Camp Kitchens

[kcscout]

I have been gearing up to start the family car camping traditions... which will start this coming summer. I'm looking at having everything that I need without going too overboard, but I will probably be somewhat overboard by some people's definition...

Anyway, I have decided to get a kitchen set for the food prep, etc. and wondering what others have used and liked or dis-liked.

I've seen some different options from Cabelas and Bass Pro as well as other options like coleman. Interestingly enough for size and function I like something that I saw at Cabelas and similar to the Coleman Camp Kitchen... However when I look at price, I see that for $10 more literally I can get the 'decked' out kitchen versus everything I need in a smaller footprint which I like as well. Part of me would say heck for $10 more go for the cadillac of camp kitchens. :-)

Suggestions from others with experience with this?

Growing up there was no concept of having a 'kitchen' when our family went camping, but my experience from the scouts who always have a setup makes it really nice to have for campouts... I think for the wife any creature comforts I can add will be nice as well. Lots of kitchen setups also have sinks for cleaning, although for scouts we just use a series of plastic buckets to wash mess kits and then the buckets stack together for storage.

[swebob]

Re: Camp Kitchens

This is my kitchen i bring along with me..

Colemam dual burn EZ-GO stove.. fry pan.. 1 quart pot.. 2 beer can stoves i made for just oatmeal and coffee when i feel like cowboy cooking.. Spork and knife.. my 2 Imusa aluminum cups.. a couple of pie tins that make good cowboy dishes and a couple of other kitchen utinsils for turn meat and my pot cozys for rehydrating some dried foods.. And for cleaning up i just use paper towels and camp soap..

I like to keep it simple and lite..

[05Kingquad700]

Re: Camp Kitchens

I have the camp chef 2 burner explorer stove. I also use the tailgate of my pickup truck for a table. I set the plates on it, the oil, and just general stuff I need when cooking. If needed I also have a large folding table that I will use, or part of my utility trailer. I usually have the atv with me, so I also have a trailer. Basically, I try to use what I already have which usually ends up being a pickup tailgate and a large folding table.

[sarahspins]

Re: Camp Kitchens

I'd recommend giving family camping a try without a complicated set up before committing to "needing" something like this... a complete kitchen set up might work out great for your family, but it might also just add more hassle, especially if you camp in an area where you wouldn't be able to leave it up full time. Some features such as the food storage are really of little use in most places (critters will find and get into your food), and would not be allowed to be left out at all in bear country.

Apart from our 2 burner stove, our "kitchen" consists of what fits inside a small milk crate that contains everything we need to cook a meal, eat, and clean up for our family of 5. We wash dishes in a collapsable PVC sink, and use our largest pot to rinse with. We keep all of our dry foods in another milk crate. We pack everything back up after every meal - from experience camping where we "can't" leave those things out, we don't even when it is allowed. For us, keeping it compact and simple makes more sense than having an elaborate set up and I'm still able to prepare many of the same meals we'd have at home - we're not really limited to "camp" food.

[TNONMYMIND]

Re: Camp Kitchens

My camp cooking equipment is pretty basic as there isn't a lot of room to haul everything I would use at home...
2 burner propane stove, 10 inch cast iron skillet, 1 and 2 qt. pots for heating water or making oatmeal, heating
soup,MRE's,or other foods. We also have a coffee pot for, you guessed it, coffee or hot water for cocoa.
we use the picnic table at the campgrounds for the stove to cook on as well as the cleaning bucket when doing cleanup
after eating, or the grill/fire pit for cooking...
we have a set of metal enamelware dishes but have so far only used 2 cups and bowls...Flatware and cooking utensils
are just things we used at home...
we do have a metal charcoal starter which helps to get the coals going a little faster...
Oh, and we also have a 12" dutch oven which we are slowly figuring out how to use, with mixed results.

[05Kingquad700]

Re: Camp Kitchens

we do have a metal charcoal starter which helps to get the coals going a little faster...
Oh, and we also have a 12" dutch oven which we are slowly figuring out how to use, with mixed results.

it is best to learn by cooking with high liquid type stuff. Such as soups, roasts etc. Also remember to rotate your cast iron while it is cooking. Like a quarter of a turn every 15 minutes or so.

[Mike]

Re: Camp Kitchens

The reality is that you will have the best results cooking in-the-field foods that you are familiar cooking at home by cooking it using equipment you typically use at home. For this reason, it is best, sometimes, to just bring the stuff you use at home camping with you.

It is no wonder that folks who have special equipment just for camping take awhile to get used to cooking with their camping gear. For folks that don't camp much, this can mean they almost never get used to camp cooking.

You can take a lot of the mystery out of camp cooking by using gas stoves which are nearly the same as cooking at home.

Camping over a fire is an unfamiliar event for most people and using cast iron is helpful because it is so forgiving to wild temperature changes and extremes. Of course, you can burn food on cast iron as surely as you can burn food with anything, but a novice can quickly learn how to cook on an open fire with cast iron while cooking on an open fire with stainless steel or aluminum is a challenge even for the very best of camp cooks.

