An Outdoor Chef Dishes on the Best Cooking Gear for Campers (2023)

FAQs

What is the best cooking material for camping? ›

Hard-anodized aluminum is the cookware of choice for all-around backcountry use. It conducts heat evenly and is lightweight and easy to clean, especially when coated with a nonstick finish.

The main item you'll need is a camping stove. There are two main types of camping stoves: two-burner propane stoves and canister backpacking stoves. When car camping, I prefer the classic two-burner stoves. Two burners give me more room to cook and the larger surface area is better for bigger pots and fry pans.

Cooking on a camp stove is just as easy as cooking at home, with a few minor differences. For one, camp stoves cook at high temperatures, and for another, weather can be a factor. With that in mind, here are a few tips to help inspire your next camp stove meal.

Cast iron: Cast iron cookware is the classic choice for outdoor cooking. Cast iron is very durable; it heats evenly and you can place it directly on an open fire. The downside is that a single cast iron skillet is heavy and hard to clean properly. Note that wrought iron campfire cooking gear isn't a thing.

Best Camping Skillets

Cast iron, stainless steel, and non-stick hard anodized aluminum are all great materials. When it comes to selecting a size, our thinking has always been: You can cook a small amount of food in a large skillet, but you can't cook a large amount of food in a small skillet.

Heat filtered water over a stove. Take the water and dishes at least 200 feet from water sources—approximately 70 adult paces. With a scrub pad or something similar, use the hot water to clean the dishes. If possible, collect the wash water, also known as gray water, into a single pot.

Cooking: Nothing can get an animal's attention quite like cooking—the myriad of scents is likely to attract hungry animals. Try to cook some distance away from your main camp to reduce any chances of encountering wild animals.

A trivet is simply a steel mesh rack that sits inside an oven and prevents food from sticking to the base. It's also useful for airflow and convection when cooking bread, damper or cakes. If baking or frying meat, it allows fat to run off and settle in the base of the oven where it won't be in contact with food.

The camp chef propane oven works similar your household oven, albeit smaller. It is highly insulated to keep the temperature in and can cook for hours on end. We think it's best for people who have the space and are able to tow around a tank of propane. It would make a great addition to a large campervan kitchen setup.

How do you cook while camping without a fire? ›

Use a camping stove.

If you already pack your camp stove every time, then you're in luck. If you use a small, portable grill like this one from Weber, check whether it can heat pots and pans. These are often best for cooking directly on the grill itself. Cook food at home and then eat it cold at the campsite.

Camping stoves (yes, even wood-burning stoves) are generally much safer than campfires. Unless the stove gets knocked over, you really don't have much to worry about. Stoves will keep the fire contained, and keep sparks from shooting out in random directions.

Stainless steel is the most durable, but it's heavier and prone to hot spots, so it's best for attentive cooks. Cast iron is extremely durable and cooks beautifully over an open flame, but it's really heavy and requires special care.

The trick is to look for durable, fire-ready materials (stainless steel, aluminum, cast iron) and check that there aren't any rubber, silicone, or plastic pieces on your cookware that could potentially melt off when exposed to the extreme heat of a campfire.

As a safe alternative, stainless steel, ceramic, glass, and cast-iron pots and pans are the go-to materials to avoid risky ingredients seeping into your food.

Stainless Steel Cookware is often the better choice than Aluminum Cookware because it's more durable and has better heat retention. So whether you're simmering a stew for hours or basting a steak and need to turn the temperature to keep the butter from burning, Stainless Steel Cookware is the best option.

Cast iron cookware is extremely durable, forgiving, and easy to use, making it perfect for camping.

Use biodegradable camping dish soap – No Dawn dish soap, or any other products with polluting sulfites.

Castile soaps are vegetable-based soaps that can be used in a number of different ways. They're great for camping because one bottle can serve as your shampoo, body wash, and dish soap.

What is the 3 bucket wash method camping? ›

Three-Bin Dishwashing.

The first bin contains hot, soapy water, the second is filled with clean, hot rinse water, and the third bin contains cold water with a sanitizer such as bleach to kill bacteria. Before washing, make sure you use a rubber spatula to scrape excess food into a trash bag.

Double-bag any raw meat so it doesn't leak onto other foods; freeze ahead of time whatever you'll be eating after the first day. Put the food you'll eat first near the top. Put frozen raw meat on the bottom, where the cooler is coldest. Use a thermometer inside the cooler to check how cold it's staying.

No water? No problem! Scrape off leftover food bits as mentioned above to remove caked-on particles. Wipe dishes “clean” with a cloth or paper towel before packing them up.

Bears also dislike the strong scent of pine-based cleaners, but avoid using anything with a fresh, lemony or fruity smell. And never mix bleach and ammonia; the combination produces fumes that can be deadly to both people and bears.

In other words, your campsite should be 200 feet away from your cooking area and your food storage (in a bear canister or bear hang) should be at least 200 feet away from the cooking area and your campsite.

First, it's important to to choose recipes that can be easily reheated. So anything that can be made at home and heated up over a campfire is perfect for camping. Think stews, casseroles, soups, grilled chicken, slow cooker meals are all perfect for this.

