Volcano Grills

Ice Fishing w/ The Volcano

2012-01-02T13:59:00.000-08:00

Ice Fishing is a great winter past-time for outdoor enthusiast. However, it is often cold and sometimes just plain uncomfortable. So, the Volcano is the perfect solution. Over the Holidays I took my 2 boys ice fishing in the high mountains of Utah. It was a gorgeous day, but at 10,000 ft. it was still cold. So, to help keep my young boys from getting too cold, I brought along the Volcano for a quick, easy and safe heat source. It performed perfectly and made a big difference for my kids.

Notice that it did not burn a hole in the ice, as my 7-year old was nervous it might do!

After they were warmed up and lunch time rolled around, it was time to rough it! So, I had brought a little frozen pizza that I could easily bake in the Volcano. In about 1-minute I had the wood fire dumped out and briquettes started. 15 minutes later, the briquettes were ready to go...so I simply put my little pizza on the top grill, covered it with the lid and proceeded to land another fish.

I used 12 briquettes with the air vents open about 80%. In about 12 minutes it was done to perfection! It was literally baked just as it would have been at home in my oven. The Volcano performed perfectly.

What a great way to cook in the outdoors. Having a lid and being able to bake just about anything has really been a great improvement on an already incredible outdoor cooking system! Next time, I may just bring a pan of brownies as well. Once again, just notice that there is still no noticeable change in the ice under the Volcano. Amazing!

Brandon Payne
Sales Manager - Volcano

An Easy Way To Do Biscuits With Propane

2011-10-21T13:16:00.000-07:00

How To Cook Biscuits On The Volcano Using Propane

We decided to see what was the best way to cook biscuits on the Volcano in a regular pan. After a quick run to Wally World to get a suitable pan.. We got out our trusty Volcano, set it up for propane, lit the flame, turned it as low as we could, put the biscuits in a pan.. Covered them with the lid.. in less than 3 minutes FAIL. The burned smell permeated the entire warehouse (we were outside at the time)

Hmm.. Round Two.. Same set up.. flame as low as we could get it.. Made sure the hole was wide open in the top of the Lid, Temperature climbed to 250.. 260.. stayed there.. and: Fail. Burned them again. This did not bode well.

Round 3: Same setup, used two diffuser plates to cut down the amount of air (and thus heat from the burner) turned the top diffuser plate to cover most of the open air. Fail. they burned too.

Round 4. Same setup, made sure the two diffuser plates covered as much air as they could.. Fail.

We scratched our heads.. What could we do? We thought of a variety of things.. but we wanted to start with the simplest. Being both geniuses and cheap... We covered the diffuser plate with aluminum foil. (this pic was taken after they were done)

We also got a cheap meat thermometer and put it in the hole in the lid so that we could keep track of the temperature.

During the cook, the temperature got up to 400 degrees, we adjusted the flame and kept the temp between 325 and 350 for 15-17 minutes. (note: we took the lid off twice, your cook time could be faster if you do not)

This is what the top side looked like:

And this is what the bottom looked like:

These were the exact right consistency in the middle. Next time, Ill spray more butter on the top to make them even more brown.

Round five was a raging success.. So, we suggest that in order to get the best heat for baking when using propane and the lid, we suggest aluminum foil on the diffuser plate.

Mark Infanger Utah

A Lovely Day In the Canyon

2011-10-16T10:15:00.000-07:00

Here in Utah, it is a pretty safe bet that October means "So Long Summer! Hello snow, ice, bad traffic and salt on my car. Ughh!

Not wanting to think about that prospect, my wife and I decided that a trip up the canyon was in order.

The Premise: How long would it take to cook a great steak with 15 briquettes and no lid. (This might have been about the lid had I remembered to bring it)

We decided on a very simple menu:

Steaks
Potatoes
Fruit Salad
Potato Chips (Insisted upon at the last moment while we were at the Texaco)
Crystal lite (I can't drink soda until the end of the year, Im betting with someone)

My personal Volcano lives in my jeep. I don't often cook with Propane and left the burner home. In that space, I keep a baggie with about 15 Match Light Briquettes,(be sure to get them mostly white or youll get lighter fluid flavor) matches, couple of pair of surgical gloves, and a few other things. This way, Find Coolers, fill with stuff, leave. Way less complicated

I dumped out all of the briquettes on top of the diffuser plate. This is the best way to grill with the volcano. I made the lovely mound you see..

And with one match, got the show on the road.

I arranged the potatoes around the edge of the diffuser plate, made sure they weren't touching the coals, and proceeded to go. I gave the potatoes a head start of about 15 minutes.

I added the steaks, salt and pepper. I cooked 9 minutes on one side, 9 on the other and about 5 to finish. I had the draft ring 100% open all the time. This made the steaks medium.

We decided that to pass the time we would watch a movie on my iPad. Not that great. The Ipad screen washed out, even in the shade, and with the river nearby, hearing was impossible. Happily it was a foreign film.. so it was sub-titled.

I smashed the potato with a plastic fork.. It was pretty tender and very delicious... I would rate it excellent!

How to Cook for 60 people with 2 Volcanos and Milk Cans

2011-08-19T20:57:00.000-07:00

Milk Can Cooking on the Volcano

If I've heard it once.. Ive heard it 50,000 times. The Volcano is too small, unless you use a Dutch Oven and stack them, to cook for a big group. I say: Fiddlesticks.
And, tonight, (with help from my brother) I proved the naysayers wrong. :)

Two 10 Gallon Milk cans
on two Volcano
Collapsibles.

Milk Can Cooking -
2 Volcano Collapsible Propanes
Two 10 gallon stainless steel milk cans.
Two 20lb Propane Bottles.
1 Pair of Heavy Duty Gloves
1 Pair Of Scissors
2 LARGE packages of Cheese Cloth
Long Tongs
A folding Colander That will fit through the throat of the milk can and expand to cover the bottom. Bed bath and beyond carries them. The ones at Walmart are too small.
Oven Mitts or Hot Pads

The Ingredients -

20 lbs of ham, (Water Added like Farmland) sliced into 1/3 lb slices. (I got the Deli at Walmart to do this for me.)
14 Lbs of Onions. (I used a combination of Walla Walla and Candy, but you can use any white onion)
6 Lbs of Kielbasa
60 Fist Sized (Think Petite Womans Fist if you want them to cook more quickly)
4 Dozen ears of Corn.
Spices that you like. I used Trader Joe's Spices of the World 21 Seasoning Salute.

The Prep. This is where all the hard work comes in.
If you didn't have the Deli Do it, slice the Ham into 1/3 Lb slices. On a 5lb Ham, this works out to 15 slices per ham or a total of 60 slices. Put 30 Slices in one 2 gallon zip lock bag and the rest in another.
Slice the onions into at least quarters, if they are big, slice them into 1/8ths Divide the onions into two equally full big zip lock bags. (I used 2 gallon size)
Slice the Kielbasa ( I bought six 1lb Pkgs. so it was easy to divide them) into about 1/2 wide slices. Put 3lbs in one bag and 3 in the other.
Shuck the corn and break it in 1/2. Divide the corn 48 pieces for each can.

