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**Stefrobrts** · 12-26-2004, 08:55 PM

A while back we discussed grills here, and XRay mentioned the Cobb Grill, and it sounded like a good idea. I left the hubby a note that I wanted one for Christmas, and he actually remembered! So tonight I went ahead and gave it a try.

It's wonderful! It's the perfect size for cooking for two, and it has a cool-touch plastic exterior. It only uses 8-10 pieces of charcoal. The charcoal I was using was old so I had a hard time lighting it, but I finally just stuck a piece of fatwood under it to get it going, then everything went smooth. In my big grill I would have to add briquettes to keep it going, but in this grill 8 briquettes did the job of cooking two big pork chops for about an hour, and were still going when I went out to clean up after dinner. I just dunked them in water to put them out, brought the grill in to cool, and cleaned it off in the sink. It has a non-stick grilling surface, so it was easy to clean up. Now it's clean and stowed away again. It's going to be awsome to take along on our trips, and it's small enough I should have no problem finding room for it in the trailer.

I'm very happy. Tonight we did pork chops with leeks and white wine in the trough below the grate. Delicious! Tomorrow I'm going to try cooking Salmon in it, maybe use some woodchips and see how it smokes.

malconium · 12-27-2004, 01:23 AM

Stephanie,

I took a look at the website and that is a pretty impressive looking unit. I have never heard of it before but I am definitely book marking the info for later when I finally get to the point of being able to take our AS out. It looks like it would be well worth the money. Please keep us posted on your results.

Thanks,

Malcolm

Rhodie · 12-27-2004, 10:54 AM

Keep the recipies coming...they sound delicious! We got the BabyQ but the Cobb sounds great for cooking chops and other meats with veggies in the trough...yum! Please let us know how it smokes, it's small and perfect for 2 (3 counting Ernie who loves a good BBQ!) and awesome it cooks so long with 8 briquettes. Small enough for our Bambi too!

cosmotini · 12-27-2004, 11:14 AM

Stephanie,

That looks great! Keep posting your experiences with it. Does the smoke flavor come through in your food? I have a small propane unit now and while it works, I just am not impressed with how the food tastes.

Dennis

67caravel · 12-27-2004, 11:54 AM

Whew! Boy am I glad you like it Stef! Hate to recommend something to have someone else have a totally different opinion... In your case, TERRIFIC!

We really enjoy ours and it works so well with the Airstream - easy to store, small size, simple to clean, etc. I prepackage the right amount of charcoal and fatwood in ziplocks and store them in the Cobb. Simple and clean.

Congrats and Happy Holidays!!! Sounds like you got yourself a good husband.

**Stefrobrts** · 12-27-2004, 12:54 PM

Oh yes, he is SUCH a keeper

I think my only complaint about the Cobb is that it would have been better if the little center section where the briquettes burn was removable, then it would have been easier to just pull the briquettes and ashes out as a unit, and get the juices out of the trough and clean that part of it. Most of my time in cleaning was spent dealing with the leftovers in the burn chamber because I didn't want to wash the ashes down the sink, and there was still some liquid in the trough. So I carefully scooped the hot ashes out in to the water bucket with the briquettes. Then cleaning the rest of it was simple. How do you handle cleaning, XRay?

nettepdx · 01-05-2005, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stefrobrts

Oh yes, he is SUCH a keeper

I think my only complaint about the Cobb is that it would have been better if the little center section where the briquettes burn was removable, then it would have been easier to just pull the briquettes and ashes out as a unit, and get the juices out of the trough and clean that part of it. Most of my time in cleaning was spent dealing with the leftovers in the burn chamber because I didn't want to wash the ashes down the sink, and there was still some liquid in the trough. So I carefully scooped the hot ashes out in to the water bucket with the briquettes. Then cleaning the rest of it was simple. How do you handle cleaning, XRay?

