Orion Cooker

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We have ignition... Only deviations from the recipe is 1 can of beer in the drip pan along with the apple cider vineger and a strip of low sodium bacon on each brisket (cut into thirds) used Mesquite chips with a handful of Hickory chips level with the top of the drip pan.
Homemade Rub mixed together:
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Seasoning Salt
Paprika
Italian seasoning
Black Pepper
Lemon Salt and Pepper
Lite Salt
 
Hey guys,....I just bought one of these Orion cookers this week. Ive been looking for websites on this item, and really this is the only active forum thread i could find. I was surprised to find it on a satellite website:D Seems like most of the people on the BBQ type sites turn their noses up at this thing.

Anyways,...I plan on doing a turkey this saturday as the maiden voyage. I dont think im going to do anything to the turkey other than rub some olive oil on the skin and stick it in there with some wood chips. My local Ace hardware only had mesquite and hickory so i chose hickory for the bird.

Have you guys ever tried slipping a few baked potatos in this rig? Im not real sure i could pull it off, the turkey takes up so much room.

I also have a 12 Lb beef brisket in my freezer i want to cook for my daughters birthday party on august 3rd. I think i'll try the recipe you posted,..out of curiosity what was your total cook time on that brisket?

Thanks
Greydle
 
Welcome to SatelliteGuys :wavewhere any and all new technology is welcomed and discussed... I gave the brisket the 4.5 hours recommended in the recipe above although as stated It was breezy here and I had to add a little charcoal (6-8) both times on the bottom and 2 on top... I keep wanting to try potatoes but usually do not have the room and have yet to do a Turkey... The brisket has just a hint of the apple cider vineger flavor to it but it does not distract from the enjoyment of the meat.
I have noticed that also at the smoking sites, stuck in their ways I guess ;) to me reducing the Smoke time on the brisket by at least 1.5 hours and all the Labor invovled makes it worth it to me and when cooking chicken, roast's and ribs the 1.25 hour cook time is hard to beat!
 
Yes, :welcome to SatelliteGuys!

I think you'll really like your Orion. I have not had mine long, but am already sold on it. Its going to get plenty of work this weekend ;)

good luck with the turkey!
 
We bought a $34 brisket today; Saturday is going to be a serious day of cooking. My wife is planning on using the Orion to roast 3 pork roasts, then do the brisket later. She is "power cooking," to build up a supply of ready-cooked meat for the next month or so.
 
Greydle said:
Hey guys,....I just bought one of these Orion cookers this week. Ive been looking for websites on this item, and really this is the only active forum thread i could find./quote]

Same here! New Orion owner this week. It's great to see some active orion users in discussion. I'm very surprised that, do to the lack of negative reviews, that this product isn't more widely discussed. It seems every owner loves it outside of one guy, Dan. He was on another forum and screwed up a turkey (i guess it didn't brown. it's been suggested that he added water to it and didn't use any wood chips), doh!. Seriously, I haven't found a bad review on this product outside of 1 guy. That's great to see as a customer!

My first dinner will be running this evening, 3 racks of baby backs w/ a great rub that we fell in love with a while ago. It has paprika, onion pwdr, garlic pwdr, thyme, brown sugar, cayenne, salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, basil and oregano. (If any one is interested in the recipe, please let me know..i'll pass it along).

I've done a lot of research on this product on the web. There were 2 things I came across that I was hoping someone could assist with before I do the ribs this evening.

The first being, the amount of smoke chips. I've read complaints of not enough smoke flavor and complaints of too much. I plan on using hickory. Any suggestions on an amount would be greatly appreciated. I love my meat browned a little more than norm. From what I have read, the wood chips are important for browning. But I don't want to over do it, so I'm panicking, haha. I guess I could just let the ribs run for 1.5hrs instead of 1.25hrs for additional browning? Oh, and I read that some wood chips are stronger than others... So I would assume that any amounts should be backed off when using those chips? I.e. mesquite?

2ndly, I also read a posting whereas someone said they don't use a whole bag of charcoal if they are only doing 1 batch of food. Has anyone tried backing off on the amount of charcoal used? I'm only doing ribs tonight and was thinking of using a 1/2 bag. I love being cheap, haha. Any thoughts on this? I figured I could run a 1/2 bag and do the ribs for 1.5hrs.

