G'day All
Been thinking about getting a thermal cooker, the one where you heat up a meal then place it in the cooker for the rest of the day to cook.
As much as I love cooking on the camp fire or ct kitchen, for my Kimberley trip next year, I'm thinking there will be days when it may be nice just to pull up and have a meal ready.
Be keen to get people's views and experiences using them.
Cheers
Robbo
Thermal cookers - Your Views?
Moderators: krp102, Coxy68, robcaz
Re: Thermal cookers - Your Views?
Hi Robbo,
We have a Dream Pot.
We are very pleased with it , however, I will say that it doesn't do everything. When people ask, I liken it to an oversized thermos and it says it is OK up to 8 hrs later. I have found that, depending what you are cooking, that is stretching it a bit. We have done tea before we leave home (a thick soup) and it is OK when we arrive at our destination 6hrs later,however, I have done curried sausages a few times but find 5 hrs is about max. The Eco Pot advertises it has an element that you can plug into your cig lighter to "keep the food warm" but I don't know. The temp they advertise seems to be below food safe handling but I can't comment on it as I don't have one.
Sometimes we have done a double and the leftovers go into the camping fridge for another nights meal thus saving time again. Only needs heating up then as you do at home.
We have done some very simple ones at lunch time (diced meat, tin crushed tomatoes and pkt soup mix in one pot and rice in the other) on our little butane stove and it is fine for tea later that night. (Don't have to find a fish and chip shop in an unfamiliar town!) Sometimes we have started making/cooking tea at lunch time so that it is ready for tea time. That has worked well because we may have been out for a drive/canoeing or something when it has come time to "do something about tea"
I have done scones, and, while they don't brown on top, they are nice when hot. I have done a couple of cakes and had varying success. I have done a few deserts and they worked out fine.
I have also used it as an "esky" we put a few cans of soft drink in the big pot and ice cubes. We went on a day trip with some friends and had excellent cold cold drinks when we stopped for lunch. (we like to support small towns with getting sandwiches or salad rolls from the local bakeries. Excellent value because they are usually loaded to the max with filling)
We don't just use it when camping. During winter in particular, and we have a picnic lunch with friends at the river or somewhere, I have sometimes done the thick soup mix again.
The trick is to use it for a range of things and you will have success and failures. You then know not to do the failures too often unless you are trying to "perfect the process" I have tried a cake mix a couple of times and the second time was better. We have put ticks and crosses next to recepies in the cook book that came with the pot. We have also made notes about little tweeks to the recepies that suits us.
They are, or seem to be, expensive for what they are, but we are making it work for us by using it often. As I said before, it doesn't do everything and it is good to use the camp oven or BBQ plate sometimes. Variety in meals!
Enjoy.
Malcolm
We have a Dream Pot.
We are very pleased with it , however, I will say that it doesn't do everything. When people ask, I liken it to an oversized thermos and it says it is OK up to 8 hrs later. I have found that, depending what you are cooking, that is stretching it a bit. We have done tea before we leave home (a thick soup) and it is OK when we arrive at our destination 6hrs later,however, I have done curried sausages a few times but find 5 hrs is about max. The Eco Pot advertises it has an element that you can plug into your cig lighter to "keep the food warm" but I don't know. The temp they advertise seems to be below food safe handling but I can't comment on it as I don't have one.
Sometimes we have done a double and the leftovers go into the camping fridge for another nights meal thus saving time again. Only needs heating up then as you do at home.
We have done some very simple ones at lunch time (diced meat, tin crushed tomatoes and pkt soup mix in one pot and rice in the other) on our little butane stove and it is fine for tea later that night. (Don't have to find a fish and chip shop in an unfamiliar town!) Sometimes we have started making/cooking tea at lunch time so that it is ready for tea time. That has worked well because we may have been out for a drive/canoeing or something when it has come time to "do something about tea"
I have done scones, and, while they don't brown on top, they are nice when hot. I have done a couple of cakes and had varying success. I have done a few deserts and they worked out fine.
