COOKING INSIDE OR OUTSIDE THE PUP

[brianbigdogsmith]

OUTSIDE ALWAYS RAIN OR SHINE

 

[electronflux]

I camp in bear country...cooking inside is a bad idea

 

[Tacoma_Jim]

I have a 2 burner stove mounted into the side of my PUP outside. I removed the inside stove/oven to make more storage room. I like easy skillet meals and don't want that smell in my bedding, so I would cook outside regardless. Just bought a single burner electric for heating up soup or the likes. Went through a raining wind storm this past fall and couldn't get out to cook. Had to run down the road for a pizza.

 

[bburgcamper]

We will heat water up inside and we have used our oven one time during a torential downpour. 98 percent of our cooking is outside. We have used our microwave probably twice to make popcorn.

 

[Jayko]

We like to cook outside weather permitting, if raining, we will cook under the awning. If cold, chances are we cook indoors. It stinks up the camper, so we don't do it often.

 

[kitphantom]

One reason we bought a pup was to give us more options for cooking - or even just heating water in the morning or evening. We still prefer to cook outside, either at the site picnic table, or now more often, under the awning on our counter-height table. However, having an place to shelter inside in cold, wind and/or sideways rain is wonderful.
In bear country all cooking is done outside.
When we do cook inside, we do our most simple meals, often just re-heating home-made soup or stew (yes, on-topic for healthy cooking).

As we have changed the way we eat, we now often just heat water for tea and hot chocolate for breakfast, and have a muffin or something else that does not require cooking. Our breakfast for more than two decades has usually been cooked oatmeal, as in non-instant, we're now using Coach's oats, plus dried fruit and sometimes spices. We still cook it on occasion, it fuels DH until mid-afternoon, while I am hungry again by mid-morning, so I have to plan for that.

We don't have space for a microwave, and seldom camp with hook-ups. I took our toaster oven from home on one wintry trip, but even that took more space than it earned. I have an older, small toaster oven that I may take for a long solo trip where I'll be doing a lot of overnight stops (with power).

On occasion, if it is really nasty or we are out at supper time (say, returning from a hike in later afternoon), we'll get a meal in town. We ate several in town over Labor Day, when we met friends and it poured rain for three days - they are much more apt to choose to eat in town than we are. However, in many of the places we camp, heading for town is not exactly handy.

 

[capy235co]

The only thing ever on the stove inside is water for coffee in the morning. Love coffee singles.

 

[TwistedElvis]

Outside only!

 

[shfd739]

Pretty much all we do inside is heat water for coffee or Mountain Home meals for lunch.

Everything else is cooked outside. Keeps the smells out of the trailer that way.

 

[Hanne]

In rainy weather we have used the inside stove to heat water, but after we got a Dometic awning, we would just cook there when it was foul weather.
I still can't bring myself to take the stove out even though we may never use it. The closed metal cover is a great place to sit the Buddy propane heater.

 

[lbcarr87]

I voted both but not so much depending on weather. With our pup I always cooked outside. because the stove could be used inside or out. I just liked being outdoors with more room for prep etc. With our HTT the stove is built in so we cook inside. Mostly just side dishes etc. are done inside. We usually grill the main course and that's always done outside on the grill or fire.
I kind of miss the outside cooking now so have been on the hunt for a nice camp stove that I can use outside.

 

[TCwheels]

Outside only!

+1

 

[skiball]

Outside is all we ever did.

 

[JT2]

Historically, our camper is our motel room while we attend events we're involved in. Virtually all the cooking is done inside; we're organized and know where everything is so quick meals are no problem, and more involved ones are fun to make. When time (rarely) permits, we've been known to do something over the campfire but carrying all the stuff in and out is a hassle.
However, looking ahead we plan to do fewer of the participatory events and more "let's just go camping for fun" weekends so our cooking habits may change as well.

/JT

 

[TCwheels]

Part of setup is hanging the two burner stove outside. The screen room allows us to cook outside in all weather. HATE cooking smells inside the PUP and the little Rockwood does not have much counter space to begin with...

 

[budlight]

We always hang the 3burner outside, but do at times pop pizza in a convection oven inside the pup at night. DW also loves late night tater tots in the convection although it can warm up the pup a bit

 

[BarbaraFaith]

Being that the MN camping season is only approx 5 months long, I absolutely love the ability to be outdoors while camping. The primary reason that we bought the PUP was not to have indoors cooking facilities, but to get off the ground, since we're both mid 50's. We have a Coleman camp kitchen that we set up, along with the propane cooktop that we hook up outside.

I also cook with misc. electrial appliances outside. We do have a Microwave inside, which we use for re-heating or for popping MW popcorn.

Only on 2 occasions over the past 2 summers have I actually cooked inside, and that was because of very, very wet/rainy weather.

 

[ghacker]

We always cook outside other than boiling water or reheating something in the microwave. We'll set up a 12x12 screen room with rain flaps if necessary over a picnic table.

 

[generok]

If weather is good, I will cook outside. If not, I cook inside.

The way I see it, if I cook AT ALL, I am making a scent for bears, so it seems to me it doesn't matter which side of the canvas I cook on for bear attractant. If you have a PUP and don't want to attract bears, put nothing in the PUP except you and bottled water, EVER.

 

[Raycfe]

We cook very little inside on the stove. I warm things up in the microwave all the time. Use a Webber Q for grilling, and do have a 2 burner outside stove. We prepare many things at home ahead of time.