Campfire Cooking: Easy Surf & Turf

Cooking outdoors does not mean that hotdogs and hamburgs will be the only menu items available - a small charcoal grill is all that is needed to make a great meal.

While camping this past summer, the gas line on my in-laws trailer was damaged meaning the only tools we had to cook were the microwave and an open fire. Luckily for us, the food we packed was easily prepared on a small charcoal grill.

When I say small, I mean small - I can't imagine that the grill was much more than 2ft long by about 10 inches wide. We were able to feed 4 adults a large steak and steamed crablegs using nothing but the grill and a disposable aluminum tray.

The steaks were prepared first and let to rest under a piece of foil to redistribute the juices while we prepared the crab legs. The crab was arranged in a small rectangular aluminum tray with a small amount of water to line the bottom and was then covered tightly with a piece of foil. This pan was placed directly on the charcoal grill and allowed to steam until hot and cooked through.

In a matter of minutes we were enjoying a restaurant quality meal with little preparation and far less money than it would have taken us to go out to dinner. When traveling in an RV, the possibilities for meals are endless. Nearly anything that can be cooked in a traditional home kitchen, can be prepared in an RV kitchen or outdoors on a grill or campfire. With a stovetop, oven, microwave and electric outlets available for slow cookers or griddles, don't be limited on preparing menus using just one of the many cooking tools available.