For Cub Scout Camping; Dutch Oven or Propane Griddle?

[Its Me]

 

I have two car campouts coming up this spring. We cook and eat as a den. The den has 12 boys plus siblings and parents. Not all camp but for our first campout we had 22 in our group. I have a couple of back packing stoves and most places we go allow fires.

 

Ok here is my question. I can either buy a Dutch oven or a propane griddle. The oven will be more for dinners and the griddle will be more for breakfasts and lunches. Which one would you get? Or would you invest in other cookware.

 

 

[ScouterPaul]

Its Me

What equipment do currently have. I assume that when you say propane griddle you are talking about a propane stove with a burner on one side and a griddle on the other. If you don't have a propane stove I would recommend that you buy a stove with two burners. You can invest in a cheap teflon pan.

 

Depending on you planned menu I would think that you could feed 20 people with one dutch oven and a stove.

 

Our Pack prefers Pack cooking on our pack campouts. This past fall I fed 120 people with 5 dutch ovens and two box ovens (with food left over).

 

Good luck I like to here about Cub Scouts going camping.

 

YIS

Paul

[fotoscout]

Without knowing more about how you camp, Id have to suggest the griddle. With 12 boys, the minimum number of settings at your table should be 24, thats a lot for a single Dutch oven. If you add sibs and spouses you have a significant number of people. A Dutch oven would be fun and a great learning experience for the boys, but I dont think that its going to give you the volume or flexibility to feed 12 young boys and their parent.

 

As for the backpacking stoves, one of the reasons we eat as a Den is to minimize the number stoves in use around the campsite. Just too many young energized boys, I dont want anyone getting hurt. I have a big three burner Camp Chef Stove with a griddle that we take on our Camping Trips.

 

[Bob White]

Hi Its Me,

Its me at this end too. From my vantage point your problem isnt cookware. The real problem is the den is too large and should be two dens. 8 boys is the maximum size for a den in order to operate effectively and be able to deliver the program in a quality manner (remember den size is not based on the leadership ability of the adults, but on the social capabilities of the scout).

 

Its doubtful you will find a reasonably sized, and priced, piece of cookware that has the capabilities and capacity to prepare a variety of meals for 20-plus people. The best solution at this point would probably be to function as two dens for meal preparation, and have the correct gear for each den. That could be griddle and/or Dutch oven depending on the menu that has been planned. Remember you have the resources of your den, and your scouting community, to draw on for assistance in gathering the needed gear.

 

Have a great time outdoors,

Bob White

 

 

[Twocubdad]

I really hate recommending against the dutch oven, as it's a great way to cook and very versatile. But even with a fairly large oven, you are pretty much limited to serving a family-sized group with it. Among the families in our pack we can assemble 3-4 ovens if needed, but we usually are limited to making cobblers in them.

 

We've got over 100 boys in our pack, so we look like a Marine division when we camp. Our whole pack cooks together when we camp and we've prepared meals for 50-60 people on two Coleman camp stoves. Paul is right that a good camp stove is a good investment and allows you the flexibility using whatever cookware you want. Coleman has even come out with drip coffee pots and bake ovens that work sitting on top of the stoves.

 

The key to cooking for larger and larger crowds isn't the gear, but the menu. With big crowds we tend toward menu items that are easy to prepare in bulk, like soup or chili. Several folks in the pack have these high-BTU propane turkey fryers that are good for that. They usually come with large pots, too.

 

One of our favorite campsites has a large double-wide grill, the permanent kind on a pedestal you see at many parks. The cooking surface on it is probably two feet by three. I had a piece of steel cut the size of the grill which we use as a griddle. We can cook over 200 pancakes in 15 minutes on that sucker. We mix the batter in a 5 gallon bucket with a paint mixer and electric drill. One guy ladeling the batter and two guys flipping.

 

The piece of equipment that has me drooling is a new camp stove that Coleman makes. It's huge. It's essentially two commercial-sized propane burners that have independently-controlled inner and outer rings. You can boil five gallons of water or scramble an egg. All the legs and wind screens fold up unto a suitcase-size box the one person can carry. The legs are adjustable for uneven ground and drop down to knee-height if you're heating large pots of water for clean up. It's about $200, so you need to be doing some pretty serious camp cooking (or tailgating) to need it.

[Proud Eagle]

I have to agree with others that are saying there is no one right answer. If you are going to be making stew you would want the dutch oven (if you buy from Lodge Cast Iron they list the sort you want as a Camp Oven, it has legs and a brim on the lid to hold coals) I would think. If you are making pancakes or other pan fried type things the griddle would work. Another option would bee a somewhat portable gass grill, though that has only limited uses. I would suggest doing a survey of what you have and what the den parents have that could be used. You may discover that between the lot of you there is enough equipment without buying anything else. Rember something doesn't have to be made for camping to be used while camping. Gas and charcoal grills are a prime example. Another possibility is to get a small grate to use for cooking over an open fire. It all depends on what you are cooking, how much time you have to cook it, and how much equipment you can carry in with you.

[evmori]

Welcome to the campfire It's Me!

