Every Spring break we take off on a road trip. We have been as far as Arizona and as quick as Iowa and each year it is a new adventure. On our longer trip last year, it would have been nice to have been able to make our own meals along the route and maybe have the opportunity to camp in some remote locations. With that idea in mind, we jumped on the opportunity to test out the Camp Chef Versatop 14 griddle and the Grill box that comes along with it. This week before the snow and the extreme cold really starts to hit home we decided to test out this grill and get familiar with how it works and learn a little bit about how to cook with this system.
We started off with the griddle and I chose to heat it up and let it run for about 20 minutes to get the grill nice and hot and burn off any oil and residue as well as make some breakfast. I whipped up some french toast and threw it on the griddle. French Toast is a staple in our house and just a little eggs and some milk, cinnamon and a touch of vanilla. It was so quick and easy to throw it on the griddle and cook that meal outside. Clean up was a matter of seconds and just a quick wipe down with a paper towel. I was able to enjoy my meal and I let the griddle cool down outside and all I had to clean up was a bowl, a plate and my fork.
We then decided to do a stir fry on the griddle. I cut up some onions, a little chopped garlic, some sliced mushrooms, broccoli and steak on the flat top griddle. A little bit of teriyaki and some fresh rice and it was a perfect meal for our Friday night date night. The griddle was so easy to utilize and the cleanup was complete in a matter of minutes. It makes it nice and easy to clean up and with the carry bag. With the griddle it has a nice and small grease or liquid trap that is easy to clean and held all the liquid from our meal. Clean up was super easy with a little water and a sponge and we were ready to pack up the unit.
One tip is that with this unit and the grill box, buy the cloth bags that you can get to transport these units. This allows you to quickly and easily slide these units in and out of the pick up truck or the car so you can have it ready for a quick meal or a tailgate lunch. This unit is also great to have on hunts because you can fry up some deer heart while butchering your deer or prepare warm breakfasts after a cold morning sit.
Tonight, we popped on the camp chef grill box and grilled up some Teriyaki skewers of chicken. We used chicken tenders soaked in lime and teriyaki and grilled them on the grill box with just a couple of turns. The entire system was easy to use and popping off the flat griddle and laying on the grill box and lighting up the grill took all of 3 minutes and within 15 minutes we were up and cooking. This system gives you options and all in a portable grill set up that can be run and cooking on the tailgate of your pick up truck. This system replaces for me the entire idea of having a camp stove on the road with me because this system can do just about everything I need.
Camp Chef has long been known as a company that stands behind all of it’s gear and they have a wide collection of great products. The Versatop is perfect for my small hunts and road trips. I am usually feeding less than three people on average so this absolutely would work well for us versus a much larger set up. Camp Chef has tons of options and I encourage you to look through the entire collection and pick out what works best for you and your travel or home outdoor cooking plans.
