Cooking with a Volcano Grill?

[Tarcoola]

Interested in your feedback on cooking with the Volcano 3 Grill. Have done considerable research on the forums as well as the web in general and decided to purchase the Volcano three fuel grill. I like the options for multiple heat sources and all the positive reviews. Received the grill, Operations Manual, Lid and 1lb propane adaptor. Let the fun begin …

Reading the manual for using charcoal it recommends using 20 – 30 charcoal briquettes (depending on the type of cooking you’re doing) and use a generous amount of lighter fluid on each briquette. I’ve always stayed away from using lighter fluid or fire starters as I don’t like the thought of the food being tainted by the fluid.

For those experienced Volcano grillers, is this your recommended charcoal starting procedure, and if so, does it affect the flavor of what you’re grilling?

[nvestysly]

A friend of ours has a Volcano grill (not sure if it's Volcano 3 but looks just like it). She uses either natural charcoal or charcoal briquettes and lights them in a chimney starter with a piece of newspaper. No flammable lighter fluid to be concerned about transporting and no potential lighter fluid "flavor" imparted on the cooked items.

[Johnco]

Second the use of the chimney. Works great and you can start your coals for the dutch oven dessert at the same time!

[Ruffn It]

No lighter fluid. Chimney & Lump hardwood charcoal. Burns hotter than briquettes so use a little less and spread it out. Mostly, experiment before it matters.

I like the gas option. Used it to boil water for a crab boil. The only quirk so far is that it seems to blow itself out attached to gas and open all the way. Need to look into that.

All in all I like it.

Fwiw, the Lodge 14" round pizza pan (a.k.a. griddle) fits perfectly on top.

Thinking I might want to get the cover for it. Haven't decided yet.

Happy Volcano-ing!

[AWCHIEF]

Been using a Volcano grill for a couple of years. I never use lighter fluid. I make my own non petroleum fire starters or use newspaper and use with a chimney. Use Propane if time is an issue and charcoal chunks for low and slow. Amount of charcoal to use is a bit of a learning curve. I found it takes less than with a conventional grill. Also the soft fold up cover is really nice for keeping the heat in for slow cooking. I have never used wood. I was told by Valcano CS to never burn the commercial fire logs in the grill. They get too hot and can cause damage to the grill.

[urnmor]

I am not familiar with the volcano however if I was using charcoal I would choose hardwood over briquets and use a natural lighter rather then lighter fluid. First natural wood will provide better flavor (no lingering lighter fluid taste) and should burn longer then briquetts.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

I also would vote against briquettes (lots of odd stuff in them) and lighter fluid. Hardwood charcoal is fairly easy to get. As long as it hasn't been out in the rain, it starts pretty easy. If it has been out in the rain, it takes a bit longer ... I have data on this

Bob

[Tarcoola]

Great advice. Thanks for all your feedback. I haven't used charcoal for cooking much, mainly wood and gas. I'll also try the lump charcoal - presume you can also use a chimney starter with it.

[1973Argosy]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

I also would vote against briquettes (lots of odd stuff in them) and lighter fluid. Hardwood charcoal is fairly easy to get. As long as it hasn't been out in the rain, it starts pretty easy. If it has been out in the rain, it takes a bit longer ... I have data on this

Bob

I agree with all on the chimney and hardwood charcoal. Another starter option is an electric grill starter. It's basically an oven element with a 110 plug. I use the electric starter with my egg and a chimney for my weber. When dealing with charcoal that has been wet, a few splashes of vegetable oil on the charcoal almost guarantees a quick start with no leftover flavors. The vegetable oil burns off very quickly, when the white smoke is gone so is the oil.

[MealsOnReels]

We have a Volcano and use the propane option.
I bought a 5 lb tank to use with it. Looks like a regular 20 lb bbq tank
but it only holds 1 gal of propane.
Like using the dutch oven and we also use a 14" wok

[GatorDave]

Chimney starter works best

[Sovereign85]

We have barbequed and grilled various foods over charcoal briquettes in the Volcano for several years. No room for a chimney? We ignite the briquettes with a small (6”X6”) square piece (usually 1 will do) from an old cotton T-shirt soaked with extra virgin olive oil. Loosely rolling the cloth into a tube-like wick and tuck it between the coals, light it and have a beer. It takes awhile to get all of the briquettes ignited, but no unpleasant odor or tainted taste in food. If you want things to get hot faster, soak the coals with a little of your vodka before lighting. Whether to use briquettes or hardwood chunks is a matter of personal opinion and preference. Just observe what fuel is used at major BBQ events by competitors. One can ignite hardwood chunks or plain wood in the same manner. Enjoy your travels and grilling with the Volcano.

[AWCHIEF]

Sovereign (no real name given), Weber makes a small chimney that fits in the Volcano. Convenient size for the smaller amount of charcoal used in the Volcano.

Weber 7447 Compact Rapidfire Chimney Starter. I think I bought mine at Home Depot several years ago.

[Foiled Again]

Fire starter PLUS recycling useless stuff... stuff empty toilet paper rolls with dryer lint.

[Tarcoola]

I recently ordered the Weber 7447 Compact Rapidfire Chimney Starter, so sounds like I'm definitely on the right track.

There are two levels within the Volcano to place charcoal. Generally, do you use the lower level for slow grilling/dutch oven, and the upper level for more intense heat for higher grilling temperatures. Is that how it works?

[uncle_bob]

Hi

There also is the ever popular MAP gas torch It will light just about anything. I use it to light up my pig cooker and sometimes on the BGE's. It has the advantage of being self contained where the electrical gizmos need an extension cord and an outlet.

Bob

[AWCHIEF]

Originally Posted by Foiled Again

Fire starter PLUS recycling useless stuff... stuff empty toilet paper rolls with dryer lint.

That is how I make my starters, free and works.
Recently a video of using cotton balls and liquid hand sanitizer. Have not tried that one, yet.