ambient temperature of your grill. Stats are sent to the company’s app, and you can set target temps, view an estimated completion time or get some help with a cook if you need it.

Anova Precision Cooker Nano 3.0

The latest version of Anova’s Precision Cooker Nano still offers sous vide in a compact form factor. It’s an updated version of the cookware device I’ve been using for a long time thanks most to its accuracy and reliability. The company has swapped Bluetooth connectivity for dual-band WiFi so you can venture further away from the Nano 3.0. This model also has a two-line touchscreen display, so time and temperature can be viewed simultaneously. Manual controls are ever present here too, if you want to bypass the iOS or Android apps. That software will provide you with recipes and step-by-step guidance, so it’s good to consult it even if you’re experienced with this cooking method.

In order to make the most of your sous vide setup, you’ll want to also invest in a vacuum sealer. I have the FoodSaver FM2000. It doesn’t have some of the flashy features of more expensive units, but it covers the basics just fine. If you prefer something more robust with options like automatic bag detection, retractable handheld sealer and a dry/moist setting, I’d recommend the FoodSaver V4400. With both, you can use them to seal leftovers for the freezer or store other goods you don’t want air to get to in addition to sous vide cooking. I’ve also found vacuum-sealed packs handy for reheating things like pulled pork. When you reheat with a sous vide, the meat doesn’t dry out like it would in the microwave. Sure, you could just use Ziploc bags, but I’ve done that, and a FoodSaver is worth the investment.

Stanley IceFlow Tumblers

I’d argue one of the most important grilling tools is a cold beverage. And as the days get hotter, you’ll need to plan your drinkware carefully so your monster cocktail or water supply remains at a frigid temperature. I’ve tried a number of insulated aluminum cups over the years, but Stanley has been the best. The company is known for its classic thermos, but its lineup of cups, bottles and more are affordable and do a great job of keeping drinks cold for hours at a time.

Stanley has a ton of options that serve as alternatives to popular brands like Yeti, but the IceFlow Tumblers have been my go-to this spring. The larger 30-ounce cup can keep drinks cold for up to 12 hours while the 20-ounce version can do so for up to seven hours. There’s a solid handle and the built-in flip-down straw means the drinking area isn’t exposed to the elements quite as much. At $25 and $30 each, these are a fraction of the cost of the most expensive options, and they have better ice retention than some of those too.

Brumate Hopsulator Duo and Trio

Brumate’s Hopsulator products are warm weather essentials for me. I originally got one for the beach, but it has become a staple in my grilling tool kit. The company’s Hopsulator Trio is a 3-in-1 option that holds 16-ounce cans or 12-ounce cans with a cold insert you keep in your freezer. It also comes with a lid so you can use it as a travel mug. The Hopsulator Duo also doubles as an insulated cup, but it’s designed for 12-ounce cans and doesn’t come with any cooling accessories. What’s more, Brumate has a third model for slim cans. So if hard seltzers are more your thing, there’s an option for you too.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-grilling-gear-143011296.html?src=rss

Want to up your grilling and charcuterie game? This stovetop smoker lets you hot, cold, or water-smoke your food

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Jerry Seinfeld believes that cinnamon is the ultimate secret ingredient, but little does he know that smoke is a much more powerful addition to a meal. Smoked food just tastes much more wonderful, activating not just your taste buds but also your sense of smell to give you a multisensorial, layered experience. The art of smoking, however, seems to be limited to fancy restaurants and large steakhouses with equipment that’s either too big to fit in most homes or too small (those smoke guns) to really create a lasting impact. The SMOKER-X changes that, with its design that condenses the traditional smoker machine to something the size of a large saucepan or dutch oven. Sit it on top of a stove, grill, or outdoor fire and the SMOKER-X does the job of a much larger smoker, layering your food with a rich smokey flavor… but the SMOKER-X doesn’t stop there. Aside from hot-smoking your food, the SMOKER-X lets you cold-smoke as well as water-smoke your food too, letting you add different kinds of complex flavor profiles to your cuts of meat, whether they’re surf, turf, or even processed cold cuts.

Designer: KIWAMIYATEI

Click Here to Buy Now: $139 $250 ($111 off). Hurry, only 142/200 left!

Smoked cheese and nuts done by Smoker-X.

Designed to be the only 3-way smoker that’s small enough to be used in most homes, the SMOKER-X comes with a compact and durable metal build featuring the main smoking basket, two mesh trays for meats, a saucepan for ice cubes or the liquid of your choice, and a lid with a built-in thermometer to check the temperature of your smoker’s interior. The SMOKER-X’s 3-ply metal construction is made to be compatible with gas, induction, and electric stovetops, as well as being dishwasher-friendly.

