Camp Cooking: I'm Looking For Everything But The Kitchen Sink

C

cm_bushman

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Oct 22, 2012
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So now that I'm starting to get some camping gear together, I've turned my attention to food on the trail. I don't plan on going for especially long treks, as all of my camping will be done with my family, but despite this (and somewhat due to it), I'd like to eat pretty well on the trail. By this, I don't mean anything extravagant, but simply something beyond a meal-in-a-bag and granola bars (nothing against the bars though, I'll still be bringing them). I also plan on fishing, so I'd like to fry up anything I can hook worth eating. Beyond this, I'm pretty much at a loss.

My prior camping experience has all been with car and canoe camping, so weight was never really an issue. In fact, we often brought an ice packed cooler with soft drinks and frozen food! Now that I'll be camping with my wife and eventually my (now infant) daughter, I'd like to concentrate more on short hikes of around a mile or two then a night of camping. My eventual goal is to cut down weight so that in time, we can extend our range for week long excursions further off the beaten path. As I said, I'm just starting to build up my gear, and I'm now looking for the best camp cooking solution for these trips.

For me, it basically comes down to three things: the camp fire, a commercial stove, or a DIY stove.

I have experience with both fire and a DIY pepsi can stove I made a few years ago. The campfire is the simplest and cheapest way to go, but it requires gathering more wood than usual and careful tending. To me, it is the least predictable method due to the fact that a rain storm can change how the entire affair plays out, but again, with a little planning, practice and skill, I'm sure it's a great way to go.

I only tried the pepsi can stove a couple of times on one trip, and I seem to remember being pretty disappointed with it's performance. It never seemed to pressurize properly and didn't heat well enough or long enough for my taste. I'll likely make another DIY stove no matter what I decide to use as my main cooking source, because they are so light and cheap. I'm thinking of a Supercat or another Pepsi can, though I'd like any and all suggestions you guys can give on what type and designs you recommend.

I've never went for a commercial stove, solely because of the expense, but I know many swear by them, and since they come in all shapes and sizes, they can fit almost any need. I'm pretty ignorant in this arena, but I know I'd like a light, compact stove that can heat a 6" or so skillet or pot enough to fry fish and boil water for Ramen. I've been looking at the MSR pocket rocket, but I have no idea if it will fit the bill.

This brings me to my next item, which is a mess kit. I'd like an Aluminum kit, for price and weight concerns, and I'd like at least a couple of pots, one primarily for boiling water (taller, narrower) and one that can accomadate a few hotdogs or a small fish fillet (wider and mor squat). Price is definitely a concern, and I can't justify a very pricey mess kit.

Lastly, I need a menu! What do you guys cook on the trail, and what are some of your favorite food items to have in the woods?

So, I know I'm asking a lot, but what do you guys recommend? Oh, and if I missed anything, please let me know.
 
It is true that fire requires more skill and effort but there are aspects of it that make it more reliable. You should be carrying multiple methods of making fire on you anyway, each of these will be lighter than the fuel for any stove. When you remove fuel from your kit list it means that it won't effect your load if your on a day hike or an expedition. If you run out of fuel for a stove it because a useless in the field, this is one of the reasons why i don't carry one. There are times that i would consider it, very poor weather, if i wanted to cook something very finicky, when weight isnt a big deal or especially when i am in an area where i fire isnt permitted. Anyway, lots have been written on this but its a matter of opinion. My favourite pot is the msr stowaway/seagull pots, that's another matter of opinion, I did a video on it...
 
Do some reading here on the forum to decide which stove(s) best suits your preferences. You'll probably end up with a couple of different types. As for cooking gear, the GSI Halulite Dualist set (I have their Kettalist solo kit and Dualist set; great stuff) nests into a compact package and even INCLUDES the kitchen sink!

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
Thanks for the cookware recommendations guys, the GSI stuff really looks nice, but I may get a small kit of that for whatever small stove I end up with , which will likely be a DIY alchohol stove since I can carry just what I need, and it would only amount to three or four ounces. I'll have to research stove designs some more however, if the commercial stoves offer enough of a performance and reliability difference, I may just spring for one of them. I'll also grab one larger SS pot like the MSR 1.1L for campfire cooking if need be, since I know first hand aluminum can and will fail in anything but a burned-down camp fire.
 
