Orion Cooker

[LT4827]

Hey Timmy, thanks for the welcome. We just sat down to our first meal from the Orion. Incredible ribs, very smokey flavor and so tender. Can't wait for the boston butt to finish....that will be fun....and have a brisket marinating.....this is addictive.

Will have to start looking around for different smoking chips. I have never looked for them, are they hard to come by?

 

[dfergie]

to SatelliteGuys... I noticed that about the smoking / BBQ sites... they tend to get down right hostile and if the cooker doesn't fit into their preconcieved ideas,"It won't work" ... being from San Antonio there should be Mesquite chips available at Albertsons, Wal Mart and possible HEB... and Hickory should be there also... again Welcome! and enjoy the Orion...

 

[LT4827]

Thanks, you were right about the wood chips (hickory and mesquite) being readily available.....found them everywhere when I looked. But, those were the only types of wood, I guess I need to seek out a bonidifed BBQ supply or grill place to find other types of wood.

what has been ya'll's experience with cooking times and smaller pieces of meat??? I did just 2 small slabs of baby back ribs and a 4 lb Boston Butt, used the full cooking time, but felt it may have been excessive. Everything tasted fine, but.....my next cooking project is a brisket, and it weighs alot less than the brisket sited in the reciepes.....I guess I will send a note over at the orion site and see what happens.

Have a great day!

 

[dfergie]

I pretty much stick with the cooking times, but check with a thermometer before pulling,... I got a digital thermometer for Xmas and it worked perfectly the other day...

 

[dfergie]

My new boss bought one Monday, has yet to make his first cook, but he's excited... I'll likely buy some type of meat when I get off in the morning as the wind is supposed to die down this weekend... right now thinking ribs.

 

[dfergie]

Cook started at 5:30 pm
2 Racks of Ribs
Above mentioned Rub applied
Mesquite chips along drip pan

 

[dfergie]

Pulled about 30 minutes ago... very good!

 

[dfergie]

The Plan: Green Chile Chicken Enchilada's
1- 4lb Chicken
1- 8 oz. Homebrew in drip pan (a dark malt with a cerrano pepper in the bottle)
No Chips
9 Hatch green chiles
1- 10.5 oz can of Cream of Chicken Soup
1- 28 oz can of Medium Green Chile Enchilada Sauce (added as not enough sauce)
14 Corn tortilla's
Sharp Chedder Cheese

Cooked for 1:15
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pulled the Chicken, let cool, then shred
diced chiles and add the Cream of Chicken Soup and started heating in a small pot
added the can of enchilada sauce and brought almost
to boil.
Put 7 corn tortillas in bottom of pan and ladle sauce over
Add 1 layer of the shredded chicken
Poured sauce over the chicken.
Put 7 more corn tortillas over chicken then add the remaining chicken.
Spread grated cheese over same, then poured remaining sauce over it.
Pre heated oven to 300 and put pan in for 20 Minutes.
Pull and allow to cool a little.

 

[dfergie]

Wow... very good!

 

[edog1]

Just bought the Orion!

Just bought the orion from Home Depo, cleaned it, and now have 3 racks of baby backs on it. Should be done in about 1 hour - I'll let everyone know how they turn out. I used a dry Emeril's rib rub with hickory chips. Wish me luck......

 

[dfergie]

To SatelliteGuys and to the Orion Cooker :up Good luck with your first cook!

 

[pga5]

I found this page on a search, and became a member. I bought an Orion yesterday at Home Depot ($134, including tax--10% off, military discount). The cooking time was a major selling point, along with the ability to cook multiple items at once.

I read the instructions and put the device together. I smoked some baby back ribs, and beer can a chicken. The ribs were not quite fall off the bone, but pretty darn good. My wife loved them, but she likes a little chew in hers. Nothing wrong with that. The chicken was excellent; one of the best beer can jobs I've ever made (although it is hard to mess up).

