Has this ever happened to you. You get impatient and hungry while grilling and decide to just go ahead and put the meat on the grill so you can eat. Things turn out pretty good, but you admit to yourself that they could have been much better. Then when you're finished eating you notice that the coals are now perfect? It happens to just about everyone. On the other hand, you have all day, and you enjoy the grilling experience and fire tending for several hours while you wait for your meal. If the latter is you, this grill is not for you. In a hurry? Can you wait 5 minutes? Do you want a great steak or a couple of nice burgers and maybe some grilled potatoes? Then you're in the right place! This is the fastest start up grill on the market. In under 5 minutes you are ready to go. It's light weight, sits on any surface (bottom is always cool), 14" cooking surface, 15-20 minute burn time with only a couple of pieces of wood or a few hardwood lump charcoal, and it's very easy to add more fuel by sliding the grill grate over and, using tongs, toss another piece in the fuel cup. Note of interest: you have to be prepared with ALL you'll need, before lighting this grill. It's so fast there will be no time to run into the house to get something you forgot. especially if your food is already on the grill. DO NOT leave it unattended! I am still a novice griller and I'm working on getting better at charcoal grilling. My biggest issue is not knowing when chicken or steak is done, so I keep slicing it to look. Not good, I know. With my new Cook-Air, I don't need to keep checking the food. The grill is HOT, food cooks FAST. At the highest fan speed of 5, the temperature is around 1,000 degrees! Steak is well seared, and is done in about 2 minutes each side. I pre-bake chicken pieces and ribs then finish and sauce them on this grill. Usually about 4-5 minutes on fan speed 3, is perfect. For the last minute, I turn the fan speed down to 1, put the lid on, leaving it partially open, and I put a little smoke on the meat.. Great flavor! . You can't do that with any other grill unless you want to wait that 45 minutes for it to be ready, and then only use it for a few minutes. What a waste. For my next experiment, pizza. I plan to use a perforated 12" pan. Amazon sells several including a Farbarware with a handle. I will follow the suggestion of people who say to grill the empty crust for a minute or so, remove it from the grill, turn it over, add the pre-cooked toppings and cheese, then return it to the grill. just long enough to heat it and melt the cheese. Covering it for that second bake may work best.(fan speed 1). As you can tell, there is a place for this grill and the larger charcoal grill too. For a day when you have time, a weekend meal, a party or holiday gathering, the big grill is best. It is also the way to go when you want "low and slow" brisket, ribs and chicken, but for a quick dinner, tailgate or in-the-park meal, you just can't beat the Cook-Air. UPDATE: I have now tried both wood and lump charcoal. For those of you who are having an issue with an off smell, it may be the wood you are using. My hickory didn't smell good when burning. I don't know if it was old, moldy or what. I tossed it out and tried lump charcoal (Royal Oak) and everything was fine. I had a nice smoky charcoal smell. I ordered some "competition blend" (Oak and Pecan) Mojo bricks to try. If those smell good, then I will get my smoky flavor that way. RE: pizza. Yes it works, setting your handled grill basket containing your dough, on an elevated, round cooling rack. That way dough does not get too close to the very hot fire. I cooked the dough for a couple minutes on each side, then put some pre-cooked, pre-smoked toppings on top of the sauce. Then cheese on top. I covered the grill for two minutes to melt the cheese.. Turned out terrific. The 12" pizza pan worked too, but it was harder to remove from the grill, turn over, and put back.
