As you all know, we use the Cadac on a regular basis if not on a daily basis!
Its great for cooking all sorts of meals, quick, easy, no fuss and we reckon it uses less gas than the hob/oven.
Some of the things that we have cooked so far are, stir frys, every type of meat and fish imaginable either on the griddle or on the BBQ.
We have cooked some great fish dishes as it cooks fish very well, we have roasted pork, chicken and beef all turned out extremely well, along with the roast potatoes and parsnips!
Oh, and not forgetting the yorkshire puddings, they turned out great!
Full breaksfasts consisting of bacon, eggs, sausages, tomatoes, mushrooms etc.
Chips worked well, big thick chunky chips being the best!
Tonight we cooked chicken fajitas, which again is easy in the cadac as the dish pan is so large.
"M" wants to try and cook a cake on it! And Im up for doing a curry, all though we have done chicken tikka easy enough.
The cadac we bought comes with the reversible griddle with the ribbed side and a flat pan side, a BBQ dish, a pan stand and a lid.
We have found so far that we can cook ok with just these. I guess the skillet would come in handy, but there is nothing to stop you using the pan stand and a normal wok to cook. We have just used the flat griddle and that works just as good.
The roasts have all been in a normal roasting pan, sat on the pan holder with the heat deflector on to give a more even heat. Of course the lid was on.
We fire the cadac up, and then spray the roasting pan with a low cal spray oil, place the meat into the pan, stick it on the cadac, and put the lid on. That simple!
The chicken was cooked for the first 30 mins with the breast side down, then flipped over and left till cooked.
The Pork worked well, we even got crackling! The beef, was amazing, both liking our meat on the rare side, it cooked it a treat.
Ive even stood out in the rain with an umbrella cooking on it! A really good investment, and easy to use and move around which for us is obviously important.
I appreciate that with a cadac you dont get the smokey and in some cases burnt taste that you get with a traditional BBQ but to be honest Id rather have well cooked food than over cooked food.
I guess if we were looking for a down side, its not so easy to clean, caravan sinks not being the largest it does make it a bit tricky getting it washed.
The inside is also a task to get clean if the fat drips into it, and we have had a flare up which was fairly spectacular!
But, that aside, we think its great and worth every penny, so if you havent got one, start looking around for some deals.
Any questions on it or if you have any suggestions of things to try and cook on it, the more outrageous the better. Ill give anything a go!
Till later...........
Im quite a newbie Cadac-er. So far have used the non stick reversable plate & the scottel. Non stick plate was fine but the scottel was a nightmare to clean.
ReplyDeleteUsed it today with the deflector, fat pan and BBQ grid. First time Ive used the actual BBQ top. My bbq top is the heavy black one - I know some have a chrome metal one.
Anyway I cooked - or tried to cook - chicken pieces. Within 5 minutes there were flames leaping out of it and the chicken was on fire. Even after turning off the gas the flames were still there, with or without the lid on. I waited a while then lit it again.... within minutes there were flames. Turned it off. Removed the chicken. Removed the BBQ top and the deflector. Cleaned out all the fat in the fat pan, although there wasnt much in there. Then reverted to using the non stick reversable grill plate on the Cadac. Total nightmare as had friends round for dinner.
I bought it for BBQing on and found it almost impossible to use. Am I doing something wrong?
Thanks for the insight to how you use the Cadac, I agree its a pain to clean, I would have liked some sort of recepticle to catch the fat underneath the burners. Right here goes roast beef!
ReplyDeleteCheers
Andy
Hi Pam, yes we have had the same problem with the BBQ but try it using the heat deflector, maybe its too much heat going on to the BBQ, or alternatively you could try the griddle pan which is what we tend to use the most. Flames at night are spectacular!
ReplyDeleteHi Andy, hope the roast beef goes well, heat deflector and pan stand, or are you using cadac roasting pan?
ReplyDeletePam you have two choices for height with the griddle/flat plate thing (well on ours we do) I find the lower of the place holding burns real quick but on the higher it is all even. I dont use the deflector for cooked breakfasts.
ReplyDeleteAlso I find there is more heat around the outside of the plate and so the more fragile of foods go on the middle part (tomatoes/mushrooms).
We use it daily and have not cooked in the caravan yet. Washing it can be a pain but I deal with any mess strqaight after a meal and do not let fat build up.
A good kitchen degreaser spray and kitchen wipes works wonders when it is cooled down (inside the lid too).
Day 48 today woo.
When I used the BBQ grill plate I also had the fat pan & deflector on. Still caught fire even on a low heat and I was only cooking small chicken pieces.
ReplyDeleteTook me over 2 hours to clean it yesterday and its still not all off. Deflector plate, Fat pan, BBQ grill & the Lid..... 4 bits!
The only bit Im happy with so far is the non stick reversable grill plate. Seems such a waste not being able to use the other bits though.