If I can get the fiance' to get her camera going, I'll have her take some pictures and post a review. I'm pretty geeked. Can't wait to get out of work!
Click to expand...
 
schmitage said:
Greydle said:
Hey guys,....I just bought one of these Orion cookers this week. Ive been looking for websites on this item, and really this is the only active forum thread i could find./quote]

Same here! New Orion owner this week. It's great to see some active orion users in discussion. I'm very surprised that, do to the lack of negative reviews, that this product isn't more widely discussed. It seems every owner loves it outside of one guy, Dan. He was on another forum and screwed up a turkey (i guess it didn't brown. it's been suggested that he added water to it and didn't use any wood chips), doh!. Seriously, I haven't found a bad review on this product outside of 1 guy. That's great to see as a customer!

My first dinner will be running this evening, 3 racks of baby backs w/ a great rub that we fell in love with a while ago. It has paprika, onion pwdr, garlic pwdr, thyme, brown sugar, cayenne, salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, basil and oregano. (If any one is interested in the recipe, please let me know..i'll pass it along).

I've done a lot of research on this product on the web. There were 2 things I came across that I was hoping someone could assist with before I do the ribs this evening.

The first being, the amount of smoke chips. I've read complaints of not enough smoke flavor and complaints of too much. I plan on using hickory. Any suggestions on an amount would be greatly appreciated. I love my meat browned a little more than norm. From what I have read, the wood chips are important for browning. But I don't want to over do it, so I'm panicking, haha. I guess I could just let the ribs run for 1.5hrs instead of 1.25hrs for additional browning? Oh, and I read that some wood chips are stronger than others... So I would assume that any amounts should be backed off when using those chips? I.e. mesquite?

2ndly, I also read a posting whereas someone said they don't use a whole bag of charcoal if they are only doing 1 batch of food. Has anyone tried backing off on the amount of charcoal used? I'm only doing ribs tonight and was thinking of using a 1/2 bag. I love being cheap, haha. Any thoughts on this? I figured I could run a 1/2 bag and do the ribs for 1.5hrs.

If I can get the fiance' to get her camera going, I'll have her take some pictures and post a review. I'm pretty geeked. Can't wait to get out of work!
Click to expand...


I did a full bag of charcoal, and had mesquite chips filling all of the space around the drip pan; and cooked them for 1h20min (I meant to do it for 1h15, but was late pulling them). They were perfect.

I would use the recommended charcoal and the recommended time for the first cook; you won't be disappointed. In general, I'd say use the full amount of charcoal; there is no way to know how long to compensate for less heat. The folks at Orion Cooker have done their research, stick with it.

Did you do a burn of the unit with charcoal but no food, to burn off any residues on the stainless steel? Its a cheap way to "burn in" your cooker.
Click to expand...
 
With Hickory I don't think you can oversmoke from what I have read, mesquite is another matter... use the recommended amount of charcoal, although I put 14 brickets on top instead of 12... I cooked ribs my first cook and used recommended amount. I also use regular charcoal (kingsford) instead of matchlite and use charcoal starter fluid...
 
rockymtnhigh said:
I did a full bag of charcoal, and had mesquite chips filling all of the space around the drip pan; and cooked them for 1h20min (I meant to do it for 1h15, but was late pulling them). They were perfect.

I would use the recommended charcoal and the recommended time for the first cook; you won't be disappointed. In general, I'd say use the full amount of charcoal; there is no way to know how long to compensate for less heat. The folks at Orion Cooker have done their research, stick with it.

Did you do a burn of the unit with charcoal but no food, to burn off any residues on the stainless steel? Its a cheap way to "burn in" your cooker.
Click to expand...

Cool, I was worrying about putting too much smoked flavor in there. If you filled the gap, then how the heck are other people saying they over did it w/ mesquite? Maybe they put a bunch in the drip pan? Weird. Thanks for the reassurance!