I chuckle at the memories of being a 13 year old Boy Scout tenderfoot with a stamped aluminum mess kit frying pan trying to fry an egg over an open fire: Handle precariously dangling on the pan via a flimsy wing-nut.There was never an invention made so surely designed to forever weld food to metal. The big flat blade of the Boy Scout knife seems to be the appropriate tool for scratching the inevitable burnt food from the soft aluminum "wonder scorcher" mess kits.

[Mike]

Re: Camp Kitchens

Probably the most indespensable kitchen tool for the novice campfire chef is a chisel for removing burned food from the cook kit.

[swebob]

Re: Camp Kitchens

Im sure the manufactures of all the ^^Above^^ markets this contraption for people with more dollars then sense and no knowlege and experience in camping.. and lets not forget the consequences you will suffer leavng food out for Yogi bear and his friends. I sure hope the manufacture of these portable pantries put a warning on them for animals but im sure they would'nt want to scare the customer away.. By the way dont forget you Uhaul to drag this stuff along..

Keep it simple folks..

[GlitterHiker]

Re: Camp Kitchens

... I have come to realize that this is really the perfect camping gear for some people. All the fiddle-faddlers and busy bodies and tinkerers will love this thing. They can spend all day setting it up, filling it's bins, unfilling it's bins, adjusting it and manipulating it's little features, cleaning it, and then packing it away.

I enjoyed both of your posts; incredibly useful. I really connect to this particular clip of your writing - here in my part of the country, some of the closest campgrounds to me are only open on weekends. Check in at 3 on Friday, leave by 10 on Sunday morning. I am amazed by the number of people that bring these camp kitchens. And they do exactly as you describe - take all their free time on Friday setting up in time to cook a dinner and rush to tear it down on Sunday morning. I don't know ... I'd rather use my time camping to do something else. But to each their own!

[Jopopsy]

Re: Camp Kitchens

Eh, I'm going to be car camping w/ my 2 girls and wife. So:

A. Weber 1520 Go Anywhere Grill (this will handle lunches and dinners consisting of burgers, dogs, steaks, and maybe chicken)
B. A cooler with milk, and a bunch of bowels and cereal. That'll be breakfast. Maybe I'll bring bagels or something like that too. Nice and easy.
C. Sacrilege I know, but I might tote along my Honda EU2000i generator (I already own it for emergencies). If I bring this, its because it will fit in the truck and Mr. Coffee is coming with me. If I'm within earshot of RV's or others cranking generators, it might be time to bring the electric griddle. That would open the doors up to more creative breakfasts.

[kcscout]

Re: Camp Kitchens

Here is one that might be less annoying to you. :-P http://www.rei.com/product/848478/re...9-001b2166c62d

It is a bit pricey for a table to put stuff on, but does not include any mesh containers to hold lots of stuff that will be eaten by varmen while out camping. I personally like the plastic totes for the non-perishables. Ultimately would like something for a place to put a coleman stove and can have some room for food prep. I have seen a variety of options. They all seem to have a fairly expensive entry price point. I think the cabelas is way too much stuff for the casual camper. The coleman seemed to be about right with more minimal stuff to it.

Of course if you really want to find something expensive, check out the Grub Hub camp kitchen... I was doing some searching around and found this one for $379!! Yikes...

[swebob]

Re: Camp Kitchens

Sacrilege I know, but I might tote along my Honda EU2000i generator (I already own it for emergencies). If I bring this, its because it will fit in the truck and Mr. Coffee is coming with me.

Here's my coffee pot.. Insulated cup, oil funnel, coffee filter and coffee.. No generater required.. LOL

[sarahspins]

Re: Camp Kitchens

B. A cooler with milk, and a bunch of bowels and cereal. That'll be breakfast.

Why not make it something more special? Eggs and sausage or bacon lend themselves particularly nicely to camp breakfast.. we even did pancakes on our last trip, all of which were cooked on a cast iron griddle on our stove If I'm not going "all out" instant oatmeal is our preferred breakfast.. mostly because it's often a bit chilly in the mornings and it's nice to have something hot to eat rather than trying to choke down something cold, and apart from heating up water it's really no more work than cold cereal.

I still say the generator to run your electric coffee bot is a bit extreme. As a tent camper I'd be seriously pissed if someone set up next to us and did that... it doesn't matter how quiet the generator is, it's still way louder than not using it, and there are plenty of perfectly quiet ways to make a great cup of coffee away from home

Ultimately would like something for a place to put a coleman stove and can have some room for food prep.

If you are convinced that you "need" the extra space for this (we've yet to need anything more than the tables already available at nearly all campgrounds) why not just get a simple roll top table? It's cheaper and more versatile in the long run, but I still see it as one extra "thing" to have to set up, clean up, and pack up again.

[Jopopsy]

Re: Camp Kitchens

I'd only start the generator if those around me were running them. A lot of the State campsites I'm seeing also host RVs; I'm looking for some tranquility like I had when I was a Scout but if the neighbors are making noise why not?