Made some Venison hamburger steaks in a homemade gravy with mashed potatoes tonight for my co-driver and I. What do you guys use to cook on the go?
I have an air fryer, 2 burner electric stove, George Foreman grill and electric skillet. We’ve used the air fryer mostly.
Also need to come up with a better way of cleaning dishes on the truck. I’m thinking a big laundry detergent jug with a spout full of water with a little dawn dish soap in the future.
My hat is off to today’s drivers that feel they have to cook in the truck. During my career from 1968-2011 I never cooked in the truck as I didn’t want all the utensils, limited storage and the ability to clean everything.
I always had my meals in sit down style restaurants in the truck stops where I was parked, fueled, showered and slept. I know things are a lot different in today’s world so I can’t positively comment on cooking in the truck.
Cooking is a hobby of mine, something I love to do. So being able to do it on the truck helps me feel at home a bit. Other than that, I feel the money savings is a benefit and being able to make better food choices on the road. I’m grateful for the ability to cook on the go!
That all looks super delish Jay!!!
I cook all my meals at home during hometime, then put them in glass containers with sealed lids.
Microwaves are toxic to human health so I use a Hot Logic to heat the food. The hot logic only takes 40 watts, does not emit massive amounts of radiation and in about 90 minutes heats and maintains a hot and safe food temperature until you turn it off. I leave the containers in the fridge and wash them at home.
As far as silverware, invest in a good camping spork. Clean it with a napkin and alcohol spray.
Bon appetite! 
This is an interesting and practical topic.
Do you pre-cook and then basically re-heat? The reason I ask is because wouldn’t a frying grill or similar smoke the cab out? We had a small exhaust hood in our travel trailer and it barely managed to keep smoke and moisture from building up.
If you pre-cook, do you all freeze/store ready-to-go meals or just wing a combo?
Thumbs up on the venison and taters. That’s what I’d call good cold weather grub.
I’m also curious as to the best way to clean up. Seems like it’s easiest to just use paper plates but that still leaves the cookware/storage items.
FWIW, microwaves use low-energy non-ionizing radiation. It doesn’t cause damage or health issues just by it’s use and it doesn’t alter anything in the food or make it radioactive. The problem usually is the container, such as plastics, which can certainly leech nasty stuff. After my dance with cancer, we spent some time making sure my wife and I weren’t going to do anything that could help it wake up. Nowadays I’m more worried about getting blasted with high energy scans from medical machines or being out in the Texas sun too long. If able, I just suggest investing in multi-use glassware of some type for storing & cooking food. I’m also a fan of stainless steel or iron pans as opposed to non-stick ones. I’m not fussy about using anything with a ‘coating’!
I can’t speak on pre-cooking meals because I have not tried that method yet, but maybe something to look into. I know there are a lot of good foods that freeze well, so that may be something in the future I do.
As far as smoking out the cab while cooking it really didn’t get too smoky in here but we did roll the windows down. I guess the worst/Best of it was the truck smelled like hamburger steak for a day or two afterwards lol
This go around, I just used water and kind of simmered it in the pan then dumped it out and wiped it out good with paper towels. I did use a stainless electric skillet and it cleaned pretty easily. I have seen people take pots and utensils into the truck Stop bathrooms and wash them in the sink before, but that’s not something I really want to do. So I think I’m going to try the laundry detergent bottle washed out and add a little Dawn dish soap with water that I can easily store and use to clean dishes with outside the truck.
If I come up with anything better than that I will certainly let you know.
Thanks for sharing the information on the microwave because since that guy mentioned it it has been on my mind but as long as people have been using microwaves, I figured it would be more of an issue if it were putting out that sort of radiation. I think I will be more mindful though of heating things in plastic in the microwave and I may start to use this little hot lunch box that I have to heat some things.
Thanks again for your input
Regarding the cleaning, If you’re using a good metal pan (stainless or similar) that isn’t non-stick, there’s a product out called “Barkeepers Friend”. The stuff I have is a powder in a container. I also use it on any metal or glass surface, but you can’t use it on some precious metals or anodized aluminum. It’ll react with it and ruin it. I use it with a paper towel and put just enough warm water to make a paste with some of that powder and give it a good rub it onto the pan. You can then just rinse it off. I’ve used it on a pan I had on the grill for a while and it did a perfect job. No residue or anything weird. It just rinses off easy.
Another thing you can use (but it’s a bit more pricy) is called “PBW”, which is used for home brewing. Also an easy to store and use powder. I’ve had stuff burned on on pans or stains in glass (ex. old bottle of vanilla) or stained coffee & tea mugs and PBW 100% cleaned them. It’s a base cleaner (not an acid) similar to some dish soaps. If you had a 10” pan, you’d just fill the pan with hot water (the hotter the better) and perhaps a spoonful of PBW. Let it sit for 15 mintues and the crud dissolves. Same as with the other stuff, you just rinse it off. We use it all the time here and even put a couple of spoonfuls in the dishwasher to really get stuff clean.
The only reason I suggest those things is that they come in small-ish containers; one can last a long time, with no issues of leaking, freezing, separating, or just going bad.
