Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I’ve used charcoal, and gas, now I’m thinking about electric burners for cooking – what do you guys use for the ultimate heat source??

I'm kind-of a charcoal for grilling and propane Coleman stove for cooking. Then again...I like wood for smoking and gas for crab boils...oh yeah...

I use my Cobb with charcoal for most things, including some big pieces of meat. When I do this I put the potatoes in as soon as I light the coals, baked potatoes with juice from the meat dripping on them is wonderful.
For quick grills I use propane on a small grill and then for the main item, paella, I have a special cooking ring that uses propane.
Depends on how much time I have and what's for dinner.

It depends on the cooking.

I use a Weber Smoky Joe for grilling when I'm camping, and my stove is an Iwatami unit from a restaurant supply store. It is the same thing restaurants use at omelet stations. I use it when I'm cooking in a pan or boiling water -- just like I'd use a stove at home. The nice thing about the Iwatami is that I can really control the heat level -- it's not just an on/off thing.

For grilling, there is no small gas grill that can generate the intense heat of a charcoal grill. That is VERY important for properly grilling a perfect medium-rare steak. Now, for burgers or chicken, that intensity heat is not so important. But still, a small gas grill isn't my first choice. I use my Smoky Joe with less charcoal.

Same applies for heat under cast iron. If I am frying in a CI skillet, I use the stove. With the dutch oven, the stove is fine for just heating on the bottom, such as I would do for a soup or stew.

Obviously, if you want to bake in a DO, you need a heat source on top, too, and there's no way around charcoal for that.

Whatever you use for your heat source, technique is essential to success. Know your equipment, and know your food.

CD

I second the Smokey Joe Grill. Our 14" smokey Joe Junior is with us every outing. For the more delicate meats ( Chicken and fish ect) I keep a 8" stainless bowl. I place it in the center with water in it and place the charcoal around the outside of the grill bowl. Grill goes into a bake mode with the indirect heat and the water helps to prevent drying out the cuts.

P.S. A 14" smokey Joe will just fit a 12" dutch oven as a great wind screen but space up the lid a bit to provide enough oxygen for the coals

One cool item that Dean got via Kai (Mexican Tear) was a mini stove/oven. It is really great to cook on top of the stove (burners)and has a small oven to bake in. Much better than the EZ-Bake oven I had as a young girl. It is totally portable and uses propane. We cook with charcoal (lots for the DO) and he has a number of other grills that have used gas as well. But the Little Stove, known as a Flamenita, is pretty hard to beat....IMHO.

TDN

The Teardrop Nanny wrote:One cool item that Dean got via Kai (Mexican Tear) was a mini stove/oven. It is really great to cook on top of the stove (burners)and has a small oven to bake in. Much better than the EZ-Bake oven I had as a young girl. It is totally portable and uses propane. We cook with charcoal (lots for the DO) and he has a number of other grills that have used gas as well. But the Little Stove, known as a Flamenita, is pretty hard to beat....IMHO.

TDN

I bought their stove last summer at ITGII (they let me have it at a great price). It's a great little oven after I got a high flow propane regulator that supports the burners adequately. The oven is quite controllable and reaches 400 DegF in about 15 minutes from a cold start, and that's with both stove top burners going. Dean and Kai replaced their original stove on the Mexican Tear with one they picked up at the Kearney Nebraska Cabalas. It is the same one that is sold by Camp Chef and if you look around several other retailers beat Cabalas price by $75. (My used one was $20 and an hour’s labor).

If you use charcoal, I highly recommend a chimney charcoal lighter. You can buy one from many manufacturers, but being cheap I made mine from a three pound coffee can and a couple of coat hangers---I can get a good scoop of charcoal (enough to fire a DO or do up two porterhouse stakes) lit in about 15 minutes with two sheets of newspaper, one match and no boy scout water.


Rap

Electric is nice and clean (at least at the cooking site), easy to control, and lots of hot plates are available for cheap.

Only one issue. Where do you get the electricty. Running hot plates off of batteries is simply not practical, IMHO.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Gus