stuff you can't live without.

[dsuursoo]

just curious about which cooking items you're never without when you go off hunting/camping/etc.

i suppose i've got just a couple... my 10 inch cast iron skillet, my 2 quart stainless steel pot/kettle(with percolator option). between those two items i've made just about anything and everything. i try to keep the kettle with me when i'm away from camp, in case i get stuck or hurt, i have a way to collect and purify water. the best thing about them is that i can use any heat source.

other items: my six inch santoku knife by hampton forge(the wife won't let me take the ten inch if i'm going by myself), which does butchering/skinning/general cooking work, my spatula with the sharpened edge, and a small assortment of spices and oils.

i don't believe in reheating pre-prepped foods, or eating bland boiled foods like some ultralight guys. sure, extra weight, but i often don't carry a stove, or fuel.

 

[Robert Egler]

One big enameled steel cup. Actually holds about 2 (measuring) cups. 1 spoon. If I can’t cook it over an open fire I cook it in the cup. Except for the stuff I eat raw, like cattail roots, pretty much everything can either be boiled or cooked over an open fire. I also boil water in the cup for drinking.

I use my belt knife for everything cutting-wise. Skinning, cutting bait, cooking, whatever (Washed between uses, obviously :barf: .) That’s my total cooking kit for a day or a month.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

I camp out of my 4WD now. carry a nesting set of pots/pans and a deep skillet/DO w/tight lid.
hard to beat corned beef hash and eggs cracked atop for breakfast cooked over hardwood fire with cowboy coffee and sourdough biscuits.

 

[dsuursoo]

yeah, i've been down the single item and one knife road, but as time has gone on my belt knife has gotten bigger and less usable for cooking work(it's currently either my 13" tanto knife by cold steel, or a kukri knife i made myself), so i carry a cooking knife seperate, as well as a fillet knife and a skinner with a gut hook.

i recently switched away from my stainless steel cup, it finally developed a crack in it from use and abuse, so now for drinking hot liquids i carry around a mug i got for father's day that says 'world's greatest mug' on it.



man i wish i had a 4x4 to camp out of... having that many cooking pans on any trip would be a luxury... when we do the family trip i add a two burner propane stove to my heat sources and a few saucepans and one stockpot.

oh, and the 15" skillet i got for a song at an army navy store. i can cook pancakes for three adults or between five and nine kids at once in it, or bacon, eggs, and potatoes for two.

 

[Tkendrick]

I generally use the microwave in my motorhome. :thumbsup:

 

[jbtusa]

I take my Lodge cast iron combo cooker which is a dutch oven, pan, pot, skillet and griddle all rolled up into one. I love it because it is so indestructible and so easy to clean.

 

[dsuursoo]

I take my Lodge cast iron combo cooker which is a dutch oven, pan, pot, skillet and griddle all rolled up into one. I love it because it is so indestructible and so easy to clean.

does it also make curly fries? :grin:

 

[ohio ramrod]

assuming that the combo cooker is another name for the old "Chicken fryer" It not only does curly fries but also does apple cobbler!

 

[jbtusa]

Nope, it's not the chicken fryer. The combo cooker has the flat lid that can be turned over and used as a griddle or skillet. Not only does it do curly fries, it does milk shakes too... and at the same time! Waugh!

 

[Blizzard of '93]

depending on the situ I usually pack a 2 qt coffee pot, a 1 qt saucepan, a 3 qt pot, a 2 gal pot and an 8 qt do (deep skillet w/cover). I usualy get the nod as camp cook but do it only because I don't want to eat anything most of the chuckleheads I camp with cook up. altho one of them is fairly good.

