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59 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dynamite Cooker does Great!, January 2, 2008
This review is from: Cobb Premier Portable Stainless Steel Grill & Smoker (Lawn & Patio)
I've had mine for about a month now, and have done 3 chickens, 2 tri-tip roasts and a DOUBLE rack of Baby-backs... and am gearing up to try baking/smoking a pile of shortribs soon.
So far, I have only used the roasting rack to cook with...wet mesquite chips wrapped in heavy alum. foil in the firebasket smoke the meat nicely, just perfect. Surprised compliments from everyone who've tasted the results. Chicken, in 1 1/2 to 2 hours, comes out so tender you'll wonder if it's really done (it is). The Babybacks smoked up wonderful and were as tender as you'd want.
I'm a tri-tip guy, and all my friends step back in respect when I approach a grill with a Tri-tip in hand. I'm good at it. This Cobb Grill makes the best I've ever had.
Pro's:
*Convenient for apartments, small patios, any lifestyle or condition when you want the BBQ to come out and go back to stashed away. It is small, compact, all the accoutrements fit comfortably into the carrying case, even the extra accessories you might buy. Speaking of which, search the internet for the cheapest roasting rack...some will sell this wire rack for $39...it's about an $6 item, but if you can find one for $15, get one. You'll use it for roasting and allows you to NOT need to turn over the ribs, chicken, etc. during the cooking process. It's probably the most convenient of all the accessories.
*Easy setup, easy stash. Minimal fuel (10-12 briquettes).
*A moat! You can add water, soda, beer,etc., in the built-in moat and you get results like doing a Beer-can chicken. Most moist and great taste for everything. Results are great.
*Easy to smoke meats. Add your wet chips to the firebowl when you put on the meat. I've been using about 2 tablespoons of chips for a nice amount of smoke flavor.
*Both portable and movable. Not only is this little thing really portable, it can be moved anytime during the grilling by just picking it up with your bare hands. Its sides are cool. It's halfway to 'Kid-Friendly' and is a pretty safe grill to have around kids. The dome is hot, but the sides are not. This is especially handy if you want to shuffle ribs or flip some meat halfway thru cooking...I just pick it up and carry it to the kitchen where I can flip things without making a mess...then I take it outside again. Very handy!
*Set it and Ferget it. The nice thing is that you don't have to bother with the grill while its cooking. Go party. Relax. All you need is a timer to figure out when its all done. Because you are using a moat and liquid (if you do) it's hard to over-cook anything.
I haven't tried doing a plain steak yet, or hamburgers, without the lid...that's next week's project.
Cons: Expensive. I bought mine on sale for $85 and was lucky to get it at that. The accessories are expensive. The wok, the frying pan are well designed and might be worth the loot, but the roasting rack is just a wire grid who's legs happen to fit into the ring-holes of the included grill plate. At the mfg. cost of the wire rack, they should be throwing this thing in for free. Once you get your unit home, you can look for workable racks in thrift shops.
You can still find the earlier models, with the black plastic sides, available at a steep discount, around $50. These would be worth getting to save money. The new models are the ones with the stainless mesh sides.
*Cleaning. If you throw some sliced lemons in the moat-water, cleanup will be easier. The thing should to be cleaned after each use, which could be problematic for RV'rs. The quality non-stick grill surfaces are no problem, but the wire racks and the main steel bowl can need lotsa water or some soaking. You can rough clean it with paper towels and finish it at home, if you're off camping. Dawn Direct Foam works really well.
*Slow cooking, lower heat. Because it uses lower heat for a longer time, figure that it's going to be 2 hours for a chicken or a tri-tip, 2 1/2 hours for ribs unless you want to refill the firebox and go for 4 hours. That includes the 1/2 hour for the coals to get right.
*Charcoal starter matches make things easier, so when you find them for sale, buy several boxes. The matches found on the Cobb site are overpriced. They run about $2.50 a box in grocery stores, and there are two kinds, the giant ones and the smaller ones. 8 to the box and 20 to the box, respectively. 2 big ones do it, or 4 small ones will light your charcoal just fine. DON'T leave the dome on while the charcoal is flaming/lighting, you'll start to melt the top handle (my stupid). Leave the dome off to speed the charcoal lighting.
All in all, I think this is an ideal charcoal grill that almost guarantees you'll wow yourself, your family and friends with the incredible results. It's slightly different cooking than the normal charcoal BBQ grill, so you'll learn to make your cooking adjustments...and you'll love the results. I would (and do) recommend this little baby to anyone who'll listen. My friends all recommend my using this as often as they can talk me into it.
