Since I've not bought anything for the 'van for at least 5 minutes, I'm looking around again! Our intention is to be out every other weekend fairly soon, and we like to cook (and eat!!). We've always just made do with disposable BBQs, until last summer when we got a little cast iron BBQ/fire pit for camping - great piece of kit until a leg fell off!
With having the caravan now, heat won't be as much of an issue of an evening. I've seen Cadac's in Go Outdoors and they look quite good, but could they replace a BBQ? They seem a bit bulky, and we have no external gas point so we'd have to buy more gas - how much do they guzzle? Would anyone recommend?
The Cobb also looks amazing, but I get the impression you could be waiting hours and hours for anything to cook. Would it work as a quick morning fry-up piece of kit, or is it more designed for leisurely evenings? I hate the smell of cooking that permeates the van, so cooking outside is a real draw.
And lastly, has anyone tried a teppanyaki grill? We've got an outside electric point, and we always go EHU, so this could be a good alternative. Plus much cheaper! But less versatile?
We have a small Cadac Safari Chef which we keep in the van, which is ideal for just the two of us, we bought this when we had the folding camper. We also have a full size. Carry Chef 2, which we use mainly at home, but I also take if we the Grandchildren with us. The bigger one is not excessively bulky to carry as you can pack the legs etc up when travelling and is not a great problem. If we did not have the small one already we would probably have got one of the larger ones for the van. Neither seems to use a great amount of gas.
------------- Alan
2016
February C&CC Theobalds Park
March C&CC Salisbury
May C&CC Adgestone IOW
July Le Clos Auroy, Auvergne France
August C&CC Polstead
August C&CC Oxford
October C&CC Lauder
We have a Cadac Carri Chef and love it, it has now replaced the charcoal bbq on camping holidays
------------- Nick
2017
April - New Forest(9)
May - Dorset (9)
August - Camping Le Pin Parasol, Vendee (18)
October - East Mersea (8)
and five nights in the one man tent!
We had a Cadac and used the outside BBQ gas point - but we didn't use it as much as we thought we would after buying a Tepanyaki grill, which proved easier(no gusts of wind affecting it) and easy to clean. I also use a induction hob if I'm doing a slow cook, both items plugged into the external electric point. So the Cadac was OK,looked the business but bulky and heavy and went to a new owner.
Quote: Originally posted by Fox Molder on 14/3/2016
that is when weather is warm enough........
if you feel the weather is not warm enough to cook outside then you are wearing the wrong clothes :-)
Cooked outside a week ago and the temp was just below freezing
------------- Nick
2017
April - New Forest(9)
May - Dorset (9)
August - Camping Le Pin Parasol, Vendee (18)
October - East Mersea (8)
and five nights in the one man tent!
We have bought the Cadac Safari chef (I think that's what its called) as well. Have to be honest as haven't used it yet but it folds into a smallish bag so very neat. We have bought a small gas canister to attach to it as our caravan doesn't have an outside BBQ point. You need to by the adapter though to use these small canisters. We are off on our first trip at Easter so it will have its first outing hopefully.
I carry two 6kg propane gas bottles in the front of the van anyway and just drag one of those out. I then use a portable regulator and about a metre of hose
i have both a cheap gas BBQ with lava rocks and a Cadac safari chef. both have propane regulators and i use a spare gas cylinder. i have an external bbq point but it would be in the awning (unless i break the rules and use a long gas hose) i dont want to cook in or close to the awning.
anyway the Cadac is good for frying bacon or doing stir frys (in the wok/lid) but i prefer the Lava rock BBQ for burgers chicken wings etc...
i think the safari chef would be very slow and complex to clean if using it for cooking like a bbq.
------------- First van bailey ranger 550/6
Now the proud owner of a coachman amara
We've had the Cadac Carri Chef De Luxe for three year and use it a lot. Doesn't use much gas ... cooks for six easily ... of all the various plates/surfaces, we use the paella pan most as it's the simplest to clean. If you use the skottel it's much easier to clean if you get the cooking mat inserts.
We have Cobb plus attachments. If using Cobblestones there is a 5 minute lighting phase then a 10-15 minute warming phase with lid on and whatever pan you are using, then normal cooking time.
So for a chicken you would light, then put roasting rack and lid on and after 10-15 minutes put the chicken on and, depending on size, it will be cooked roughly 1.5 hours later.
Stir fry/curry - light - wok on for 10-15 mins with a little oil then off you go as per normal.
Burgers and sausages as above with griddle.
Plus point it all fits in the original bag and doesn't weigh much. Also lovely to take on a picnic or to the beach.
------------- Started with a motorbike and tent.......my gallery, my life.
We have a carri chef (I think) cadac. No need for a BBQ as well. We find the chefs pan is usually the only one we need to cook big breakfasts to rissotto to crepes. We don't tend to bother with it for just a weekend unless we plan on cooking outside in the evening. Our weekend solution is a frying pan on one of those suitcase single burner stoves. That lives in the caravan so we have always fry stuff outside, I don't want the smell of frying in the caravan. We still have a separate campingaz cylinder for the cadac left over from our camping days which we transport in the spare gas cyclinder slot in the front box but don't bother using the caravan's BBQ point. That also give you the freedom to put it wherever you like e.g. On a friendly neighbours pitch for a crepe party as we did a couple of years ago.
------------- From tents to trailer tents to a tin tent to an air tent to trailer tent and back to tin tent!
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: BBQ, Cadac or Cobb?
