Who doesn’t love a good braai? As South Africans, cooking over the coals is simply in our blood. It’s something that we want to do all the time, whenever we can, wherever we are. Sadly, that was not always a possibility. Not until the COBB that is.
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We were lucky enough to try out one of these bad boys not too long ago, and we can attest that it is an absolute game changer! Especially for those mid-week “two-man” braais which is precisely what it was used for the first time we fired it up. Because of how compact and portable it is, we were able to turn our courtyard space into our cooking area for the night instead of our traditional braai area. (Being closer to the kitchen, but not in front of the stove was the dream I didn’t know I had!)
Armed with a COBB Cobble Stone we were cooking in no time. We were caught slightly off guard as to how quickly the stone heated up and we were able to cook because let’s face it, waiting on coals to be ready for the first round of meat can take forever. But we weren’t complaining. We were hungry, so the quicker the better.
With the griddle attachment firmly in place (there are a number of different cooking surface attachments available so you really can cook anything anywhere). Buttered mielies were first in the cooking line for two reasons. One, they’re just delicious and two, my terrible sense of humour just could not resist putting corn on the COBB (get it?!) Next were classic cheese and tomato braaibroodjies before the pièce de résistance… We placed two perfectly seasoned steaks down on the grill and listened to the glorious sound of the sizzle it produced.
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Here’s why we love it
We were devouring our meal (which included a green salad too) before we knew it. As I later sipped on a glass of cabernet sauvignon a few things came to mind:
1) Midweek braais should really be made mandatory;
2) Gosh, that was quick and easy – including the cleaning of the cooker once it cooled down (that one stone provides so much heat, that our second cook using one easily had us cooking enough meat for four people) and
3) What else can we cook on this little piece of cooking bliss?
I know the answer to my third thought is “Really whatever I want to”. The cooker’s lid easily turns it into a smoker, while the interchangeable cooking surfaces can have you frying bacon and eggs, cooking flapjacks or (and this is where heavenly music starts playing in my ears) making your own pizza! Since the cooker is small enough to easily fit into the boot of your car (so it’s perfect even for a balcony), it kicks your outdoor cooking game up by a number of levels. Over and above who wouldn’t want the peace of mind to be able to conveniently whip up a great meal without the need for electricity which will most certainly help me in my quest to make my first thought a reality too.
Fatima is the editor of Food&Home. Trained in English Literature and recipe development, she can be found eating her way through Cape Town armed with a cookbook in her bag and her camera at the ready.