[2 - 4] (machine chiming)
[4 - 8] - It just sounds expensive. (upbeat music)
[9 - 11] - Lately, one of the most common requests
[11 - 13] that Hannah and I get in our comments
[13 - 15] is for a review of portable burners.
[15 - 16] And we understand why.
[16 - 19] Having an extra burner can really come in handy.
[19 - 22] - Our team has previously tested portable induction burners
[22 - 25] and just recently, we tested gas and electric burners,
[25 - 26] which tend to be less expensive
[26 - 28] and offer some different advantages.
[28 - 30] - Hannah and I are gonna show you our winning gas,
[30 - 32] electric, and induction burners
[32 - 34] so you can decide which option's right for you.
[34 - 36] - First up, Lisa with gas and electric.
[36 - 39] (air whooshing) (upbeat music continues)
[39 - 41] - Okay, so let's first talk about electric burners.
[41 - 43] This is our winner by IMUSA,
[43 - 46] and it is very tiny, as you can see.
[46 - 47] It's very lightweight.
[47 - 50] It's very portable, very inexpensive.
[50 - 53] But it was more powerful than other electric burners
[53 - 54] that we tested.
[54 - 56] And honestly, it just did a better job.
[56 - 58] We had two others in the testing
[58 - 60] that were very sleek and futuristic looking,
[60 - 62] but they were terrible,
[62 - 64] mainly because they have safety cut-off switches.
[64 - 66] So I could not boil water on them.
[66 - 69] I waited up to an hour and no water would boil.
[69 - 72] They would get up into the 200-degree range
[72 - 73] and then they would cut off for safety
[73 - 76] and then start climbing again.
[76 - 78] So, this one actually boiled water.
[78 - 80] And it was great at searing burgers.
[80 - 82] I was able to cook in a wok in it.
[82 - 83] They're not super powerful,
[83 - 87] but they're great for ordinary cooking, low temperatures.
[87 - 89] When I made fondue in these,
[89 - 91] to hold it at a low temperature,
[91 - 92] this was able to hold a low temperature
[92 - 95] and keep that fondue nice and bubbly and not broken
[95 - 96] and not too cold.
[96 - 98] So it's nice for when you wanna hold something
[98 - 99] at a low temperature.
[99 - 102] Very adjustable, very simple, on/off, low/medium/high
[102 - 104] right there and that's all you need to know.
[104 - 106] It's got some limitations
[106 - 108] in that you cannot use a large pan on it.
[108 - 111] Anything that's 10 pounds or over
[111 - 112] is not safe to use on this burner,
[112 - 113] 'cause it is kind of small.
[113 - 116] And that includes a stock pot full of liquid
[116 - 116] or a Dutch oven.
[116 - 118] So we couldn't do any deep frying or any cooking
[118 - 120] of big pots of things.
[120 - 122] You do need electricity.
[122 - 123] This is not great for a power outage,
[123 - 125] but for any other situation
[125 - 126] where you just need another burner,
[126 - 128] it's a great choice and very inexpensive.
[129 - 131] They make this cord very short,
[131 - 132] and that's on purpose.
[132 - 134] Because they don't want a big dangling cord
[134 - 137] and someone could walk by and whip this onto the floor
[137 - 138] when it's hot.
[138 - 140] If you use an extension cord with it,
[140 - 142] make sure it's a well-grounded,
[142 - 145] heavy-duty extension cord and make sure it's out of the way
[145 - 146] of anybody walking by.
[146 - 147] Obviously, when you're cooking,
[147 - 148] you make a lot of mess.
[148 - 151] This is great because it is so small
[151 - 152] that anything that splatters out of the pan
[152 - 153] does not get on here.
[153 - 155] But if you need to wipe it off,
[155 - 158] it's pretty easy to just wipe down the surface of this
[158 - 159] and keep it clean.
[159 - 160] One thing I will say about this is,
[160 - 162] when you're cooking in those other ones
[162 - 163] that have really smooth tops,
[163 - 164] it seems really cool,
[164 - 167] except when you're stirring, the pot is scooting around,
[167 - 168] and that's not safe.
