Are these better than firelighters and heat beads? I've still got a bag of heat beads left, but willing to top up with these if recommended... Heat beads seem really expensive from the cobb website... Sure I got 4 bags for £20 from the now defunct woolies on line....
Good thing about cobblestones is that you only need the one and there's no mess, just tip it out of the packet and set light to it. Heat Beads do as good a job, just a bit more fiddly.
Am I the only one who finds it difficult to get the Cobb hot enough to cook on, especially when the dome is not used? Even using 10 heatbeads, food too often boils rather than fries.
I find the Cobb to be a great portable oven, but not really a barbecue. So what am I doing wrong, and are the Cobblestones better (hotter)?
------------- * You never know where you're going 'til you get there...
The lack of intense heat is why we have a Cobb for roasting things, etc, and a bbq for 'everyday' use. I love Cobblestones - easy to light, ready to cook VERY quickly and no mess. Must get some more for this season (not too worried about the price as we don't use them every trip out). I got my Cobblestones last year from Lakeland (lucky enough to work 5 minutes' walk from a big Lakeland shop!).
I'd agree that it does great roasts - but I bought it as a barbecue! It's advertised as a barbie, and Cobb claim on their website that it can be used for: "Barbecuing meats, chicken, vegetables, fish etc. Frying eggs, meat, fish etc."
It can be used for that, but it's just not very good at it. In fact, I'd say it's very poor at barbecuing, because you never actually cook directly over the heat source - there's always an almost solid plate between the food and the coals. Or am I doing it wrong?
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My Cobb experience is the best roasted rib of beef ever (even did one on Christmas day to go with the goose !), great for stews/curries (using the wok) and baking bread, so like others I use it for oven-y things, I dont get on with grilling on it. I like cobblestones as they are clean and lightweight but if I need a longer cooking time or we want to sit around it to keep warm, I tend to stick with heatbeads as cobblestones loose heat fairly quickly after a couple of hours.
My Cobb experience is, using cobblestones are great and do a beef or chicken roast etc quite well. Easy to light if you use a turbo flame type lighter like this one, its better than a normal lighter or a match. Quick and easy to use and not much mess. The only hassle is if you need to put another cobblestone in as you have to lift everything off first and empty the basket, being careful not to drop the roast lol. I've done that.
The heat beads or charcoal brickettes (the very same thing) are a little more messy and take more time to get going,(put your fire lighters under the basket) but the heat lasts that much longer and you can top up with a few more brickettes as and when needed and the cost is far cheaper. Using the Cobb just as a barbie is easy, but still use the dome as this hold the heat in and you can also put some wood chips in and smoke with it. (nice) Hickory chips work well,but you can get other woods. I've never used it with the wok
cobblestones
charcoal brickettes
hickory chips
Just to add, we also have a weber go anywhere bbq and using the cobb and the weber together is great.
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aka Paul
“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions.”
The heat beads or charcoal brickettes (the very same thing) are a little more messy and take more time to get going,(put your fire lighters under the basket) but the heat lasts that much longer and you can top up with a few more brickettes as and when needed and the cost is far cheaper. Using the Cobb just as a barbie is easy, but still use the dome as this hold the heat in...
I used ordinary charcoal brickettes to begin with, but they were not hot enough. Heat beads seem far more compressed, and burn hotter. When you use it as a barbie, what "grill" do you use?
------------- * You never know where you're going 'til you get there...
The heat beads or charcoal brickettes (the very same thing) are a little more messy and take more time to get going,(put your fire lighters under the basket) but the heat lasts that much longer and you can top up with a few more brickettes as and when needed and the cost is far cheaper. Using the Cobb just as a barbie is easy, but still use the dome as this hold the heat in...
I used ordinary charcoal brickettes to begin with, but they were not hot enough. Heat beads seem far more compressed, and burn hotter. When you use it as a barbie, what "grill" do you use?
I have two of the round teflon coated ones, i use one for bread, cakes or pizza etc and keep it clean, and the other for burgers, sausages etc with the wire mesh grill on it. Always use the dome mind.
When i picked up my Cobb from Cobb uk in Aylesbury i had a long chat with the man and woman running it, He told me the heat beads you buy are no different from good quality charcoal brickettes. Not the al-cheapo ones.. Thats from the horses mouth..
------------- DELTA..
aka Paul
“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions.”
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Topic: cobblestones
I've done that.
