Emerilware Cast Iron 4 in 1 Smoker
by Emerilware
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Product Summary
Manufacturer: EmerilwareBrand: Emerilware
Release Date: 2006-10-24
Model: EC8615
Product features:
- Made to last a lifetime
- Excellent heat retention
- Keeps food warm at the table
- Make all your favorites fro breakfast foods such as pancakes, muffins, fried meats and eggs to those prized family recipes.
- The pan and your recipe will be the family favorite for years.
- Emerilware Cast Iron 6 Quart Dutch Oven with Lid
- Emerilware 10-Inch Cast-Iron Square Grille Pan
- Emerilware Cast Iron 12 Inch Skillet
- Emerilware Cast Iron Corn Bread Pan
Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Emerilware Cast Iron 4 in 1 Smoker
Customer Review: Clarifications and suggestions
Summary: 5 Stars
This review is intended to clear up a couple areas of confusion for the 4-in-1 smoker and the 5-in-1 smokers. First off, they are the same thing. I've laid them out new, side-by-side, in the store, and there is no visible difference. I bought the former because they were putting it on clearance in favor of the latter.
The "fifth" feature on the new version is deep fryer. It doesn't include any new equipment in support of that feature. I didn't flip through the new recipe cards, but I suspect they've added a new recipe or two from Emeril that uses frying. Even without his help, I dare say you could fry in either one (though I probably wouldn't, dumping oil out of a shallow 30 pound iron pan ain't easy).
Some seem to believe the new one is bigger. It isn't. Amazon lists the box size as the "Product Dimensions." The ovens themselves are both 13-1/2 by 9 by 3 inches inside (it's actually about 5 inches tall, an extra inch of usable space coming from the lid, an inch of space used up by the pan and rack). I can see why you might want it bigger, especially if you want to smoke a big bird. But the thing already weighs a ton, for most purposes this is on the high end of the size-weight trade-off. If you really must smoke that turkey whole, you could leave the lid off and tent the thing with tin foil if you were very meticulous about folding your sheets together. Alternatively, for those special occasions, I recommend using a nice giant oval enameled cast iron roaster and placing the tray and rack from this unit (or similar) inside it (though an oven that size will cost you 2-4 times what this thing does).
Some have suggested the new version is pre-seasoned but not the old. I can't say for certain that the new version doesn't have a better treatment. But it wasn't visible, and my appraisal is that the old one was seasoned as well (it had a deep black sheen out of the box, not the dull grayish color unseasoned iron usually has). That said, I always season unenameled iron before a first use just to be safe, so while pre-seasoning is nice it's not worth paying too much for. If you are going to own this piece, you'll have to learn to do it eventually for occasional maintenance. Google will show you the way. My only tip you might not see in some guides is to place the pieces face down on the oven rack so that any excess oil drips out rather than pooling and hardening inside.
As for how the product actually works, I'd say rather well. It is well constructed and has superior performance to the steel smokers on the market (which are also generally smaller, though they do have the advantage of being easier to store). But because it is cast iron, the lid is also a useful broiling/grilling pan and it makes a nice large-shallow Dutch oven for certain purposes. I'm imagining simultaneously browning and braising 3 large pork loins at once (the marketing guys reading this are doubtless already drawing up plans to for a "new" 6-in-1 or 7-in-1 smoker).
Finally, though you may have seen this used on Iron Chef, don't expect the real smoked rib experience in 60 minutes. While the enclosed container allows more efficient retention of smoke than an open chimney smoker, the smoke penetrates some meats more quickly than others; most seafood great, thick chicken breasts less so. And for some dishes, part of the virtue of smoking is that it tenderizes with long, low-temp cooking. But if you were willing to monitor it and add occasional new chips (and give them a bit of extra heat to get them going), you could probably get an amazing result with this by smoking spareribs for 6-10 hours in an oven at 200 degrees or so. I haven't had the time or inclination to do that yet, but football season is coming, and that might be a good use of commercial breaks.
Description of Emerilware Cast Iron 4 in 1 Smoker
Emerilware cookware was designed to offer high performance cookware at an excellent value. Emeril cookware is made of 5mm thick hard-anodized aluminum with a superior nonstick interior. The exterior is scratch-resistant and easy-to-clean, and the stay-cool stainless steel handles are ergonomically designed for comfort and balance. Emeril also offers the amateur chef high performance stainless steel cookware at an excellent value. The Emerilware Stainless collection features a thick triple layer disk of stainless steel, aluminum and copper, permanently bonded together to ensure fast and even heat distribution.Specialty Cookware
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