What type of Cookware?

[Tx White Knight]

For those of you that dont mind cooking when on the road what sort of cookware do you like?

I will most likley be using a MSR Dragonfly but not ruling out a good ole campfire either

I like to cook things like bacon, eggs, taters, porkchops and the like :fire3:

:tent3:

[Hemibee]

Since I do all the cooking at the races I get to cheat and carry my cast iron equipment or the grill and stove. Mostly like cooking steaks and taters but I've been known to whip up some pretty mean burritos, chili and a few rides found us with red beans and rice. Of course there is always the sausage or weiner cooked over the camp fire as a back up meal.

With that said, I'm always looking for new meals and how to make them that would be more in line with what most of you would be fixing since some days/nights we roll into the race location just before the activities start or after dark which would make a big production meal out of the question.

[Trekker]

Use good quality cookware made of stainless steel (or cast iron if weight isn't an issue). Thin Aluminum doesn't hold up well over time, thick anodized will. Coleman, MSR, Snowpeak... all make good stuff. I always stay away from non-stick coatings as these tend to get scratched and messed up over time.

I have several sets of Coleman nesting kits that have served me well over the years. These are stainless steel w/ copper bottoms.

http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=40000000226&storeId=226&categoryId=929&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=239

An old scout tip was to soap the outside of any steel pot to be used over a campfire to make cleanup easier.

Because packing is usually a main concern with gear, look for a set that nests with all the sizes you think you might need. More often than not you'll not need as many pots as you might think most of the time.

[Tx White Knight]

Thanks Trekker, I have seen some reviews of the Teflon stuff flaking off.

I have been eyeing one of the MSR Alpine SS sets, it has gotten pretty good reivews.

I tired to find the SS w/Copper bottoms you mentioned but have not come up with any yet.
:tent8:

[motomac]

I use cast iron and for a pan to heat soup or stew a small porcelain finished cheapy double boiler from Wally World. I bought one of those all in one Stainless sets, but the handle had to be folded over the skillet to keep it from pulling the thing off the stove and it was very thin and it didn't take much heat to burn bacon quickly. So I'm back to my cast iron and porcelain. Now when I say cast iron, I mean little cast iron. I have an 8" skillet and just received my 8" Durch oven whiile I was at Stagecoach. Haven't tried it yet, but I will soon. It won't make a full batch of biscuits like the 12" will, but I think I can make a half batch. If I keep the Bunkhouse the big stuff will remain in it permanently, and the little stuff will go tenting.

[Tx White Knight]

Thanks motomac, I had forgotten that the thinner stuff will burn faster.

Keep us updated on the small Dutch Oven, those are always a good way to cook :)

[ParkerBill]

While I mostly just heat up water for coffee and/or freeze-dried meals and normally eat meals out when moto-camping I use a titanium pot/lid and also carry a titanium skillet because I already have them from mountaineering. Same with my stoves, I typically use my GAZ Turbo 270, but also sometimes use my MSR Dragonfly (although it's noisy as hell).

While the titanium stuff is extremely lightweight, it is very thin and it is very easy to burn something if you're not very careful. They work okay in a pinch, but if I were planning to to do much serious cooking while moto-camping I'd get one of the MSR (or other good brands) of heavier (thicker) cookware because the heat transfer would be more even across the bottom. I love cast iron, but it's pretty heavy to carry on a bike unless, like Mac, you have a trailer. I've had pretty good luck with the cheap, small non-stick skillets from Wal-Mart or the grocery store, too. They cook pretty well, clean up easily and are cheap enough that if/when you scratch up the coating bad enough it's easy to replace them just about anywhere. Oh yeah, and to save space, get the cheap ones that have a screw that holds the handle onto the skillet and remove the handle while transporting or just use a pot-grabber.

[Tx White Knight]

Thanks Bill, I was unaware they still made pans with the screw in the handle.

Sounds like small vice grips or channel loc pliers would be good for the tool pouch too :)

[Trekker]

Thanks Trekker, I have seen some reviews of the Teflon stuff flaking off.
I have been eyeing one of the MSR Alpine SS sets, it has gotten pretty good reivews.
I tired to find the SS w/Copper bottoms you mentioned but have not come up with any yet.


Yeah, I just noticed the copper bottomed style seems to not be available. I've had mine for some time. It's not that important.

While I mostly just heat up water for coffee and/or freeze-dried meals and normally eat meals out when moto-camping I use a titanium pot/lid and also carry a titanium skillet because I already have them from mountaineering. Same with my stoves, I typically use my GAZ Turbo 270, but also sometimes use my MSR Dragonfly (although it's noisy as hell).