Pros: The cooker allows genuine smoking, and it doesn't require a whole lot of intervention. The smoky flavor was evident in the food, and the meat was thoroughly cooked. If you've got a lot of meat to cook, you can follow the first load up with another. I did that with another rack of ribs, and they came out well.

Cons: As has been stated, the cooker can use a lot of charcoal. In my opinion, the fire and forget aspect has its negatives as well. If the meat doesn't turn out like you want it to, you have to pretty much guess what you've done wrong. I actually like watching the meat on occasion.

 

[edog1]

Ribs were great on my end. pga5- one thing I did was, right after the ribs came out, immediately cover them in the bbq sauce you are using and cover in foil for 15 or so minutes. This not only finishes tenderizing, but absorbs the bbq flavor into the ribs. They were excellent. Have a 9 pound pork shoulder for pulled pork on the cooker now.

 

[dfergie]

Welcome to Satelliteguys pga5! that sounds like a good idea with the BBQ sauce...pork comes out pretty good, no cook today but maybe tomarrow I will rustle something up in the Orion.

 

[dfergie]

The Plan:
1 4lb Chicken
used my above rub liberally
water in drip pan
no chips

Ignition 6:15 pm, time to walk the dogs....

Pull @ 7:30 (just as it starts sprinkling)

Excellent...

 

[dfergie]

The Plan:
1- 7 - 1/2 Lb Brisket cut in half
Above named rub
12 oz. Dr Pepper
12 oz. Apple cider vinegar
very light application of hickory chips

Applied rub to both half's for 2 hours
Pour apple cider vinegar in one storage bag & marinate for 2-1/2 hours
Pour Dr. Pepper in one storage bag & marinate for 2-1/2 hours
Put apple cider vinegar brisket on lowest rack and Dr. Pepper brisket on mid rack then pour the marinate in the drip pan.

Ignition: 6:25 pm
Pulled: 9:30 pm
189 temps... should have pulled at 8:45, and should have marinated 24 hours...faint smoke flavor but edible for sure

 

[dfergie]

I sliced up the brisket from the other night and put into portions to wrap in foil... the odd ball pieces and a couple of slices that were left over I put in a blender with about 5 BBQ potato chips
. I gave it a couple of zaps with the blender then put in a bowl and nuked in the microwave for about a minute. Made excellent chopped beef sandwiches... more of a smoke flavor...
(copied from another thread)

 

[Bobby]

I sliced up the brisket from the other night and put into portions to wrap in foil... the odd ball pieces and a couple of slices that were left over I put in a blender with about 5 BBQ potato chips
. I gave it a couple of zaps with the blender then put in a bowl and nuked in the microwave for about a minute. Made excellent chopped beef sandwiches... more of a smoke flavor...
(copied from another thread)

Thank you, I thought I was having a Lost experience.

 

[dfergie]

The Plan:
1 -- 3.5 pound pork roast
1 -- 3.5 pound chicken
Light dusting of hickory chips
10 oz of Dr. Pepper
Rub:
paprika
parsley
onion powder
garlic powder
brown sugar
salt
black pepper
red pepper
seasoning salt
brown gravy mix
hint of lemon pepper
powdered sage


Put rub on both yesterday afternoon so about 27 hours with rub on...I didn't have any liquid handy to put in drip pan so sacrificed my Dr. Pepper. Placed chicken on the rack and roast on the top grill...It's breezy to windy so will have to watch coals.
Outside temp 103

Ignition at 6:10 pm
Pulled chicken at 7:35, roast not ready yet...
Pulled roast at 8:30... the wind really messed with this cook.

 

[Comeaux]

I just received my Orion cooker and I have some questions. If any of you guys can help I would appreciate it.

Would it be a good idea to clean the inside of the cooker and then coat it and the accessories with Pam or some other cooking oil to help keep the grease from sticking to it?

I see that the cooking times for six racks of baby back ribs is 1 1/2 hours but what if I just want to do two racks? Is it still 1 1/2 hours?