Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The problem with my free standing kitchen stove's electric oven is that its broiler isn't worth a tinker's damn. Before we got our Big Boss, the only way my spouse and I could get a decently grilled steak, (we like ours medium rare), was to go out to a restaurant. Even then, the results were uneven. What we paid in some of those places would easily have covered most of our weekly grocery bill and the quality, more often than not, left something to be desired. Some of those steaks were actually tough enough to resole a pair of shoes and the cooking wasn't better than what we weren't enjoying at home. In my humble opinion, a major part of the problem with most of the negative opinions of the Big Boss expressed here are that the purchaser's expectations were unrealistic. With that said, I'll admit that at least some of the blame for their expections lies with the manufacturer/marketer. Because, no matter what they claim, the Big Boss is not an adequate subsitute for either a deep fryer or a regular baking oven. And, as it name implies, it is big and cumbersome to handle. In other words, the Big Boss, beginning, middle and end, is a GRILL (!!!), and, in my opinion, an excellent one at that. As I have learned to do, in my 75 years as a consumer, is to carefully study and plan when it comes to this kind of purchase. First of all, we had to decide exactly what we wanted as well as why, and it's amazing how many people don't do that. We are a two person household which, for medical reasons, is restricted to a low-fat, low sodium diet. What we wanted was to be able to properly grill meat and fish at home with as little muss and fuss as possible, period. With that in mind, after I scoured the Internet to see what was out there that would fit in our limited space and budget, we decided to go shopping in person. We looked at just about everything on our local store shelves from indoor oil free turkey fryers to deep fryers and pizza ovens. But they were either too expensive, too fussy, or they just didn't fit our needs. My reservation with the deep fryer, great as they are, has always been what to do with all that oil after the food's been cooked and served. Not to mention the fact that, with our diet restrictions, deep fried foods are out anyway. The sheer size of the indoor turkey fryer was, to put it mildly, daunting, so that was out. We had just about given up when I spotted a Big Boss box on a Walmart shelf. Since there wasn't one on display, I took it upon myself to haul the sealed box over to a flat area next to one of the main aisles and open it. In the meantime, my husband was looking anxiously around and saying "You can't do that." I said "Yes I can" and proceeded to open the box, haul out the contents and set them out on the counter so that I could examine them; especially the instructions. (The reason I'm telling this is because of the reaction of the other customers. Within a minute, we had attracted a crowd and, judging by their obvious curiosity and comments, I could probably have sold a dozen Big Bosses on the spot if I'd been working either for WalMart or the manufacturer.) To make a long story short, we bought it. When we got home, I looked around the storage pantry just off my kitchen, then moved things around and made a space for the Big Boss before it was even out of the box. Since the instructions mentioned protecting the counter top from the heat I found a round pizza stone that I'd had for ages and no longer used and the size was perfect. When removing the top during the cooking process, ie.to turn a steak, I raise the handle to shut off the power, then I set the top on a doubled kitchen towel next to the Big Boss. The Big Boss has a some quirks that you have to get used to. Number one, once you start the timer (which is clockwork and independent of the heat control), you cannot manually shut it off. If you try to reverse the time manually, it will break. You can, however, shut off the heat control at any time with no problem. The timer will continue to run and eventually shut itself off. However, you can increase the timer's setting manually. The light, as mentioned in another review, cycles on and off while cooking and it is very bright. (Actually, I think it's kind of cute.) The handle on the top controls the heat but not the timer. The Big Boss will not start cooking unless the timer is set and running and the handle is down. If you raise the handle it shuts off. Personally, when handling either the food or the rack in the Big Boss during the cooking cycle, I use a steam proof/heat proof Ove Glove, also available from Amazon, rather than tongs. I wash the racks by hand, dry them with a towel and wipe them with a bit of olive oil before putting them away. The Big Boss has a nice Thaw/Wash setting which I always use after I'm done cooking. I turn the rack upside down and set it in the bottom, pour in about four cups of hot water and a smidgen of dish soap, set the timer for about ten minutes, start it up on the Wash setting and let 'er rip. After it's soaked for a while, I rinse it in the sink and dry it with a terry kitchen towel and it's ready for next time. I also wipe the top on both sides with a damp dishcloth and dry it, and that seems to be all it needs. As I said, in my opinion, while the Big Boss is a first rate grill, it is not an all purpose countertop appliance. It does a great job at grilling, which is what we bought it for, and fits our needs perfectly. The instruction and recipe book are quite clear and even include a table with suggested cooking times, however that does require some experimentation. Since this is true of just about anything you can name these days, I'm giving the Big Boss 5 stars, and I hope this helps.