Which material would be best suited for camping cookware?

[Cindey]

Hey, so i'm going camping for a week, and usually in the past we just did hot dogs & whatnot (since it used to be a weekend affair, not a 7 day ordeal). What type of cookware should i look into for the trip? I'm going to be strictly cooking over a fire, not a camp stove.
SO Last summer, I bought a cheapy cookware set, simply because I was in a rush and on a very small budget...well I totaled that set. I'm looking online now at different sets and am looking for some guidance. I'm looking at a Stainless steel, enamel, and anodized. all three of these sets cost the same, there are plates and such in the enamel, but I have a set of dishes, so that's REALLY not a deciding factor. Which way would you go?
Is there any good web resource on cookware? Has anyone ever used a stone frying pan before? I know this is a relatively new technology in the kitchen. I tried researching on them and came out dry. The only decent resource I can find is on best induction cookware. Anybody have any health tips, brand recommendations, or other information? Thanks in advance for your help!

[hjd]

I like and use cast iron. I cook with it on the wood stove in my tent. Outside on open fire and on a counter top stove. You can't beat a well seasoned and looked after case iron.

[recce43]

cast iron is the best on a open fire .

[harv3589]

Goto this forum lots of camping info and lots of knowledge there....

http://www.expeditionportal.com/foru...ping-Equipment

[Bowie]

Msr makes good stuff. Are you just staying in one place( vehicle access?) or hiking in. I personally wouldn't want to hike in with a cast iron set on my back. ( I agree they cook awesome) but you may need something lighter.

[hjd]

Yea, if your the pack mule then cast iron is out. When I back in, I just have a small cheap kettle in my pack and dried food. No fancy meals. Packing any kind of cookware can add weight to pack. I'm not telling anybody here what they don't already know I'm sure, but stay minimal when your the mule.

[Ithaca Dog]

Car camping over the fire for a week. I would pack a Dutch oven, season it well, and learn how to cook with it. I make a fantastic stew with biscuit topping in the Dutch oven. You can also use the lid and the kettle to fry food, though I carry a cast iron frying pan for most of this. I would buy a good 12 inch dutch oven with the legs and one good cast frying pan. To upgrade buy another 10 inch oven to cook separate dishes at the same time stacking on top of your 12 inch. I'm sure they are more expensive now than when I bought mine, but I paid 30 bucks for an unseasoned Dutch oven at a mom and pop hardware store. If you look around you can find good deals.

Good luck with what ever you decide. You can also camp fire cook on regular pots and pans designed for your kitchen. Just rub a little dish soap on the bottom before putting on the fire to aid in the clean up.

[Dacotensis]

Go check on kijiji or at a second hand store.

Cast iron is good, as is stainless.

If your close to Sherwood park I can set you up with a tote bin full of whatever you might need at a good price.

[Xbolt7mm]

Cast for sure but you gotta know how to look after it, know when/what to season it with, how to store it, know when/ how to strip it. I use Griswald and Warner vintage stuff at home and the new stuff for camping which I sand/buff smooth and then re-season. Cast is more work and will warp if over heated so watch that but I love cooking with it. As for stainless, they are more work then cast, harder to season and maintain the panteen but they don't rust and almost everything sticks to it. If you use Pam on them then it burns and you spend all your time scouring that off. As for finding cast, second hand stores, garage sales and antique shops, but you gotta know your stuff so you don't over pay, or go to cabelas for new.

[Xbolt7mm]

Originally Posted by recce43

cast iron is the best on a open fire .

Cast is the best on everything except glass top stoves

[Kim473]

Originally Posted by recce43

cast iron is the best on a open fire .

X2

[NW Tradegunner]

Like they say, cast iron is the way to go. Don't buy the cheap stuff. Lodge is a very good brand, but hard to find. I use a 10" Dutch oven lots but have larger ones for larger gatherings.
With the cheap stuff usually the lids don't fit that well, the legs are too short for the briquets to fit underneath and burn properly, bubbles and voids in the cast iron itself and un-uniform thickness of the entire pot.
Anything that you cook in your oven at home, you can cook in the Dutch oven: pies, bread, cakes, cinnamon buns, cookies, stews, roasts, scalloped potatoes, roast chicken, anything your heart/stomach desires! It puts a whole new angle on eating outdoors. Even a batch of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls sure wakes up everyone in camp in the morning!
There are a variety of cookbooks out there specific to D-O cooking; otherwise just use regular recipes. The general rule-of-thumb is: to attain an internal temperature of 350 degrees, you take say your 10" D-O and double the 10, so you have 20. That is the number of charcoal briquettes you need to get the required 350 degrees. For math sake add 1 more briquets, to make it 21. Divide that by 3, so you put 7 briquets under the D-O and the remaining 14 on the top. This applies to whatever size of D-O you have; so an 8" use 16 briquets, a 14" use 28 briquets, etc.
Because so much heat is going up, the top is very inefficient. You can increase the internal temperature by adding one more coal(s) to the top and bottom.
Also, if you're cooking with more than one D-O, you can stack them and have a moose roast in the bottom one, cheesy potatoes in the second one and peach cobbler in the top one! SUPPER!