Didnt realise the non stick griddle/flat plate had 2 height settings. Will take a look at mine.
Going back to the BBQ plate... what have you found you can cook on it without it going up in flames? Surely the normal BBQ type food like burgers, sausages, pork ribs, chicken portions etc will all catch fire? I dont buy the cheap versions either that have high fat content. I always buy something like the Tesco Finest range etc with lower fat.
Do I have to buy another pan to roast on it or can I use any roasting pan?
Hi Pam must admit we dont tend to use the BBQ bit, all though "M" has when she has cooked large chicken breasts, and that was ok. Other than that its the griddle, seems to work alot better!
ReplyDeleteWe just use a normal roasting pan, all though we are thinking of getting the roasting pan as you can then do more roast potatoes! We sit it on the pan stand and it works fine.
Jools, we went to a BBQ at Garths whilst in Spain. He used half a lemon rubbed onto the hot grill and the grease came off OK. Haven't tried it myself but will do this week.
ReplyDeletehi ive just baught a cadac carri chef and was wandering if i could cook a curry that takes about 1 hour 10 mins as manual says not to use for more than 45 mins?
ReplyDeleteHi Seany79, is yours the small table top one? One thing we found with the cadac is that it cooks things quicker than a conventional oven, cooker etc. Our roasts seem to take half the amount of time! We havent worried about it being on for 1.5hrs we havent gone up in flames yet! As long as its on real low it shouldnt be a problem, which it would have to be if your cooking a curry for that long! hope that helps!
ReplyDeleteLove my cadac; there is a moat around the base (concentric to the gas ring)that you are supposed to fill with water (and top up throughtout your cooking) then the fat that drips down just floats on this and can be scooped out with a spoon. It also stops reduces any flares.
ReplyDeleteI agree the skottle attachment is a bit of a pain to clean due to its size but the good thing is it is non-stick. Try leaving it on the heat and adding soap and water and giving it a wash out while still on top of a gentle heat.
I didnt know I could add water to the moat bit. It didnt say that anywhere in the instructions unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteAnyway I found the Cadac such a pain with so many heavy bits, hard to clean and the fact I couldnt BBQ on it ever without it catching fire & ruining everything. I was scared the fire would go back and set the gas bottle alight!
I think you either love them or hate them and I hate the blooming things. Took up 1/2 the space in my boot too and its a big boot.
I eventually complained & sent it back.
Same here I was getting fed up with storing it and cleaning, now use an electric teppanyaki grill. Still got the Cadac for use when at a non hook up site
DeleteWe have a cadac carri chef and use it when we go camping. We cook everything from burgers to jackets, fish, chicken, stir fries, eggs, bacon. We mostly use the skottle because we have the liner you can buy that just fits inside and then you take it out when you're done and wash it up - no mess. You need to cook on the lowest possible setting, otherwise things can burn. We also have a two ring gas stove so that we can cook pasta, rice etc... I have tried roasting in the skottle with the lid on but this is not so successful and I am going to buy the roasting tin for our next trip
ReplyDeleteThe best thing I have found to clean any part of the cadec is a soft sided bucket, eg like the gardening buckets, I have the smaller size £3 in the sale at Asda about 12 inches tall.
ReplyDeleteWhen you put the Cadac pieces in the bucket , outside one at a time, it stretches out to accommodate the size, clean with a pot brush in hot soapy water. I do this after I have eaten my dinner, it's spotless.
The bucket is the best thing I have bought for the caravan so many different uses.
Yep, we have a blue one, and it works a treat for washing all sorts of odd shaped things!
DeleteHi, We brought our Cadac last year [wedding gift money] and had some tips from the brother in law, who has had one for a while.... 'buy the paella pan' was is best tip....we cook everything in this one big nonstick pan, a quick wipe with kitchen paper while still warm and there is no mess [wash out at your leisure then]... still find it goes out when turned low, unless wind breaker put up around it though :-( ..... We are planning at this moment to go full time :-) ... either this year [2013] if Kev gets the job in Devon that has been applied for.... or early 2014 as going to try being campsite wardens ...if anyone will have us LOL... Your Blog has been just the ticket for helping us smooth out some of our plans... We Thank You Both... I am still reading [beginning to end] totally hooked .... Keep enjoying ....Netty and Kev x
ReplyDeleteHave just bought one at the caravan show yesterday , the Cadac guy gave us a few tips... as said in an earlier post put water in the moat and it eliminates if not reduces any flames, as for the scottle there is a non stick circle of liner that that can be bought for around £7 that lines it, if it moves about he said just melt a little butter unerneath and it will stop any movement, am looking forward now giving it a go, also when I asked about the paella pan in his opinion he said it's just as good to use the scottle hence saving money! hope this helps this was voiced by the cadac rep not Riversway who we bought it off and we had a good price all round liner /cover cucked in and £10 heaper than online so am very happy right now.I just need some more recipes now!! Yvonne
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