New to offgrid cooking

Julia Winter wrote:My rocket oven gets quite hot and it is a white oven.  The heat riser dumps white-hot fire directly onto the oven.  I typically put the pizza in when the thermometer is at 600 degrees Fahrenheit (315 Celsius) and that works very well.

So, I will dispute the claim that you have to have a stinky smoky "fire in the cooking space" oven to make excellent pizza.

You can read about my oven here: https://permies.com/t/90413/rocket-ovens/quest-beautiful-rocket-oven

Hi. I'm just getting ready to move off grid in about 10 days and have essentially no experience cooking over either a campfire or a propane burner (turkey fryer burner). You last notation says ask me about cooking so I'm asking - what beginner foods can I try?

Also - are there any rocket mass heaters or cooks in western Washington who would meet up with me and/or give me some pointers as I prepare to build my home here?

Thanks in advance.

Carmen, congratulations on your impending move👏 I’m so excited for you that your dream is coming true!

When I first used my RMH cook stove, I boiled water for tea. I know that sounds condescending, but it helped me find the hot and cooler spots on my cook top and gauged how long it took for the water to come to a boil.

Next, I did a veggie soup…something that was forgiving and would not stick to the pot if it got too hot too fast.

After that, I moved to quinoa and after many successes with cast iron cooking, eventually graduated to water bath canning. All that to say start simple, don’t be in a hurry to eat at first while learning the nuances of your heat source and cook pans, and you will be rewarded with many years of deliciousness.

Hi Carmen,

A long time ago I found Kayak Cookery useful for learning how to cook over a campfire/campstove.  (I was also doing a lot of kayaking.)  The emphasis is on compact (though not as lightweight as needed as for hiking) equipment and supplies.

A couple of weeks ago I came across Camp Cooking: 100 Years , an amusing book from the Forest Service.  The emphasis here is on hearty food for a lot of people, on sub-primitive equipment, plus a lot of amusing/terrifying anecdotes.

My outdoor cooking comes in three varieties:
--grilling - meat and veggies are well-documented, add a pot of water on the side for pasta/rice
--fast searing - scrambled eggs, stir-fry, etc.
--baking/roasting - I'm still learning about how to use a dutch oven for longer-term cooking

Hi, Carmen

I can understand your concerns.

I have done a lot of campfire cooking and we also have the propane burner (turkey fryer burner) that you mentioned.

I feel each of those uses different cooking skills.

Are you planning a rocket stove?  One like Angela's is beautiful.

I would suggest having a propane stove for outside cooking unless you want to do a campfire.

My campfire foods usually are hot dogs, hamburgers, and steaks.

And of course, roasted marshmallows and some' mores.

While we were building our house, I used a two-burner camp stove like those made by Coleman.

Having it sit on a table makes it easier to use so it is the height you are used to cooking at.

At this point outside cooking is very similar to normal inside cooking except you might want to cook items that are quick and easy likes soups and stews.

Baking can be a challenge when cooking outside.  This is where a cast iron dutch oven with a lid some in handy, especially for biscuits and cornbread.  The dutch oven is also great for beans, soup, or stews.

Oh!  I forgot the Boy Scout Dutch Oven Cookbook which is what I'm using to learn how to use a Dutch oven.  It's free and very helpful, though maybe geared a little much to teenage-boy tastes.

Ha;
So you now know exactly how to Dutch oven cook hot dogs and baked beans!
Can you cook hamburgers in a Dutch oven?
I know mac and cheese!

I found some threads that might be of interest to you or others:

https://permies.com/wiki/152738/Year-Grid-Kitchen-Kate-Downham

https://permies.com/t/165715/kitchen/campfire-recipes

https://permies.com/t/58613/kitchen/favorite-dutch-oven-recipes

https://permies.com/t/161997/kitchen/Wood-burning-stove-cooking

Thank you all for the quick and helpful replies! I didn't expect so much support, or so quickly.

I have a camp stove but I don't know how to use it, to be honest, and I'm too cheap to want to buy those small canisters all the time. Also, I read somewhere that using propane indoors doesn't take too long to really affect the oxygen level in a small space. In as pinch I will figure it out but outdoors will work for now.

Again, thank you very much!! You all are very encouraging. Everyone in my family thinks I'm crazy and my coworkers just raise their eyebrows when I mention it.

It makes sense that your co-workers would raise their eyebrow, They see you as very similar to themselves and they know that they would quit after a day. So they are projecting that and saying, lets see how long he will last, but they are not completely counting you out because they know that human have survived until now without AC/induction cooktop/etc.

I believe that you will be fine, there might be a learning curve, but there is so many safety net, and information, you will suceed.

Carmen Rose wrote: I'm too cheap to want to buy those small canisters all the time.

We were given a small BBQ that used those small canisters and I refused just based on the waste! This wasn't a cheap solution, but Hubby got an adapter to a propane hose that could hook on to the more reasonable 20 lb tank. If you're staying in one place, that works great.  However, if you're counting on it for food, I'd suggest you have 2 tanks so you can swap to a full one if the installed one runs out at a critical time!

and wrote:

I have a camp stove but I don't know how to use it, to be honest

Read the instructions! If you don't have the original instructions, look for a set on the web. If things still don't make sense, take pictures of what worries you, and ask your questions here - as you just noted, permies are great at helping people out if they just ask!

Cooking outside became my pandemic hobby. I derived a lot of inspiration from watching Country Life Vlog videos on YouTube.

