Solid food that can be reheated in a saucepan on a campstove

[Tundracamper]

I was packing for a recent trip and my wife suggested I take some of the leftover frozen french toast from the freezer. I had never thought about taking such things as I don’t have an oven. Fast forward to breakfast at camp - After I fried up some eggs and bacon, I just threw the partially thawed french toast in the cooking pan on the camp stove. Flipped them over a few times and then poured syrup on them. I was really surprised at how well they reheated on the stove. I am curious what other frozen goodies or leftovers I’m overlooking. Is it just flat things like bread, that can make good contact with the pan? Any other suggestions?

 

[RonaldHoward1313]

I was packing for a recent trip and my wife suggested I take some of the leftover frozen french toast from the freezer. I had never thought about taking such things as I don’t have an oven. Fast forward to breakfast at camp - After I fried up some eggs and bacon, I just threw the partially thawed french toast in the cooking pan on the camp stove. Flipped them over a few times and then poured syrup on them. I was really surprised at how well they reheated on the stove. I am curious what other frozen goodies or leftovers I’m overlooking. Is it just flat things like bread, that can make good contact with the pan? Any other suggestions?

Almost all foods were at one time reheated on the stove top before microwave ovens existed, and many still refuse to use a microwave. If done properly, it is fairly simple. The food should be thawed or mostly thawed first, and if you only have a stove top to cook on, it can be made into an oven of sorts. Take two pans and make a double boiler, that way the heat is not in direct contact with the food to burn it. If using a dutch over, use a trivet in the bottom to keep the food off the bottom. The same can be done when using a camp fire also.

 

[Boort]

I was packing for a recent trip and my wife suggested I take some of the leftover frozen french toast from the freezer. I had never thought about taking such things as I don’t have an oven. Fast forward to breakfast at camp - After I fried up some eggs and bacon, I just threw the partially thawed french toast in the cooking pan on the camp stove. Flipped them over a few times and then poured syrup on them. I was really surprised at how well they reheated on the stove. I am curious what other frozen goodies or leftovers I’m overlooking. Is it just flat things like bread, that can make good contact with the pan? Any other suggestions?

A round cooling rack / grill that fits into your pan can be used to make a frying pan with lit into a simple roaster oven.
Put rack into pan (line pan with foil or parchment paper for easy cleanup)
Put food on top of rack and heat on stove.
Put lid on and keep an eye out.

Made Ribeye steaks and potatoes like this, Reheated breakfast burritos and frozen hand pies.

UPDATE: Learned from @Tundracamper and @savrip NOT to do what I'm suggesting with a Rack and making a Dry oven with the new Ultra Lightweight non-stick pans like JetBoil and GSI. As these rather expensive pans will be ruined.

Boort

 

[Billiebob]

I was packing for a recent trip and my wife suggested I take some of the leftover frozen french toast from the freezer. I had never thought about taking such things as I don’t have an oven. Fast forward to breakfast at camp - After I fried up some eggs and bacon, I just threw the partially thawed french toast in the cooking pan on the camp stove. Flipped them over a few times and then poured syrup on them. I was really surprised at how well they reheated on the stove. I am curious what other frozen goodies or leftovers I’m overlooking. Is it just flat things like bread, that can make good contact with the pan? Any other suggestions?

throw a lid on that frying pan and you have an oven

 

[UgotWheelz]

My Mother with ALZ lives on UncleBens Rice packets lots of flavors great base just add your own meat. I have been tossing them in my GoBag for several years now.

 

[Tundracamper]

A round cooling rack / grill that fits into your pan can be used to make a frying pan with lit into a simple roaster oven.
Put rack into pan (line pan with foil or parchment paper for easy cleanup)
Put food on top of rack and heat on stove.
Put lid on and keep an eye out.

Made Ribeye steaks and potatoes like this, Reheated breakfast burritos and frozen hand pies.

Boort

Won’t that damage a thin pan like a Jetboil? I could see it working with my cast iron griddle, but not my light sauce pans.

 

[Boort]

Won’t that damage a thin pan like a Jetboil? I could see it working with my cast iron griddle, but not my light sauce pans.

I'm not familiar with the JetBoil kit. I'd only be concerned if the cooling rack might scratch the non-stick coating. Looking at their site I would think their kit should be able to do this; The best might be the 5L Cook Pot set ESP. if the lid vents can be closed to keep the heat in.