Getting the Food into the Milk Cans
Put yourVolcanos on the ground. You will hate lifting full 10 gallon cans from height.
Get your Volcanos Started.
Put the Milk cans on the Volcanos
Put the Colanders in the bottom
Pour in about 16 oz. of water into the bottom of the milk can.

Cut the cheese cloth into about 3 foot long strips. The objective is to make a very loose bag. You have to bring the food out the same hole you put it down in. Put the potatoes on the cheese cloth and tie it, diaper style, so that you form a bag. (It should fit VERY loose) Put the potatoes down into the bottom of the Milk can. Repeat this for the 2nd.
Take your corn and place it on top of the Potatoes. There isn't any particular order. Repeat for the 2nd can.
Using the Cheese Cloth again, mix 1/2 of the ham and 1/2 of the kielbasa on the cheese cloth. Put your spice on the mix and then tie that into a bag, also and slip it into the milk can. Repeat for the 2nd can.
Using your cheese cloth, do the same thing for the onions. Don't add more spice.

Put the top on the milk can (We had to jiggle the cans a little bit to get it all to fit.) Wait.Pretty soon you will see steam coming out of the top of the milk can. From that point it takes about 1 hour to cook. If the milk cans STOP steaming.. add more water if you dont think they are done or turn it off.

When the hour is up, turn the heat down on one of the milk cans, and turn the other one off. Take the lid off the one that you turned off. Put on your gloves. (Save you from Steam burns) And grab your tongs. Grab the cheese cloth in a thick spot, and pull out the onions. (Anything in a bag can take some finagaling to get out and/ or strong pulling) Put them in your serving platter (Sweet onions are pretty good this way) Repeat for the Ham/Kielbasa mix. With your tongs (Now you know why you wanted long) take out the corn and after that, take out the potatoes..
Let the people start to eat.. When you start to get low on food.. Repeat for the 2nd can... That way the food will stay hot.. and delicious.

Remember this is STEAMED food. That means at 5000 ft of elevation it comes out of the can at about 204 degrees. It cools of quickly. Don't lolligag in serving it.

Taste the corn.. All the flavor from the onions and ham and kielbasa should have filtered down on that and the potatoes. If the corn is delicious w/o any butter ... You did it right.. Likewise the potatoes.

Layout your cheese cloth and get ready to build a bag

Tie the cheese cloth into a bag. Sort of diaper style.

You have to feed them down into the milk can. They come out the same way. However, they were HOT and I was busy, so I didnt take any pictures of that.

Ham and Kielbasa mixed. If you DONT use the water added ham, it will be really dry. Think shoe leather.

My Brother was worried that we wouldn't get enough heat with the Volcano. He was W R O N G.

You can see the steam if you look close

Looks delicious.. And it was..


Like Hungry Locusts, they came in swarms and it soon vanished. mark infanger utah

A Recipe That Looked Tasty

2011-08-12T14:20:00.000-07:00

Multi Pepper Flat Iron Steaks

I found (read stole) this great recipe for Flat Iron Steaks

Ingredients

    1 tablespoon smoked paprika
    2 teaspoons salt
    1 teaspoon brown sugar
    2 teaspoons chili powder
    1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
    1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
    1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
    1/2 teaspoon onion powder
    1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
    2 pounds flat iron steaks

Directions

    Stir together the paprika, salt, sugar, chili powder, chipotle powder, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin in a small bowl until blended. Rub the seasoning mix all over the flat iron steaks, then wrap them tightly with plastic wrap. Marinate in the refrigerator 2 to 8 hours (the longer the better).
    Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat, and lightly oil grate.
    Cook the steaks on the preheated grill until cooked to your desired degree of doneness, about 4 minutes per side for medium. Allow the steaks to rest for 5 minutes in a warm location before slicing.

mark infanger utah

Dutch Oven Potatoes - WOW!

2011-08-08T12:27:00.000-07:00

I was invited to a family reunion this past weekend. I usually dread family reunions. Outside of my own cousins and Uncles and Aunts, I dont know any of the rest of the crew.
Add on top of that that it was my mothers family and the paternal family of one of my Aunts, I thought there would be few people, outside those I mentioned, that I knew.

The first nights activities started around 7pm and we didnt get there until about 8:30. we got leftovers. Mostly cookies, cake and junk. None of which looked too appealing to me.

Someone said to me: Did you try the Dutch Oven Potatoes? I thought, Ho-hum BORING. However, when I tasted said food, I was delighted.

After talking to the Chef, Don Bird from Bear Lake, and a little cajoling, he gave me the basic recipe. I thought I would share it with you.

In a 12" deep Dutch oven

Slice 20 lbs of potatoes. He used Idaho Bakers, I would try reds, also. He also took the skin off. When asked why, he said the spuds were about a year old, but normally he would not do that.

1/2 lb Bacon

1 Big Yellow Onion
Carrots and Veggies to taste (Zucchini works well, but add it way late in the cook or it will turn to mush)
1 can of pickled Jalapenos (Fresh would work, but they would be more spicy)
1 Can of 7up Or Beer.
1/2 Cup Oil
1 Cube of butter. (NOT margarine)

Brown onions and bacon till onions carmelize.
Add the butter and melt it.
Add the oil - Use your discretion on the amount of oil.
Add the Potatoes
Add the Jalapenos (optional)
Add the Carrots
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Stir so that it is all well mixed together

Cook with lid on DO for 30 minutes
Add 7up or beer
If you are using Zucchini this is about the time to add it in.
Also about the right time to put cheese on the top.

Cook about 15 more minutes and you are ready to go.

You can add cheese on top - Cheddar or Colby is the most common, but I was told a good pepper jack would work well, also.

written by Mark Infanger Utah

The Volcano Jr

2011-07-20T15:36:00.000-07:00

We have talked a little bit about bringing the Volcano Jr. back. For the most part the responses have been positive.

We feel that it would be MOST useful for singles who want something that does not require a specific fuel. IE it could burn charcoal or wood, instead of hard to find butane cylinders or white gas or otherwise. Those things seem to be the first thing to disappear when disaster strikes.

The whole setup (we would probably make a Dutch Oven to specifically fit this) would weigh less than 20lbs, fit into a case. We would probably also make a Volcano Lid for it, also.

The Volcano Jr will fit either an 6" Dutch Oven or a 8" Dutch Oven as seen below.

The Lodge 6" Dutch Oven From the Lodge Site

Designed to meet consumer demands for smaller renditions of family favorites, desserts, sauces, or specialized recipes, the new 1-quart Lodge Camp Dutch Oven joins the list of eight Camp Ovens produced in South Pittsburg, TN.