7/17/2010..........And now I've had it for awhile...just got back in town after being on the road for a bit....the first thing I did when I 'unhitched' was to fire up the Cobb and slam a Tri Tip on it. I'm still using it, still loving it, it's still in great shape, and still does a great job. My favorite seasoning is still Santa Maria Tri Tip Seasoning by Righetti Specialties, and a healthy dose of Bacon Salt never hurts nothing! Love this grill.
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39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cobb Premier Portable grill, March 25, 2007
This review is from: Cobb Premier Portable Stainless Steel Grill & Smoker (Lawn & Patio)
An amazing little grill. With 8 charcoal briquettes, I cooked a couple of salmon-burgers on it for lunch, then put on two Cornish Game hens, put on the cover, let them bake for an hour, and had them later for dinner. NOTE: DON'T PEAK under the lid when using this grill as an oven. The heat escapes and it takes awhile to build it back up. Instead, use your nose & ears.
An excellent little grill for camping, picnics, and emergencies. Since it uses so little fuel, you can do a great deal of cooking with a single bag of charcoal. Don't use lighter fluid, use a small "starter stick" to start the coals.
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32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good and flexible but not great, December 4, 2008
This review is from: Cobb Premier Portable Stainless Steel Grill & Smoker (Lawn & Patio)
This is a very flexible gadget. You can bake (cookies, biscuits, but not bread), roast, slow cook/smoke, and stir-fry as well as grill.
The Good:
Compact. Outside except for the lid stays cool, Great for grilling and for slow cooking. Putting water, beer etc. in the moat lends flavor and allows for moist cooking.
Nearly ideal for tailgate, ad hoc cooking or light camping.
If you register with cobbamerica you get a free cookbook or 15% off any accessory.
The Bad:
Needs getting used to and patience. Can be really hard to clean; but putting water in the moat helps, as does cooking spray.
Really needs rack (overpriced) for roasting and needs the wok or skillet if you want to fry. Scrambled eggs for instance can't be done on the grill it comes with (a couple kids 14/15 found out the hard way).
Doesn't do 2 level cooking and doesn't have any control over heat except removing the lid and how much charcoal you use.
Heat/charcoal is not linear. Eight briquettes gives a lot lower temperature/heat than 12!
Really works much better with real charcoal not briquettes!
Removing the lid lowers the temperature a lot particularly if you are using the COBB in the cold.
Marginal below 0°F or -32°C, particularly if not sheltered from more than moderate breeze. Lid lets out a lot of heat when lifted!
Really needs a chimney starter to avoid ash in the moat and to add charcoal. A necessity in cold weather.
Need to remove any leftover charcoal immediately when finished cooking. Otherwise cleanup is much much harder!
Recipe book is no longer down loadable. Cobbq.com gives you the book or a discount for registering. Cobbq has all the accessories and parts but is expensive. (If you buy from them plan on spending enough to get free shipping otherwise its $11.)
Solid starter is very expensive compared to a chimney starter and old grocer bags or newspaper.
The Ugly:
As already noted unless you put some water in the moat (add some lemon slices) cleanup can be hard and tends to take a lot of water (grill spray a real necessity), but fluid in the moat lowers the temperature.
Relatively light but bulky. If your idea of camping is to take the car (and the pop up) and drive to a camp site this is for you; but if its packing or skiing in a few miles this would be good for a real laugh.
Basically it's a slow cooker. You want to leave the lid on for 5 to 10 minutes to let the grill heat and the skillet and wok can take a 20 to 30 minutes to heat. As a wok you can stir fry for 2 people, maybe 3.
Reheating things with sticky sauces (BBQ) is a right mess; even with cooking spray the nonstick is hard to clean. Eggs etc stick just fine to the "nonstick" even with cooking spray!
Takes more charcoal than the recipes call for particularly if you use Kingsford, but still takes very little.
Depending on the solid starter stick, the starter can be hard to start. Really needs a chimney starter particularly if you need to add charcoal.
Tips:
Use real charcoal like Primo Grills , Smokers Cowboy Charcoal - PR608or whole foods brand (US). It isn't compressed with weird additives and burns more completely, hotter and quicker.
Carbon Off Aerosalcleaner for the moat, gets rid of the greasy sticky soot on the bowl. Follow the instructions exactly can dissolve plastic.
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