[168 - 170] This, the pot stayed where it was put,
[170 - 173] so we really kind of did prefer this very old-school style.
[173 - 174] (air whooshing) Okay, so let's talk
[174 - 177] about portable gas burners.
[177 - 178] This is our favorite.
[178 - 179] It's by Grill Boss.
[179 - 182] And all of them have similar profiles.
[182 - 184] So the burner is here.
[184 - 187] There's a little sidecar for the butane canister, the fuel.
[187 - 189] And then, this is the adjustment knob.
[189 - 190] And you just adjust the flame,
[190 - 192] just as you would on a gas burner at home.
[192 - 194] They all have automatic ignition,
[194 - 195] so you don't need a match.
[195 - 197] They will light themselves.
[197 - 199] And they're really handy.
[199 - 202] They're great because they do not require any power
[202 - 203] other than the fuel canister.
[203 - 206] So if you have a power outage situation
[206 - 208] and you need to be able to cook,
[208 - 209] these are great for that.
[209 - 213] If you're outdoors camping, in an RV or whatever,
[213 - 214] they're also wonderful for that.
[214 - 215] If you love to do deep frying,
[216 - 217] but you don't wanna mess up your kitchen,
[217 - 220] you can put this out back and do any kind of splattery,
[220 - 223] hot, steamy thing out there with this burner
[223 - 224] and not have to mess up your kitchen.
[224 - 226] Because they're nice and powerful,
[226 - 227] you can do lots of stir frying.
[227 - 229] I love to use mine with my wok.
[229 - 230] It's nice and secure.
[230 - 233] These little things hold the pot in place.
[233 - 237] And you can really do any kind of cooking in this
[237 - 239] because the power is very strong.
[239 - 241] One thing that isn't great in these
[241 - 243] is when we were trying to hold fondue
[243 - 245] for a couple of hours after making it.
[245 - 247] I made the fondue fine on here,
[247 - 249] but when I turned it way down,
[249 - 251] some of the gas burners went out
[251 - 253] and they didn't hold the low flame.
[253 - 255] And some of them couldn't go low enough.
[255 - 259] So, we had broken, greasy, yucky fondue,
[259 - 261] or you know, they went out and we didn't notice,
[261 - 263] and the gas was still flowing.
[263 - 265] So, don't ever leave them unattended
[265 - 267] and don't put them on really low flame
[267 - 269] and expect them to hold that for a long time.
[269 - 271] And that's an area where an induction or electric burner
[271 - 272] has a leg up.
[272 - 274] You can hold a low temperature more effectively
[274 - 276] and a little more safely.
[276 - 278] And then, as we've all been thinking a lot
[278 - 280] about how gas burners might emit some fumes,
[281 - 283] you don't wanna use these indoors
[283 - 285] unless it's very well-ventilated.
[285 - 288] Open some windows, get some powerful fans going.
[288 - 291] But you wanna make sure there's some good air flow
[291 - 293] if you're using these indoors.
[293 - 294] (air whooshing) All of the gas burners
[294 - 296] that we tested use butane.
[296 - 299] This one and another one we tested are dual fuel burners,
[299 - 300] and that means they can also use propane,
[300 - 302] which gives you another option.
[302 - 304] And there's a few good reasons that we chose
[304 - 305] a dual fuel burner.
[306 - 307] I'll talk about that in a minute.
[307 - 310] First, let's just talk about how we get this set up.
[310 - 312] Take the cap off the butane, save that,
[312 - 314] you want that for storage in between uses.
[314 - 315] Open the little sidecar.
[315 - 317] So there's a little notch,
[317 - 319] and that is where you want to line this up
[319 - 323] with the top of the fuel chamber.
[325 - 326] You just drop it in place.
[326 - 329] And then, this locks it.
[329 - 332] So that makes it pull forward and snugly fit
[332 - 334] into the igniter.
[334 - 337] And then, you turn it on. (button clicking)
[337 - 339] And then you back it off to where you want it.