 

If I had to choose between a griddle & a dutch oven, I would choose the dutch oven. You can use the dutch oven like a griddle & don't forget you can use the lid of the oven, too! A dutch oven is more versatile and come in many sizes. We have fed a camping trip of 20 with one large (14qt) oven. One more thing - only by cast iron. That other metal doesn't heat evenly.

 

Ed Mori

1 Peter 4:10(This message has been edited by evmori)

[fotoscout]

Twocub,

 

Take a look at this stove http://www.campchef.com/stoves/propane_stoves/gb90d.php before you go out and purchase a Coleman. I have an older version of this model and it's been terrific. it is available at a lower cost from other suppliers.

 

ScouterPaul, I'd like to hear more about how you fed all those people? Sounds like a great challenge!(This message has been edited by fotoscout)

[Its Me]

Thanks for the replies. And I agree that our den is too large, heck our pack is too large (over 100 boys) but I have very little say so in that.

 

Those large double burners that operate off a large propane cylinder interest me but I have yet to hind a griddle that will cover both burners.

 

 

[evmori]

I found round double sided cast iron griddles at Dicks! Great for those big stoves! Need one for each burner & ya don't have that "not so hot" spot! Cost was $13.

 

Ed Mori

1 Peter 4:10

[EagleInKY]

There's not an easy answer to this.  That's because it depends upon a lot of factors we don't know.  If I asked you what you preferred to cook with at home - the stovetop, the oven or the grill, you would probably ask "what am I cooking?".  The same applies here.  There are some great dutch oven recipes, but 24+ is a lot for one.  A griddle is great, but you need a bigger stove (I agree with the Camp Chef recommendation - they blow the Coleman's away).  The truth of the matter, you probably need more than just this, and it's not cheap stuff you're needing.

As for the den size, you do have a concern.  You need to sit down with your parents and get some help.  Splitting the den would be preferable.  We've had "co-leaders" before in this type of situation where we were unable to split the den. 

[packsaddle]

Did someone mention food? I have a tough time making the choice on which is best because I think both do a great job. And I also agree that the 'cuisine' is the critical feature.

 

Its Me, take a look at the web site and click on the "printable specifications" button. In the accessories you will see griddles listed that cover all the burners.

[ScouterPaul]

fotoscout - Thanks for asking. Our Troop is a start up unit in it's second year. We currently have 1 Patrol of 8 boys. The campout was a Council joint Troop/Pack outing. Our pack is growing and we have close to 75 boys with the majority consisting of Tigers and Wolf Cubs.

 

The Boy Scouts cooked dinner for the pack (they determined the menu and did the shopping - we provided 5 meals and two cracker barrels for 100 plus campers for just over $400.00) and did so with only minimal supervision from the leaders.

 

Menu - Beef Stew (2 dutch ovens), Chili (2 DO), Chicken & Stuffing Casserole (1 DO), Cheesy Potatoes (2 pans), Brocolli & Cheese Casserole (1 pan), Corn Pudding (1 pan) and spaghetti for the chili. "Bug Juice", water and coffee. Peach Cobbler and homemade ice cream (hand cranked - the Cub Scouts all took turns cranking and had a ball) was served at our cracker barrel.

 

Equipment - 5 dutch ovens (2 12 quart, 2 8 qt and 1 6 qt) 2 box ovens, 6 stanless steel fire pits (approx. 2 1/2 by 2 1/2), 1 2-burner high btu stove.

 

The Scouts roped off their cooking area with yellow caution tape to keep the young scout away.

The Boy Scouts each prepared in advance part of the menu. They used aluminum pans to combine (not precooked) the cheesy potoes, brocoli casserole and corn pudding. They precut the vegtables for the stew, browned the stew meat and ground beef. Everything was cooked on site. The Troop Chaplain lead everyone in grace the Scouts served everyone in an assembly line fashion. In addition to preparing, cooking and serving the scouts also cleaned up.

 

Needless to say I am quite proud of their performance that night and they made quite an impression on the parents of the young cub scouts.

Many parents told me they couldn't believe that a group of 12 and 13 year old boys could do so much.

 

Thanks

 

Paul

 

[Its Me]

What I have really come to understand from this thread is that I am not an outfitter. I may purchase equipment as needed to improve the camping experience but I am not a commercial outfit. I will likely eventually get both. But I can't equip myself with the idea that I have to feed 50 people.

 

As for splitting the den; it will have to wait until next year. But that is the subject for another thread.

 

 

[mk9750]

Hey It's Me! Welcome!

 

I have to commend you on your ambition! I think I did a pretty good job as a Den Leader and as a Cubmaster, but I never did as much outdoor stuff as it seems like you guys do. Nice going!

 

Now that I'm involved with Boy Scouts, can I offer a suggestion? If you feel you need a specific piece of equipment for an outing that you can't afford on your own, or don't want the Pack to invest in, why don't you try to borrow it from one of the Troops in your area? If your Pack has a good relationship with a Troop or two, they should be thrilled to provide you a piece of equipment, with the hope that such exposure will help some of your Cubs think to cross to their Troop when the time comes.

 

If you work through any Den Chiefs you have, I'll bet you can get most anything you might want. Give each piece a tryout, and maybe you'll be able to figure out which piece(s) you might decide to buy.

 

Just a thought.

 

Mark