I have also used it as an "esky" we put a few cans of soft drink in the big pot and ice cubes. We went on a day trip with some friends and had excellent cold cold drinks when we stopped for lunch. (we like to support small towns with getting sandwiches or salad rolls from the local bakeries. Excellent value because they are usually loaded to the max with filling)
We don't just use it when camping. During winter in particular, and we have a picnic lunch with friends at the river or somewhere, I have sometimes done the thick soup mix again.
The trick is to use it for a range of things and you will have success and failures. You then know not to do the failures too often unless you are trying to "perfect the process" I have tried a cake mix a couple of times and the second time was better. We have put ticks and crosses next to recepies in the cook book that came with the pot. We have also made notes about little tweeks to the recepies that suits us.
They are, or seem to be, expensive for what they are, but we are making it work for us by using it often. As I said before, it doesn't do everything and it is good to use the camp oven or BBQ plate sometimes. Variety in meals!
Enjoy.
Malcolm
Re: Thermal cookers - Your Views?
Thanks so much Malcolm, you nailed pretty much every question I had!
Really appreciate your response.
Cheers
Robbo
Really appreciate your response.
Cheers
Robbo
Re: Thermal cookers - Your Views?
Something for you to think about: I looked into these and decided against. My preference is a pressure cooker.
I figure you have to spend about half an hour cooking at one end of the day or the other. With the thermal cookers you need to do it in the morning - often when you're busy packing up and trying to get on the road you don't need this extra work.
The pressure cooker can cook most things like stews, soup, roast etc in about half an hour to 45 mins so you can still have a fairly quick cook time at the end of the day. And when we're having something fried/bbq, I use it for the vegetables. Since we bought it we use a lot less gas than when we boiled potatoes in a saucepan. Of course you can't do things like cake, scones etc, but I don't do this sort of thing when camping (and rarely at home as well!)
And of course it doesn't double as a "thermos" or "esky", but we don't miss that for our style of camping/eating.
Also the price. I picked up a small one (3 litre, big enough for the two of us) at a discount store for about $30 but any non-electric one would be less than $100. If you want to look for one, check out places like Ronni's, Go-Lo, Crazy Clarks, Sam's Warehouse - or whatever is in your area
I figure you have to spend about half an hour cooking at one end of the day or the other. With the thermal cookers you need to do it in the morning - often when you're busy packing up and trying to get on the road you don't need this extra work.
The pressure cooker can cook most things like stews, soup, roast etc in about half an hour to 45 mins so you can still have a fairly quick cook time at the end of the day. And when we're having something fried/bbq, I use it for the vegetables. Since we bought it we use a lot less gas than when we boiled potatoes in a saucepan. Of course you can't do things like cake, scones etc, but I don't do this sort of thing when camping (and rarely at home as well!)
And of course it doesn't double as a "thermos" or "esky", but we don't miss that for our style of camping/eating.
Also the price. I picked up a small one (3 litre, big enough for the two of us) at a discount store for about $30 but any non-electric one would be less than $100. If you want to look for one, check out places like Ronni's, Go-Lo, Crazy Clarks, Sam's Warehouse - or whatever is in your area
Re: Thermal cookers - Your Views?
Great info Marie, sure makes sense!
Many thanks again.
Robbo
Many thanks again.
Robbo
Re: Thermal cookers - Your Views?
Hi Marie,
I take your point about having to cook at one end of the day or the other. Generally if we are having a stew or something, we do it at lunch and it can be "doing its thing" while we are eating lunch and cook during the afternoon. We sometimes get engrossed in afternoon activities (swimming, canoeing etc) and preparing an evening meal is the last thing we want to do.
Your comment re having to cook in the morning when you are trying to pack is a good one and it is the last thing on my mind.
On a recent trip driving from Melbourne to Sydney via the coast, we did a couple of 10mins cooks at lunch time while we were having lunch so tea was ready at the end of the day. I wouldn't try to do curried sausages etc as they do take a while to prepare.
I have only used it as an esky once "to see how it went" as the manual said you could do it. It suited us then but I doubt I would do it again.
My fruit cake was excellent but my chocolate cake was not so successful. the apple crumbles work like a treat.
I didn't buy mine from the suppliers, I got it cheaper from a fellow CT member who won it but never used it.
I do agree that you have to consider what works for you. We have had our for a few years now and I reckon that it has paid for itself but we don't use it for every meal. I did do a roast in it once and while it was good, I still liked the one in the camp oven with roast veges better. My wife reckons it does excellent silverside, but I wouldn't know because I don't eat it.
