BBQ's

Outside to eat it🌞

We use charcoal in our Cobb. Since getting the Cobb we've not used the cadac at all and should probably sell it. 

There's little smoke from a Cobb. It uses 7 Australian heat beads or a specially shaped charcoal brick and cooks for ages. 

I wouldn't use anything else now 

Do you have those professional chefs skills to cook without a lid Millie? We’re you aware that there’s a massive ramp up in food poisoning admissions to hospital during the BBQ season? Did you know that Egg style BBQs, which have lids are frequently used by professional chefs? Have you observed how professional chefs using open BBQs have air control below the heat and adjustable height grills. Things like carbon monoxide extractors and the above are part of professional chefs equipment, but the OP is just a caravanner wanting some advice on the sort of BBQs that a caravanner might use - not a chefs kitchen, and I’m not aware that he is a chef either.

lids are used to ensure that the centre of food is cooked safely on all BBQ types, and for controlling heat on charcoal BBQs. So I hope that you’ll forgive me for giving advice which is relevant to him.

Food poisoning?, I can’t get my head around the concept of-‘folk who eat meat so rare it’s dripping’, then the-‘hospitalised for eating food not cooked properly’ where does it go wrong?, it’s that conundrum that has me in the-‘I don’t do BBQ food personally’ bracket🙁

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Intensive farming has brought with it higher levels of disease in meat. Chicken and pork need particular care in their preparation to ensure that any harmful bacteria within the meat is killed, unless the meat is farmed with levels of care greater than that exercised by supermarket suppliers. Beef and lamb aren’t susceptible to those bacteria, hence they can be eaten while still bloody, ditto venison.

If you read the packaging on very many raw chickens, you are instructed not to wash them because doing so is likely to spread bugs around your sink etc.

i have read, and I leave you to make your own deductions re the validity of the claim, that NHS sources attribute much of the rise in BBQ related food poisoning to the observation that men, who don’t cook regularly at home, are less aware of good food hygiene practice than their wives.

Whilst lids / domes are very useful in BBQ cooking. Depending on the BBQ type, they are certainly not essential. Even fairly modest charcoal ones, that you might take camping have adjustable height grills. We used to have one we took tenting, which also had a variable height battery powered spit, on which we used to cook small chickens.

Plus as long as you don't try and fill the device with food, it is possible to layer the charcoal, so you have different temperatures at either end of the BBQ. Moving the food between the two will allow it to cook through without burning, whilst getting a good colour on whatever you are cooking. For thicker pieces of meat and particularly whole chickens a thermal prob is an essential bit of kit.

Thanks👍🏻. Re Men cooking on the BBQ I’ve eaten lots of BBQ food & never suffered but I’ve always been intrigued by the rare/undercooked conundrum.

For practical purposes, we use a Cadac.

This all started a few years ago when my charcoal BBQ bit the dust and we needed a new one.  I particularly want a 'waist-height, stand alone BBQ', but because it was almost at the end of the season, I couldn't find one.  Several weeks earlier, I saw an acquaintance of mine who had a Cadac.  It was the right height, and as it was gas, so we could also use it on sites in the S of France, where charcoal BBQ's are often not allowed - I wasn't really in favour of taking two barbecues.  It seemed like the ideal solution, so we went for it.

Nowadays, we can't imagine being without it - we use it most days.  A few years ago we placed our Carri Chef (original) with a Carri Chef 2.  Very happy with the Cadac.

David

You’re welcome.

Perhaps if I publish some bug killing temperatures, you can be persuaded to take up the happy art. You’ll need a probe type thermometer to check the centre of the meat/ fish, preferably in two or three places.

All Temps in deg C

Killing bacteria

70 - 2 min

75 - 30 sec

82 - 1 sec