OK, Steph, because you're my airstreamforums heroine

, I ordered a Cobb grill too and it arrived today. It sure is cute, matches the airstream (very important, don't you think?), and seems multi-functional. I like its compact size. However, cleaning sounds like a real pain. I'd like to know some cleaning tips too. Have you used the Cobb since your post? And how long did it take for the coals to get hot? The website says something like 10 minutes but the instructions say 25-30 mins.

BTW, I'll finally tear myself away from the Monterey Peninsula in a week or two (damn...it's raining MORE here than OREGON!!! and my sweet Tradewind has sprung a leak

) and hope to get in lots of grilling while on the road.

**Stefrobrts** · 01-06-2005, 03:03 AM

Hi Annette,

I was wondering how you were doing on the road. If it's raining too much for you, just head south - right? Sorry to hear about the leak, I think most old AS have that problem. Mine still does even after sealing all the seams. Finding every little leak is really hard!

I have used the cobb again. Still haven't really gotten the hang of cleaning it. I waited until it cooled last time and sopped up the liquid in the moat with a wad of papertowels and then dumped the papertowels and ash right into the trash.

I haven't tried smoking yet, but did a nice soy/maple glazed salmon on the grill - yum! It just got too darn cold around here for me. I know it's much colder in other parts of the country, but I just can't stand it if my hands are going numb while I'm tending the grill, so I guess grilling season is over for a little while!

Lee Pace · 01-06-2005, 08:25 AM

This sounds like a perfect grill for us. Will order one soon.
By the way, my husband & I are in awe of you! I thought when you were redoing the axles it was so brave of you. Then, the refrigerator, wow!

Our hat is off to you and you are such an inspiration to us!

G & D Pace

nettepdx · 01-26-2005, 12:27 PM

Hello Stef and other interested parties....I finally got a chance to use the cobb grill. It worked great, the coals heated quickly, but the clean-up was a mess - especially since I was boondocking! There's got to be a trick to this and I'm tempted to email the company and see what they say. I'll keep you posted.

And an update on my travels - the rain is following me! While I was in California they had record-breaking rainfall. Here I am south of Tucson and a big old storm is moving in (do I close the zipdee? if it can survive gusts on the columbia river, i think it can survive this - we'll see. i'll get the ladder handy just in case

)

wheel interested · 01-26-2005, 12:45 PM

put it in the dishwasher.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nettepdx

Hello Stef and other interested parties....I finally got a chance to use the cobb grill. It worked great, the coals heated quickly, but the clean-up was a mess - especially since I was boondocking! There's got to be a trick to this and I'm tempted to email the company and see what they say. I'll keep you posted.

And an update on my travels - the rain is following me! While I was in California they had record-breaking rainfall. Here I am south of Tucson and a big old storm is moving in (do I close the zipdee? if it can survive gusts on the columbia river, i think it can survive this - we'll see. i'll get the ladder handy just in case

)

nettepdx · 01-26-2005, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wheel interested

put it in the dishwasher.

Ha, if only! Hey wait, I'm always discovering new things about this Tradewind so maybe there's a dishwasher around here somewhere...I'll go look.

**Stefrobrts** · 01-26-2005, 04:42 PM

Hi Annette! Glad to hear you're still trucking along. We have friends in Phoenix and they called to tell us how crazy it was getting down there. And to think they moved to AZ to get away from the rain in Portland!

nettepdx · 01-26-2005, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stefrobrts

Hi Annette! Glad to hear you're still trucking along. We have friends in Phoenix and they called to tell us how crazy it was getting down there. And to think they moved to AZ to get away from the rain in Portland!

I know! it's actually cold outside. And I was feeling silly for bringing so many sweaters.

Yes, I am still truckin' along. I absolutely wanted to give up this whole venture due to my experience towing from Sacramento to Monterey - I really hated it. But since leaving Monterey, things have been great. So many beautiful roads; people have been incredible. And there are lots of airstreams down here! However, I do miss the northwest.

Oh, and just as I thought, no dishwasher on the Tradewind.