[339 - 341] And this one, unlike some of the others,
[341 - 343] was pretty good at maintaining a low flame.
[343 - 345] That is the butane.
[345 - 347] To take it out, you just reverse the process.
[347 - 349] You unlock the canister, lift it out,
[349 - 352] and put that cap back on.
[352 - 354] And always store these in a cool, dry place
[354 - 355] away from the flame.
[355 - 357] Never store it in the burner
[357 - 360] because it is engaged and it is open
[360 - 361] when this lock is on.
[361 - 362] And when it's not, it's loose.
[362 - 365] Let's talk about propane and how to hook that up.
[365 - 366] This model has
[368 - 371] a beautiful long, well, comparatively long hose
[371 - 373] for hooking up the propane.
[373 - 374] And that is nice.
[374 - 376] Some of the other models, here's one from another model,
[376 - 378] this little stick.
[378 - 380] That kept the tank pretty close to the burner.
[380 - 382] This lets you put it away from the burner,
[382 - 384] which is kinda reassuring.
[384 - 386] So you're gonna hook this end up to the stove.
[386 - 389] So it just screws into place right here.
[389 - 394] This end just goes onto the tank. (tank clinking)
[394 - 397] Propane hooks right up to the same spot.
[397 - 398] When you've got butane in here,
[399 - 401] pans that overhang the butane
[401 - 404] can trap some of the heat next to that canister,
[404 - 406] and that can be dangerous.
[406 - 408] It can actually cause this canister to explode
[408 - 410] if it gets too hot.
[410 - 411] So you don't wanna use a big frying pan
[411 - 413] that's gonna overlap this side chamber.
[413 - 415] If you're gonna use a larger pan,
[415 - 417] you wanna hook it up to propane.
[417 - 419] And the propane tank can be farther away,
[419 - 421] so you're perfectly safe to use a large pan.
[421 - 423] Again, with the propane or the butane,
[423 - 426] never leave it hooked up like this if you're not using it.
[426 - 429] Unhook it fully, recap it, and store it
[429 - 431] in a cool, dark place.
[431 - 433] And that will be much safer
[433 - 436] and will keep your burner in good condition.
[436 - 437] Important safety tip.
[437 - 440] When you're done using your propane canister,
[440 - 443] you wanna detach the canister first.
[444 - 446] Earlier, I wasn't thinking.
[446 - 448] I did the wrong end and this is what happened.
[448 - 449] (air whooshing) Ooh, shoot.
[449 - 453] (fuel hissing) That was stupid. (beep)
[453 - 454] (laughing) Don't show that.
[454 - 455] (air whooshing) Okay, so here we go.
[455 - 458] We're detaching the canister first.
[459 - 461] And just like with butane,
[461 - 462] you wanna store this,
[462 - 466] you wanna cap it and store it in a cool, dry place
[466 - 468] out of sunlight.
[468 - 470] The other thing that's really great about these is,
[470 - 472] when you're cooking,
[472 - 475] these little prongs really hold the cookware in place.
[475 - 476] There's no slipping.
[476 - 479] It's anything you put on here feels very secure.
[479 - 480] So when I was stir frying,
[480 - 483] it didn't feel like the wok was gonna go flying off.
[483 - 485] When I was doing deep frying,
[485 - 487] the big pot of oil felt very secure.
[487 - 489] This is kind of a grippy finish.
[489 - 491] It's got these little ridges.
[491 - 493] It really holds the pot in place
[493 - 494] and you feel very safe.
[494 - 497] For cleanup time, this is a great thing.
[497 - 498] The whole top comes off.
[498 - 499] You can put this right in the sink.
[499 - 502] You can scrub it, hot soapy water, anything.
[502 - 505] It's just, this whole top piece is cleanable,
[505 - 506] and nothing really gets down here,
[506 - 509] but you can wipe it up and you can wipe this off.
[509 - 511] So it's very easy to take care of.
[511 - 513] With one of the gas burners I tested,
[513 - 516] the top did not come off, and what was awful.