Item No.	Description
L6CO3	Lodge Logic 1 qt. Camp Oven 6-5/8" dia, 3" depth

Or the 8 inch. Info is also from the Lodge Site

The Lodge portable “camp stove” is the pot that does it all. The flanged lid holds hot coals and inverts for use as a griddle. The integral legs allow the oven to sit perfectly over hot coals. Includes Camp Dutch Oven Cooking 101 cookbook.

SKU	Description
L8CO3	2 qt., 8" dia., Depth: 3"

And in case any of you are wondering, the Volcano Jr. Belongs to Mark Infanger Utah, and is not for sale.

A Great Recipe From the Cookbook

2011-06-13T12:46:00.000-07:00

We decided that once a week we would pull a recipe from the Cook Book and give it a whirl.

Babecued Hamburgers with Onion Rings
2lbs lean ground beef
2 tsps. BBQ sauce
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
Cheese slices -optional.
1 egg
1/4 cup corn meal.
1 Large onion (one slice per burger)

We modified this recipe so that it could be use with the middle grill and the lid.
Put 19 Kingsford Charcoal briquettes on the bottom grill of the Volcano. Light them and wait till they are completely white and all the lighter fluid smell is gone. This will take about 15 minutes or so.

Mix BBQ sauce, mustard, egg and cormeal together and add to ground beef. We found it handy to have some surgical glove so that you could knead the ingredients together for better consistency. Make into patties about 1/2 inch thick and 3.5 inches in diameter. Make them all the same size they will all fit on the Middle Grill. (If they are all 3.5 inches, you can get 7 on the grill)

Open the bottom vent to 100%. Place all the burgers on the middle grill. and cover with the lid. Let cook for about 10 min. Turn the burgers and continue cooking. Cook times will vary, but we cooked ours an additional 15 min (with the lid on) and then place the onion and cheese on top.

Since we still had a completely unoccupied top grill we thought.. What can we do? We decided that we could use the Volcano as a double decker cooker and grilled Avocados (Be sure to put some spices on them before you grill them or you will just have hot Avocado.. (not that tasty)

The avocado and pineapple slices all ready for the grill. The limes were to spice up the burgers. I add two different rubs to the avocados. One was a lime cilantro and the other was a garlic herb. They turned out not too bad.

Here is what the finished product looked like.. All the burgers disappeared in about 30 seconds.. They were very tasty.

New Product Coming Soon!!

2011-05-09T13:51:00.000-07:00

Summer time brings with it thoughts of the outdoors.. BBQ and, of course, outdoor cooking. We are going to introduce, in the very near future, a line of flexible skewers. (Pictures later)
The skewers are made from stainless steel and can be flexed to fit around the top of the Volcano, giving you ample room for 3 or 4 flexible skewers.. A LOT of food, basically.
Keep your eyes here.. We've tested them till the cows come home and think you will agree that they belong in your cooking set up.. The perfect complement to your Volcano Outdoor Portable Grill.

Keep your eyes peeled.. I'll post news here as it develops..
We will also be introducing 2 OTHER products this year.. However, I have to keep those under wraps for now.. Stay tuned!

Flexible Skewers Make Using ALL the space on your Volcano Easier.

I hope that spring decides to show up..

2011-04-08T07:30:00.000-07:00

I don't know about where you live, but here in Utah, it seems like Spring took a vacation and we skipped right back into late fall. Since October of 2010, we have had exactly 1 day over 70 degrees. Uggh.
As most of you know.. The Volcano is in short supply. (We anticipate that they will be back in stock in May) To that end, if you would like to be one of the FIRST to receive one when they come in.. Call us at 866.320.2005 and ORDER one for $149.95. This price includes shipping to ANY of the 48 contiguous states. Please note FREE freight ONLY applies to back ordered items. Call if you have questions.
The big concern here in Utah is that it will warm up too fast, the snow pack will melt too quickly and we will get flooding. Wise council would be to pack your charcoal briquettes in something waterproof. I suggest that, for your 72 hour kit, you keep it in a Dry Sack (like they use on River Rafting expeditions). Waxed matches. The Boy Scouts were right.. Being prepared is a pretty good idea.

ISE Sportsmans Show SLC -2011

2011-03-17T21:35:00.000-07:00

The ISE Show in Salt Lake is always fun and full of surprises. If you get a chance, it is being held at the Southtowne center in Sandy.. Thursday the 17 of March 2011 - Sunday March 20th, 2011.

There were a TON of Lodges and places to go hunt and fish.. I saw a Zimbabwe Safari even!

The IDOS World Championship Cook off unfolded right in front of us.. And the points spread was tight.. Worth checking out..

We debuted our Ashbash (www.volcanogrills.com) outdoor Fire pit/Grill at this show. Every small child wanted to touch the fake flame the we used.. As the show drew to a close a couple of families came by and the kids were having a terrific time.. I asked for, and got, permission to take this picture...

Come see us at the show. Get the Ashbash at a $50.00 discount.. and, if you would like to be one of the first ones to get the Volcano Collapsible when it becomes available the first part of May, come see us at the show, for a terrific deal.

I will also have a few of the Original Volcano to sell and, quite by mistake, I have legs for the Original at the show.. $30.00 for the set.. and we will pay the tax. ONLY available at the show.

Great Ribs with the Volcano AND the Volcano Lid

2011-03-14T13:24:00.000-07:00

For a long time, we have wondered what was the best way to do ribs on the Volcano. Ribs, IMHO should not be boiled, dry out too much if you grill them and aren't that tasty raw.

Based on a recipe that I found here

http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/porknography/best_BBQ_ribs_ever.html

(It really is a rib recipe, I promise.. and it is DELICIOUS!)

With ribs the key is LOW and SLOW.. 225 is about the perfect temp.. We used 8 briquettes, the Volcano Collapsible and the Volcano Lid.

Because good ribs require some water while cooking.. Brandon had our welding shop make a custom box for the volcano.

Notice the arrangement of the coals.. and the hickory chips.

The ring you see around the bottom of the Lid shows how effective it is.. I have no idea if it is washable..

One of the hardest things to do is to get the correct temperature. The solution was pretty easy.. A common food thermometer.. for less than $2.00 at Walmart .. let us know the right temp., Temp was easily controlled with the vent system.. (This was the start of the cook)

After letting them cook for about 4 hours (Swapping in new coals just once.. and that towards the end) The ribs were looking pretty good.

Then we SLATHERED (on both sides) our favorite BBQ Sauce.... (read the cheapest stuff we could find at Maceys) and let it cook for about another hour or so.

I didn't get a chance to take a picture of the ribs when they were cut.. (it was an afterthought, sorry) but the smoke ring was well developed, they were tender but not mushy..

The only sad part is that there were not enough to feed all of the people who work here..

If you don't have a Volcano Lid.. they are on sale this month with a 15% additional discount.... (www.volcanogrills.com)

We want to figure out a top for the Ashbash... (So we can feed the masses) I'll keep you posted on developments.

