Cooking on a Buddy Heater

[IceAddict87]

Looking for food ideas for the upcoming season. What do you guys cook or heat up on your buddy heaters. I’ve done breakfast burritos but that’s about it. Food prepping is not my strong suit….

[Mr.Seaguar]

I wrapped a coat hanger around the grate and heated up sausage on it. I would hang the buns in a little bag above it so they could get warm too. It worked awesome and I had a lot of warm meals off that heater before it died.

[bart]

I make up several meals in advance. I freeze them in tins and take them the day before hitting the ice.
My favorites; Baked mac & cheese, Chicken Alfredo Penne, Chili. Frank & Beans, I just put in a ziploc bag and dump it in a tin. A can of Dinty Moore's Stew is easy meal also. I also have a separate Stanley Pot I use for reheating soups from time to time.


Warm up coffee to piping hot is nice too.

[cwavs1982]

Leftover pizza or a breakfast pizza wrapped in foil is usually my go to.  i see a Casey's along my way and I stop and grab a few of those slices. 

[primepin65]

I would agree with bart on all of his meal ideas. Walmart sells tin foil "loaf" pans 3 for $1 that worked great for me when reheating food on the buddy heater. I only use the buddy heater to reheat food if I'm out by myself. The best items to cook on top of the buddy heater are low liquid stuff that won't splash easily. leftover hot dogs or brats wrapped in tinfoil can be jammed into the grate to heat up. I've heard of people doing the same thing with leftover pizza. There's plenty of plans/pictures under the "Hardwater Cuisine" sub-forum to build and install an actual grill grate for cooking items from scratch.

If I'm out with friends, we take a small propane grill or a 2-burner coleman stove. Those days are typically hot dogs, brats, or some sort of chili/soup that is premade at home and just reheated on the stove.

I've never really thought about making fresh coffee on the ice, since I'm a pansy and like my coffee with milk and Splenda. I supposed I could easily bring it all out with me if I know that I'm in it for the long haul.

[800stealth]

Pretty much echoing Bart on this one, casserole type stuff in disposable tins. For a group of guys a batch of sloppy joe made at home and loaded into a disposable tin works great, just need a bag of buns and a bag of cheese for easy lunch with very little trash after...

[kasilofchrisn]

One of our go-to's the last few years has been corn dogs.
We just buy the frozen ones at the store.
I use one of those paint roller deals on mine and it works great.
Stick the corn dog sticks through the expanded metal and turn them every so often.
Crispy on the outside, hot on the inside delicious!
But I thinking for this year I'm going to expand my cooking repertoire on the ice.
Maybe follow Barts lead and make some precooked meals for my friends and I.
Maybe some moose stew or some Caribou chili!
In years past we've brought out a camp stove and made chili dogs, hamburgers, the usual Fair that's quick and easy.
A hot meal on the ice sure does warm you up and make the day go by better.
Especially if you have kids with you.

[lynng]

I pre cook all my meals. Freeze in plastic bags then reheat in a pan on the bubbly grate. I have used the Alum loaf pans from Walmart to freeze and reheat in the same container and that works fine too. My favorites are chili, chili Mac, vegetable soup, and American chop suey with added andouille sausage.  I also like to heat Italian meat subs wrapped in foil or Brats cooked in one of the alum loaf pans. The cooking grate, whether made or purchased, works very well.