Cooking & Food

[snowy55]

I know it defeats one of the points of using Cobblestones but for a guaranteed first time light put a bit of fire lighter underneath the basket, you only need less then half, and that gets the Cobblestone embedded lighter coating going and the fire lighter burns out very quickly.

 

[jeff]

1. inconsistent quality of the cobble stones, if they have been on the shelf for more that two years or have got damp in any way it is very difficult to get them to light

Don't use cobblestones used compressed charcoal heat beads, much cheaper and burns for longer you only need 8 or 9 nuts to roast chicken etc. And you can pack them into the Cobb in separate bags so no mess.

 

[AlisonF]

Thanks for all the advice.
I went for the Cobb Kitchen in the end. Have been doing a couple of experiments before I take it with me in the Cali. This one is ongoing and will be ready shortly. Two rather attentive dogs at my feet hoping for 'dropsies' and neighbours dog barking enthusiastically at the fence in hope...
We've already had the wings and they went down a treat. The meat is more moist than I achieve in a roasting bag in the oven.
Apparently I'm on cooking duty the first night of my first agility comp...
Happy days

 

[benArrayx]

I got a Cobb too, absolutely love it, it cooks amazingly and like you say the food is moist. Adding smoking chips also gives a great flavor

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[daz60]

Don't eat that differently in the van to when we are at home. Probably eat more meat when we are away and have a few more BBQs and fires As others, we like to "shop local" when travelling, so have a cupboard full of basics and pick up fresh stuff along the way.

Best thing we've found for cooking is a small pressure cooker. Saves a huge amount of cooking fuel and water.

And as for cooking baked beans...oh yes...from scratch, over a wood fire...best baked beans ever!

(I tend to use this simple recipe: http://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/baked-beans/)

Is that to last all week

 

[daz60]

Thanks for all the advice.
I went for the Cobb Kitchen in the end. Have been doing a couple of experiments before I take it with me in the Cali. This one is ongoing and will be ready shortly. Two rather attentive dogs at my feet hoping for 'dropsies' and neighbours dog barking enthusiastically at the fence in hope...
We've already had the wings and they went down a treat. The meat is more moist than I achieve in a roasting bag in the oven.
Apparently I'm on cooking duty the first night of my first agility comp...
Happy days View attachment 12151

looks really good

 

[daz60]

Yes. Home made Pizza base shown here with garlic oil, I've also cooked shop bought Pizzas, make sure you use a very low setting or the Base will burn.


I've also made a windshield ring for mine.

love that pizza base

 

[daz60]

This is such an exciting thread. Fantastic ideas. We chose a Beach because we wanted to cook outside when we could, and go to pubs and cafes when we couldn't. We're quite ambitious cooks, but we aim for simple recipes with big flavours – griddled trout with orange and star anise sounds tricksy, but is super-easy and uses very little gas (especially if you barbecue it). We use a Campingaz Bivouac tiny gas burner for one-pot meals, a Cobb (though we may change to a Lotus Grill...watch this space!) and our electric kettle.

It's cheeky, perhaps, but if anyone would be willing to share their tips and recipes at my blog (campfiremag.co.uk) that would be fantastic. I set up it precisely for people who love camping and decent food (preferably outdoors!). You might find the equipment reviews useful too.

Meanwhile, if anyone has any recommendations for a decent two-burner gas cooker...everything I've looked at is either very basic or very flimsy.

looks to healthy for camping, wouldn't mind some thou

 

[ChocolateEclair]

We have had a Cobb for a few years and it has served us well but we were at the NEC camping show on Friday and they now have a gas Cobb - works off the small butane canisters.

£135 though, but seeing as we cooked almost all our meals on the Cobb last year I'm seriously tempted. Much less mess and instant heat.

Has anyone else got one?

 

[surfer-rich]

Here's another cooking option. Quest 800 mini oven (as recommended by GrannyJen in another thread). This weekend was my 1st use of it. The picture doesn't do it justice but the lasagne & garlic bread were cooked to perfection
Obviously it runs off the mains so hookup is required. It is small (and very light) so some advanced planning required as to what you can fit in it (9 litre capacity). Relatively inexpensive too so it gets the thumbs up from me.

 

[Speleo62]

Here's another cooking option. Quest 800 mini oven (as recommended by GrannyJen in another thread). This weekend was my 1st use of it. The picture doesn't do it justice but the lasagne & garlic bread were cooked to perfection
Obviously it runs off the mains so hookup is required. It is small (and very light) so some advanced planning required as to what you can fit in it (9 litre capacity). Relatively inexpensive too so it gets the thumbs up from me.

View attachment 12352

We too have a quest oven, fits nicely in the cupboard under the hob, well it did in the T5 we hired last Nov. Croissants for breakfast and chicken cordon blue for tea. Perfect x

 

[Speleo62]

Very excited as our tefal Ingenio pans have arrived, ordered on recommendation from forum, expensive but when your spending £56 grand what's a bit more. Just need the Cali to use them in.

 

[benArrayx]

Some Cobb cooking

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[Tommy Gun]

Hi all,
Cali on the way, so decided to sort myself out with a portable BBQ for the van. Love cooking outside (but determined to use the hob in the Cali too.) Anyway, fired it up & gave it a good road test tonight with a simple ribeye steak & beech wood smoked veggies. Mushrooms were marinaded in a zip-lock bag with olive oil, cider vinegar and Piri-Piri rub & a few hot chilli flakes . Mini peppers had salt & pepper. Steak had salt, pepper, garlic & olive oil. I'm using my favourite coconut briquettes here. They're pricey, but super hot & they last for yonks. Some 2 zone cooking in action. Veggies cooked inderectly away from the heat, with the relevant vent above them open, to draw smoke over them and add that wonderful beech smokey flavour from the beech wood chips. Veggies were flipped and rotated around for equal heat exposure. Vent above the coals was closed for this part, however this set-up is reversed when cooking the steak itself. Steak was cooked directly above the coals and taken off at 62 degrees internal temp, which is my kind of 'medium.' Lid was always on except for photos. Very happy with the overall result & look forward to using it out & about with the Cali. Boy will it get used! Hope I've not missed anything.