Volcano Grills Collapsible - Easy Fajitas. Cmon SUMMER!

2011-02-25T08:07:00.000-08:00

Where I live, Utah County, Utah, Winter came back with a vengeance today. Snow, snow and more snow. Yuk. Yuk. Yuk.

I wanted to try something that would cheer me up and remind me of summer. For me, summer foods are: sea food, BBQ and sunshine.

Since it was too snowy to BBQ and sunshine seemed like it was only a dream, I wanted sea food.. I also wanted easy.
I tried this.

Ingredients
2 Tablespoons olive oil (Any oil will do, well maybe not 10-30, if you don't like olive oil.)

1 Green Bell Pepper, sliced
1 Red Bell Pepper, sliced

1 pound medium shrimp - peeled and de-veined

1 red onion sliced halved and then sliced

1 Package Taco Seasoning mix

6 (10 inch) flour Tortillas
Optional: Jalapeno Peppers

Directions

1. Use 12-13 briquettes in your Volcano, Open the Vent Ring ALL the way. Let the Briquettes get a nice white color before starting.

2. In your Dutch Oven Heat 1 Tablespoon of oil. Add the Bell Peppers and onion.

3. Cook, stirring frequently until the peppers are hot, but still somewhat crisp, (maybe 5 min) (You will want to put the lid of your Dutch Oven on.. You will need it hot for the tortillas) Remove this mix and put aside.

4. Put the 2nd tablespoon of oil into your Dutch Oven and add the Shrimp. Cook, stirring once in a while, until pink and opaque. Close the Vent Ring ALL THE WAY and put the peppers and onions back into the skillet. Stir in the Taco Seasoning. Add a little bit of water if needed so that everything evenly coated with the Taco Seasoning. Simmer until peppers are heated.
5. Turn the lid of your Dutch Oven over. Use this to warm your tortillas.

Anyway.. It made me think of summer.. and how much I would like to be eating these on a beach somewhere close to the equator..

My new & improved Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

2011-02-11T11:34:00.000-08:00

Since I am still home with a mending wing.... I decided to experiment.. This being Valentines weekend...Something not too hard, that my wife would love..Had to be tasty.. She Loves Italian Food.. Spaghetti, especially.The idea came to me.. why not try to build a GREAT spaghetti sauce to go with some capellini? I dislike almost every single from the store Spaghetti sauce I have ever tried... too sweet.. Too much garlic.. Not enough of this... too much of that.. I thought.. I can't do any worse.. (well maybe) and I've got all day see what I can do. (Beats Netflix!)

I stole from several recipes.. and came up with this:

Ingredients

1 pound mild Italian sausage, sliced- I cut it up into chunks. To me, it should be part of the flavor, not a showcase.
3/4 pound lean ground beef. I like organic from Smiths..
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed. I like garlic, I crushed 3 smallish ones.( I should have used more)
1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes. Cut the tomatoes into bits.
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
2 (6.5 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1/2 cup Dubonnet wine (also good for Marsala sauce)
(Factoid: Dubonnet was originally invented to get French Foreign
Legion soldiers to take their quinine.)
(use water if you don't cook with wine)
DO NOT add ANY Sugar. Dubonnet is a fortified wine.. And will make this sweet enough.
If you use water, you may want to add a little bit. (2 teaspoons)
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed (makes for an authentic Italian flavor)
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Salt to gusto. (I used just a pinch)
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper.
Optionally, add about 1/2 lb fresh mushrooms.

In your Volcano, use a 12" DEEP Dutch oven over medium heat, (I used 12 briquettes) cook the sausage, beef, onion, and garlic until well browned; drain fat. Stir in the tomatoes you cut into bits, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with basil, fennel seed, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to low, (take out 4 briquettes) cover, and simmer (close the vent ring ALL THE WAY after you take out the briquettes) 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Here are some tips on cooking pasta... The rest.. is up to you.

Cooking

Pasta should be cooked in rapidly boiling water. Add long pasta, like spaghetti, in a bunch, gradually pushing it down as it softens; add other types of pasta to the rapidly boiling water in a stream.

A brisk boil seals the pasta and is the best way to cook pasta al dente, meaning slightly firm to the bite. Use 1 tablespoon of salt in the water for each ½ kilogram of fresh or dried pasta. As it begins to soften, stir the pasta gently. For pasta to cook evenly without sticking together, it is important to use plenty of water and a pot that is large enough to allow for swelling (good-quality pasta will expand to 4 times its initial size). Use 12 cups of water per ½ kilogram of pasta, adding 4 cups of water for each additional ¼ kilogram of fresh or dried pasta. Too much water is better than too little when cooking pasta.

The required cooking time for pasta is partly a matter of taste and partly a matter of the size and quantity of pasta and of the hardness of the water. The best way to know when the pasta is al dente test it regularly during cooking. The initial moisture content of the pasta will also influence its cooking time:

Pasta made from hard wheat flour must be cooked longer than pasta made from soft wheat flour.
Fresh pasta cooks much faster than dried pasta.
Pasta that is to be cooked a second time or frozen should be cooked for a shorter time.
Drain pasta as soon as it is cooked or it will continue to cook and become too soft.
Rinse cooked pasta in cold water only if it is very starchy (in the case of soft wheat pasta, for example) to prevent it from sticking if it is to be used cold (as in a salad), or to halt the cooking process immediately (for example, in the case of pasta to be cooked a second time with other ingredients).
Some types of dried pasta intended for use in baked dishes (lasagne, manicotti and cannelloni) do not have to be precooked. However, these dishes usually require a greater quantity of liquid or sauce, as the pasta absorbs much of it as it cooks.

Enjoy - and Happy Valentines day.

Buy a Volcano Get a free Volcano Lid $149.00 plus shipping!

2011-02-03T13:54:00.000-08:00

Buy a Volcano and get a free Lid. Offer good
while supplies last.
Use your Volcano for baking, and, in most cases,
no top heat needed..
Use less fuel. In some cases way less fuel.

$149.00 Plus shipping
(and sales tax if you live in Utah)

Since I am home with a Broken Arm and Bored to Death..

2011-02-02T09:51:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite foods is Sushi.. is this related to the Volcano? No..at least not until I start doing tempura Sushi.. But if you were ever afraid of making sushi.. Because it was too hard.. It took too much time.. Blah blah blah.. Not true.

First.. I went out and looked at the traditional kits.. These consist of, basically, a spatula, a bamboo Sushi mat and some good luck wishes from the manufacturer. I thought about several things, one of them being the mess that I would make in the kitchen and my untimely death if my wife saw it.. I thought there must be an easier way..
I went out on ebay (Where else?) and found this For about $20.00 shipping included. My kit did not include the chopsticks or the pasta looking fork.

