I have been putting off buying a new stove for a while now, mainly because I knew it was going to be a big and expensive purchase, something best saved for a remodel. Christmas dinner was my turning point. We had Christmas dinner at our house this year, which meant I was responsible for cooking the entire meal. I can't even begin to tell you the level of frustration I experienced while cooking that dinner. Let's just say I would have sold a body part for a larger oven and an extra burner! The stove we had was great at broiling--but nothing else! I was literally guessing what temperature I was setting the stove to because the spots on the dial indicating temperature had come off.
I already knew I wanted a Blue Star range, it has been my dream stove for about 15 years. Two months ago I looked at the Blue Star website, found a dealer near me and took the plunge! Just a note of advice--NEVER do this! When you order a range of this caliber jumping into it is the wrong move--there is a reason most people put it in during a remodel! I bought the range went home--told my husband--then preceded to panic! I, the queen of reviews, had not read one review--except for Marcus Samuelson's 15 years prior! So off I went down the rabbit hole of reviews--to find complaints of hot doors--doors so hot that they fuse shut--and a list of reasonable requirements for installation--none of which I had thought of--I just wanted a new stove! Mind you most of the reviews were old--circa 2003-2010!So if you're reading this--you're welcome! After sorting through hundreds of the reviews I found that Blue Star was very responsive to customer complaints and fixed every complaint. The ranges no longer have any of the issues I read about in the reviews. I was particularly concerned with the hot door issue because of Page--she loves to hang out with me while I cook so I couldn't have that. The installation requirements were not anything huge, nothing that most kitchen remodels wouldn't cover, for instance, we had to install a non-combustible tile behind the range, and we also had a base wall that we had to cover with non-combustible material--luckily the wall met the depth 24in requirement. We had to install an electrical outlet just for the range and lastly we had to install an oven hood. The hood installation was actually the most stressful of all of the amendments we had to make. The installer had to remove the cabinets we had above the range, and in the middle of that he found that we had a faux ventilation system--the people who lived here before us set up a vent piece that had no piping to the outside--dangerous for us for sure! While I'm grateful that we now have a ventilation system that actually vents to the outside--it ended up costing 3 times the amount we were quoted to install the hood--but again what's a few dollars compared to our lives!
Now let's discuss the range. Blue Star is made right here in the USA. Most if not all of the production of the range is handmade--which is why it takes so long to get one--7 weeks--each range is custom made. There are several iterations of a Blue Star range but the big decision for me was choosing between a sealed burner range or an open burner range. I chose the latter. Blue Star ranges are known for open burners and simplicity-- no frills, computer boards, timers, or self-cleaning ovens. They are as close to a commercial restaurant range as you can get. Why choose and open burner range? The beauty of an open burner is that open burners allow for better oxygen flow, that equates to more even heat and more firepower in the form of BTU's. I went with the base open burner model the RCS--which on my 36-inch range includes 5-15k BTU burners and 1-9500k BTU simmer burner. I have 6 burners ya'll!
The open burners are on this range are powerfully hot!! In fact other than searing and boiling water, I don't see a need for using the full power of the 15k burners.
The simmer burner is great. I've used it to cook rice. The water barely moves, but 10 minutes later I have perfectly cooked rice. It's like magic!
The oven is not talked about a lot in most reviews, so let me say a few things. The oven is huge! I can fit 2 commercial sheet pans in it at the same time! This will definitely cut the time I spend making caramel popcorn this Christmas in half.
The broiler is amazing! Lamb chops under the broiler were done in 6 minutes, short ribs in 2!
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I've never worked with infrared anything, and I was a little concerned that I wouldn't like the broiler on this oven because the one in my old oven was pretty great, but consider me a convert--infrared is awesome-- 1850F of straight awesomeness! Many have complained about the broiler being too small--for me, it's not, I could easily broil 2 or 3 small steaks at once, which for me is perfect! I mean look at the crust on the short ribs I made! As good as any grill could ever accomplish! The oven is optional convection, meaning you flip a switch to turn on the convection fan. Once the oven reaches temperature, it holds temperature well! It takes a good 30 minutes to preheat the oven just because it's so big. I've made brownies, brussel sprouts, kale chips, and sweet potatoes all with great success in this oven! Overall, I love this range! It's a pleasure to cook on and in this range, things cook quickly and evenly. Getting this stove has made me realize how much time I wasted cooking on my last stove, by buying this range I actually spend less time cooking--that is always my goal!
Just so you know, this is not in ANY way a sponsored post. I bought and paid for this range with my own money, and the review you're reading is my own personal experience with this range.