Cheers, Tom

P.S. Don't forget the red wine with the steak

 

[AlisonF]

Looking great TommyGun. Red wine on the shopping list... those steaks and veg look mouth watering good.

 

[IanE]

We've got the same set up as TG - but we haven't used it much yet - inspiring pics!

TommyGun - do you have any particular tips for using the starting cylinder? We've used screwed up newspaper but I must admit we've struggled a bit to get it going. We just use standard bbq charcoal so maybe that's our problem?

Thanks

Ian

 

[kave]

A few years ago I bought the round small weber, which I regret now. I already have three webers and a Murikka so I dont know If I dare get a Weber Go Anywhere as well?

 

[Tommy Gun]

We've got the same set up as TG - but we haven't used it much yet - inspiring pics!

TommyGun - do you have any particular tips for using the starting cylinder? We've used screwed up newspaper but I must admit we've struggled a bit to get it going. We just use standard bbq charcoal so maybe that's our problem?

Thanks

Ian

Hi Ian,

Thanks for your comments - much appreciated
Certainly, happy to help...

• I use 3 fire lighters underneath the chimney (they are made by 'Zip' & come in their own little bags. They never dry out & don't stink. You can get them in any supermarket & they come in an orange box.)
• Briquettes are much easier to light than lumpwood charcoal.
• I never use 'instant light' charcoal/briquettes - they are fuel soaked & taint your food taste-wise IMO.

Please see the video in this link for a demo on lighting your coal the traditional way versus a starter chimney. Hope it helps.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkZl-KkSjD4

Happy cooking mate!
Cheers

Tom

 

[Tommy Gun]

A few years ago I bought the round small weber, which I regret now. I already have three webers and a Murikka so I dont know If I dare get a Weber Go Anywhere as well?

I can't see past Weber to be honest, brand loyalty for me. I have 4 in total.
There certainly are plenty of other good manufacturers out there to be fair, however Weber's customer service is 2nd to none & I get a nice magazine through the post once or twice a year .

 

[kave]

I agree, I got a Outdoor Chef 10 yeas ago, bad design and poor quality made me ditch it after 1 year and get another weber instead.
I wish weber made something for us to cook on as well, ie gas cooker because it is a sorry mess of ugly stuff on the market now.

 

[Tommy Gun]

I agree, I got a Outdoor Chef 10 yeas ago, bad design and poor quality made me ditch it after 1 year and get another weber instead.
I wish weber made something for us to cook on as well, ie gas cooker because it is a sorry mess of ugly stuff on the market now.

You're right. They do make the Go-Anywhere Gas, but the design was changed recently, i.e., they removed the flavoriser bar that was directly above the burner, which has ruined it. You can order this part via the States & add to the UK grill, but I don't think I will. Mind you, never say never

 

[kave]

I think Gas grilles are quite bad for camping since they require a large amount of cleaning all the time which can be difficult to achieve.
Charcoal is just to shake out, no fat residues everywhere.
I have a small Baby Q since 20 years and I clean that with the same tools I use for cleaning the car, ie high pressure.

 

[Tommy Gun]

Had a Baby Q1200 too - see attached photo cooking a similar dinner. It was too tall to fit under the Cali parcel shelf bit, so I sold it & bought the Go-Anywhere.

Must admit, I do use the pressure washer on the cooking grates from time-to-time to bring them back up, agree with you there.

Gas is certainly quicker to get going, with less preparation required, but I do prefer working with 'proper' fire from charcoal & wood....

 

[calimera]

Hi Ian,

Thanks for your comments - much appreciated
Certainly, happy to help...

• I use 3 fire lighters underneath the chimney (they are made by 'Zip' & come in their own little bags. They never dry out & don't stink. You can get them in any supermarket & they come in an orange box.)
• Briquettes are much easier to light than lumpwood charcoal.
• I never use 'instant light' charcoal/briquettes - they are fuel soaked & taint your food taste-wise IMO.

Please see the video in this link for a demo on lighting your coal the traditional way versus a starter chimney. Hope it helps.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkZl-KkSjD4

Happy cooking mate!
Cheers

Tom

Many thanks for this. We bought the same weber BBQ last year when we hired a Cali. My husband struggled with getting it lighted. He was putting the fire lighters among the coal in the chimney.
Will sit him down with a beer to watch the video.
Happy cooking.

 

[IanE]

Hi Ian,

Thanks for your comments - much appreciated
Certainly, happy to help...

• I use 3 fire lighters underneath the chimney (they are made by 'Zip' & come in their own little bags. They never dry out & don't stink. You can get them in any supermarket & they come in an orange box.)
• Briquettes are much easier to light than lumpwood charcoal.
• I never use 'instant light' charcoal/briquettes - they are fuel soaked & taint your food taste-wise IMO.

Please see the video in this link for a demo on lighting your coal the traditional way versus a starter chimney. Hope it helps.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkZl-KkSjD4

Happy cooking mate!
Cheers

Tom

Hey thanks Tom - v helpful!