The author Bob Ellsberg, who often brings along some of his BBQing gear he operates at his campsite. This is a key way to easily prepare meals, especially fish, while on the road.
One of the problems with managing your life inside your RV is the space you don`t have compared to a full-size house. Now, the smaller space does make it a lot easier to heat and cool down than most houses but when it comes to cooking, the interior of an RV is pretty easy to fill up with a lot of powerful aromas.
This is not usually a problem when you are baking bread or cookies. I mean, real estate agents who stage homes for open houses recommend baking just before you let people view a home. Also, there is nothing much better after a day of hiking or swimming in a lake than stepping into your RV with the smell of lasagna or taco’s to greet you.
However, this could present a problem to those who really enjoy fishing and cooking it just the same. A lot of us could do well to put more fish in our diet. Let’s face it, sometimes our vacations lack a bit of the disciple of our regular meal times. So how can we get more out of our hobbies and have a better quality diet that can be done easily and conveniently while on the road in the confines of an RV? Simply put, take a little gear that you can operate in the open air, which can come in a lot of different shapes and sizes. I’ve got a variety of cooking set ups that I take with me RVing. Depending on the species available and the space my better half allows me, I can bring a pan to fry a few trout, or load up some of my BBQ equipment that will give me the option to feed an entire RV park. Let’s start out with the overkill.
Depending on the species available I can bring a pan to fry a few trout or a variety of fish no matter where our travels take us.
Most all of us take propane with us. If we are up on the Kenai in Alaska, staying at the State campground on the Russian River, we can gear up to cook enough Alaskan Sockeye Salmon to feed the multitudes. I’ve got a great smoker (many varieties are
If I’m down on the Oregon coast catching crab on the Columbia, I take along my propane burner with one of my big pots. Crab is pretty stinky to cook inside (although I will give you a good alternative later) but outside, the air clears quickly. Fire up the burner till the water is boiling, boil up your spices, potatoes and sausage for a few minutes and toss in the crabs. In less than a half an hour, you can feed a dozen folks in one sitting. Treat yourself to a few cold beers and you can make a whole night of it. The pot also does wonders with clams and oysters. You wouldn’t want to fill the motorhome with the scent of steamed oysters, but you can cook them outside and then bring them in with little damage.
If you are a real quality cook, you can take your fresh fish or shellfish and make a wonderful seafood stew in the big pot. It takes a while to steam, and is best watched with a glassful of Chablis. Use your stove inside to cook up your garlic bread.
A big rainbow trout caught on the Kenai River in Alaska. Photo credit: Steve Ellsberg
To prepare trout you caught from the creek or the crappie you hauled out of the lake, I prefer to use my camp stove. It has two propane burners, and with a frying pan, you can either batter and fry your catch, or wrap them in foil, with salt, pepper, and a pat of butter and bake till the meat flakes off. Either way, these are quick and healthy meals.
For those days when it’s raining and you are driven indoors, there are a couple of good solutions to prepare meals as pungent as fish. Strangely enough, you can easily cook up a crab or two in your microwave. Just put the crab in an oven bag with a couple of tea spoons of salt water, and run on full power for 7 minutes. It keeps the juices and is very good! Remember, it keeps cooking if you leave it in so pull it out and cool it as soon as you can.
For fish in the microwave, I bought a plastic cooking bowl that holds water below, and fish and veggies above. It keeps most of the scent and flavor in the fish and will give you a moist flavorful meal in short order. The microwave takes care of a lot of the scent inside. You can simply open the container and serve the fish on your picnic table outside if weather permits.
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