[516 - 519] Food and all little schmutz and crumbs got into the top
[519 - 520] and you couldn't get 'em out.
[520 - 521] And along the same notion,
[521 - 523] all of the gas burners come
[523 - 525] with this little plastic suitcase.
[525 - 528] You definitely wanna store this and all its parts in here
[528 - 530] because you don't want any dust
[530 - 533] or greasy residue to attract anything
[533 - 536] that's gonna get those gas passageways
[536 - 537] clogged up in any way.
[537 - 540] You wanna keep it clean, dry, dust-free,
[540 - 542] and store it right in here.
[542 - 543] But do not store it with the canister in it.
[543 - 545] Keep that separate.
[545 - 547] Finally, power is kind of important.
[547 - 552] We had gas burners that ranged from 7,500 Btus up to 15,000.
[552 - 554] This one is 12,000 Btus,
[554 - 557] and that's comparable to a powerful gas burner
[557 - 558] on your stove.
[558 - 560] These had plenty of power to put a good browned crust
[560 - 562] on a burger or to stir fry
[562 - 565] or to keep oil hot for deep frying.
[565 - 566] And that was really important.
[566 - 568] These are nice, powerful devices.
[568 - 570] They're great for cooking.
[570 - 573] (air whooshing) (jazz music)
[573 - 574] - Induction cooking using magnetism
[574 - 576] to generate heat and cook your food.
[576 - 578] They're also purportedly safer
[578 - 581] because they often offer extra features,
[581 - 584] like automatic shut-off and screen locking mechanisms.
[585 - 587] They're also easier to clean and more efficient
[587 - 588] than gas or electric.
[588 - 590] An induction burner contains an electric coil
[590 - 592] that produces a magnetic field.
[592 - 595] When a pan with a ferromagnetic bottom is placed
[595 - 598] on the burner, the energy from the magnetic field
[598 - 600] causes the pan to produce heat.
[600 - 601] These burners will not turn on
[601 - 604] unless there's an induction compatible pan on top.
[604 - 607] An easy way to tell if your pan will work
[607 - 610] on an induction burner is a quick magnet test.
[610 - 612] I have our winning stainless steel skillet here
[612 - 614] from All-Clad and a magnet.
[614 - 617] This pan definitely will work on an induction burner.
[617 - 619] Since only the metal of the pan heats up,
[619 - 621] all of that energy goes directly into the cookware.
[621 - 623] Unlike with gas or electric stoves,
[623 - 625] where a lot of it dissipates into the air.
[625 - 628] There's a cool trick you can do to really illustrate
[628 - 630] how little energy dissipates from the burner.
[630 - 633] You can slip a $20 bill on the burner
[633 - 634] while you're boiling water,
[634 - 637] and that $20 bill will be totally fine.
[637 - 639] I've got our best buy here from Duxtop.
[639 - 641] This model features an intuitive
[641 - 643] and responsive control panel that made it easy
[643 - 645] to adjust the time and temperature
[645 - 646] for various cooking tasks.
[646 - 649] It was able to boil water in 24 minutes,
[649 - 651] and on the low end of the scale,
[651 - 653] it was able to keep cheese fondue
[653 - 655] at a nice consistent low temperature
[655 - 657] for four hours without scorching.
[657 - 660] However, this burner did have some limitations.
[660 - 662] When we used a 12-inch skillet to sear burgers,
[662 - 663] they cooked unevenly.
[663 - 666] It also struggled in the deep frying test,
[666 - 669] taking 20 minutes to come back up to temperature
[669 - 670] after we added a batch of zucchini,
[670 - 672] which definitely slowed us down a little bit.
[672 - 674] Despite how big these burners look,
[674 - 677] they can typically only cook their best
[677 - 678] with smaller cookware
[678 - 680] because the heat is really concentrated
[680 - 681] in the center of the pan.
[681 - 683] This comes down to cost.
[683 - 686] These coils are expensive and they make the machine
[686 - 687] quite a bit bigger.
[687 - 689] Here are a couple tips to overcome the limitations
[689 - 691] that most induction burners have
[691 - 693] because of that smaller six-inch coil.
[693 - 695] Be sure to preheat the pan
[695 - 698] with some oil in it for a couple minutes longer
[698 - 700] to allow for a little bit of extra time
[700 - 703] for that heat to spread out from the center.
[703 - 705] Use a heavy-duty heat-retaining skillet,
[705 - 709] such as cast iron or a triply stainless steel
[709 - 711] and aluminum model, like our winner here from All-Clad.
[711 - 713] Also, go smaller.
[713 - 716] Use a 10-inch skillet instead of a 12-inch skillet,
[716 - 718] because if you better match the size of your skillet,
[718 - 721] pot, or pan to the size of that coil,
[721 - 723] you will get more even results.
[723 - 724] Which brings us to the one burner
[724 - 725] that did have a larger coil
[725 - 727] and was able to handle larger cookware.
[727 - 728] (air whooshing) All right,
[728 - 732] so here I have the Breville PolyScience Control Freak.
[732 - 735] It is a whopping $1,500.
[735 - 737] It was the best model we tested.
[737 - 740] Are we saying everyone should buy this? Definitely not.
[740 - 744] But it really does perform incredibly well.
[744 - 746] Its front control knob allowed us to dial in
[746 - 748] a super precise temperature,
[748 - 750] but the display screen also shows
[750 - 753] the corresponding temperatures, like low, medium, high,
[753 - 755] that you're more familiar with on the stove top.
[755 - 758] The precision on this thing truly is out of this world,
[758 - 759] as is the power.
[759 - 763] It has a nine-inch coil, compared to the six-inch coils
[763 - 764] that was more typical
[764 - 766] in the other induction burners we tested.
[766 - 768] With a larger coil,
[768 - 771] this allows you to use larger cookware.
[771 - 773] It'll cook in a larger section of the pot.
[773 - 776] This was the only burner to boil water faster
[776 - 777] than a stove top.
[777 - 779] It boiled four quarts in 20 minutes.
[779 - 781] The cost of this burner means
[781 - 783] it is definitely not for everyone,
[783 - 786] but it truly is an amazing piece of equipment,
[786 - 789] best for experienced cooks that really want the benefits
[789 - 791] of that precision cooking.
[791 - 793] Ultimately, our best buy, the Duxtop,
[793 - 795] is a great option for most people.
[795 - 796] (air whooshing) So, to recap,
[796 - 797] which burner is right for you?
[797 - 801] - Electric, inexpensive, really portable, really small,
[801 - 803] can't really do every type of cookware
[803 - 804] 'cause it's kinda small,
[804 - 807] and not that powerful, but really a great option
[807 - 808] if you just need an extra burner
[808 - 810] for some basic cooking tasks.
[810 - 814] Gas, much more powerful, great for wok cooking
[814 - 816] or any kind of searing, high-powered things.
[816 - 818] Great for outdoor cooking
[818 - 819] and great in power outages,
[819 - 821] 'cause you do not need electricity.
[821 - 823] You do wanna use it in ventilated spaces
[823 - 825] if you bring it indoors, but otherwise,
[825 - 827] you are free to use any kind of cookware on this.
[827 - 829] - And finally, induction.
[829 - 832] Very cool technology, also requires electricity,
[832 - 834] a little more expensive.
[834 - 836] So this is sort of a step up from electric.
[836 - 838] It's more powerful, more efficient,
[838 - 839] but it's not compatible with all pans.
[839 - 841] Most pans will work, you know,
[841 - 843] just stick that magnet on the bottom to see if they will.
[843 - 845] But something to keep in mind. (air whooshing)
[845 - 846] - So for more information
[846 - 848] on all the gear we talked about today,
[848 - 849] check out the links below
[849 - 852] or go to americastestkitchen.com.
[852 - 853] - What kinda burner would you go with?
[853 - 855] Gas, electric, or induction?
[855 - 856] Let us know in the comments.
[856 - 858] Make sure to like this video and hit that subscribe button
[858 - 860] so you never miss an episode.
[860 - 863] (upbeat music continues)