So, I bought some Nori sheets (I wanted to make Maki Rolls)

Then I went to 1rst Oriental Market and bought some pickled ginger, 15 lbs of Sushi Rice ($23.00 for all of it) Note - Sushi Rice is a special SHORT GRAIN rice.. You CANNOT use long grain rice. It is NOT sticky and your rolls will fall apart.

This is the best kind of rice. The most important part of of making Sushi is the rice. You can put whatever you want in the roll.. but, the rice is the key.
I did not use a Rice Cooker.. I could have.. but this turned out well, so why bother?
1.5 cups of Dry rice + 2 cups of water. Put in a pan and bring to a boil. When it is at a boil, cover it and turn down to simmer for about 20 min.. until the rice is dry. It will be STICKY! (As in good luck scraping all of it off the bottom of the pan)
I used 4 cups of rice.. so I took 1/2 cup rice Vinegar, 1/2 cup of Splenda (you can use sugar if you don't like splenda and don't mind the calories) and 2 tbl of salt.
Take all of the rice out of your metal pan (you don't want a reaction with the Vinegar) and put it in a glass (or wood, if you're traditional) bowl and fold in the Vinegar mixture. This takes a little time because you don't want to smash the rice.
Once it is mixed, I took the part of the mold to make round maki rolls and put in a Nori Sheet.

From here, fill about 1/2 way up with rice.. and then add whatever you want.. We used avocado, Smoked Salmon, Surimi and cukes. Once you have the filling in.. fill the rest up with Rice..
and use the supplied top/shaper (I used the round one and the heart one) and press down.
That's all there is to it. I wanted put them in the fridge.. However, I was out voted on letting them stay there overnight.. (So I could take pictures of the rolls) and, they were mostly devoured. However,
Here is what the finished product looked like: (Actual stuff I made)

I cannot believe how easy this way.. Next time, I will put two rows of something in the heart ones so that there is something on each side and I will add A LOT more "stuff" and way less rice. Each roll, as I did them last night, took about 1 cup of UNCOOKED rice per each. (Can you say BIG maki rolls?) My next expedition (As soon as I can get out.. Will be to try this with some fresh caught Trout from an ice fishing escapade and, use the volcano so I can do Tempura.

Check the new review by survival monkeys

2011-01-17T09:51:00.000-08:00

http://www.survivalmonkey.com/forum/gear-reviews/27529-volcano-grills-volcano-ii-collapsible-grill-review.html

Preparedness fair in Holladay

2011-01-14T13:41:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, Sat. Jan. 15th, I will be at an emergency fair

9:00 AM —12:00 PM

1750 E. Spring Lane
Holladay

Keynote speaker - Bob Cary from Dept. of Homeland Security

Will be worth your time!

The Easter Egg That I Promised

2011-01-06T10:53:00.000-08:00

Remember that I promised an Easter Egg on the Blog? Today is that day. On ANYTHING on the website, INCLUDING the ASHBASH (Which, due to shipping issues is a LOCAL PICKUP ONLY) is 10% off. Example: The Triple Combo - Volcano Collapsible Stove, Volcano Lid and the Volcano Cookbook/Technical Manual is regularly priced at $191.35. The Package price on the web is $174.95 Saving you about $17.00. HOWEVER, use my coupon and get 10% off that price... and save another $17.50.. Making your FINAL price (before tax or shipping or both) $157.45. This coupon will be good THROUGH Sunday (The 9th of January) night at midnight.
COUPON CODE IS: CRAZYBLOGGER.

Check out the Video from Cowboy Flavor "Best of the West"

2011-01-05T14:01:00.000-08:00

Chekc out

I was thinking..

2010-12-30T09:24:00.000-08:00

About Preparedness today.. As I drove from Salt Lake City to Springville, I could see that there were many drivers who were not prepared. Either they didnt know how do drive in the snow, or their cars were not equipped to help them survive the TERRIBLE road conditions. I wonder, when TEOTAWKI happens, how many, especially if it happens in the dead of winter, will be unprepared? I know that A LOT of people have food storage. Few have fuel storage and even fewer yet have a way to cook/keep warm when disaster strikes.
To that end, watch our website in the next few days.. We will be putting up a "works" Volcano Package. I will be putting a coupon code on the BLOG that will give you an additon % off. JUST for being a blog follower.
Might do it for some of the accessories, also.. Maybe The Lid, for example. I am open to suggetions.

Left Over Christmas Ham idea...

2010-12-27T07:15:00.000-08:00

First and foremost... I hate turkey. I know.. un-american.. I've never tasted your recipe... Ive not tried this or that.. Trust me.. been there.. done that.. got the T-Shirt. Deep fried turkey (Not as good as deep fried twinkies or mars bars) Basil rubbed turkeys.. Turkey cooked upside down in a bag.. Turkey stuff with pine nuts.. Turkey stuffed with stuff.. On and on.. I just don't like that texture. Ok! Enough about Turkey!

What I do like is a good ham.. Cure 81, Honey Baked ham, Bilinski's (www.bilinkskis.com) Ham I am. (HamIAm.com) and a few others.. Sometimes the Costco ham (Believe it or not.. ) is pretty good.

The way I cook it is pretty simple. Face down, covered in tin foil. about 20 min per lb at 275 degrees. This gives you a juicy ham. Then add the glaze of choice.. I like this one:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 cup soft bread crumb

Directions:

Combine sugar, vinegar, mustard in a bowl. Stir with a fork until sugar dissolves. Stir in bread crumbs. Spread glaze evenly over ham during final 30 minutes of cooking.

Ok. Cook your ham. Eat it. Like it. You will have a left over bone and, if you are smart, a little bit of meat on it.

Now is the time for your ham to be truly tasty. I like Ham hocks and beans.. Here is one of my favorite Recipes.

Ingredients

left over bone and meat from your Christmas ham.
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup minced yellow onions( I like to go a little light on this)
1/4 cup minced celery
1/4 cup minced green bell peppers
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 quarts Chicken Stock or
canned low-sodium chicken broth
1 pound dried black beans, rinsed, picked over, soaked overnight in water to cover, and drained(Most beans have rocks and crud in them... CLEAN THEM WELL!)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup minced green onions (green and white parts)
1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Instructions

Score the skin of each ham hock with a sharp knife.

Heat the oil in a large deep pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the ham hocks, onions, celery, bell peppers, crushed red pepper flakes, oregano, thyme, and bay leaves and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the stock and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 1/2 hours.

Add the beans and stir. Continue simmering over medium-low heat until the beans are just tender and ham hocks are very tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Season with the salt and continue cooking for 15 to 30 minutes, until the beans are tender and the ham hocks are beginning to fall apart. Remove from the heat.

Spoon the ham hocks and beans into bowls (or cut the meat from the bones and stir the meat back into the pot of beans before ladling into bowls) and sprinkle with the green onions and parsley.