I've done it in my old aluminum BSA mess kit pan and in my new Stanley kit. Works better in the Stanley than the old BSA kit but my Lodge Cast Iron is the best. The Cast iron takes a very long time to reach temp but once it does it stays nice and even. The Stainless Steel Stanley gets up to temp faster but also lacks the Mass to keep the temp so needs to be minded more. The Aluminum kit heats and cools really quick and is a much smaller space so can be hard to keep the top hot as the aluminum pan on top acts like a heatsink. If cooking over a camp fire you can put some coals on top to fix this but on a burner it's kinda difficult.
@RonaldHoward1313 's idea of using a heavy metal trivet would help solve the Mass issue and make the steel or Aluminum setups more like the cast iron.

Another way which may or may not work depending on the food being heated would be to put water in the bottom of the pan under the rack. this would keep the temp to just above the boiling point at your altitude. (You lose about 10*F per mile of elevation. So 212*F at sealevel, ~202*F at 5280 feet, Denver Co, and ~192*F at 10560 feet in Leadville Co.) Until the water boiled off at which point you would be steaming the food and the temps would start to rise again. This works for starchy veggies and items in *Boilable* Seal-a-meal vaccum bags. Careful taking the lid off you don't want a scald in the back country.

Putting the setup into a Weber propane BBQ using the bbq on low - medium heat and trapping the heat with the BBQ lid works wonders too.

Boort

 

[Tundracamper]

I'm not familiar with the JetBoil kit. I'd only be concerned if the cooling rack might scratch the non-stick coating. Looking at their site I would think their kit should be able to do this; The best might be the 5L Cook Pot set ESP. if the lid vents can be closed to keep the heat in.

I've done it in my old aluminum BSA mess kit pan and in my new Stanley kit. Works better in the Stanley than the old BSA kit but my Lodge Cast Iron is the best. The Cast iron takes a very long time to reach temp but once it does it stays nice and even. The Stainless Steel Stanley gets up to temp faster but also lacks the Mass to keep the temp so needs to be minded more. The Aluminum kit heats and cools really quick and is a much smaller space so can be hard to keep the top hot as the aluminum pan on top acts like a heatsink. If cooking over a camp fire you can put some coals on top to fix this but on a burner it's kinda difficult.
@RonaldHoward1313 's idea of using a heavy metal trivet would help solve the Mass issue and make the steel or Aluminum setups more like the cast iron.

Another way which may or may not work depending on the food being heated would be to put water in the bottom of the pan under the rack. this would keep the temp to just above the boiling point at your altitude. (You lose about 10*F per mile of elevation. So 212*F at sealevel, ~202*F at 5280 feet, Denver Co, and ~192*F at 10560 feet in Leadville Co.) Until the water boiled off at which point you would be steaming the food and the temps would start to rise again. This works for starchy veggies and items in *Boilable* Seal-a-meal vaccum bags. Careful taking the lid off you don't want a scald in the back country.

Putting the setup into a Weber propane BBQ using the bbq on low - medium heat and trapping the heat with the BBQ lid works wonders too.

Boort

Great post. I have done the water in pan double-boiler to make cinnamon rolls. It worked great. I was just thinking that doing that with a dry pan would possibly damage the lower pan. I know JetBoil warns against heating empty pans.

 

[UgotWheelz]

I have a few small backpacking stoves; but I can't seem to fin them now.

 

[grubworm]

I am curious what other frozen goodies or leftovers I’m overlooking. Is it just flat things like bread, that can make good contact with the pan? Any other suggestions?

tater tots

very versatile. let a few thaw out and put in a skillet with oil and make a hash brown or mash up with egg and fry it like a potato pancake, add chili and cheese, break up some tots and fry in a skillet with pieces of ham/bacon mushroom, etc and put in a tortillia...lots of great things to do with tots and a hot skillet

SPAM, tots, egg and cheese as a breakfast burrito...you eat that and you can hike trails uphill both ways all day long and not even feel sore!

 

[savrip]

A round cooling rack / grill that fits into your pan can be used to make a frying pan with lit into a simple roaster oven.
Put rack into pan (line pan with foil or parchment paper for easy cleanup)
Put food on top of rack and heat on stove.
Put lid on and keep an eye out.

Made Ribeye steaks and potatoes like this, Reheated breakfast burritos and frozen hand pies.

