Volcano vs Cobb

We too have the Cobb. As Jenn stated it is nice for cooking whole chickens and roasts, along with your veggies and potatoes.

Jenn, we read somewhere to use Dawn foamy soap on the Cobb for easier clean up. It works but still has some discoloration.

Never tried the cookies. Do you use homemade or store boughten dough?

 

I used a Volcano last summer at camp when I was teaching DO cooking to 12-16 olds & we were cooking a DO dinner for 140 people. Quite honestly, I didn't really like it. But the one I used was not a collapsible one, it was the original & I found it to be too big, cumbersome & a lot of work. If you are using it for grilling, I think there are better options. If you are using it for DO cooking, you can do the same thing the volcano does with a lot less equipment. I can see where if you don't have a camp stove to cook on, it would be useful.

I have seen Tina & Jerry use their Cobb many times & I would choose that over the Volcano any day. I just think it has more flexibility with less hassle. For one thing, you can cook right inside it. And I like the size. It seems to fit better with a teardrop than the volcano.

But that is just my opinion. Obviously, they are popular. I think it just depends on the application.

 

One also needs to think of the expense of the Cobb. You can buy a couple of nice DO's for the price of the Cobb. It is pretty light weight by comparison to DO's and takes less charcoal to cook with.

Just depends on where we are camping and what we are going to fix for meals if we take it along or not. It is nice to use at home also, esp in the summer when it is hot out and don't want to start the oven up for a meal.

 

I have a COBB.

Pros: small, light weight, works well, efficient use of charcoal, cool to touch, multiple cooking surfaces.
Works well for one to two people. Contained charcoal, may be able to be used in fire restricted areas.
Able to use sitting on side tables.


Cons: the main grilling surface is a teflon coated plate, the teflon is already coming off. I have learned to use the raised rack above the teflon plate.
Wish there was a removable ash tray instead of having to dump the entire main container unside down to remove ash.
Not easily stored in the teardrop. Experiemtned last fall keeping main part on the left hand galley space. Fits well, except found fine ash dust everywhere.
Expensive.

Will continue to use this coming season. Work in progress for storage options.

Prefer over the little webber.

jean

 

the extension ring is interesting. I haven't seen that piece before. Did you get it directly, Im assuming, from Cobb since it has the Cobb logo. I'll have to look for that.

 

Jenn,

While I was preparing the tear for camping season, wondered if you are still using the COBB and have any additional comments?

Jean

 

So far I use the Cobb for cooking meals, typically meat, veges wrapped in foil.

For baking I would use the dutch oven. (Do you hear George jumping for joy).

Find the dutch oven is very versatile, yet can't grill a steak like the Cobb.

 

Hi Gang,
I have a Cobb that has not gotten much use. After a few failed meals (fail = raw or tasting like lighter fluid) its been largely unused.
But, I have gotten new charcoal that is not the instant light kind which seemed to ghastly flavor the food. Will use a natural fire starter with my new charcoal next time. I do think I waited a good while for ash to form, but I'll pay better attention next time. Maybe a 20 minute wait is not long enough.
I will not try an ambitious meal like roasting a whole chicken. I will go back and watch the YouTube videos. Any good tried and true recipes?

 

We make our own firestarters...much cheaper, healthier, less smelly & messy & don't have to worry about hauling/spilling lighter fluid.

 

I've never used lighter fluid in our Cobb. Always use firestarters like Jenn. We bought a box of 10-12 packs from Menards at the end of the season on sale. They'll last forever as it only takes a little piece of them to start with. They are called Strike a Fire. They are priced pretty cheap also.

http://www.menards.com/main/heating-cooling/fuel/8pk-strike-a-firestarter/p-135056-c-8463.htm

 

Has anyone tried one of these?

Son of Hibachi

 

We got our Cobb (in a box) it has the extra pieces. For a little at home experience we are going to have a Cobb cooking day on Saturday. Eggs, bacon and pancakes for breakfast. Pizza for lunch maybe followed with a loaf of bread and then either chicken or beef and vegetables for supper. May be end up with cookies like Jenn does. Hope we get the right amount of charcoal etc.

 

We are at home but finally decided to try the Cobb so put some potatoes in the bottom part and a couple of pork chops and a couple of chicken breast peices on the grill. Started coals (12) at 5:30 put food in at 6. Everything done at 7 and delicious. The pork chops and chicken were moist and tender. We were impressed. Also the clean up was easy. So we are now dreaming of using it camping.

 

We bought the Cobb in a box which has everything I think we will use - great sale but do not need anything else. I do want to get a baster to suck up the liquid from the area around the coal - we could have made some gravy or put the juice over the chicken and pork - it was very tasty but a spoon did not work very well.

 

Jenn,

Thanks for the tip, we've been kicking the Cobb idea around for awhile but couldn't justify the price… just ordered one. Michelle wants to know where you stow it, in the car or the trailer?

OK Betsey, how do you make your own fire starters?

 

You need: Cardboard egg carton, wax, dryer lint, cotton/cotton balls, sawdust or a combination of any of these.

I save up the cardboard egg cartons (you only need the bottom part) or the bigger flats, until I figure I have enough. I have a small container that I put dryer lint in when I clean out the lint trap. If I think of it, I have Craig bring home a bit of sawdust from the shop. Have another container that I toss candle stubs into. Also, I find candles pretty cheap at yard sales, thrift shops, even the dollar store. Sometimes, I have people give them to me (they know I make fire starters.) If all else fails, you can buy bars of wax in the canning section of Walmart, the grocery or hardware store.

Just stuff some dryer lint, sawdust, cotton or combination, in each section of the egg carton. Set the egg carton on some newspaper, wax paper, foil, etc. so you don't get wax on your counter top or table. Melt the wax*, pour on top of lint. You only need to coat/saturate the lint, not fill the cup with wax. Once they have cooled & hardened, you can put the egg carton in a zip lock. This works especially well if you use sawdust - helps keep things neat.

When you want to start a fire, or charcoal, just tear off one of the egg sections, set it in the fire pit or under the charcoal starter & light. It will burn even if it is raining because they are coated in wax.

Another way to make a firestarter, is to just dip cotton balls into melted wax.

I usually make these once a year, in the winter, & then we are set for the next year.

*For melting the wax, I use an old sauce pan & a #10 can (like a metal coffee can - or you could use a large juice or veggie/fruit can). Put about 1 1/2" of water in the sauce pan, put the wax in the can & set can in the sauce pan. Heat over medium until wax is melted. I also use an old wooden spoon to stir the wax as it melts. You don't want to use your regular cooking pans/utensils, as they will get wax on them & it is a pain to remove. I keep my pan, can & spoon with my other "stuff" to make firestarters.

 

Betsy great idea - this will go in my receipe box with my soap receipe.

 

Betsy great idea - this will go in my receipe box with my soap receipe.