I hate cooking / frying in the caravan . I don’t like ready meals or salad every day .
What do you all do . I did have a flat electric grill but it takes a long time to cook through a sausage and sticks a lot .
I have been looking at the cadac the flat one with two plates . Can you put a saucepan or frying pan on these . I have always been put off because they are so heavy .
Alcohol Trangia. Stormproof - here on exposed coast of Ross of Mull.
Switch to gas option if frying or any camping stove. Paraffin & alcohol are my preference
Cadac BBQ gets used outside the caravan but do cook a lot inside the caravan.
Open the windows & the roof vents and any smells soon disappear. After all you've dragged the cooker around with you so why not use it?
The Cadac plates lift off so you can use a pan on the pot stand which is underneath. We have a more basic version without the plates and it's great.
Cadac do regulators for various types of gas, we're tenters so use it with EN417 cannisters for portability but they also do ones for calor type cylinders, caravan gas points and even one to use multiple bayonet gas cartridges.
Our MH has an outside electric socket & we will use an inherited George Forman grill if it’s a pleasant evening: we don’t use the wind out awning & we don’t have drive-away either - so it’s fair weather cooking only. Inside, we reheat tasty casseroles that were made at home, sometimes use the oven i.e. almost no smelly smoky frying goes on, just the occasional onion for a stew or hot pot. Salmon does well in the microwave, again no smells.
We do see plenty of kitchens set up in caravan awnings, but I don’t think you have one?
Finally, I know a number of people who don’t cook inside either, they eat out: takeaways (we do have an insulated bag to bring good fish & chips back to the site), pub meals, even fine dining restaurants. Not our choice, but they find it more relaxing to leave the cooking & washing up behind.
i barbecue outside every evening no matter what, using just a cheap gas barbecue on legs, with a windbreak or two around it and also using the caravan as a windbreak, and a large 2 metre umbrella , in case of rain, just get wrapped up in colder weather
As an ex-tenter, I would highly recommend the Coleman 424 Dual Fuel 2-burner stove.
It works great with Coleman Fuel or equivalent high quality unleaded fuel even at low sub-zero temperatures.
Vango's induction hobs look good, however, only if they can be safely hooked up for use outside.
DK
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
We have a Cadac carry chef 50 and love it. The legs unscrew so very easy to store under the bed. We got ours for £100 from local facebook sales, came with the cover and extra plates etc, it looked brand new, so bargains to be had!
I use my Premium Air as a 1-person BBQ using charcoal briquettes.
Probably too slow to heat up for some using charcoal, however, they have a gas version.
Choose your 'gas' wisely though, as butane does not burn well as sub-zero temperatures, as I had found out the hard way.
For instant heat up, I swear by the Coleman 424 Dual Fuel stove as I have already mentioned.
DK
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
Having used a number of different cookers over the years, there are a few things that should influence your choice.
How many are you cooking for?
Single burners mean you often cook in a 'serial' fashion, with one pot at a time, ie rice and curry, that means one item goes cold whilst the other cooks!
Gas or electric? Or a spirit burner! All require a source of fuel to be available, and the convenience of sourcing and storing it.
We had a Kampa Roastmaster oven with twin hob - absolutely brilliant for cooking for a group, or if 'roasting/baking' required, but expensive, bulky and heavy!
I personally favour the suitcase style single burner stove, as it's very stable and doesn't wobble/fall over like many cartridge stoves tend to do, it's easy to swap cartridges, and the cartridges are widely available.
I've also got a Safari Chef 30 Compact, which gives a variety of cooking methods in one stove with it's interchangeable hob/cooking plates/lid-hob pot, with the available accessories, it covers most forms of cooking style. It's a lot more than just a BBQ. With the lid on, it cooks quickly as heat is not lost as with open pots.
In the caravan, I use the inbuilt cooker a lot, and whilst there are undoubtedly cooking smells, they don't seem to stick around too long. I open the roof light to let a lot of the steam/odours escape.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Cooking outside
via mobile 08/5/2026 at 1:23pm
