“One size fits all” stove/camp cooking setup?

[StreetsofCompton]

Hey gang,

I have a small and young family, 4yr old and 6mo old. We’ve averaged 1-2 camping trips per year as a family and I get away for solo outings 3-6x/yr. We’re hoping to increase all of those numbers this year and moving forward. we’ve gotten by with easy foods like sandwiches, hot dogs, etc but I’m wanting to expand the camp kitchen capabilities while still having minimal gear. The goal is to have a system that’s light, packs small-ish, and can just as easily serve 2-4 as it can 1-2. I don’t currently backpack camp, but might in the future. Have talked about doing a SUP camp outing with a buddy. I’ve looked into the Jetboil type stoves, single and double burner “plate” styles, and even really like the idea of a “skottle” even though it’s kind of large. The integrated canister types seem so limited for cooking options but obvs have many other perks. What are some setups you guys have settled on, or found to be effective at meeting multiple needs? Or should I quit being dumb and just have a solo setup and a family setup?

thanks in advance! Pics are always a plus.


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[FosterWV]

We settled on a Black Stone Grill, perfect for family trips and grill top flips over to pack up for 2 person Jeep trips. We use it for almost every meal.

 

[StreetsofCompton]

We settled on a Black Stone Grill, perfect for family trips and grill top flips over to pack up for 2 person Jeep trips. We use it for almost every meal.

View attachment 434911

Never heard of this item before. Thanks for sharing. outside of being slightly heavy, it checks a lot of boxes. Cheers!


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[mep1811]

After years of having a Coleman stove I'm trying a Camp Chef stove. I like the 20K per burner output.

https://www.amazon.com/Camp-Chef-Everest-Output-Burner/dp/B00A0M2O16

 

[Nullifier]

So I have used a wide variety of stove options over the years and for a stove I always gravitate back to my old coleman 2 burner propane. however over the past 2 years I have moved in a new direction and have really come to love this set up. First I have moved to a weber 1200 grill. https://www.amazon.com/Weber-510600...1631&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=weber+1200+grill I also added a Lodge Chefs Platter to compliment it. https://www.amazon.com/Weber-510600...1631&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=weber+1200+grill The lodge platter fits perfect on the 1200 grill. Between the two I can cook anything. breakfast, dinners you name it. It is not the most compact set up but I love the versatility of it.

 

[StreetsofCompton]

Thanks for sending in some more ideas. I actually have used a WeberQ grill as my main home grill for about 8 years now. Excellent grills. Not sure which size it is, but definitely a little bigger than the 1200. Ill look into the platter you mentioned. Cheers!

 

[dcg141]

Hard to beat a basic 2 burner stove. You can name your price there but even the cheap ones work pretty well. Lodge makes a cast iron griddle that is flat on one side and raised ribs on the other and it fits perfectly on most 2 burner stoves. That's a good combo. Here is my take on portable grills, they have a shelf life. No matter how much you clean them, and you will be cleaning them a lot, at some point they just wear out. Camps stoves never seem to wear out.

 

[neil d]

To me, car camping and backpacking are two different animals. The backpacking setup is a solo stove for dehydrated or soup-based meals. I have all manner of stoves, but Jetboil is hard to beat for ease of boiling water.

The car camping kitchen setup deserves it's own focus, as in that environment I will likely want to actually cook. On this forum, I have marveled at the lengths people go to with respect to their kitchen and organizational setups. Some of those chuck boxes are beautiful! And perhaps if I had a dedicated backcountry rig, I would build it out in that fashion. But, I have a half-ton pickup that does all the normal truck stuff in addition to the overlanding trips, so I need a more modular approach.

After half a lifetime of trial and error, I've arrived at my favorite car camping setup. Not breaking any new ground here, but the guts are a two-burner propane stove sitting on one of those folding plastic tables from the big box. The folding table, dedicated to cooking, is really the core piece of equipment here. Cooking accessories are a rectangular cast iron griddle pan to fit over both burners, a high-walled pot for pasta and the like, perhaps a skillet for flipping a few eggs in the morning. A couple of small bowls for prepping foods. A wooden spoon and a spatula. A small stash of spices and sauces, including olive oil cor cooking. A cutting board, a GOOD knife, paper towels, a roll of aluminum foil. Don't forget the 8-cup Moka pot for coffee. The whole kit fits neatly into a Rubbermaid tote.

I pull up at camp, pull out the table and the tote, and my kitchen is up and running in about three minutes. This setup covers 99% of what I want to do with food in the wilderness, is easy to customize, and is cheap as hell.

 

[REDONE]

I'm in 99.9% agreement with Neil D. ! The only point I disagree on is I carry Avacado oil instead of olive oil (I fill a lime shaped lime juice squirter with it, think about it, those things never leak!) ONLY because avacado oil can take much higher temps before burning. Camp cooking it's easy for your heat to get away from you and the high temp oil can save a meal if the wind dies down while you're chasing a toddler that just bolted after a chipmunk.:Wow1:

Past that tiny difference, our separate experiences have led us to identical setups independently, which says something. :chef:
Lifetime Folding table; two burner stove; Action Packer box; Lodge 6qt Dutch oven (use as a pot or a dutch oven); cast iron grill/ flip it for a griddle; plastic bowls (for food prep or eating),plates(double as a cutting board), cutlery (plastic because kids); medium sized sharp knife (cut meat bite-sized before plating); Cooking spoon and spatula from the goodwill; aluminum foil (can also use to scour crockery); percolator. OH YEAH! A welding glove, too. Seriously handy!

My stove and lantern are gasoline rather than compressed gas for ideological reasons, not operational reasons. I'm hate finding the empty canisters thrown in the bushes everywhere I go. If I could, I'd pass a law requiring a 200% deposit on them and get rich from cleaning them up.

 

[S4railroader]

Well for some reason I can't post a picture of it from my phone but...
I use a Camp Chef Explorer 2 burner stove. I have a grill, folding side tables, carry bag and a griddle for it. And even currently use it as my grill at home. They have plenty of options for attachments and it works well with cast iron cook wear.
Be warned using cheap cook wear on this thing is not a good idea on high this thing blasts like a furnace and can melt stuff... I never cook higher than medium.

 

[S4railroader]

The camp chef explorer is 32"x14" so no good for backpacking. But a great base camp if you have vehicle access. With the legs removed it's about 5 inches tall. And does run on propane.

 

[REDONE]

Since you're one of those weirdos that likes pictures, and since I've neglected to lay all this stuff away properly since my last outing, here you go!

This is my kitchen all laid out in my basement:

This is how much room is left in the box for dry-goods and non parishables:

And this is how small it all packs up. It doesn't get packed together, but wherever the pre-trip tetris game determines:

 

[jacobconroy]

You might look into a Kanz kitchen. They are a bit pricey, but can be found used on this forum from time to time. I like that they will hold the stove, the pots and pans, the plate and silverware, the spices and oil...all in one box. You can run them off pretty much any propane bottle (small or large) or choose to put in a large Coleman gas stove and skip the propane.

 

[nwoods]

For solo trips, I use a Vector 1-burner. Looks like this:
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/1-...yAk1Bm43VEwrqwt_GXMumrh7wV7fCXSxoCy5kQAvD_BwE

For family trips I use a Camp Chief 2 burner 20,000 BTU thing that was inexpensive and has decent heat control.

 

[StreetsofCompton]

Thank you all for sharing your setups and ideas here. the amount of gear accessible for us "over landers" is overwhelming in my opinion. Like my first post mentioned, looking for affordable, functional and multi-purpose equipment. I'm still mulling over most of the options presented here, and think I'm getting closer to some decisions.


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