Boort

Won’t that damage a thin pan like a Jetboil? I could see it working with my cast iron griddle, but not my light sauce pans.

Yes! We just obliterated my GSI saucepan by having food wrapped in aluminum foil cooking on it. I would highly highly advise not doing that.

 

[Boort]

Yes! We just obliterated my GSI saucepan by having food wrapped in aluminum foil cooking on it. I would highly highly advise not doing that.

@savrip

Good to know. Guess I've been lucky with my gear. Which GSI gear? and what happened to it? Kill the coating or something else?

Asking because I was considering the Pinnacle Camper set before I received my Stanley Adventure Base Camp set.

Boort

 

[savrip]

Yes! We just obliterated my GSI saucepan by having food wrapped in aluminum foil cooking on it. I would highly highly advise not doing that.

@savrip

Good to know. Guess I've been lucky with my gear. Which GSI gear? and what happened to it? Kill the coating or something else?

Asking because I was considering the Pinnacle Camper set before I received my Stanley Adventure Base Camp set.

Boort

@Boort

My wife had prepared some hamburgers and potatoes with vegetables and we cooked it in the pan with no water, this was a result. There's some bubbling of the non-stick material and then much black scorching and warping of the metal. It was the GSI 4 person sauce pan.

 

[Tundracamper]

@Boort

My wife had prepared some hamburgers and potatoes with vegetables and we cooked it in the pan with no water, this was a result. There's some bubbling of the non-stick material and then much black scorching and warping of the metal. It was the GSI 4 person sauce pan.

yep, the directions for all the “lightweight” saucepans I have state that there needs to be some liquid in them. I did reheat the French toast above in saucepan, but I did have the genesis flame set very low!

 

[Tundracamper]

I have a MSR and jetboil I use them for different trips different situations. The genesis is a great overlanding small stove.

Agreed. I have the Genesis stove and love it for very low simmering!!

 

[Boort]

@Boort

My wife had prepared some hamburgers and potatoes with vegetables and we cooked it in the pan with no water, this was a result. There's some bubbling of the non-stick material and then much black scorching and warping of the metal. It was the GSI 4 person sauce pan.

@savrip

Wow. Shocked that would happen so fast. I guess a Sauce pan would expect ... Well Sauce. I hope that would not happen with thier fry pans.
The finish on your pan now looks worse off than my 10 year old Calphon I use every day at home.

Boort

 

[RonaldHoward1313]

That is why I use these. They are called cowboy skillets or cowboy tins. Lightweight, but work very well. I found these in an old barn doing a cleanout, I almost tossed them before I realized what they were. About 150yrs old and work good as new, they can take campfire or cook top stove. The before and after photos. And in use at my tiny hunting blind cabin. These fancy, expensive non-stick aluminum pans will never hold up this well.

 

[ThundahBeagle]

Almost all foods were at one time reheated on the stove top before microwave ovens existed, and many still refuse to use a microwave. If done properly, it is fairly simple. The food should be thawed or mostly thawed first,

I contend that "re-fried beans" would not exist today if the microwave had been invented 500 years ago

 

[RonaldHoward1313]

I contend that "re-fried beans" would not exist today if the microwave had been invented 500 years ago

I'm sure there are lots of foods that wouldn't exist today if they weren't around before the microwave....lots of very good foods that belong nowhere near a microwave. lol

 

[Peregrine]

I was packing for a recent trip and my wife suggested I take some of the leftover frozen french toast from the freezer. I had never thought about taking such things as I don’t have an oven. Fast forward to breakfast at camp - After I fried up some eggs and bacon, I just threw the partially thawed french toast in the cooking pan on the camp stove. Flipped them over a few times and then poured syrup on them. I was really surprised at how well they reheated on the stove. I am curious what other frozen goodies or leftovers I’m overlooking. Is it just flat things like bread, that can make good contact with the pan? Any other suggestions?

I mostly take precooked frozen foods when I roll. Get a family pack of ribeyes, BBQ on the charcoal grill, vacuum pack and freeze. Take out to thaw in the morning and quick reheat over the fire pit dinner. Take frozen tubs of pasta sauce. A lot of what is in the freezer. I bake up 5lbs of bacon at a time. Same, freeze packs and good to go. Cuts way down in ice requirements and cooking time/clean up. Use your imagination.