Coghlan's Cast Iron Camp Cooker - Single Compartment

Video Transcript for Review of Coghlans Camping Kitchen - Cookware - CG64FV

Hi everyone, it's Evangeline here at etrailer. And today we'll be taking a look here at our Coghlan's Camp Cooker here at etrailer. So this is a single cooker. You do get options. You can get the single cooker or the double cooker, which can be found here at etrailer. This single is ideal, if you're let's say a solo traveler or you're bringing just a couple of friends or family along with your trip, and you don't need to make a lot of food for everyone very quickly.

This is also made of cast iron. So you usually get 2 options, when you cook over an open fire, you can get a cast iron, or you can get aluminum. Now the cons of getting a cast iron cooker like this is it's a little bit heavy. So if you are traveling light, this is gonna add some extra weight to your bag. Also cast iron requires a little bit of preparation like seasoning or proper cleaning.

Now the upsides to having cast iron is that it's strong, it's durable, it's not gonna melt in your campfire. And on a personal note, I really like the taste of food cooked in cast iron pots or cookers like this. Now some things you can cook in here is for one, grilled cheese is ideal, but you can cook other things. You can cook meat pies, fruit pies, you can even make a little casserole or a mini pizza in here. Now this is pre-seasoned.

And what that means is that once you get it, it's ready to use right away. Now, it does say pre-seasoned, but I personally recommend seasoning it again yourself before your trip, just 'cause it kind of feels a little on the dry side compared to other cast iron pots that I've dealt with. Also, depending on your climate, how it's shipped, your situation, how long your trip is going to be, pre-seasoning it will help you get a handle on how to take care of your cooker as well as it'll make sure this is not rest up on you before your trip. Now, along with the cooker, you will also get a recipe book. So this has some recipes, as well as some instructions on how to use your cooker.

So before your trip, I do recommend checking out the recipe book, just to give you an idea of what you can cook, as well as what kind of ingredients you're going to need. Especially with the portion sizes. I'll give you the dimensions just in a bit, but one example of what you can cook in here is that you can make a grilled cheese with 2 slices of bread, 2 slices of cheese or 3 slices it's up to you in 2 minutes. So that's one on each side, but you can cook other things too. So we'll take some measurements, just to see how much space you have to work with. The top lid is gonna be smaller than the bottom lid, and it's going to be 4 inches wide, right over there on the inside by 4 inches tall. So that's gonna be about the amount of space you'll have on the top of the cooker. Notice how it fits into this hinge right over here, and folds up to close over whatever food you're cooking. Also notice how it has a lip on the edges. So what that's gonna do is if you have a grilled cheese in there, it's going to pinch off the crust and you can either tear off the crust or just let it burn off. Either way, you're gonna have a nice sealed sandwich on the inside. Yum! Now the handle itself is going to be 21 inches long. So measuring from right where that steel shaft is to the edge of the wooden handle. Now this is gonna be an overall length of 27 inches. And as you are cooking, notice how you have a wooden handle. Please hold that cooker by the wooden handle and not by the steel shaft, just because this is gonna retain some heat. Even after you're done cooking. And as you have your toast or your sandwich in there, you can also clip this into place, that way you'll be sure that this does not come off while you're in the campfire. And don't forget to put this other clip right on the end. And when you're done, you can take that off, unclip this and get your food. Then after your meal, you have another option of taking these handles off just to make it a little easier to clean as well as to store. Remember though, that when you do use cast iron, it's a kind of a special process for cleaning. You don't use soap. You could just use water, please check out the instructions in the book, which helps you, you know, learn about how to properly take care of your cast iron cooker. But with those handles off, we'll take some other measurements, just to see how much space this will take up inside your bag. So measuring from the outside of the cooker, we're gonna measure from the hinge all the way to the handle, and that's gonna be about 6 and a half inches long. And then for the width, it's going to be about 4 and 3/8 inches wide. So again, be mindful of that hinge. It's gonna be perfectly fine once everything is in place, but it may be cumbersome if you're not used to it as you are using your cooker. And then just make sure that everything is in place again, and that you have the handle in and properly screwed on tight. It is a bit of a long thread, which can be good because then you know that your cooker is secure, but on the downside, it will take a couple of seconds to remove it when you're ready to store. But all in all, I do like this product, especially because I love to eat grilled cheese. This would be a great thing to have over the fire. Just something that you don't have to bring up a huge stove to have a nice meal. You can use something small, just like this. If you are planning a bigger trip with maybe more people, you may wanna check out the double version of this. Works the exact same way, but has a little bit more space for cooking. But if you are a solo traveler and you just want something small, quick and easy, this may be an option for you. But all in all, my name is Evangeline and I hope you enjoyed this quick look at the Coghlan's Camp Cooker..