While the titanium stuff is extremely lightweight, it is very thin and it is very easy to burn something if you're not very careful. They work okay in a pinch, but if I were planning to to do much serious cooking while moto-camping I'd get one of the MSR (or other good brands) of heavier (thicker) cookware because the heat transfer would be more even across the bottom. I love cast iron, but it's pretty heavy to carry on a bike unless, like Mac, you have a trailer. I've had pretty good luck with the cheap, small non-stick skillets from Wal-Mart or the grocery store, too. They cook pretty well, clean up easily and are cheap enough that if/when you scratch up the coating bad enough it's easy to replace them just about anywhere. Oh yeah, and to save space, get the cheap ones that have a screw that holds the handle onto the skillet and remove the handle while transporting or just use a pot-grabber.

Good points. Thinner metal or titainium is lighter, but that's not a real concern with a bike. It's the pack space to worry about. So I agree, go with a thicker pot to minimize possible burning. Thicker will also keep it's shape over time. Another point I agree with is most times you'll only be heating water and stuff. Cooking isn't what most of us do when camping. That said, a small non-stick skillet is useful. I do what Bill suggests and unscrew the handle for packing. It's just a cheap little square thingy I found somewhere. They seem to be easy to find.

[motomac]

I don't think I have ever been to a garage sale that didn't have some kind of cookware laying on a table. That's where I picked up my little 8" cast iron skillet. You can usually get this stuff pretty cheap, the skillet was $.50!!!! And if you lose it forget it or whatever damage it, you're not out much other than inconvenience until you pick up a replacement. Now Dutch ovens are another animal. Noone has those laying on garage tables. If they do, they were gone before I got there. They sell them at flea markets around here as antiques!!!! $80 is not uncommon for an asking price for a 12" oven!!!!

[motomac]

Well the pictures didn't come out as well as the biscuits did, but the new Dutch oven is a keeper!

[Tx White Knight]

Well the pictures didn't come out as well as the biscuits did, but the new Dutch oven is a keeper!

MMMMM a little sausage greavey and you are spot on :D

[Mellow]

Mac makes great biscuits in the morning. Always great to camp with Mac.

[motomac]

I've been known to make up a few bacon and egg sammiches too. Ask the CTSTocers that had a beer or three the night before!!!!

And let me tell you a little story about the new Dutch oven. I live within a 1/2 hour of Amish country and they have this really neat hardware store in Kidron OH. If they don't have it it is because it isn't made yet. Anyhow I'm looking through the castiron ware and no 8" Dutch oven. I almost pulled the trigger on a 10" but decided not to. So I come home and start googling cast iron cookware. Nothing I can pull the trigger on so I go to motocampers and what is this new header Lodge cast iron ware. I click on it and there is my 8" Dutch oven for only $30 bucks and shipping. UPS delivered it while I was in AL.

[Motocentaur]

I have a pair of nesting stainless pots, 1 qt and 2/3 qt, with plate/lids and a pot lifter. I can't remember the brand - MSR maybe? I added a stainless mug as well. I usually do one pot meals that involve combining food with boiling water, but I also have a small folding grill and some aluminum foil for fire cooking fresh items, if I choose.

[Tx White Knight]

Thanks Alan, I like the folding grills too but is seems here in Tx the last several years there have been a lot of burn bans so campfires are out a lot of the time.
:fire4:

[Motocentaur]

Speaking of non-fire cooking, I've been reading some interesting sites today on how to make an alcohol burning stove out of three Pepsi cans. It might be a good backup in case of a stove malfunction. Try a Google search on "Pepsi can stove."

[Tx White Knight]

I have seen those coke can stoves, I think someone on TWT used one and made some decorative circles on a picnic table with out realizing it

My luck I would cut the heck out of myself trying to make one :)

but in case of emergency it will work ;)

[Mellow]

BJ brought one of them to a camping event last year.

http://mellow.smugmug.com/photos/70777712-L.jpg

It boiled water and also cooked eggs, look at upper left of this pic

http://mellow.smugmug.com/photos/70779797-L.jpg

[Tx White Knight]

I wouldnt have thought it would boil water. is that a concrete table? :)

[Mellow]

I wouldnt have thought it would boil water. is that a concrete table? :)

Yes, that was a campground Devil's Fork Campground (http://www.motocampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=277) at Greer's Ferry Lake. Very nice sites.