Airstream Weber Grill

[RivetED]

Originally Posted by urnmor

Not sure if this is what your are looking for but you might want to look at Everdure by heston blumenthal. they make grills in various sizes both charcoal and gas. Although I do not own one they do appear to get good reviews and can be found on Amazon

Thanks. The 'Cube', from the Everdure line, is definitely in the size I'd like but I want to avoid charcoal grills. I really want to stay with a gas/propane grill with that same portability.

[InterBlog]

In 7.5 years of posting, one of my all-time favorite Air Forums moments occurred in post #102 above. In trying to figure out which cast iron au gratin pan Wachuko had purchased, suddenly I realized that the answer was “all of the above”. It was so preposterous and yet there was so much hope and optimism embedded in that moment. Plus there was some delightful rule-breaking because people are not supposed to buy EVERY pan… or at least that’s what I’ve been led to believe by…someone… Didn’t someone tell us not to buy EVERY pan?!

Anyway, I need a new cast iron pan now, one with a tight-fitting lid, and I can’t find one that is downscaled and is smaller than standard household size.

I would really like to get away from foil cooking on BBQs and campfires. As the pics below might suggest, I’m pretty good at foil cooking. Browned potatoes, carmelized onions, many other things. I can foil-cook them all.

Why can I do that? Because I grew up in a family that could not afford to put cast iron on the BBQ. We became very good at cooking in foil because foil was cheap and attainable. We only had one cast iron pan and it was reserved for use on the indoor stove. Wachuko’s acquisition was a delightful reminder to me that I am no longer that poor. I can afford more than one cast iron pan now.

There are many reasons not to do what I was taught to do as a child. Cooking in foil is wasteful. I have run out of foil on off-grid trips. Plus the manufacturers coat it with polymers these days, and so it’s probably not the healthiest thing to roast on the BBQ.

But I haven’t yet found a smaller version of the product that I show in the image collage below. If anyone has any suggestions, please post. Thanks.

[bweybright]

Google "Lodge fajita pan" and you will get lots of hits. I would venture a guess that if Lodge doesn't make it in cast iron it may not exist. They have a huge line of quality products.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by bweybright

Google "Lodge fajita pan" and you will get lots of hits. I would venture a guess that if Lodge doesn't make it in cast iron it may not exist. They have a huge line of quality products.

Right, but as noted in the image above, I need a covered deep dish that is about the footprint of a fajita pan, as opposed to a large casserole.

Lodge doesn’t appear to make them, and a search didn’t reveal much. But sometimes obscure products do exist, and people know about them. For example, the Ukrainian cast iron skillet with the detachable handle that is also described in this thread… Lodge does not make a product like that, either.

[Lineolated]

If you can live with something a little taller and lacking the long handle, take a look at a mini Dutch oven.

[wachuko]

I don’t have that…. But as soon as you find one, share it!

[wachuko]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

Right, but as noted in the image above, I need a covered deep dish that is about the footprint of a fajita pan, as opposed to a large casserole.

Lodge doesn’t appear to make them, and a search didn’t reveal much. But sometimes obscure products do exist, and people know about them. For example, the Ukrainian cast iron skillet with the detachable handle that is also described in this thread… Lodge does not make a product like that, either.

What dimensions are you looking for! Fajita pan size does not translate well for me

2.5-Quart Cast Iron Soup Pot Lid(s) Included https://www.lowes.com/pd/Bayou-Class...ded/1000366245

[bweybright]

Lodge does have a 5 inch skillet that has a lid available if that size would work?

[bugsbunny]

Hi IB,

Staub makes a covered oval Gratin pan - Williams Sonoma sells them

Sur La Table also sells a Staub covered oval baker

Le Creuset makes oval dutch ovens and oval braisers (also some stoneware)

All of these are enameled cast iron and of course pricey. I have had good luck at their outlets and eBay.

YouTuber Uncle Scott's Kitchen just released a video on the Staub oval gratin.

Maybe a pyroceram covered oval Corning Ware? The pyroceram can be used on top of the stove, in the oven and in the microwave. It heats a lot like cast iron. Downside is the cleanup, but baking soda works wonders. I can easily find it for < $10 a pan. Most new Corning ware sold today is stoneware, but the old stuff is pyroceram. Ususally the stamping on the bottom will say range top if pyroceram.

[InterBlog]

I have not been successful in finding pyroceram. I haven't been pursuing it diligently, though, so maybe that's my problem.

I am hoping to find plain cast iron. The internet is strewn with the anguished shrieks and lamentations of buyers whose Le Creuset and other expensive enameled brands have chipped. I doubt such equipment would do well in an open campfire.

This is, however, about the right size and shape, despite being enameled:

[Dennis C]

We use Le Creucet cookware almost exclusively at home. It’s great stuff, but not something that’s really made for cooking over a campfire. I’d never use it that way. I think you’re better off with plain cast iron.

[InterBlog]

Resurrecting this thread in which a variety of portable grills have been discussed —

I will be posting some feedback on the Breeo Y-Series wood grilling system, which has only been on the market for the past several weeks. This whole package is intended to be portable, which makes it a contender for being used with the Interstate despite its limited storage space.

My set arrived today. My first question has been answered - is that body sleeve really stout enough to handle the cantilevered weight of both a spread metal grill full of food, AND a freakin’ cast iron pot full of stew?!