I'd divide the kit between aluminium for the kettle and stainless for the pan:................. If it is only going to be used for boiling water I can't see as anything other than aluminium is required. I do get a bit of chalk build up that I clean off every few months, but apart from that nothing, no maintenance required.................I find cooking in stainless to be well worth the tiny bit of extra weight hassle. Other materials may well be good for boiling up noodles or some survival sloppy gruel but they aren't much good for other things. Just as an example compare frying sausages in something that has very uneven heat with a pronounced hot spot, and then cleaning it of remnants that clings to the pot like the proverbial to a blanket with stainless. Personally, I find cleaning pots sux. And if you need a bunch of special cleaning apparatus, extra water, extra time, and extra effort to do the cleaning, you might soon find a false economy took you. I started with aluminium mess tins, went through a bunch of other aluminium, some coated, some not, some Trania, others I forgot, I won't go back to any of that. There's a good reason squaddies have used the bain-marie method by boiling the water in the mess tin and cooking in the can via the hot water. I think the exception is that if you are careful you can bake in aluminium, but as a rule it's best just for heating / rehydrating some very watery concoction................................I think by far your best bet is a good cannister stove. Very quick, simple, safe and predictable, unlikely to block of clog, convenient, and not to be sniffed at is the weight of fuel used. I can think of four good reasons to deviate from that, and it is quite possible that none of them apply to you. 1] Cannister stoves don't tend to work well when it is very cold [you can run them off propane but that brings a different kind of grief]. 2] They be terrible at high altitude. 3] You may travel to some foreign country and find fuel availability an issue. 4] It's totally possible to get browned off with having a backlog of old cannisters with not enough fuel in to do something particularly thrilling. Despite all that I find a good cannister stove to be the ideal default setting............................Cooking on fire, well yeah, very ewww. I think most third world places that have to recourse to the burning twig 'cos they haven't got paraffin yet aint so keen on it either. Dirty, smelly, slow, limitations on where you can pitch, availability of fuel, in short - massively inconvenient. Good for romancing the woman or keeping kids amused but not exactly a performance method. I think if I was out with some folks and someone wanted a bunch of extra time to make fire for coffee we'd look at him like he was odd. And if he tired to cook over one from the tent/tarp in the rain we'd surely settle back for some real entertainment. Bit like making your own shoes this one – it's a system to come up with if other avenues fail but a bit of a silly starting point unless you are trying to be entertaining. We can all do it, but from a performance perspective; needlessly big and not very clever.................................................I'm not especially enamoured with Supercats and Pepsi can stoves. Apart from the weight the only joy I found about the Supercat is that it requires no additional pot stand. The downside is that the Supercat design doesn't scale up very well, and if you try to use a larger can it just won't pressurize properly. That leaves you stuck with the small one – small enough to boil a tiny bit of water; and unstable. Pepsi can jobs address some of that, although you now need to add a pot stand. There's also the enduring problem of fuel that isn't spent or just plain carrying fuel in it. I reverted to ye olde Trangia for this niche just because farting around with these things wasn't worth my time. I pegging these can stoves along with the making your own shoes thing too. I can knock up a can stove out of salvage in a few mins in a pinch, but I'm not going to start out like that. Additional peeves are that alcohol stoves are slow, really down on BTUs out compared to other fuels, and they gobble up a lot of fuel to get much done. If I wanted to make any further inroads down this route it would be to mod a Trangia with a spare lid. Here's a simple one, but I've seen some lovely ones - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9_1KffOdO4
 
This is a tough one...I am like you, I hate dehydrated foods. I am also on a gluten free diet...which really make this hard. I have discovered boil in bag rice and soybean made soy sauce (most soy sauce is made with wheat). Rice is a good base for many meals and I generally like rice, plus this stuff comes out good. Then I also discovered Harmony House, I know it is dehydrated but they are all broken down into each individual veggie...so you can make your own combo packs meal. I Rehydrate the harmony house in cold water (fill up a zip lock and add cold water for a 20 minutes first...you might need to play around with the time, this rehydrates it prior to cooking) then cook it for an additional amount of time. Actually very good but there is some trial and error here. You can also take packs/envelopes of tuna, smoked salmon, even eggs (farm fresh). I have done ham jerky, dehydrated green peppers and onions (rehydrated as discussed above), eggs and did a boil in bag omelet!!! Was really good!!! You can take some just add water pancake mix which is easy as well (I havent discovered a gluten free one that is just add water yet). I did the bag omelet in my GSI SS Kettle...then used the water for some coffee (I have done the Starbuck Via, which isnt bad, as well as the pour over GSI with grounds...which was better).

I have taken the GSI SS Kettle which is great for so much of what I do! If you want to pan fry as you mentioned fish, you will need a pan that is big enough...like a 7" as well as some oil to fry up the fish. There are tons out there, just dont get anything too small for you will start to burn a lot of fuel because you will be cooking in batches that can fit the pan..bigger=fewer batches and more control as well. I use iso-butane stove as well as a liquid white gas for my weekend outing...which might be similar to your duration. So dont worry about fuel. One to two nights you wont make a dent in the iso fuel unless you are trying to cook stew, chili, or soup. Which I wouldnt do personally. I have a basic iso-butane primus stove that was 30 bucks. It has a wide burner so it heats evenly and can simmer very well yet still boil quickly. Nothing is great in the wind if you are doing more then boiling...I dont care what anyone says. You can do wind screen which does make a big difference but wind is tough. Bring a GSI spice missile as well, they are awesome and you can bring all your main spices in a neat and organized way.

You might want to consider a triangia cookset like a Triangia 27 or a Tundra 3. They have a frypan, saucepan, handle, burner, and stand/windscreen. Cooking gourmet on alcohol is a trick...control is very hard. However triangia now has a gas burner that integrates in instead of an alcohol stove. You will get control and fuel is less messy to carry and replenish. Also these kits pack down nice and they are big enough for 2-4 people all day! I like them however they are not the smallest but you will be more capable. There is also the MSR Stoaway I have the 1.6l. It is big heavy but you can use it for everything and it is a tank. Stainless so it hold up well! You can boil, fry, simmer etc...it can do everything, you can put all your stuff in it as well, burner, fuel, utensils and so on. It is nice!
 
I am sort of like you. I know very little about choosing the better/best backpacking gear. As with most things, I would probably wing it and makes some mistakes. Reading up on the Emberlit stove. That is a cool design and yes, you can make your own. I may add that to my "bug out/camping gear" tub. I mostly do day hikes. But I would like some basic equipment to do a two or three day hike if I choose to. Hence I have a great deal of interest in this thread. Need to visit Sportsman Warehouse and look at what they sell as a primer.
 
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