Patent ID: 8890037

Claim:
A method of cooking a turkey or other food item having an exterior surface which covers the turkey or other food item, the method comprising the steps of: a) placing the turkey or other food item in a broiler cavity of an emitter chamber, the emitter chamber having a longitudinally extending chamber wall which laterally surrounds the broiler cavity and the turkey or other food item placed therein in a lateral surrounding angle of 360°, wherein the longitudinally extending chamber wall has an outer surface and an inner surface, and the outer surface and the inner surface of the longitudinally extending chamber wall each laterally surround the broiler cavity and the turkey or other food item placed therein in a lateral surrounding angle of 360°; b) heating the outer surface of the longitudinally extending chamber wall over a surrounding lateral angle of 360° extending around the outer surface so that heat energy is transferred by conduction from the outer surface of the longitudinally extending chamber wall to the inner surface of the longitudinally extending chamber wall, and c) emitting from the inner surface at least most of the heat energy transferred by conduction to the inner surface in step (b) as infrared radiant energy into the broiler cavity of the emitter chamber in a surrounding lateral angle of 360° extending around the turkey or other food item so that (i) infrared radiant energy emitted from the inner surface of the longitudinally extending chamber wall is received by the exterior surface of the turkey or other food item by direct emission from the inner surface of the longitudinally extending chamber wall to the exterior surface of the turkey or other food item in a surrounding lateral angle of 360° extending around the turkey or other food item, and (ii) a majority of all cooking energy that is transferred to the turkey or other food within the broiler cavity of the emitter chamber is infrared radiant energy, wherein the longitudinally extending chamber wall of the emitter chamber is an upwardly extending emitter tube having a top opening at an upper end thereof through which the turkey or other food item is placed in step (a); the inner surface of the longitudinally extending chamber wall of the emitter chamber is an upwardly extending inner surface of the emitter tube which extends around the broiler cavity in a lateral surrounding angle of 360°; the outer surface of the longitudinally extending chamber wall of the emitter chamber is an upwardly extending outer surface of the emitter tube which extends around the broiler cavity in a lateral surrounding angle of 360°; the emitter chamber has a bottom end; and during the heating of the outer surface of the longitudinally extending chamber wall of the emitter chamber in step (b), air flows upwardly into the broiler cavity of the emitter chamber through the bottom end.