Yield: 4 servings

Sorry no pictures.. It was a madhouse at Christmas.. and, frankly, I was focused on other stuff. Enjoy.. Im going to try and post something here each week. So! my 12 followers.. Get your friends to check this out will you? And I will try to get more picture happy!

A Soup from my youth..

2010-12-21T15:16:00.000-08:00

Some of you know that when I was younger, I lived in Bogota, Colombia. I thought I would take some of the "comfort food" from my youth and post the Recipes here.

This sou;p is called Ajiaco.. I think it is delicious and it's not very hard to make. However. FOLLOW the ingredients or you will never get an authentic flavor. The critical ingredient is the Guascas.. That seems to be the foundational flavor of the soup.
Also, here in the United States we cannot get the same potatoes that they use there (A variation of yellow ones that dont fall apart in hot water like Russets seem to do) That being said, I think you will find this easy to make and tasty.
I halved this recipe and used a 12 inch deep DO. The Volcano, natch, was the heat source.

AJIACO BOGOTANO

Equipment

12" deep Dutch Oven
potato peeler

Ingredients
3 pounds chicken breast, on the bone with skin (or 1 whole chicken, cut into parts)
6 quarts water
3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
6 pounds new red potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
3 pounds papas criollas (in the U.S. use Dutch Creamer, Baby Dutch Yellow, Yukon Gold, or Yellow Finn potatoes), cut into 1-inch chunks (In Utah country sometimes you can find them at Tenochitlan)
4 ears corn on the cob (fresh or frozen), cut into 3-inch pieces
2 handfuls of Guascas (about 5 g dried or 10 g fresh)

SERVE WITH
cilantro leaves
Crema Mexicana (or regular heavy cream if you can’t find the other)
capers
avocados, sliced
cooked rice

Preparation

1. Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of the DO, sprinkle with a handful of guascas, and add water. Bring to a boil and cook until the meat is tender. Remove chicken and set aside. Cover with foil and keep warm.

2. Add the potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for at least a couple hours, 4 hours is best. The yellow potatoes should start to break up in the soup, but if not, you can help the soup along by mashing some of the yellow potatoes in the pot.

3. Once the cooked chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and bones. Cut the meat into small pieces and drop them back into the pot.

4. About 5 minutes before serving, add the remaining guascas and let it cook for 5 minutes, then serve.5. Serve in deep bowls, making sure that each bowl gets some chicken and a piece of corn on the cob. Garnish with a dollop of heavy cream, capers, and cilantro leaves. You can eat the avocado on the side with the rice, or you can cut a slice into pieces and drop into your soup bowl. (I like the avocado chunks in my soup.)

Give it a whirl.. I think you will like it.. And I can report to my wifes grandmother that she will live on forever in her recipes.

Happy Holidays!!

2010-12-21T09:27:00.000-08:00

From your friends at Volcano

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season.

TWO "C" Grade Volcano Propane Stoves - First come first serve..

2010-12-17T07:07:00.000-08:00

I recieved TWO "C" Grade Volcano Collapsible stoves.. First come first serve.... $40.00 each. If you live in Utah CASH ONLY. If you dont live in Utah..Shipping will apply AND a rebox charge.

So... C'mon down!!

I went to Chilis .. I loved the soup.. but thought it was overpriced.. I found the recipe and made it myself

2010-12-15T08:18:00.000-08:00

My wife invited me to Chilis the other day for dinner. .. First of all, I HATE French Fries, so, generally, Chilis is NOT on the radar..
However, after much resistance on my part, we went.
After perusing the menu and seeing only 1000+ Calorie Burgers and stuff that is NOT on my diet.. I saw that they had a variety of soups.. Anyway, I tried their Chicken and Green Chile soup.. Long story short.. GREAT soup.. small portion.. Overpriced.
So....
I went out on the web and found a copycat recipe and tried it.. It was delicious..
ngredients:

This recipe below makes 12 servings.. (I cut it in 1/2 and still had a lot of soup)

Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

* 1 lb chicken breast fillet (approx. 3 fillets)

* 1/2 cup diced onion

* 1 garlic clove, pressed, to taste

* 4 cups chicken broth

* 1 cup masa harina

* 3 cups water

* 1 cup enchilada sauce

* 16 ounces Velveeta cheese

* 1 teaspoon salt, to taste

* 1 teaspoon chili powder

* 1/2 teaspoon cumin

Garnish

* shredded cheddar cheese

* crumbled corn tortilla chips

Pico de Gallo

* 2 medium tomatoes, diced

* 1/2 cup diced Spanish onion

* 2 teaspoons chopped fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and de-ribbed

* 2 teaspoons finely minced fresh cilantro

* 1 pinch salt

HOW TO MAKE

Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a large pot over medium heat.

Add chicken breasts to pot and brown for 4-5 minutes per side.

Set chicken aside.

Add onions and garlic to pot and sauté over medium heat for about 2 minutes, or until onions begin to become translucent.

Add chicken broth.

Combine masa harina with 2 cups of water in a medium bowl and whisk until blended.

Add masa mixture to pot with onions, garlic and broth.

Add remaining water, enchilada sauce, cheese and spices to pot and bring mixture to a boil.

Shred the chicken into small, bite-size pieces and add it to the pot.

Reduce heat and simmer soup for 30-40 minutes or until thick.

Serve soup in cups or bowls, and garnish with shredded cheddar cheese, crumbled corn tortilla chips, and pico de gallo.

A Volcano Secret - Revealed ONLY on the blog

2010-12-09T07:59:00.000-08:00

Volcano Secret - I am here, most nights, until 8pm. So, if you need to order something (I can't tell you shipping, I dont have access to that system after hours) Or tech support.. Or have some decent clean jokes.. Give me a call. 888.320.2005 of 801.420.2005 If you need help on Saturday, most of the time I have my cell phone with me.. Email me.. Ill try to get back to you ASAP. Sunday emails will be answered on Monday. mark@volcanogrills.com
Last and certainly NOT least.. I have some good quality Non Propane stoves.. great condition. (not fabulous, if they were fabulous, youd have to pay new!) Some of them good enough for gifts.. Call me and tell me you saw it on the blog.. Ill give them away for $50.00 each. If you pick them up it is CASH ONLY! So, if you are a briquette fan (as I am) these are a great way to take advantage of the Power of the Volcano for CHEEEEP!

Places to get a Volcano this weekend.

2010-12-08T10:54:00.000-08:00

Volcano HOT DEAL
http://www.volcanogrills.com/

This weekend Maceys in Spanish Fork will be having their customer appreciation day. We will be at the Spanish Fork Maceys on FRIDAY Afternoon doing an in-store demo. (No free food, sorry) They will have special pricing. (I dont know what it will be) And, we will be giving away FREE Volcano Lids.

http://www.volcanogrills.com/virtuemart/accessories/lid-dp2.html

This will be the least expensive place this weekend -that I know about - to get a Volcano and a Lid!

The LAST of the Scratch and dent/returns.