Ya, I figured that if I use less charcoal, the times will be off. Most postings say that the charcoal is perfect for cooking when the ribs are done. I personally prefer to not waste that heat (and I don't have anything else thawed out). I got a package of kielbasa in the fridge... Maybe I'll toss that on there for 30min or so when the ribs are done. (Is 30min long enough you think?) I'll use the whole bag tonight for my first run. I'm usually cooking for 2 or 3 people so using a whole bag of charcoal seems like overkill, at least for my pocketbook. I'll have to do some trials in the future. I don't mind waiting an additional hour if I can use 1/2 the charcoal. I have more time than money. ;)

I didn't do a burn off. I considered doing one, but Chris (the owner?) emailed me and said: "Clean the inside of the cooking cylinder and lid with a damp paper towel. The attachments can go in the dishwasher. This should save you a bag of charcoal." Well, I went further than that and washed everything w/ dawn dish soap and a scrubby. Everything is squeeky clean!

Man, i'm starving. :hungry:
 
schmitage said:
Cool, I was worrying about putting too much smoked flavor in there. If you filled the gap, then how the heck are other people saying they over did it w/ mesquite? Maybe they put a bunch in the drip pan? Weird. Thanks for the reassurance!

Ya, I figured that if I use less charcoal, the times will be off. Most postings say that the charcoal is perfect for cooking when the ribs are done. I personally prefer to not waste that heat (and I don't have anything else thawed out). I got a package of kielbasa in the fridge... Maybe I'll toss that on there for 30min or so when the ribs are done. (Is 30min long enough you think?) I'll use the whole bag tonight for my first run. I'm usually cooking for 2 or 3 people so using a whole bag of charcoal seems like overkill, at least for my pocketbook. I'll have to do some trials in the future. I don't mind waiting an additional hour if I can use 1/2 the charcoal. I have more time than money. ;)

I didn't do a burn off. I considered doing one, but Chris (the owner?) emailed me and said: "Clean the inside of the cooking cylinder and lid with a damp paper towel. The attachments can go in the dishwasher. This should save you a bag of charcoal." Well, I went further than that and washed everything w/ dawn dish soap and a scrubby. Everything is squeeky clean!

Man, i'm starving. :hungry:
Click to expand...

As far as the mesquite; I think its all a matter of taste. I thought the ribs were perfect; my wife thought the smoke flavor was a bit much. Trial and error I guess.
 
dfergie said:
With Hickory I don't think you can oversmoke from what I have read, mesquite is another matter... use the recommended amount of charcoal, although I put 14 brickets on top instead of 12... I cooked ribs my first cook and used recommended amount. I also use regular charcoal (kingsford) instead of matchlite and use charcoal starter fluid...
Click to expand...

Hey dfergie, g' morning. How much mesquite do you use, the same as rocky? (fill the gap?).

I may consider using regular charcoal in the future w/ a couple chimney starters. It may be a cheaper way to go in the long run. Thanks for posting all of your experiences.
 
schmitage;
Let us know how it goes with the less charcoal. It does seem a waste to put a whole bunch in. I might just have to get one of these things...
 
timmy1376 said:
schmitage;
Let us know how it goes with the less charcoal. It does seem a waste to put a whole bunch in. I might just have to get one of these things...
Click to expand...

Will do Timmy.

I read this on another forum: "I cooked 1 rack of pork ribs and 1 rack of beef ribs last night for about an hour and a half(I used about half the recommended charcoal), and they were great."

That's a start for me. He added about 15min to the recommended cooking time.. not bad. Heck, I'll give it a try tonight. I'm all about pinching those pennies.

I'll be putting dry rub on those suckers in 2hrs and 30min. The countdown is on... :hungry:
 
Ok, I worry way too much. That was very simple. Dry rub on ribs, put chips in cooker, hang the ribs, light charcoal, and drink beer. Ahhhh. That's nice. They've been in for about 45min now. I ended up using almost the full bag. Man, that smells good.

start.jpg


I'll post a pic of the final results. I'm sure they're going to be awesome.
 
well, I do have to say that I'm a bit disappointed. The meat is fall off the bone and all that, but it's rubbery. I guess they'd be better if I tossed them on the grill and seared them for a while. I don't know. The meat's texture was all in big chunks, not pulilng apart, rubbery, etc. I used the recommended amount of charcoal because you can't fill up the ring sufficiently if you cut back (see first pic below).. and I put in about a handful and a half of chips. They cooked for 1hr 20min, from time of starting the charcoal. It's basically steamed meat (i didn't add any liquid to the cooker and I didn't soak the chips). It is browned and they "look" great... but it's lacking texture.

http://my.voyager.net/jzanti/start.jpg
http://my.voyager.net/jzanti/done.jpg
 
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