Carmen said, "I read somewhere that using propane indoors doesn't take too long to really affect the oxygen level in a small space. In as pinch I will figure it out but outdoors will work for now.

That sounds strange as I cook with propane every day.  So maybe they are talking about cooking with the propane tank indoors.

That is easily solved by opening a window.

Cooking outside might get unpleasant once the temperatures start dropping to freezing.

If I were in this situation, I would make getting propane lines installed so I could have a proper propane cooking stove.  I bought one off craigslist for $100.00 and our local propane distributor set the tank without charge. Of course, you can buy your own. I think my tank is 250 gallons and I only paid for the propane to fill it.

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and I'm too cheap to want to buy those small canisters all the time.   (I cant figure out the quote then answer) we got an adapter& hose and used the camp stove, summers, for several years

Get ahold of a Boy Scout manual.
It will teach you a bit about cooking "off grid".

You're pretty safe with propane indoors, as long as the flame is on. Big parts of the world cook on propane/butane and lpg.
I use 16 kg bottles, returnables.

Check the connevtion on your camping thingy and you can probably get a refillable cylinder for it.

Anyway, campfire cooking is not very difficult, but requires attention. If you don't have one yet, get a Dutch oven or potjie. Make a little tripod. Either for the pot to stand on, or to hang from and start making stews & curries.
Get a little grid and use it for meat, corn, eggplant etc.
Flatbreads can also be done very well over a campfire.
And kebabs

Maybe tell us what you like eating and we can help better?

I'm off grid, 'cause there is no power mains in this area. I got a 2 plate gas stove and wood and charcoal (and loads of cast iron, charcoal grills etc)
Happy to help

Hi Carmen, I'm so excited for you that you get to move onto your place finally! PM me if you need help with anything.I am just starting to learn about RMH and stoves so I won't be much help there though I'd be happy to help with the labor of building one.

With your camp stove, if you decide to use it inside now that the weather is getting cold and rainy, I have some thoughts. My dad is a retired fire chief and he told me for propane you need a specific propane detector in addition to a carbon monoxide detector. Carbon monoxide is released with burning the fuel. Propane itself is heavy and will sink to the floor so you put that detector near the floor. We had a carbon monoxide detector plugged in right next to our propane range and came home from a date one night to a house full of propane and a babysitter who just thought we had exceptionally stinky garbage can or something. 😬 The carbon monoxide detector didn't go off because there was none.

Thankfully they add that stinky smell to the propane because the knobs on our stove sometimes get bumped into an on position. Our kitchen/living room is large so it would take a while for the gas to make it to the bedrooms in our house and we've always caught the leaks before that could happen. For safety in your position, I would store the propane outside and I would turn the propane tank off and disconnect the stove each time. That way if there is any little leak, the gas is leaking outside.

For carbon monoxide, your space is really small so I would have a window open and a little fan by the window to circulate the air outside and a carbon monoxide detector on the countertop near the camp stove. Walmart has these nifty fans that charge their battery by USB and then you could just sit it by your open window. (It was a little cheaper this summer when I bought one for my daughter.) It kept a charge for a long time each day.

Hello Carmen. I am not clear whether you want rocket stove/oven cooking help, or open flame cooking help. I live in SW Washington near Cathlamet. I would be delighted to have you come by and see my various cooking methods and we can make a meal or more together. I have a solar oven, a small pot belly stove, a propane burner from a discarded BBQ, and occasionally I cook over open fire. All are outside. I have been cooking/eating this way most of the time for a few years. If you are interested reply here and we can figure out how to share particulars

Barbara Kochan wrote:Hello Carmen. I am not clear whether you want rocket stove/oven cooking help, or open flame cooking help. I live in SW Washington near Cathlamet. I would be delighted to have you come by and see my various cooking methods and we can make a meal or more together. I have a solar oven, a small pot belly stove, a propane burner from a discarded BBQ, and occasionally I cook over open fire. All are outside. I have been cooking/eating this way most of the time for a few years. If you are interested reply here and we can figure out how to share particulars

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I would love to get together with you! I'm exploring all options to see what I can be successful at and what's most doable for me. I have a very small rocket stove sitting outside, 4 or 5 bricks high, not sure. It works well. Then I was at a yard sale and the old guy was selling all the equipment he had used for a long time for a sizeable hunting camp. I told him what I was doing and he took a liking to me so he sold me the turkey fryer burner and a sturdy BBQ grill that fit on it very nicely. Also a round cast iron thing that's grill on one half and flat on the other. That's what I've been using mostly, just frying right on it over the rocket stove. He also had 2 huge cast iron skillets that he gave me for $10 (for both!). See, I told you he'd taken a liking to me. He also had a 5 gallon aluminum pot with a spicket near the bottom. I didn't take it because it was aluminum but now that I have to bathe there I wish I would have. It would sure be more pleasant with more warm water and the weather isn't exactly conducive to the solar camping shower bag.

My computer bit the dust so please be patient with me. Besides the move and figuring everything out I started a new job and now I have to drive in to the library to get online. I joined an exercise place so I can take showers more easily. Maybe by next winter I'll have a workable plan for home showers in cold weather.

Thanks again, everyone for the help and emcouragment. I'm lovin' it!

If you're doing open flame or campfire cooking, have you considered a Santa Maria grill? You'd have quite a bit of control over heat levels, it could take the place of a stovetop or oven - depending on what's cooking!

If you are interested in building your own rocket oven, then Paul has some current excerpts available on YouTube that can give you an indication of what you'd need to do to build one yourself.  Have a look at this one, for example.