2010-12-06T09:29:00.000-08:00

I have a few A/B Volcanos WITHOUT Propane left. These are my choice (First come gets the better ones) and will go for $70/60 dollars each. HOWEVER if you are a follower of our blog.. Ill give you another $5.00 AND Ill sell you the Lid for $20.00.
If you pick up at our location its CASH only - If you are out of Utah.. shipping will be additional, of course.

Also Note - Until Christmas, I will be accepting NEW smaller dealers. Ill give you choice of ANY 5 Volcanos, 5 Lids and 5 cookbooks as your starter package AND -after your initial purchase - we will drop ship for $8.00 additional per unit.

So, get it while it's hot.. because on Thursday Dec 23 - the gates slam shut.

If you didnt see it on our site..

2010-12-03T08:59:00.000-08:00

Totally out of the "A" and "B" Stoves. IF and when I get more they will be exclusively posted here.

Here is a recipe from our website.. Ill be posting more as time goes on.

Pot Stickers Recipe

¾ cup grated cabbage

6 oz lean ground pork

5 oz chopped, fresh, or frozen shrimp

3 tbsp finely chopped green onion

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp. cornstarch

¼ tsp. ground ginger

¼ tsp. garlic powder

¼ tsp. salt

36 round wonton wrappers

3 qts. Boiling water

2 tsp. hard margarine or butter

Place first 9 ingredients into a medium sized bowl and mix well. Put 2 ½ tsp. of the pork mixture onto the center of each wonton wrapper. Dampen the edge with water, fold over, and press to seal. Repeat. Keep covered with a damp tea towel to prevent drying out. Boil water in a large uncovered pot or Dutch oven and add up to 1/3 of the pot stickers. Return to a boil and leave for 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, rinse with cold water, and repeat until all are cooked. Melt margarine/ butter in a non-stick fry pan. Arrange pot stickers close together in the pan and cook on one side only until well browned. Make 36.

The used stoves are almost gone

2010-12-02T08:50:00.001-08:00

I am almost out of the "A" and "B" Stoves.. I have a decent quantity of the "C" stoves.

The Volcano lid worked like a dream

2010-11-19T13:48:00.000-08:00

This past friday we had Mormon Times down to scope out the Volcano. We cooked bread in the Volcano. NO Dutch oven. We simply used a bread pan purchased at Maceys and put the Volcano Lid over the top. 30 minutes later... Perfect loaf of bread. We used 8 coals.. next time I think I will go to 6 coals and coat the top of the bread with an egg wash..
Also, the space under the stove served well to melt the butter to a nice gooey consistency.
Normally, I would post pictures, but I dont want to steal the thunder from Mormon Times. (Ive no idea when the article is coming out.. but will keep you posted)

http://www.volcanogrills.com/
mark@volcanogrills.com

Used Volcano Grills

2010-11-15T15:23:00.000-08:00

Used Volcano Grill Pricing
"A" Stoves. $80.00. I am currently out of these. May have some more next week.
"B" Stoves $60.00
"C" Stoves $40.00

Give me a call at 801 420 2005!!

Mark

New stuff!!

2010-11-15T10:52:00.000-08:00

For those of you who follow this blog - Today may well be your lucky day. I am in the process of sorting through all of our returns. These will be in a variety of conditions. All functional.. and working. The "A" stoves (I had six but sold them all) Will be mostly new, perhaps used once.. complete in every respect except for the Users manual (maybe) which you can download from the web) They may be slightly dirty. They are USED but they work. NO warranty -other than that they will work - included. The "B" stoves will be functional (I have 10 left) Will be dirty, (The grills especially) The burners may be discolored but fully functional. So, if you dont mind something of a dirty mess and can clean the stove and DRY it so that it does not rust.. These will be a good deal. The "C" grade stoves will be complete, some rust (Could be anywhere, but the bottom pan especially. They will be fully functional. I would suggest some naval jelly and then some hi-temp BBQ paint) They are messy. These, for the do it yourself person who does not mind applying a little elbow grease, will be a great deal. Give me a call at 888 320 2005.
If you are dead set on an "A" stove... I may have some more next weekend.. I got about 1/2 way through the project on Saturday (Look how hard I work for you!!) and decided to watch football. I will finish the project next week, I may have some more "A" stoves. I am not going to put this on the web.. I will put it on Facebook, however.
I will be posting more often. My goal is to do two things.
1- Each week post a new recipe that we took for a test drive. This past week we cook bread on the mid-grill in just a bread pan with the lid. No Dutch Oven required :) Ill post pics and etc pretty soon
2-Review some Volcano related product. For example, this week, I saw a hand crank lantern at Kohls (of all places) for $20.00. I think I will get one and test drive it to see if it is worth 20 bucks. If not, you might see the "cook it on a Volcano, it will cook anything slogan" applied.

I will keep you posted.
Bookmark us. Tell your friends!!

-Mark
IMS
Volcano II Corporation
http://www.volcanogrills.com/
888.320.2005

New Videos up on the Website

2010-10-14T07:27:00.000-07:00

Check out our new videos that we have posted on the www.volcanogrills.com website. These are instructional videos that will help understand the functionality of the Volcano. It show how to set-up, take down, and how to use with: charcoal, wood and propane. We should have several other videos up on the site in a few days.
Click the following link to go to the page- http://www.volcanogrills.com/videos.html

Volcano Review by Cooking-Outdoors.com

2010-09-02T10:16:00.000-07:00

Special thanks to Gary House and Cooking-Outdoors.com for his review of the Volcano Grill. Gary offers information on opening and assembling the Volcano Grill with propane attachment.

Thanks for such a great video, Gary!

Volcano Grills

2010-09-02T07:59:00.000-07:00

The Volcano Collapsible Propane Grill is the most versatile and efficient grill on the market today. From the backyard to the great outdoors, this tri-fuel cooker allows you to cook whatever you want, whenever you want, while using a variety of fuels. The Volcano is very versatile; cooking with a wok, pots, pans, griddle, open-flame and is an exceptional grill.

Extened Special Offer

2010-08-23T12:51:00.000-07:00

The recent 48 hour special was such a success that Volcano Grills has extended the offer! We will continue to offer the Collapsible Volcano Grill for $129.95 (normally $149.95) and the Volcano Lid for $19.95 (normally $24.95). As an added discount to our FaceBook fans, use the coupon code 'FaceBook' for an additional 5% off any of our online Volcano products.

Visit the Volcano Grills website for more information.

48 Hour Special

2010-08-17T11:56:00.000-07:00

Take advantage of our 48 hour special on Volcano Grills with Propane ($129.99) and Volcano Lid ($19.99). Special ends on Aug 19, 2010.

Visit http://www.volcanogrills.com/ for more details.

Why I love the Volcano Grill

2010-08-09T09:45:00.000-07:00

From an anonymous college student,

College life can be quite a transition. Soon after moving out, I began to realize that even with all the good aspects of being a student there were also going to be some things that would be tough to get used to.