Thanks
Malcolm
I take your point about having to cook at one end of the day or the other. Generally if we are having a stew or something, we do it at lunch and it can be "doing its thing" while we are eating lunch and cook during the afternoon. We sometimes get engrossed in afternoon activities (swimming, canoeing etc) and preparing an evening meal is the last thing we want to do.
Your comment re having to cook in the morning when you are trying to pack is a good one and it is the last thing on my mind.
On a recent trip driving from Melbourne to Sydney via the coast, we did a couple of 10mins cooks at lunch time while we were having lunch so tea was ready at the end of the day. I wouldn't try to do curried sausages etc as they do take a while to prepare.
I have only used it as an esky once "to see how it went" as the manual said you could do it. It suited us then but I doubt I would do it again.
My fruit cake was excellent but my chocolate cake was not so successful. the apple crumbles work like a treat.
I didn't buy mine from the suppliers, I got it cheaper from a fellow CT member who won it but never used it.
I do agree that you have to consider what works for you. We have had our for a few years now and I reckon that it has paid for itself but we don't use it for every meal. I did do a roast in it once and while it was good, I still liked the one in the camp oven with roast veges better. My wife reckons it does excellent silverside, but I wouldn't know because I don't eat it.
Thanks
Malcolm
Re: Thermal cookers - Your Views?
I agree the thermal pots are a good idea, (essentially a slow cooker of sorts) if they suit your lifestyle on the road.
At home I have an electric combined slow cooker/pressure cooker and use it in both modes frequently.
You can't beat a roast done in a camp oven. The one in the pressure cooker is sort of steamed more than roasted but still tastes good when you're out in the bush without an oven. (We don't carry a camp oven either because of weight and space, and hubby's aversion to lighting fires.) I usually buy the little boned, marinated roasts from the supermarket when we're camping as a full leg of lamb etc wouldn't fit into our little pot.
A small piece of silverside works well in the pressure cooker when camping, but I prefer to do it in the slow cooker when I'm at home. A friend does it in her camp oven and that's good too.
I sometimes do a very quick and easy version of curried sausages when camping. Dried or tinned vegies, onion flakes, powdered garlic, dried herbs, curry powder, leave the sausages whole, shake up the dry ingredients with the stock and just put the whole lot in a saucepan or the pressure cooker and cook for about 15, 20 mins. You can chop up the sausages as you serve it up, or serve them whole with the curry over them. I doesn't taste much different from when I do it properly and sautee real onions, garlic, curry powder etc
I also use those packets of cooked rice. You're supposed to re-heat them in the microwave, but you can tip it into a saucepan with just enough water to stop it sticking and re-heat it in a few minutes. It's more expensive than cooking raw rice, but saves time on those nights when you've been busy all day and want a quick meal.
At home I have an electric combined slow cooker/pressure cooker and use it in both modes frequently.
You can't beat a roast done in a camp oven. The one in the pressure cooker is sort of steamed more than roasted but still tastes good when you're out in the bush without an oven. (We don't carry a camp oven either because of weight and space, and hubby's aversion to lighting fires.) I usually buy the little boned, marinated roasts from the supermarket when we're camping as a full leg of lamb etc wouldn't fit into our little pot.
A small piece of silverside works well in the pressure cooker when camping, but I prefer to do it in the slow cooker when I'm at home. A friend does it in her camp oven and that's good too.
I sometimes do a very quick and easy version of curried sausages when camping. Dried or tinned vegies, onion flakes, powdered garlic, dried herbs, curry powder, leave the sausages whole, shake up the dry ingredients with the stock and just put the whole lot in a saucepan or the pressure cooker and cook for about 15, 20 mins. You can chop up the sausages as you serve it up, or serve them whole with the curry over them. I doesn't taste much different from when I do it properly and sautee real onions, garlic, curry powder etc
I also use those packets of cooked rice. You're supposed to re-heat them in the microwave, but you can tip it into a saucepan with just enough water to stop it sticking and re-heat it in a few minutes. It's more expensive than cooking raw rice, but saves time on those nights when you've been busy all day and want a quick meal.