What food to bring on 3 day camping trip? ›

The old standby substitute for a trivet is the the metal lid of a large jar, but suitable substitutes can include stainless steel cookie cutters, a screen from the food mill, an upside down ceramic or stainless steel bowl, a steamer basket, and even a real trivet that is just the right size can go from the table and ...

Trivets, otherwise known as hot plates or heat mats, are a fantastic way of protecting your table or work surface and they needn't be boring as they come in an array of materials and styles.

Cork is an excellent trivet material because it is a poor conductor, meaning it won't transfer heat from your piping-hot dish to the surface below.

An air fryer can be a great addition to your RV kitchen accessories if you have the space and power capacity for it. Though an air fryer may appear at first to be something additional and therefore take up additional space on the counter or in the cupboard, there are some options for space savings.

No need to take up space with a separate tank for your cooking system. Simply attach your Camp Chef cooking system to your RV's propane directly with this 8' connection hose. Note: Most RV's built after 2004 come equipped with a quick disconnect with shut off.

Are RV Gas Stoves Dangerous? Yes, since a majority of RVs sold in the U.S. are sold with stoves and cooktops that lack flame failure devices (FFDs). FFDs work to prevent dangerous buildups of propane gas by shutting off its flow if a stove should fail to light, is left on, or the flame is extinguished.

Cooking with foil packets is possibly the easiest camp cooking method. All you need is—you guessed it—aluminum foil and a heat source! Typically, foil packets, also called “hobo packets,” are prepared entirely at home and then cooked directly in the campfire.

Gas Grill. Portable gas grills are a good way to cook at camp. It is an easy transition from cooking on your gas grill at home. You can buy table top models or portable grills that have folding legs.

The main item you'll need is a camping stove. There are two main types of camping stoves: two-burner propane stoves and canister backpacking stoves. When car camping, I prefer the classic two-burner stoves. Two burners give me more room to cook and the larger surface area is better for bigger pots and fry pans.

Is alcohol or gas stove better for camping? ›

Gas stoves are more efficient and can be stowed into a smaller space (depending on pots, pans, etc.). Alcohol stoves are often sturdier, but require a bit of mucking about with the liquid fuel. Petrol and multifuel camping stoves are the most efficient, but they are expensive and require more expertise.

Common disadvantages for both stoves include extensive maintenance requirements, both stoves must be ventilated properly and regularly cleaned, and both are considerably more likely to ignite large fires than either oil or gas heaters.

Although in some cases propane can be a more costly fuel than wood, it burns hotter, more efficiently and more evenly, so the space you're supplementing your heat in won't fluctuate the same way it might with a wood burning fireplace.

Aluminium makes for a better heat conductor than stainless steel. It heats and cools faster with an even heat distribution that prevents hotspots.

Carbon steel and cast iron can be used anywhere. Both types of pans can be used on any kitchen stovetop, in the oven, on the grill, and even over a camp fire. Cast iron and carbon steel are seasoned with oil. Both types of pans are seasoned in our foundry and ready to use right out of the box.

We'd recommend using hardwoods, such as oak, ash and beech which are best for heat when cooking and will provide a long burn and flavour. If you're looking to add a little more flavour, Apple wood provides a fantastic flavour or why not try adding a little hickory at the end of cooking for a smokey taste.

The least toxic cookware are non-stick pans and pots, like cast iron, stainless steel, ceramic, glass, and enamel-coated cast iron. These options don't have any Teflon coating on them, making them safe to use.

Aluminum offers rust resistance and weight savings at the cost of strength and general corrosion resistance. Stainless steel offers superior corrosion resistance and tensile strength at the cost of added weight.

Polyester is a synthetic fiber that is waterproof, fire-resistant, lightweight, and extremely warm. It is also a great insulating fabric even when wet and it is sweat-wicking. Polyester is also a durable material with a nice feel to it.

Carbon steel, on the other hand, has a matte finish and has a higher tensile strength and is harder than stainless steel. This material is used for knives and other bladed instruments that must maintain their cutting edge longer.

Is there anything better than carbon steel? ›

Alloy steels are generally stronger and tougher than carbon steels.

Cast iron cookware is extremely durable, forgiving, and easy to use, making it perfect for camping.

Cast iron is the perfect pan material for camping because it can be used over an open fire, on the RV stovetop or even on a barbecue. Cast iron cookware retains heat well, which makes it perfect for searing, slow cooking and everything in between.

White gas: This is the best, cleanest-burning fuel you can put in your stove. It's readily available at outdoor stores but hard to find while traveling abroad or in rural areas.

Small wood burns quickly. Overnight burning with Coal (smokeless Coal of course) is much easier than wood. It is much easier to fill the firebox.

Dry Wood: Dry wood or seasoned wood has a moisture content of 20% or less. It produces much less smoke and pollution than unseasoned wood.

Avoid these:

Teflon: Teflon is a non-stick plastic coating. Though inexpensive and easy to clean, it can be toxic. The plastic can release harmful chemicals into food or the air while you cook.

02/7​Copper

This is mainly because of their reactive nature. Copper utensils react with salt and acids on high temperatures. If a copper pot is not lined properly it further makes the food toxic.

Aluminium heats very quickly and easily reacts with acidic vegetables and foods, so it is advisable to avoid cooking in such utensils.