[^v^Tinda wolf^v^]

Cast iron is my choice for camp cook wear as well. I purchased all of mine from cabelas and it came pre seasoned. My newest edition was a large skillet with lid that also doubles as a frying pan. We use crisco shortening to season our cast.

[^v^Tinda wolf^v^]

If you choose cast just a word of caution, cast heats up evenly handle and all. A good set of leather gloves for handling it is recommended.

[amosfella]

Originally Posted by ^v^Tinda wolf^v^

If you choose cast just a word of caution, cast heats up evenly handle and all. A good set of leather gloves for handling it is recommended.

Or some of those heat resistant silicone gloves from amazon that bbq masters use...

[bergman]

Originally Posted by amosfella

Or some of those heat resistant silicone gloves from amazon that bbq masters use...

I use a pair of leather welding gloves. Those things are nearly indestructible, you can pick up anything in a fire

[Red Bullets]

If you are in Edmonton, Good old Army and Navy on Whyte Ave. has some good heavy cast iron cookware for good prices.

If you are only going for a week consider taking a big roll of heavy duty tin foil. No cookware needed. You can pretty much cook anything in foil too. Just remember wrap with the shiny side of the foil in. There are lots of recipes online for tin foil meals.
I have taken chicken, fish and venison wrapped in foil with spices and put it by the coals in the morning. Go for 2-4 hours and come back to a hot meal. Fish cooks quickly so be more careful.

[TiiwaboN8V]

Use copper, I have copper mugs, pots and a frying pan, best cookware I got. Copper gives even heat distribution and a nice classic fur trade era feel.

[SumoPerchWrestling]

just throw a can of chunky soup on the fire and crack a beer,no dishes

[HalfBreed]

Originally Posted by SumoPerchWrestling

just throw a can of chunky soup on the fire and crack a beer,no dishes

Mmmmm, exploded chunky soup.

[anthony5]

Originally Posted by SumoPerchWrestling

just throw a can of chunky soup on the fire and crack a beer,no dishes

Best crack the can of chunky soup before the beer or you will have more than dishes to wash

[ren008]

x2 on the heavy duty tin foil for 99% of cooking don't get fancy it should be camping not glamping.

If a griddle/pan is needed consider good quality cast aluminum though. I've moved on and don't regret it. Doesn't have the nostalgia factor but way easier to maintain/clean, lighter by far, and heat distribution is still good with anything decent quality. Just have to watch the heat as they will warp over a raging blaze.

[YoteStopper]

Originally Posted by HalfBreed

Mmmmm, exploded chunky soup.

You missed the best part, all the stuff leaching into the soup from the can. I wouldn't subject canned foods to high heat......

[YoteStopper]

I use cast and stainless steel, not a fan of anything aluminum.

[fordtruckin]

Another vote for Cast Iron. Buy once and take care of it and it will last a life time. You can even find second hand dutch ovens and pans that are rusted up and once you clean them up and season them again they're good to go.

[Fishfri]

Cast iron - got 4'' pan to 12'' pan round
12'' square pan
10'' grill pan for indoor. makes food look like grilled on BBQ
Dutch oven with legs
Had a set of aluminum for light backpacking. Lent it out, was used on open fire and wreaked.
To season cast iron there is lots of info on internet how to do it. Crisco seems best. Clean, NO SOAP!

Also if your in Calgary, go check out wholesale sports. They got lots of options.
Cast Iron Tea Kettle?!?! Cast Iron Skillets, etc.

[IR_mike]

Home Hardware carries Lodge cast iron.

[Xbolt7mm]

Originally Posted by IR_mike

Home Hardware carries Lodge cast iron.

So does the bay

[Xbolt7mm]

I have a set of vintage pans for the house (gas stove) and newer lodge and Warner stuff for the trailer. I know my way around the vintage stuff as well as the newer stuff. Stripping techniques as well as just basic rust removal tips for you if you find some abused stuff. Shoot me a pm if you want some help. I use regular Pam to season but the temps to season have to be right. I probably have 15 pans that are from the thirties that eggs slid around in like they are Teflon.

[silverdoctor]

Another vote for cast iron, love my Canadian antique stuff.

Lodge is the go to for many. Others like iron mountain are fine as well, though made in China. You can cook pretty much anything in a 3 legged dutch oven over a fire or coals, and the skillets are so versatile - a skillet lid comes in handy. Never used anodized aluminium personally, but have heard good things about it.

Welding gloves are your best friend when it comes to cast iron.