$199 Namath Rapid Cooker

[Kaido]

This is basically a salamander broiler for home use, awesome if you do sous vide. I've been waiting for the price to drop to try it out with my Anova, so I just jumped on this deal today, excited to see how it works! Available at PC Richards, online only. Free shipping, but they nicked me $13 in tax:

http://www.pcrichard.com/Edenpure/Joe-Namath-Rapid-Cooker-Stainless-Steel/EY101.pcrp

MSRP is $497. It's almost always on sale for $100 off ($400). The cheapest I've ever seen it previous is $249, so another $50 off makes this a pretty nice deal. Good review on Overstock:

http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Joe-Namath-Tailgate-Rapid-Cooker/8984125/product.html#reviews

I've never written a product review before, but feel compelled to do so since there are currently very few reviews available for the Rapid Cooker and I felt I was taking a chance when purchasing. Pros: -Unmatched broiling performance at this price range; restaurant quality results at home -lightweight and portable -cleans easily, tray and pan are dishwasher safe - easy to operate Cons: -connecting to a 20lb propane tank supply does not provide the same performance as the one pound disposable tank -somewhat small cooking area -operating in the wind is challenging -At least some low quality metal components (rust, see below) - new product so durability remains to be seen I have been wanting a commercial quality gas infrared broiler. This will do for now.

There is another product that I know of on the market at over four times the price, but the rapid cooker boasts greater BTU output and I have been less than impressed with what I have been able to read as far as reviews on the other products available. The rapid cooker is a lightweight and portable infrared broiler that can be used to prepare steakhouse quality steaks at home or while camping. Being lightweight though, it doesn't really have the feel of a commercial broiler, but the performance is there in my opinion. It provides even, searing hot heat that perfectly browns, caramelizes and crusts with no flair-ups. The drawer allows easy access to monitor the cooking process (no need to peek under the steaks and burgers). I typically prefer to cook with charcoal for flavor, but the Rapid Cooker is now my method of choice for the high fat content cuts subject to flair-ups such as rib-eyes. I have tried Alton Brown's method of turning a charcoal chimney into a broiler, but with the Rapid Cooker, I can do 2 - 4 steaks at once, the heat remains constant and (review cuts off here)

So according to that review, for best heat, use the 1-pound disposable tank instead of a 20-pound propane tank. Bunch of videos on their Youtube channel here:

https://www.youtube.com/user/namathproducts1/videos

Not much in the way of reviews, so I'll have to give it some trial runs when it comes in & see how it fares. The only really detailed review I came across was this one, which complained about the flame going out in wind (common problem on all portable gas ovens) & not getting as hot as advertised (they don't say how hot it did get, and whether or not they used a 20-pound tank or not):

http://bbq.about.com/od/portablegrillreviews/fl/Namath-Rapid-Cooker-Review.htm

A couple other Youtube videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeGspwDzXGk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdCNeLGhyNs

60-second commercial spot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uief8REM6x0

Not much in the way of user reviews, but:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2n7_1oOBG8

 

[Chocu1a]

Thanks, Grabbed one for work. Will make a great table top broiler for sandwiches & french onion soup.
No tax for me & free shipping. $199 out the door.

 

[Chocu1a]

Got my Broiler, works great.

 

[Kaido]

Got my Broiler, works great.

Mine too, steaks came out great! Perfect little portable machine.

Did you have any trouble lighting yours? First use, it didn't light for like 5 minutes, then blew out a fireball when it finally caught haha. I went back to the manual & it said to pull out the drawer & let it air out if it didn't light right away, oops...also, one of the holes for the handle was mis-punched so I can't use the drawer handle, I need to get a metal-friendly drill & redo it. Other than that, works great...cooked up a couple steaks, came out real good :thumbsup: