There's a reason legendary butcher Pat LaFreida endorsed this $1,200 at-home overhead grill - I've been using it, and there's simply no better way to cook meat, pizza, or fish
Pat LaFrieda explains why, for the first time, he chose to endorse a grill
When Otto Wilde first approached meat purveyor Pat LaFrieda, his immediate reaction, he told me, was something along the lines of "Oh no, not another grill pitch." And, frankly, when I received a similar presentation from the brand, I thought the same: 'I'm not paying $1,200 for that tiny little oven, and neither would anyone with any good sense.' But when you witness how unbelievably hot this grill gets, your mind (or at least mine) gets to conjuring up imagery of crispy T-bones, crackly salmon skin, and perfectly blackened calamari steaks, along with other delightfully crunchy textures you once deemed unachievable at home.
Yes, whether we realize it or not, the salamander grill is often the very reason many of us dine out when we want a steak. Achieving 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit is difficult without a restaurant-grade grill (or an incinerator), and while it may be unnecessary for most culinary adventures, this is, definitively, a meat eater's grill. If you're looking to get the best possible sear on your steak, you can't really do much better. It does excel elsewhere, but more on that later.
Getting the most out of your grill: Setup, cleaning, and maintenance are a cinch.
The age-old salamander or overhead grill (or broiler) — possibly named after old folklore around dragons and lizards wielding fire, but who knows — is the very reason your steak crust and fish skin seem so impossibly crispy when you dine out. And at last, 1,500-degree Fahrenheit heat is safely available to the home cook at a (relatively) affordable price. Yes, there have been other iterations of the consumer-scaled salamander (or "sally", for short), but everything I've found has either been too small or too expensive (I'm talking over $2,000).
The Otto Wilde OFB grill comes more or less assembled, which you may take for an exceptional luxury if you've ever had to assemble a large propane grill before. Just make sure you find the small brass adapter piece as you're unboxing. You'll need this to attach the hose for your propane tank.
Otherwise, all you really have to do is place the top unit on top (no fastening required) and slide in the cast iron grate (the company also offers a stainless steel grate, if you prefer)
Preheating the Otto Wilde takes all of three minutes. Reminder: This thing gets up to 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit, which is most certainly a temperature that no part of the human body should ever encounter. Go ahead and try this at home, but keep the kids and pets away, and don't leave it unattended.
One of my favorite things about this grill is the drip tray, which not only helps keep your food from drying out (just like a smoker) but also makes cleanup a cinch. Just let the grill cool down and pull the tray out to wash it (it's dishwasher safe).
The grilling process
This is a delicate balance. First, preheat your grill for about five minutes; it doesn't take long and it's worth the wait.
The key, as with any grilling endeavor, is not to torch whatever you're cooking. Different cuts of meat (or any other type of food) are going to respond to different temperatures and their proximity to the flames above. The good thing about the heat that the Otto Wilde OFB puts out is that it's infrared, so you don't have out-of-control flames blaring, nor do you have much likelihood of a grease fire. Most importantly, though: This is a thrilling piece of equipment to use. Play around and have fun.
Adjusting the grate height
With the "Meat-O-Meter," you can raise and lower the grate height respective of whatever it is you're cooking. It's self-explanatory but useful. There's also a clamp so you can adjust it and/or secure it more easily depending on how much weight you've placed on the grate.
Are there many (if any) more magnificent sights on this marvelous earth?
Love or hate the tomahawk steak, you can't deny that this is a thing of beauty. While the Otto Wilde will handle a lean cut like a filet, it prefers something with a formidable fat content, like a ribeye, or this tomahawk steak. That's how you get an evenly sealed, crispy, golden crust like you see above.
Heaven is a place...
Sure, you can do alright with any old cast iron and a good gas stove with a finish in the oven at 450 degrees, but you will never quite get this.
Filet mignon, post-fire
The filets were markedly drier than the fattier tomahawk steaks, at least on the outside. That's due to the lower fat content, as the filet mignon is almost pure muscle. Still, they held up on the inside (see next slide).
One trick I've found for keeping the juice on the inside is preheating a cast iron pan or skillet beforehand and then cooking the filet in that, which keeps what little precious fat in the cut from ending up in the drip tray.
Sliced filet mignon
There's a lot more of a gray area between the crust and the core on this filet, and none of the golden-brown caramelization that happens with fattier cuts. All in all, I'd be a fool to say that I wasn't pleased with this deftly cooked and presented banquet, but one could argue that you might achieve the same results with a skillet on a stove.
Also, a burger for the ages
If you like your burgers as rare as you can get them, this is your grill, too. And unlike with a filet, it will far outdo any stovetop or grill.
Salivate away, fellow meat lovers
We all know the man, the myth, and the legend that is Pat LaFrieda. This is exactly where he, his meat, his artistic vision, and yes, his signature grill, shine.
Did I mention that it cooks more than meat?
You can cook or finish just about anything on the Otto Wilde OFB.
One of our favorite things to cook on it, though, has to be pizza. This one, made from scratch at the masterful hands of my dear roommate, was done in 40 seconds flat. We may have rushed our pizzas a little at the start though. After a bit of trial and (only mild) error, I'd recommend turning the grill down to about two-thirds to one-half of its full power and a Neopolitan-style pizza will be done within two minutes, tops.
There's almost nothing you can't do with this grill and a cast iron pan
I've been placing the cast iron in the Otto Grill for thinks that might dry out or fall apart, but anything you'd like to grill at high heat that might pose such problems (think whole fried fish, vegetables) will thrive in a cast iron in this grill. Whether or not it was in mind during the research and design phase, this grill was made for whole panfish like snapper and porgy, and I can't wait for fishing season to hone my fish-grilling and -frying expertise with my favorite new backyard toy.
But, of course, I had to try cooking steak, too
Of course, I couldn't leave out the steak. I don't eat a lot of red meat, but I had a burning question to answer for myself if no one else: What would happen if I tried to emulate what LaFrieda and Chef Brandon Bryan of the Carlyle hotel did outside the Pennsy without any direction in my backyard? Everything Chef Bryan cooked was superb; how would my amateur skills and sub-par meat stack up? I still need some practice, but everything turned out more than alright, and certainly better than my average stovetop sirloin in a cast iron.
The verdict? Empty plates tell no lies. I could hardly get a photo before my guests made short work of the plate. Yes, it was getting late and those hungry hounds would have eaten my spindly fingers if they'd hit the table, too, but forgive my humble bragging and just look at that crust. Did I mention I really don't know how to cook a steak? Like, at all? My mother, I might add, still won't leave me alone near a grill with a steak, as I'm sure to do this and that wrong. And I don't blame her; steak isn't cheap. But watch and weep, Mother dearest: It is so astoundingly easy to produce an exceptional steak in this bad boy that even your little bundle of joy can pull it off.
The bottom line
$1,200 is a hell of a lot of money for a grill, or, like, anything. But, if you or a very lucky and beloved someone is a grilling enthusiast, the Otto Wilde OFB is the one-stop shop for the backyard, and maybe your whole household. You could, in theory, set this thing up inside, but you'd need a commercial-grade range hood to handle the smoke and grease that comes off of it.
Short of a full-sized commercial overhead broiler, there's nothing that comes anywhere close for grilling or pan-frying at high heat. The other big selling point for me is that if you're also in the market for a pizza stove, which can be just as expensive but gets nowhere near as hot, the Otto Wilde has you covered on that front, too.
Lastly, if you've been using charcoal or propane grills for any significant period of time, there's a good chance that they've only lasted you a few years on end. That $200-300 adds up over the course of a decade. You'll get a lot more use out of an Otto Wilde, which comes with a two-year warranty on all parts, and it will all likely pay for itself in time. Buy the weatherproof cover (and use it), clean it regularly, or not (mine has suffered a whole winter without a cover or a cleaning), and the Otto Wilde OFB will serve you plenty well and long.
Pros: 1,500-degree-Fahrenheit heat, cooks anything and everything, easy to light, clean, and maintain
Cons: Price, would be nice if a larger model were available for those who want it
Buy the Otto Wilde Over-Fired Broiler on Williams-Sonoma for $1,195.95 Buy the Otto Wilde OFB Grill Cover from Amazon for $67.90 Shop all Otto Wilde OFB Accessories on Amazon
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