Ultimate Meat Cooker? What's Your Go-To?

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(Niko Neko) #1

Air fryer, cast iron skillet, InstaPot, outdoor grill…(or something else!): If you could only keep ONE for the rest of the year, which one wins and why?

(Anything you bought that you regret?)

(Niko Neko) #2

Maybe I should have included a freezer. I haven’t had a full size freezer for very long, we moved and this place has a shop / barn utility space and I was able to finally get a freezer and it is so handy!

I just freeze meat in plastic ziplock bags. When I was growing up those were considered a luxury and my grandmother would wash and re-use them. I just toss mine like I’m a billionaire.

My wrists are weak so cast iron tends to be too heavy for me and causes me a lot of pain. But picking between air fryer or InstaPot? Whew…that’s maybe too tough. Anything fast and easy and I’m in.

(Central Florida Bob ) #3

I have an indoor, gas-fired stove and oven, a Cuisinart countertop electric “convection toaster oven air fryer”, a charcoal barbecue kettle grill (Weber), and two Masterbuilt electric smokers. As for which one wins, none of them. I couldn’t grill in the smokers, could smoke in the Weber, but I can do most except smoking in the LNG-fired stove and oven. I look at them in the mode of thinking what each one is good at and use that tool for the job.

Hope that’s useful,
Bob

(Bean) #4

I have histamine troubles, so freezer definitely wins. After that, probably electric pressure cooker since I have a range with convection. That makes the Ninja air fryer oven handy but redundant. I don’t slow cook anything, so no crockpot or smoking (We have a smoker and I know how, but I think the smoker will get rehomed soon). I do grill regularly about half the year.

I think I would settle on freezer, cast iron sizzle platters I can use in the oven or on the grill for steaks (like for fajitas), then the electric pressure/ mulitcooker.

#5

If it had to be only ONE, it’d just be my gas grill, charcoal does it better, but that needs time. Sous Vide does it perfect, but that also needs to be seared so that’s 2 different things.

I sold my (real) smoker a couple years ago, and just got one back but this time it’s a Traegar, all the benefits except all the work replaced with an on/off switch and a temp control, WORTH IT!

I’m a New Englander, so grilling is a year round sport. Rain, Shine, Ice and Snow, the grill is open for business!

#6

Don’t do this to me, I need both my skillet and mini oven. I usually fry my meat but sometimes it’s nice to roast a bigger amount… I only use my air fryer to finish my chicken and I have lived without one for decades but the other 2, I need those. Well I could live with an open fire if I had to but well, I am attached the mentioned two.

Freezer is another category entirely, I eat pork, I cook it thoroughly! I have a quite small freezer in my fridge, it’s usually chaos (my SO doesn’t dare to open the door as something surely will fall out. older fridges has a small freezer on top, 2 shelves, not drawers and I have plenty of small boxes there) but since carnivore, it’s almost all for meat. My SO can buy a ton of vegs and cook it right away or store in the cellar or whatever… I need that space for more important food. He handles it very well, it turned out he doesn’t need veggie dishes ALL the time.

Sure, I do that if I get my hand on one (I hate producing much garbage). I very rarely see one irl. Not particularly useful to me though, I like normal plastic bags better and meat comes in its own package anyway.

Never used an InstaPot, I love my air fryer but I don’t like to use it for pork as it would take away some of the precious fat, it would dry out the lean stuff I try to focus on - and my air fryer is tiny, I mean business if it comes to cooking meat. It’s bad enough when it’s a pan so it’s not even 1kg… But if my SO cooks something meaty, it may still be enough for days.

Oven is easy but not fast. Pork needs at least 2 hours there, no matter what. Interestingly, chicken is similar but I get it out earlier and put it into the air fryer for 20-30 more minutes. It’s STILL not crunchy but I have no infinite patience. NO IDEA how people make anything chicken below 30 minutes (that’s my minimal time for chicken liver in a pan. It’s over an hour in the oven but I only did it once). Or pork (fried pork in a pan, 30 minutes may be enough if I am there but no, I just leave it to cook slowly with the lid and quickly fry it in some minutes but that’s usually over 30 minutes then. Not by much though.
Beef is special, I actually had some surprisingly quick cooking when using it, especially liver. But I eat beef like once a year (too expensive) and that’s in a different form to make the dish bigger.

I honestly thought I will be able to answer it quick… Well the actual answer is in the beginning. Pan and oven and I won’t choose (but if I must, it’s my pan as it’s quicker and I use it more often).
And if it’s just about survival, I can make a fire anywhere and will eat as long as I have the meat. I can bake bread using 3 tea candles, meat is way easier :smiley:

But maybe the oven is better as I can bake in it…? Sigh. I still want them both.

I don;t have a smoker and never even saw one, it’s probably not such a big thing here…? Dunno, don’t know people but it still seems a nice idea for the future at some point, maybe. As I do love smoked stuff. Not strictly needed to enjoy them but they are nice. So maybe. I don’t want too many machines and other big objects though, I already have so much stuff in a smallish space…

Oh the pan needs something. I use induction cookers, single ones, 2 of them. I don’t have built-on stuff. Both are very much needed.

No grill here, my country has open fire cooking instead of that, surely some people grill but I never had such an acquaintance. We have sooo much wood all the time, we give it away sometimes despite cooking outside nearly every week… The food gets a subtle smoked flavor, it’s very good, I know one (vegan) dish that badly needs it so we never cook it inside. For the others it’s optional.

Today’s food used a pressure cooker (we use it zillion times per year) because it had meat AND beans, my very own meat is still the marinated fatty pork made in a pan. The oven will have its time next week I suppose (pork loin and ribs! lovely combo. my SO gets some of the lean part. he eats higher-fat but he prefers leaner meats), until then it’s just baking, I do that very often.

(Bob M) #7

I think this is true. I had a charcoal grill (ceramic) for a while, and got rid of that and got a gas grill and a charcoal barrel cooker with an automatic air control. So much easier to turn a valve, press a button, and start cooking. Do miss the charcoal flavor, but I can still smoke meats using the charcoal barrel cooker.

The sous vide may still be the ultimate meat cooker. Can’t overcook.

(Niko Neko) #8

I’ve only ever seen sous vide on tv (from a long time ago) that’s like when it’s in a bag and they cook it with a hot water bath? I don’t know much about sous vide, you might have to share a photo or some tips. How’s the taste?

(Central Florida Bob ) #9

I forgot about the sous vide - I have one of those as well. I’m not using that very much for a couple of reasons; first is that it’s inconvenient - a tub of water is required, and most of what I did was pork that had to sit in there overnight or around 16 hours total. Afterwards, I’d finish it in the oven most of the time, but in the smoker occasionally. So, yes, @NikoNeko, it’s cooking in a plastic Ziploc bag, which fills with the juices rendered out of the meat. That’s another negative.

And like @ctviggen says, my electric smokers are set with an electronic control and all I really do is add some wood chips every hour to 90 minutes or so, and temperature is set by a thermostat control.