Answer: Yes, I think so. There’s a tube inserted and welded through the inner and outer walls of the fire pit to contain the riser along its entire length, so that there are no individual pressure points.

Anyway, as pictured, this set is about $1,200, and so far, I am sufficiently satisfied with initial quality that I plan to keep the whole thing. For that price, I need to have a lot of confidence in the durability and functionality of the product. Functionality tests are forthcoming - I haven’t lit a fire and put it through its cooking paces yet.

The grill bag shown in the foreground contains a loose metal part, as you can see. This is the adapter for if you simply wanted to stake the grill into the ground over an open camp fire, rather than using it with this smokeless fire pit. So the grill part could be purchased separately and used without the other components. I thought about buying just that one piece, but that might limit me to using it mostly on my own land in Canada. Many other places don’t want you to build a fire on the open ground, although most campgrounds do have pits of some kind.

The removable sear plate shown on top of the pit below the spread metal grill is a full quarter-inch steel. It’s really robust.

[Rocinante]

Looks nice, but far too large for use with an Interstate unless one has a little tow-behind trailer or a gigantic storage box on back for that sort of thing.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Rocinante

Looks nice, but far too large for use with an Interstate unless one has a little tow-behind trailer or a gigantic storage box on back for that sort of thing.

Someone who had an EXT and was dedicated to off-gridding could take it if they prioritized it. It packs down into a flat cylinder shape about 12” high and 24” wide. The pit and the grill both have carrying cases.

2022 was the first year that I used a Coleman stove at our campsite, because that, too, is a big ask to take in a non-EXT Interstate with very little cargo space (but we had the little utility trailer in 2022). Every other year, I did almost all cooking over an open fire with my ten dollar grill sheet balanced on rocks, such as you see here in this 2020 federal quarantine classic shot:




I would prefer to learn how to use this Breeo system and save the Coleman for rainy days when I can cook in the Clam.

In fact, that would be my idea of a great vacation - spend a lot of time out there learning how to use this system, maybe building a small structure out of hurricane-downed trees when I wasn’t cooking or eating.

I have half a mind to Photoshop the Breeo into a picture of my property and then use that as an inspiration image between now and next summer.

[InterBlog]

I was expecting more of a learning curve, but the Breeo is very easy to use. The infinitely-adjustable grilling surface makes all the difference in controlling the speed of food cooking over a wood fire, which is naturally more dynamic than the static grilling options (propane or charcoal).

A couple of take-aways:

(1) Almost all grilling surfaces are made of rounded metal welded together, whether they are the thin steel wire grills, or heavier cast iron. The Breeo’s grill is spread metal, and the edges of it are sharp enough to tear apart foil-wrapped packages that would do fine if they were being slid around either thin wire or thick grate surfaces. I’ll need to adjust my cooking style to that.

(2) Ironically, what makes the Breeo and its competing products more desirable from an operability and “gather around” standpoint may be less desirable for cooking - it’s relatively smokeless. Personally I like a smoky flavor in BBQ’d food. The way to deal with that is to allow the fire to burn down to a low level, in which case it will begin drawing less efficiently, and throwing more smoke.

(3) Relatedly, it’s not a log-gobbler as I feared a well-draughting device might be. It’s pretty easy to keep feeding it small amounts of wood to sustain a good fire.

Bottom line - I have some optimizing to do on the cooking front, but I’m pleased.

[Roadtech]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

I have not been successful in finding pyroceram. I haven't been pursuing it diligently, though, so maybe that's my problem.

I am hoping to find plain cast iron. The internet is strewn with the anguished shrieks and lamentations of buyers whose Le Creuset and other expensive enameled brands have chipped. I doubt such equipment would do well in an open campfire.

This is, however, about the right size and shape, despite being enameled:

How about this one:

https://www.snowpeak.com/collections...ch-oven-cs-301

[propchef]

Originally Posted by Roadtech

How about this one:

https://www.snowpeak.com/collections...ch-oven-cs-301

We have the Snowpeak Firepit and love it. Their stuff seems to be well-made.

We have a few hundred pieces of cast, and we use a handful of them on open flame regularly. Our enameled pieces stay inside.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Roadtech

How about this one:

https://www.snowpeak.com/collections...ch-oven-cs-301

I bought the full Breeo package, which came with a small cast iron Dutch oven-like hanging pot. It is Breeo-branded, and for that reason, I think they sized it specifically for this firepit. I haven’t tried it yet.

[wachuko]

Nice!!

[StogieMan]

As many fellow Sprinter B owners, we too have been through a bunch of small portable grill options and none for us has been the perfect one. We ended up buying an electric Blackstone Griddle last year. It works great but we miss that gas fired grill taste, it doesn't store easily and a bit bulky. So we kept on looking and I think that we've found one and hope that this one will fit the bill.

This one by Eureka has a case, uses butane and it's small. It looks pretty easy to clean but more importantly for me is the storage aspect.

We picked it up today at REI and of course that's not the only things that we picked up. We also picked up the griddle plate for it along with a bunch of other camping doodads. You can't come out of that store for under $500 bucks it seems.

Eureka Grill

https://eurekacamping.johnsonoutdoor...prk-camp-grill


Eureka Griddle Plate & Cutting Board

https://eurekacamping.johnsonoutdoor...sories/griddle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-Tfg7iNGTw