**Stefrobrts** · 01-26-2005, 05:20 PM

Well, you can always come back up and visit. I'm planning a re-christening of the land yacht when the Caravel is back together! Sometime in the spring. As soon as I get more done on the floor I'll have a better idea of when

tin sista · 06-26-2005, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nettepdx

Hello Stef and other interested parties....I finally got a chance to use the cobb grill. It worked great, the coals heated quickly, but the clean-up was a mess - especially since I was boondocking! There's got to be a trick to this and I'm tempted to email the company and see what they say. I'll keep you posted.

Hiya,
Thanks for your info about the Cobb. I am on the fence about buying one, just love the idea, but I'm a dedicated boondocker. Just wondering if the Cobb company had good clean up advice? The moat/ash thing sounds messy. Didn't see much on their forum about clean up.
Thanks for any advice,
Steph

nettepdx · 06-26-2005, 11:50 AM

Hi Steph, I am still on the fence as to whether or not I would recommend a Cobb.

The good point is how few coals you need and how quickly they fire up. BUT, I miss the grill marks from my little smokey joe, and the clean-up still sucks. At least here at this RV park I can use a hose to spray out the moat. If I had to rely on using the sink in the trailer, and water was scarce, then I'd toss the whole thing.

I don't want to switch to gas so i may break down and go back to my old method: little smokey joe and a chimney for lighting the coals.

That's my 2 cents. I'll be interested in hearing what the other Steph has to say

**Stefrobrts** · 06-26-2005, 05:51 PM

I was just thinking about breaking it out this week to try smoking some trout for a recipe I just got. Of course, I need to go catch a trout first! I'm looking forward to getting more practice with it to see if the cleanup becomes any easier.

**Stefrobrts** · 06-27-2005, 11:07 PM

Last night I used the Cobb to cook chicken, with some potatoes and carrots in the moat. Unfortunately the chicken finished first, so I just microwaved the potatoes and carrots a few minutes and they both softened up. The potatoes were particularly tasty from the chicken drippings that fall on them from the cooking surface above.

Today a friend gave me two kokanee salmon. They needed to be cooked tonight, so I smoked them on the grill. I used ten briquettes, and sprinkled mesquite shavings on top after they were hot. The salmon were done in about 45 minutes - very smokey and wonderful. I also stuffed them with a bit of lemon, butter, garlic, and some fresh parsley, but mostly you could just taste the smoke and the salmon.

I was surprised that after cooking 45 minutes the grill temp was 260. We went inside to eat, and afterwards I came out to clean up a bit, and the grill temp was 360! That was on only ten briquettes, that had been burning for an hour and a half! I never got that kind of heat out of my big square grill.

The more I use it the more I like it. Because of the cool touch exterior I don't have to worry about it burning the table, or the dogs burning their nose on it if they get curious. I love that it only needs a little charcoal and cooks so efficiently. I think it's good points far outway the difficulty of cleaning it, especially since it's small enough to clean in the sink, unlike a typical grill.

I've got some pork ribs I'm going to smoke later this week. I think it will do just fine

BOBHASTINGS · 07-06-2005, 07:32 AM

All right - it's your fault!!!

After all the mouth watering descriptions of wonderful dishes cooked on a Cobb, I finally went surfing and found the Grill on sale at Camping World for $74.69 if you're a member of their 'President's Club'. As an aforementioned club member, I just placed an order.

http://www.campingworld.com/browse/s...m?skunum=25639

Now I'll have NO excuse when wifey tells me to put on the steaks!!!!

We have tried the little cheapo propo grills and even put charcoal in one (instead of propane - not in addition to!) but never matched the taste of our old Weber at home. I like the Smokey Joe smaller Weber model but something about the Cobb minimalist design and cooler exterior appealed to me. Cooking with 8 briquettes (sp?) seems kind of cool too (pun intended

).

Should be arriving any day now. Hope it makes it by Friday. Heading for Stone Mountain campground outside Atlanta on Sat AM.