Bring out your cooks! Van/RV setups

[jimindenver]

Where there are groups, there are hungry mouths to feed.

Mike

Turns out you were right. The last group I was in was on Gooseberry mesa and the rolling power station took on the nick name of chuck wagon. Everything from morning coffee to soups, stews, chili verde, curry chicken, bread and more. Having three stoves and four ovens made it easy as did the people running to town for propane and food to keep it all going.

I told Bob next year at the RTR I would do a solar cooking cook off. I think the "cooks" getting together for a big meal would be a blast.

 

[highdesertranger]

just a FYI for modern cast iron Lodge is considered top of the line. highdesertranger

 

[WalkaboutTed]

Gotta have a pressure cooker. On Friday night, I cooked a whole broiler chicken to falling apart tender in less than a hour. I've even used a pressure cooker as a heater (just keep the temp just below steaming and it'll dry a dripping trailer out in just a couple of hours).

I bring a rice cooker, the pressure cooker, a small saucepan and medium fry pan. We have a two burner stove and another single burner. I've cooked a multi - course meal for twelve while living on a boat. It's just a question of timing. Oh, and I have the requisite coffee pot (currently a Coleman French press). I used to have a seafood restaurant in one of my old lives in Florida. I cook with love. I'm sure I'll be feeding some of you here - soon.
Ted

 

[RoadtripsAndCampfires]

Hi all. Love this community and can't wait to join you all on the road. Long journey to get there for me, but it IS going to happen. 

Question:

I love cooking. Food and the outdoors is what I have dreamed about for decades; ever since dad took me to Yosemite where I woke up to the smell of bacon and coffee at nine years old. That dream is about to happen just before 50. 

Are you a foodie and cook like me? Please share your galley, your tips, your links, videos or anything else that can help me decide on a rig setup so that I can get out into the woods and make some great food as I watch and listen to this wonderful earth do what it does best. I'm also interested in foraging, hunting, fishing, trapping, eco-villages, co-ops, and outdoor cooking groups. 

Peace and bacon to all,
Mike

Hi Mike.  We also love to cook and sometimes in bear country where we don't want bacon scent in the RV.  We also love being outside (in good weather) so we bring along this Camp Chef Oven with a single top burner and small side grill above the propane oven.  It's awesome.  Love them biscuits with the bacon!

 

[blmkid]

I'm still building my van but the design is different than most on here....................I have a CHUCKWAGON design

Just like the wagontrain of olde ..................I placed my "cook shack" at the rear of the van.........open the doors and (under-the-bed) a slide-out shelf holds the camp stove and cookware........above the shelf is an enclosed pantry spanning the width of the van just below the rear windows.....
doug

Doug,
I will only have time to be at RTR 2018 for first 3 days. I'm hoping to check out your "chuckwagon design". I was hoping it would be easy to spot your set up. Would it be something like this below? 
photo from:http://oldmeadecounty.com/melodrama.htm
j/k. You seem like an interesting cook. Just like some one I used to watch on PBS:

 

[mert6706]

I also carry one of those round water grills.

What is this, please, Almost There? Thanks!

 

[abnorm]

Doug.................you seem like an interesting cook. Just like some one I used to watch on PBS:[/size]

Hey Kid......I'll be at the '18 RTR......my first..........You'll spot me easy..........."I'LL BE DRIVING THE WHITE VAN"

I'm honored to be compared with Justin Wilson......My favorite quote of his: "I'm a Safety Engineer...........I wear a belt AND suspenders"

I Gar-on-tee it !

doug

 

[Almost There]

I also carry one of those round water grills.

What is this, please, Almost There? Thanks!

It's one of these!

http://www.simplygoodstuff.com/stovetop_grill.html

I picked my current one up in Quartzite IIRC.

Big enough for cooking for one. Put it on top of either a coleman burner or the butane stove, add water and grill.

The one I have is supposed to be non-stick but like most other 'non-stick' pans, it doesn't come close to it's name. I just use olive oil on it to keep the meat from sticking.

IMO, it sure beats trying to carry around a barbecue!

 

[sometimesido]

@Almost There, that is like exact thing they use at Korean BBQ joints!
It even has Korean short ribs in one of the photos! haha. Making me hungry now...

 

[duckwonder]

2018 can't come soon enough for you eh!

I never thought of myself as a 'foodie' but I guess I am...I love great food, expect to eat it all the time, detest fast food and the lowest I'll bend is to open a can of beans to dress up when I don't feel like cooking (maybe 1ce a month...lol)

I'm on the road full-time so a kitchen that was workable was a very important part of my build. I have the complete overhead storage above the drivers compartment in the high top devoted to pots/pans - I brought my good set along, dishes, plastic ware etc.

I built a 5 drawer pantry right behind the drivers seat. I chose drawers because, while shelves are easier to build, everything you want is always at the back. The drawer heights were determined by measuring stuff in the kitchen like the EVO bottle...lol.

The kitchen counter is 40" long...not huge but workable and still allowed me to put in the twin bed where I wanted it. I have a single RV sink and use the piece of countertop that was cut out for the sink to cover it up to add more flat space. I didn't put in a pump and running water. I use water out of gallon jugs. I find it allows me to use less water and I don't have to lug big jugs nor find space under the counter for them.

I also end up carefully using other surfaces in the van for putting things on when I'm cooking. Even the bed has seen it's use!

I use a 1 burner butane stove IN the van. I have a 2 burner propane for outdoor use. I like the butane because I can move the stove out of the way if I'm prepping something where I need more counter space. With some experience of cooking on a single burner out in the wild (canoe tripping etc), I find that I can still do a full meal on the one burner by letting things sit in a cozy instead of simmering on the stove....it also uses less fuel.

I have 2 Whynter 65 Qt units, one set up as a freezer, one as a fridge. This allows me to choose *what* I want for dinner instead of having to fix whatever is going to spoil first. I also get to buy meat while on sale and I don't have to shop at the butcher counter buying 1 of this and one of that. It also means that it's not a problem inviting company on an impromptu basis, there's always something in there with enough for 4...  

Outdoor cooking is done on a 5' folding table and the 2 burner propane stove although I can always haul out the butane and have 3 burners if needed. Heck I carry my Trangia backpacking stove as well so I could go to 4 burners if needed. I also carry one of those round water grills. I prefer a real barbecue but it packs so small  I quit carrying a portabe barbecue. It was taking up too much room.

Link to the build is in my signature and Bob did a video which I  hope is going to be back up soon!!


Yea, I guess you can say I'm a foodie.....

Dang, that is awesome!

 

[Motrukdriver]

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