Picnictime Caliente Portable Griller & Cooler Product Review

The Picnic Time Caliente Portable Griller and Cooler is the ultimate contraption available for the outdoors lover in you.

This conveniently packed duo consists on an easy-to-assemble grill which is carried in an insulated container that doubles as a cooler when you add ice to it.

The grill

The Picnic Caliente grill is an tough, aluminum bucket that runs anywhere from 12 to 15 inches in diameter. The bucket comes with a grill of around 10 inches in diameter which is attached to the bucket. The third implement contained in the package is the “leg” of the grill, which is made of actually two metal handles that you put at the bottom of the bucket. They are all easy to attach and it does not take more than a minute to put the entire grill together.

How to use

Next thing you do is coat the bottom of the bucket. I always coat mine, out of habit, to keep the bucket glistening and ready for future usages.  Add around 10-15 pieces of coal and heat them up for you to start your grilling.  As your coals are heating up, prepare your cooler.

The cooler is basically a comfortable and convenient insulated back which will hold any cold beverage at their originally cold temperature. You can add ice to the cooler bag and stuff it with your drinks. It will hold anywhere from 5-7 drinks depending on size. It would be even more convenient if you use the mini-sized soda cans, 3 bottles of water, or 2, full-sized Soda Stream (or any other fizzy water machine) container bottles. Those have been the most successful try-outs we have  had.

Other great uses for the cooler that do not include ice are fruits, veggies, cheeses, relish, pickles, mayonnaise, salad dressings, ketchup and mustard. They maintain quite well inside the bag and they do not over-heat.

When your coals are ready, your grill can hold up to 8 hot dogs or 5 burgers if you arrange them properly. Always be mindful of the size of your food before cooking it in this particular grill. Another thing to consider is that this will be a LOW HEAT cooking experience, so take advantage of that, too. If you have any items that cool better on low heat, cook those instead. I tried cooking lobster tails wrapped in aluminum foil using this grill, and they came out perfect. It was also good with fresh veggies, salmon and shrimp kabobs.

Paleo-practitioners will have a blast with the Picnic Caliente. Just think of the possibilities. Any meats and veggies that cool slowly but deliciously will have a great chance to be cooked to near-perfection. I will particularly stress on cooking fish in this grill. It cooks perfectly. Therefore, any avid fisherman will definitely want one of these units.

The Picnic Time Caliente can be purchased in any major retailer, but I would recommend going straight to the company website and check out other products that come as add-ons to the Picnic Time Caliente unit. The unit does not cost any more than $30 on retail, ($27.99) and it essentially does all the work for you in terms of an outing: Cooks, stores, keeps fresh, and saves you tons of time. It pays for itself in the long run. Highly recommend.