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food-bev The Orion Cooker

Never used on but I have been looking into them as well. here is a brief revie written by Derrick Riches (from about.com)

The Bottom Line
Describing what The Orion Cooker is may be the most difficult thing about it. Basically this is a charcoal fired roasting oven. The completely enclosed cooking chamber completely separates the flame from the food. This does not mean that you can not add smoke flavor and it does not mean that this is no better than your oven at cooking everything from racks of ribs (8 at a time) to whole turkeys. This is a great "cooker" for large meals, tailgating and for getting foods cooked quickly (a 20 pound turkey in 2 1/2 hours). So while not a grill or a smoker, it is definitely a good cooker.
 
I have one of these. I think it's great for what it is. Like Dyce51 said, it's not a traditional smoker, but that doesn't really take anything away from it. I have made baby back ribs on that thing, and they were the best ribs I've ever had. I often make pulled pork on there as well.
 
I don't see the point unless your going camping or tailgating and you can't bring along your regular oven. The reason why I have a smoker is not because I don't want to cook in the oven it's because I like meats that have that "smoked" flavor. Seems like it would be hard getting that same deep rich smoke flavor you get from a 1/2" smoke ring on that cooker. I may be wrong, but where would you put your wood for smoking or at least some smoke chips?
 
You get plenty of smoke flavor with the Orion cooker. The chips burn more slowly, and the unit is sealed more than a traditional smoker. It is easy to scoff at it, but if you had ribs made in this cooker, you would definitely be convinced. I am not claiming that it is a complete replacement for a traditional smoker, but it is a cool cooker to have. I have a propane grill, the Orion cooker, and I will have a traditional smoker soon. And you know what? I will happily use all three of them, depending on what I am cooking.
 
Steve973 said:
You get plenty of smoke flavor with the Orion cooker. The chips burn more slowly, and the unit is sealed more than a traditional smoker. It is easy to scoff at it, but if you had ribs made in this cooker, you would definitely be convinced. I am not claiming that it is a complete replacement for a traditional smoker, but it is a cool cooker to have. I have a propane grill, the Orion cooker, and I will have a traditional smoker soon. And you know what? I will happily use all three of them, depending on what I am cooking.
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I'm sure your going to get tender ribs, just as you would if you boiled them in water, but for me it's all about the flavor and I just don't see how you could get a lot of smoke flavor without using wood or at a minimum wood chips. Where would you put say a 2x3 block of wood that you would use to get your smoke from?
 
How can you get real smoke flavor if this thingy is as fast as it claims to be? If I want the smell I can do it in the oven with aluminum foil in the same amount of time, but I don't eat the skin of the chicken so I wont get the taste of a smoked chicken.
 
MrArboc said:
How can you get real smoke flavor if this thingy is as fast as it claims to be? If I want the smell I can do it in the oven with aluminum foil in the same amount of time, but I don't eat the skin of the chicken so I wont get the taste of a smoked chicken.
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Well according to Steve you do get smoke flavor, but not sure how? Doesn't seem like there is a place for wood / chips. Unfortunately sealed containers to me don't do as well because you smother the smoke and don't allow it to flow over the meat. I almost always have my bottom and top baffle wide open so I can get a lot of moving smoke and use a LOT of wood. I would just chalk it up as a good cooker, and leave the smoking / BBQ to the grills and smokers. Seems like it would do a good job at what it suppose to do, but not really good for anything outside of that.
 
Bringing up an old thread but...

There is a drip pan in the bottom of the cooker and there is an area between the drip pan and the outer wall to put wood chips. I use hickory and pecan shells in mine and it is great!
 
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