Mouth-watering hot bacon.

Hot Smoking – Fire up your wood chips and smoke passes right through to cook your food and infuse it with smoky goodness.

Perfect cold smoked salmon.

Cold Smoking with Ice – Add ice cubes to the saucer and place it over the wood chips. The smoke cools off as it passes through the ice, infusing your fresh salmon, cheeses and meats with smoky flavor without them heating up or melting.

Wine-infused wings.

Water Smoking with Beer or Wine – The smoke from the wood chips passes through the liquid so that the smoke and beer/wine vapor is absorbed, resulting in juicy spare ribs or chicken infused with flavor.

Made to work just like a professional-grade smoker, but intuitive enough that an amateur could use it too, the SMOKER-X offers three unique ways of imparting a smokey flavor to your food. The standard hot-smoking technique lets you add wood chips into the main frame before loading a mesh on top with the meats, cheeses, nuts, etc. of your choice. Close the lid and place your SMOKER-X on a hot stovetop and the heat causes the wood chips to burn, cooking your food while also diffusing a wonderful wood-smoke flavor to your food. Adding a saucepan with ice between the wood chips and the food lets you cold-smoke it too. The smoke and heat from the wood are brought down to a lower temperature, filling your food with a smoky aroma without necessarily cooking it. Swap out the ice for a liquid like wine or broth and the food gets even more complex notes. It’s a sure-shot way to easily take your food from tasty to absolutely legendary.

Cleaning up after your smoking session is pretty easy too. The SMOKER-X can be cleaned under running water and is compact enough to fit into most dishwashers too. The SMOKER-X’s durable and portable form factor makes it perfect even for the outdoors, with two mesh racks so you can cook large batches of food just like a pit master. Each SMOKER-X also comes with its own handy recipe book to give your food the ultimate flavor upgrade!

Click Here to Buy Now: $139 $250 ($111 off). Hurry, only 142/200 left!

The post Want to up your grilling and charcuterie game? This stovetop smoker lets you hot, cold, or water-smoke your food first appeared on Yanko Design.

Electrolux GRO kitchen concept offers a fresh take on sustainable eating

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It’s no longer enough to just eat healthy. One also needs to make sure our healthy eating is also healthy for the planet.

There has been a great deal of interest and attention given to diets in the past years, especially as people were forced to fend for themselves at home. Diet fads come and go, but the ingredients we use have mostly remained the same, and the demand for meat-based products has only gone higher, not lower. Our food system isn’t just broken, but so is our mindset and expectations of an unlimited supply of materials to feed the planet at the expense of the planet itself. That definitely has to change, and a holistic kitchen system imagines how tomorrow’s diets won’t only be plant-forward but also planet-friendly.

Designer: Electrolux

Eating healthier has almost become an obsession of many people these days, evidenced by the number of new diet styles and trends that pop up every year. But while people have become generally conscious of the food they eat, they often turn a blind eye to the long-term effects of our food supply systems on the Earth’s ecosystem. Feeding the planet doesn’t have to come at the expense of the planet itself, nor do plant-forward diets have to be the same old stuff you see on the Internet and YouTube.

GRO, from the Swedish word for “to sprout,” reimagines and reinvents a kitchen designed for sustainable eating. While that largely revolves around transitioning to a more plant-forward diet, it also acknowledges the fact that meat will still be a part of people’s lives. Instead, GRO provides solutions to nudge people to become smarter about their food choices, like a “jewelry box” storage that encourages eating less but better quality meat.

GRO includes a modular compartment system that you can combine like LEGO bricks, depending on your dietary needs and kitchen space. Each compartment is designed not only to preserve ingredients but also to showcase their diversity and beauty. A Plant Gallery, for example, provides optimal conditions for storing fruits and vegetables while also letting you enjoy their fresh appearance behind textured glass.

The system also defies stereotypes of plant-forward diets as bland or unexciting, especially to taste buds. In fact, GRO encourages exploration and experimentation, like the Grain and Pulse Library, which lets you try out alternative sources of protein from grains and pulses. Included in the collection is the Nordic Smoker, which lets homeowners smoke their food indoors and infuse new flavors into their recipes. And if all those starts to sound a bit overwhelming, the GRO Coach digital food companion will help you make the right sustainable choices based on your habits and needs.

GRO is part of Electrolux’s Better Living Initiative to promote better eating and better living inside more sustainable homes. The company sent out a survey last year aimed at young people between 15 and 20 to share their thoughts on the future of sustainable living. They are, after all, the biggest stakeholders in the planet’s future, and Electrolux’s kitchen concept wants to make sure that there will still be such a future that will be able to sustain life on the planet for generations to come.

The post Electrolux GRO kitchen concept offers a fresh take on sustainable eating first appeared on Yanko Design.

The best grills and grill accessories in 2024

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It’s grill season, y’all. Time to clean those outdoor cook stations, or invest in a new one and make sure you have all the tools you need for the ultimate backyard culinary setup. To help you with the selection process, I’ve compiled a list of the best grills and accessories for cooking on the porch, deck, patio or anywhere else outside when you’re at home. Our reviews lineup includes a wide range of grills and other smart-grilling devices, all of which can help you elevate your BBQ game. I have some recommendations on other items too, including the ways to keep your beverages cold and the best oven for backyard pizza parties.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-grilling-gear-143011296.html?src=rss

Traeger’s smart grill app comes to the Apple Watch

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Traeger's smart grills have taken some of the toil out of real cookouts using tech. The company's feature-rich companion app — which was overhauled last year with a ton of recipes and video guides and customization — pairs up with its WIFI-en...

The NOMAD Briefcase Grill & Smoker: For Cooking on the Go

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Because you never know when the need to grill or smoke some meat is going to hit you, NOMAD has developed the Briefcase Grill & Smoker, a $600 portable grill and smoker in the form of a 28-pound briefcase. Am I going to handcuff it to my wrist and pretend it contains the nuclear launch codes? No, I’ve done that before and lost the key and it turned into a whole big thing.

The cast aluminum briefcase measures approximately 21″ x 14″ x 10″ and opens to reveal 212 or 425 square inches of total grilling space depending on if you’re using a single side or both. Its exterior includes an integrated thermometer and is specially coated to reduce the shell’s temperature and make it safe to cook on most outdoor surfaces. From what I gathered from their marketing material though, it was not designed to cook while carrying like a briefcase, which is a shame because that’s exactly what I was looking for.

I remember the first time I went camping and thought I was so smart for packing a George Foreman grill. Well, it turns out I was not so smart because there were no electrical outlets in those rocks and trees. I ate a lot of cold hot dogs that weekend.

[via TechCrunch]

This portable BBQ grill + smoker with a honeycomb pattern folds like a briefcase for cooking anytime, anywhere!

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Charcoal grills on the market entice buyers with their smart features but if you are someone who likes things old school yet loves the functionalities of modern grilling and smoking prowess, this portable barbeque grill and smoker is the one. The Nomad Grill and smoker doesn’t come with any smart buttons or functionality but the intuitive industrial design makes it better than any smart options out there. It’s ultra-portable, has a cool modern design, and packs down to the size of a small briefcase. To make sure the heat stays inside and not radiate to the outside of the unibody case measuring 2×2 feet, it is crafted from anodized aluminum.

The inside cooking area gives you 212 square inches of space for smoking or you can opt to double the space with open-grill mode. That’ll give you enough cooking area to barbeque steaks, ribs, or burgers – or even two racks of ribs or 30 burger patties. Nomad’s portable grill is perfect for people who prefer the slow grilling process as the aroma of charcoal and smoke circulates inside when in the closed position for the consistent temperature at all times. Once you are done with the cooking and eating spree, just fold up the portable BBQ and you’re good to go. One advantage of this portable charcoal BBQ grill smoker is its intelligent heat distribution on the inside and minimum heat dissipation on the outside courtesy of the honeycomb design. This ensures that the surface on which it is kept doesn’t get too hot.

In the closed carrying configuration, the Nomad Grill & Smoker has magnetic clutches that secure the grill in place, ideal for hassle-free moving around. Overall, the compact size and the upbeat design of this modern yet no extra fuzz grill gives you every reason to ditch the oversized BBQ grills – even more so for people who prefer a nomadic life, traveling new places in their camper. Even for people who like to have the odd BBQ party in their backyard or go for hikes on the outskirts of the city, it is the ideal match. The price tag of $599 is a bit on the higher side, but if this grill and smoker suffice all your requirements it’s well worth the spend!

Designer: Nomad

 

Kamado Joe unveils a WiFi-connected pellet version of its popular ceramic grill

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Ceramic egg-shaped grills are popular options for both high-temp searing and low-and-slow smoking. Due to their design and materials, they’re incredibly efficient, and they allow you to use both charcoal and wood chunks to get the job done. This week...