Cobb BBQ - Do You Have One?

[Peter3]

We were thinking of buying a Cobb BBQ - can anyone give an insight... Good or bad...into owning one. Also as they do not look very big, how would they perform for 3 on the BBQ side. Thanks in anticipation. Pete

 

[butler1]

Hi Pete, Yes we bought one about a year ago. We have used it to cook chickens, turkey breast joints and legs of lamb. They use minimal fuel (use heatbeads) and the results are great. The disadvantage is in the cleaning. Use the site facilities rather than the sink in your van. Highly recommended. Shop around and use the web for the best prices. Best Wishes, George T.

 

[Chris4]

I think they're great!. You can get them from the sole UK supplier on www.cobb-bbq.co.uk/ priced

 

[Stu_5041651]

Found the cobb absolutely useless, took ages to cook anything and was a nightmare to clean Changed it for a Cadac which is an amazing product. Bought from www.riverswayleisure.co.uk

 

[suzidontknow]

Until I found out about the Cobb I had had many different barbecues but there was always something I didn't like about them. The Cobb is ace and I would never change it ever. Buy a new Cobb and it has a non-stick top so easy to clean. Make sure you put water in the moat and it makes the inside easy to clean - it lifts out for cleaning. We put potatoes in the moat and then there is easily enough room for food for 3 to cook on the top although, in fairness, they aren't the largest barbecues. Added advantage is they are ever so healthy as the food never comes into contact with the flames and all the fat drips off into the moat - onto your potatoes. The heat beads that have been mentioned are the best fuel to use, stay hot for ages, you can get them from TESCOs. You can pick the barbecue up and move it carefully when it has got to the cooking stage because of the insulated sides, great to put under a gazebo if it starts to rain. I've not tried to cook a chicken on ours yet, I've got a pheasant for it but it is in the freezer due to the appalling summer we have had (it's got a long use by date on it). You can put sprigs of rosemary on the coals and then put the non-stick top on and then your food and then the lid for lovely smoky food. Smoke only comes off really for the first 20 minutes whilst it is lighting the coals so not much for other people to complain about. Nice to cook without getting smoke in your eyes and stinking of smoke too. it can be a little slower to cook than the other barbecues but you have the advantage of knowing your food is cooked rather than it looking cooked. Start your barbecue early, chill out and have a beer whilst your food cooks, no rushing around and no worrying your food isn't cooked properly. If anyone tried to take mine away I would have to fight them for it. The heat beads are a bit dearer for a slightly smaller bag than normal briquettes, however, as you only use 6, the barbecue soon pays for itself. You would normally buy a bag for a fiver and chuck half of it on so you get two barbecues out of a bag, with the Cobb you get about 12 barbecues out of a bag, if not more.

 

[butler1]

Hi Suzanne, You're obviously a convert too! In response to your question,I would say that there isn't much you can't cook on the Cobb. We started using the Cobb as we don't have an oven in the 'van. I suppose it was born out of necessity really. Anyway, choose a chicken about 3lbs. in weight, rub it with olive oil and season well with black pepper and sea salt. I should add that I wash the bird first and pull out the excess fat which is then discarded. Inside the body cavity I put about 6 uncrushed cloves of garlic. I also like to add fresh thyme if available. By now, I will have checked that the heatbeads have tuned white and have had the bbq plate on for a 3 or 4 minutes. When I put the chicken on I always put it sideways down so that the leg and wing start to sear straight away.(Turn it on to the other side half way through the cooking time.) The beauty of the Cobb is that it can be left relatively unattended as there'll be no flare-ups etc. leaving you to relax. At the end of the cooking period,I simply let it rest for 10-20 minutes or so, before tearing the moist flesh and the deliciously crispy skin from the carcas. The meat is then stuffed in to sections of buttered French stick with perhaps a little mayonnaise. Best accompanied by a chilled Chardonnay, (the Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc having already disappeared with the cold crab starter)with the sweet garlic served like pickled onions. Yes, caravanning sure ain't bad. Best Wishes, George T.