Number one, of course, is my financial state. If I could use one word to describe myself in college it may very well be “broke,” a term that experts often use to describe the state of having zero money. I have a pretty good job and everything, but as the amount of bills I have to pay stacks up, paydays have become more and more somber. I guess that the best way I can describe it is by comparing it to one’s birthday. When you were young your birthday was the happiest day of the year, a day filled with large amounts of sugar in the form of drastically over frosted cakes, friends, and presents, all a kid could ever want. But then, as you get older (and I’m assuming this since I’m really not that old yet) birthdays become dark and gloomy, a day when you realize how old you are and become incredibly depressed. But instead of once a year I get that every other week. Yikes.

Having no money is a gateway that eventually leads to other problems, like having no food. Okay, obviously if I had no food I would die but there are definitely worse things than death, like eating nothing but Ramen for an entire week (been there) or being forced to raid the fridge while your roommates are out and take just little amounts of things so they don’t notice and then mix those items into a sort of casserole that is hardly appetizing and rarely tastes very good. If there is one thing I’ve learned from my days in college it’s that combining condiments to make unique sauces is a dangerous and sometimes harmful road. But I will admit my lack of funds isn’t even the primary cause of this tomfoolery, I would mainly attribute it to my lack of cooking abilities.

But these two difficulties of college are also two of the reasons why the Volcano Grill is so great. First of all, it’s cheap! For a while, they were selling those things at Costco for a hundred bucks! For $100 I only have to sell my plasma like three times. And even on their website they go for about $150 which is still not bad seeing that you get everything you need for propane cooking too. It also solves problem number two, because what human being can’t cook a steak? I mean honestly, you just throw a large piece of meat over a fire until the inside isn’t pink anymore. And it’s delicious. I’ve also been enjoying stir fry which consists of a bag of Wal-Mart’s stir-fry vegetables and stir-fry sauce and some chopped up chicken ($8 total). My days of Ramen are finally over. Not to mention that it solves problem number three, that I live in a space that is smaller than many people’s closets. The Volcano Grill collapses down and fits semi-easily under my bed. The moral of the story is that the Volcano Grill is a fantastic product that I would recommend to all of you, whether you’re a college student or not. And as for my college friends, I’ll be seeing you all at the plasma donation center!

2010-08-02T13:25:00.000-07:00

We cooked this delicious Apple Cobbler for a work party and it was loved by all. Try it yourself!

First, we lined the Dutch Oven with aluminum foil. We recommend doing this, especially with messy recipes like Cobbler to make it easier to clean up after. Then, we poured in our apple pie filling. We used apple but any kind of fruit filler will work (peach, cherry, blueberry, etc.) .

Next, we sprinkled a package of white cake mix on top of the filling, being sure not to mix the two. This is another thing that you can switch up according to your taste. Another example might be cherry filling with chocolate cake mix.

Then, we poured lemon-lime soda on top of the filling. A lot of recipes call for a can; we poured in about half of a 20 oz. bottle.

After adding the soda, we took a fork and mixed the soda into the cake mix, taking care not to mix it with our filling. If you get a little into the filling that's fine.

When we'd finished mixing, we sprinkled some powdered sugar on top of the mix for some added sweetness (you could also try cinnamon). Then, we put the lid on our Dutch Oven and dropped it into our Volcano Grill. Normally, you would cook with 8-12 briquettes for about 45 minutes to cook your Cobbler but we wanted to try it with low heat propane.

We used a Volcano Lid, which is an excellent tool to more efficiently trap the heat from briquettes and propane.

40-45 minutes later and our cobbler is looking delicious. We let it sit for a couple of minutes and then it was time to eat. A great fast and easy recipe that tastes great! Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Win a lid!!

2010-07-26T15:06:00.001-07:00

We will be holding drawings for every 100 people that click the "like" button on our Facebook page. Out of every 100 fans, one will win. This round, the winner will receive a free Volcano Lid! (a $24.95 value, click on the link to find out more).

Our Facebook pages:

http://www.facebook.com/volcano2

http://www.facebook.com/volcanogrills

We will be holding one drawing on our Volcano II page when it reaches 300 friends, but after that we will only continue the drawings on our newer "Volcano Grills" page. We believed this to be easier and a little less confusing for all of us :) Thanks for your support, everyone!

Welcome to the official blog for Volcano Grills!

2010-07-21T16:38:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, we're excited to announce the creation of our new blog! Here we'll post weekly (at least) updates with news, product information, new cooking ideas and recipes, answers to customer questions, neat stories, etc. Anything at all to help you explore the many uses of your grill. From tailgating to camping, from your patio to your boat, your Volcano does it all.

And whether you own a Volcano or not, we hope you enjoy and learn from our blog. And don't be afraid to share any comments or questions you may have as well. We always love hearing from you!

For more information, you can always check us out online at www.volcanogrills.com or follow us on our facebook page, www.facebook.com/volcanogrills. Thank you so much for your support! Tell your friends about us!

Volcano Grills

Ice Fishing w/ The Volcano

An Easy Way To Do Biscuits With Propane

A Lovely Day In the Canyon

How to Cook for 60 people with 2 Volcanos and Milk Cans

A Recipe That Looked Tasty

Dutch Oven Potatoes - WOW!

The Volcano Jr

A Great Recipe From the Cookbook

New Product Coming Soon!!

I hope that spring decides to show up..

ISE Sportsmans Show SLC -2011

Great Ribs with the Volcano AND the Volcano Lid

Volcano Grills Collapsible - Easy Fajitas. Cmon SUMMER!

My new & improved Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

Cooking

Buy a Volcano Get a free Volcano Lid $149.00 plus shipping!

Since I am home with a Broken Arm and Bored to Death..

Check the new review by survival monkeys

Preparedness fair in Holladay

The Easter Egg That I Promised

Check out the Video from Cowboy Flavor "Best of the West"

I was thinking..

Left Over Christmas Ham idea...

Ingredients

InstructionsScore the skin of each ham hock with a sharp knife.

A Soup from my youth..

Happy Holidays!!

TWO "C" Grade Volcano Propane Stoves - First come first serve..

I went to Chilis .. I loved the soup.. but thought it was overpriced.. I found the recipe and made it myself

A Volcano Secret - Revealed ONLY on the blog

Places to get a Volcano this weekend.

The LAST of the Scratch and dent/returns.

If you didnt see it on our site..

The used stoves are almost gone

The Volcano lid worked like a dream

Used Volcano Grills

New stuff!!

New Videos up on the Website

Volcano Review by Cooking-Outdoors.com

Volcano Grills

Extened Special Offer

Visit the Volcano Grills website for more information.

48 Hour Special

Why I love the Volcano Grill

Win a lid!!

Welcome to the official blog for Volcano Grills!

Instructions

Score the skin of each ham hock with a sharp knife.