 

[dsuursoo]

Nope, it's not the chicken fryer. The combo cooker has the flat lid that can be turned over and used as a griddle or skillet. Not only does it do curly fries, it does milk shakes too... and at the same time! Waugh!

ahahaha... that's handy. i think i saw one of those numbers at wal-mart, now that i think of it... looked handy but heavy.


yeah, i've become one of the two camp cooks when we do our family trip in the late summer, because, as it turns out, besides my father in law, i'm the only one who can turn out food that everyone wants to eat. i just happen to be able to cook fancy with just a fire and two propane burners. like alder grilled wild trout, garlic parmesan risotto and a dressing of sauteed red peppers, shallots, garlic and pine nuts..

great, now i'm hungry...

 

[Robert Egler]

I can only assume that all you guys that take a good selection of cooking utensils are not carrying all your stuff on your back! :grin:

 

[Allan Gray]

My Dutch oven, a big can of Old Bay seasoning and a big bottle of Tabasco.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

you're right Squirrel - all this cookery is carried in the modern equivalent of a pack mule, my 4WD. bear in mind this is for a group camp-out.
if I'm solo I carry much lighter cookery but that's rare these days.
usually this cookware is for 4-6 hungry campers. I have or can get loaned to me cookware to suit larger groups.
usually a saw of some sort (bowsaw) is brought along to prepare firewood - I have 2 bowsaws one small and one larger. we also build a good sized firepit of stone I posted some months back a foto of pit we built we camped a week around it and cooked good chow over.
we eat good and try to keep as near 'primitive cookery' as possible.
lots of 'polenta' (grits) 'taters - both Irish and sweet, roasted/stewed meat and d.o. baked bread. and slow simmered pinto beans w/roasted sausages.
all low cholesterol of course! :thumbsup:

 

[Ted W. Coombs]

I really like this squirrel spit. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: It was made by a blacksmith and can be used for other small game or what ever. Just use a piece of wire or butcher string to tie on your morsels. You can turn the skewer around and use the hook to boil any liquids you like. It is light weight and handy to carry for any trip.

Teton Ted

 

[Crossfire]

Speaking as a trekker, I leave all the cast iron stuff at home.

But, the one modern thing that I do bring is toilet paper. I know that it's not for cooking, but it is certainly indirectly related to the...ummm 'backend' of the process. :wink:

I do love my copper boiler. I can cook soup, fry bacon, make johnny cakes, and make tea/coffee. Can live without the frying pan, but not the boiler.

 

[omarick1948]

My Ronco BASS-O-MATIC, BIC FLINT 'N STEEL KIT, POCKET FISHERMAN,Captain America Official Space Ranger Flash Light and AMERICAN EXPRESS CARD!...Never leave home with out it! ... :blah:

 

[shmrck1]

Well when I go camping,I would not want to leave
my wife behind,as she is my greatest cooking
utensil.When hunting I would not want to leave
behind my money,as I eat in restaurants, about
75/80% of the time.
snake-eyes :hmm:

 

[Rancocas]

I used to do a lot of canoe trekking and would carry more stuff in the canoe. Of course, when I'm camping out of my truck I can carry more stuff then, too.
However, I still often hike off into the mountains for two or three nights alone. When I do that I only take a one quart pot that has a bail (no handle), a tin cup that nestles inside the pot, and one spoon. I also always have my sheath knife (4 inch blade), and also a small folding knife.
That's it. That is my entire cooking outfit.

 

[Black Hand]

just curious about which cooking items you're never without when you go off hunting/camping/etc.

i suppose i've got just a couple... my 10 inch cast iron skillet, my 2 quart stainless steel pot/kettle(with percolator option). between those two items i've made just about anything and everything. i try to keep the kettle with me when i'm away from camp, in case i get stuck or hurt, i have a way to collect and purify water. the best thing about them is that i can use any heat source.

other items: my six inch santoku knife by hampton forge(the wife won't let me take the ten inch if i'm going by myself), which does butchering/skinning/general cooking work, my spatula with the sharpened edge, and a small assortment of spices and oils.

i don't believe in reheating pre-prepped foods, or eating bland boiled foods like some ultralight guys. sure, extra weight, but i often don't carry a stove, or fuel.

Salt.