Volcano vs Cobb

I will be waiting for more info on making a starting chimney with air tight lid to help extinguish the coals.
How about one of those turkey basting syringes for sucking up the juices out of the moat to keep ashes out.

 

The chicken sounds wonderful we have done somewhat similar and we do use a baster to get juices for gravy or to baste meat. I bought one that is stainless steel for ease in cleaning and durable for camping.

 

So I have been reading the posts about the Cobb Cooker. It is available again, I did find it on Amazon. Did the group ever get together and make a cookbook or are you using the one that came with the cooker? Do you still like it? Is it more efficient if you are just cooking for two? The dutch oven seems too large and too much food for just two people. Bob is also diabetic and we are trying to limit carbs. Seems like the recipes for the DO all involve packaged foods ( high in sodium) and lots of carbs. I think I would just the wok pan a lot as we do stir fry veggies with protein.
thanks for your input
Gina

 

Check out the can cooker
steams food
works for me

 

The Cobb is sui generis in the outdoor cooking market - nothing really compares to it.

Not really a grill, but it can grill. With the skillet, great for pancakes or frying bacon. Others have used it as an oven for bread or pizza.

With liquid (wine) in the moat, it gives a moist convection-like heat that's pretty interesting for chicken and fish.I don't have the wok, but think it would make a good stir fry.

Requires a lot of experimentation. We've had some undercooked, soggy failures, but also some very special meals.

However, you can't really use it as your primary stove and it's pretty pricey.

Still, it's an elegant design, untethers you from propane, and ought to be a cool tool for stir fry.

 

I have had a COBB since 2008. Primary use is as a grill only. Perfect for one to 2 people to grill meat, cook vegetables in a packet. I do not use the moat for anything besides collecting natural juices that drip from meat. Have placed water to add moisture to the grilling meat.

Expensive investment, but works great for me and would purchase another one.

Only negative is the teflon is coming off the teflon non-stick cooking surface cooking grate. I always cook meat on the included wire rack over the teflon cooking surface.

Jean

 

Thanks everyone for your input. We have decided to wait for now, save our pennies for the Northern Breeze and 560 Ultra. Just sent in the deposit check yesterday for March delivery. Having a little sticker shock but no buyer's remorse. Cant wait to get out in the camper, spring is so far away. Thinking about car camping for a few weekends and using the northern breeze for cook tent and storage. We'll see how that goes and maybe try to make it to CICO in September.
Gina

 

Gonna Be's and all campers are welcome to the CICO!

Hope you can come, Betsey and Craig sponsor a wonderful event.

Jean

 

We are definitely "gonna-be's" and wish we could be there this year...but will definitely plan for next year! Retirement, here we come!

Best,
Diane

 

Most definitely YES!!!!

You are very kind! And we have AWESOME helpers!

 

Hi Jean, I have a Cobb and used it twice on our first camp outing. Hamburgers one night steaks the second. It did a great job and I liked that it took so few coals perfect for just the two of us. When I got home and took it apart to clean I found part of it melted. At first I thought I had left one of the rubber spacers that had come with the packing in it. Looking closer it was the plastic ring that the moat sits in had melted into the wire outside houseing. It looked to heavy to be a part of a packing piece. I had no flair ups and didn't overload the fire box. It will work without this piece of plastic but does anybody know what purpose it serves?

 

The plastic ring that forms the top circumference of the mesh "housing" has three rubber spacers that suspend the moat/fire box. You melted one apparently. Cobb sells replacements.

The Cobb will function just fine with the moat/fire box held up by anything, as long as air can circulate around it.

We're lucky that we haven't experienced the teflon separation on the grill plate that Jean and others have described.

 

So the rubber is suppose to be there along with the plastic ring while grilling? I guess I will need to replace all of that. I didn't melt the rubber because I didn't use them causeing the ring itself to melt. Thanks for the info.

 

So now I understand better. Yes, those three rubber spacers/bumpers on the ring are what the bowl rests on. The spot where you melted the plastic ring will add character! (That's what I told the Adorable Wife about the dimple in our tv's bumper that resulted from my backing up to the TD's tongue without a spotter.)

 

I decided to practice with the Cobb at home by cooking a chicken on the upright chicken cooker. It wouldn't fit without a lid extension. I made a lid extension out of some flashing and pop riveted it together. I made it six inches high. I put in 12 brickets and sparkling cider in the mote. When I checked it an hour later it wasn't very hot and most of the coals were gone. I filled the little basket with coals and put the chicken back on. Cooked another half hour. Checked temperature but didn't look under the grilling plate. Another 15 min. Not done. Another 15. Chicken looked beautiful. But when I took it off and looked inside the cobb it was one huge mess with flaming coals and thick black gunk in the mote. Yikes. Cobb has been soaking in apple cider vinegar ever since. Some black is loosening but it is a really big mess. If I ever get it clean I am looking forward to trying again. I think I should have added some plain water to the mote when I added the additional coals. Added too many coals also. Maybe need to make a lid extension four inches high instead of six. Any suggestions. The chicken was over five pounds and should have cooked a little longer.

 

Oh, one more thing. The lid extension that I made goes down over the grilling plate and rests on the rim of the lower basket. This blocks the air space where the rubber spacers are. Can anyone tell me where the real lid extension rests when in place? Dang, me and my inventions. Sometimes they just don't work out.

 

Pat did anything melt on your Cobb? I probably had a flair up too but without the spacers my plastic ring melted into the rim of the bowl where I couldn't seperate the bowl from the out side wire mesh. I wonder if anybody else has had "melt downs"?

 

Nothing melted and I have gotten everything cleaned up except for the mote. The vinegar took off the thick crust in the bottom but it still has quite a bit of black burned on patches. I got more apple cider vinegar and threw out the used stuff. I hope eventually it will clean up. Do you still have the spacers so you can put them back in. They sure looked like packing to me but there was a warning label that said leave them in and for once I did read it. Fun.

 

I kept the spacers right up untill my first cook! They are not far from Camp Inn at Castle Rock county park in the trash. Had no problem ordering more plus the plastic ring from Cobb of America. If I had a warning label I missed it (or ignored it) Lesson learned the hard way. Hope yours comes clean Pat.

 

Don't have one, so can't tell you for sure, but from the pictures I've seen, it looks to me like the Cobb extension fits onto the bowl just as the lid does, forming a loose seal. The rubber spacers (which the Cobb web site calls 'grommets') fit just under the lip of the bowl. The air space they create is to separate the hot bowl from the melty plastic ring, as Mike discovered. If your extension fits over that air space and the grommets, I suppose it's possible that could overheat the plastic ring. You could test it with a (careful!) touch.