Barbeques - Page 6

MyronL · 04-28-2014, 02:50 PM

I want a Hibachi

onetim · 04-28-2014, 03:14 PM

I have the same Campchef Explorer 2 burner stove, grill box, and flat top griddle I use on our deck. Man they are HEAVY. I wouldn't think of hauling them everywhere. However, they can't be beat for cooking for large groups and we use them for our Memorial Day family gathering at our yearly beach campsite.

Want a hibachi? This one earns high praise... Amazon.com: Lodge L410 Pre-Seasoned Sportsman's Charcoal Grill: Kitchen & Dining

cpaharley2008 · 04-28-2014, 04:01 PM

I just got one of these, have not tried it yet, but a lot lighter than the Hibachi
Amazon.com: Quick Grill Medium: Original Folding Charcoal BBQ Grill Made from Stainless Steel. Portable and Great for Camping, Picnics, Backpacking, Backyards, Survival, Emergency Preparation.: Patio, Lawn & Garden
there is also a griddle top available.

dbailey · 05-04-2014, 01:17 PM

So I've used the Camp Chef now, the griddle at least, and I still remain quite happy.

I cooked brunch on it today -- bacon, eggs, pancakes.

Conditions today were moderately windy. I was working on a porch so somewhat protected from the wind, but not entirely. It was around 10C.

On medium flow it was more than hot enough to heat the griddle and cook the bacon. Too hot for the eggs -- had to turn it down to medium/low for the eggs and pancakes. On high I think this thing would be scary -- might use it like that for quickly boiling a big pot of water, but I can't see any other reason to turn it up that high.

No issue with the wind.

The griddle is a heavy cast iron affair, with an extra plate in the center of the bottom to help distribute the heat. It was pretty effective at keeping an even heat -- more so than I feared, but not as much as I hoped. It definitely cooked slower around the edges, but it was as good or better than a 12" cast iron fry pan over a standard coleman stove.

This was my first experience using a griddle. I love the space. The Pro-30 (single burner) setup gives a cooking area 14"x14" -- almost enough to cook an entire pound of bacon in one go. Plenty of room for 6 medium or 4 large pancakes. For the two of us I believe the single-burner size is the best choice (though I can see having to use the stove in the trailer to boil water for the second pot of coffee while breakfast is cooking).

There have been some concerns about the legs for the Camp Chef stoves. Rightfully so, too -- the legs are a bit of a pain in the backside. The stove itself has 4 short legs attached. The stand legs are simply pipes that fit over the short legs. They don't attach or come off easily (too high a friction coefficient with the powder-coated steel); the first time I used them it was a real struggle, though I expect it would get easier as the powder coating wears.

But the stove sits fine on the short legs. I wondered whether it could function on a table-top -- it did, no worries. The wooden table top was barely warm after running the stove for most of an hour. So my plan is to use the stove on a table rather than use the provided stand legs.

I will report again once I've tried the grill box.

escape artist · 05-04-2014, 01:43 PM

Hi: dbailey... Are these trials in case you have to cook in the "Dog House"? Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

Ruthe · 05-04-2014, 04:12 PM

Thanks for the Report. I'm thinking now that I'll get the Everest, which is a two burner tabletop

dbailey · 05-04-2014, 07:01 PM

Alf, the whole point is to avoid cooking *in* the dog house... But gotta make sure it works before we take it on the road...

Ruthe, I believe the "mountain" series are not compatible with the low pressure quick attach on the side of your trailer. If you're planning on using the low pressure connection, be careful which stove you get. I'm not sure which of the table-top models will function off the low pressure quick connect.

Ruthe · 05-04-2014, 07:07 PM

Thanks Doug. Good point. So much to consider. In the past I just used the Coleman, put up with whatever because I didn't know I had an option.

dbailey · 05-04-2014, 07:12 PM

I have a coleman 2-burner propane stove. It does a fine job and I'd be happy continuing to use it, except I'm trying to find something that works off the low-pressure connection. The Camp Chef gives me both a stove and a grill that work on low pressure.

Ruthe · 05-04-2014, 08:47 PM

What I started out looking for was an outdoor oven, thinking I would use the Coleman and go from there. Then I got side tracked because the Camp Chef stoves got such rave reviews. We are going to go to a camping store and actually see the various options. The cooking will be very different on this trip because we were vegetarian for a really long time and now we'll be cooking meat. I don't want to cook meat in the trailer and I'm not a big barbequer -- it will be more stews and chicken and fish in pots and I feel like a beginning cook.

gbaglo · 05-04-2014, 09:03 PM

Sounds like you may be a convert to the Church of the Dutch Oven ( Reformed ). Lots of web sites devoted to that religion to consult.

Ruthe · 05-04-2014, 09:18 PM

I'm going around and around. I remember some previous posts where people were explaining Dutch ovens and I finally understood what they were except now I'm not remembering how you do a dutch oven when you don't have a campfire. I think there was something called the Volcano? My underlying issue here is that I'm sick of planning this trip -- I want to BE on this trip -- and I've got three and a half weeks to go.

hotfishtacos · 05-04-2014, 11:08 PM

Ruthie, you will be very pleased with the Everest stove for your planned trip. Just get a couple of small gas bottles at WalMart to go with it and you're ready to go. For a short trip I use the small bottles for convenience but for a longer trip I hook up to one of the trailer bottles with a tee fitting and run a high pressure hose directly to the stove and connect it to the fitting you would normally screw the small bottle into. The tee and hoses are all commercially available.

Steve

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ruthe