Power is down. Gas tank is empty. Everyone’s hungry. What do you do? Aside from ordering pizza, you can still cook your meal even without electricity. You don’t have these two things when you’re out camping or if you’re stranded on some deserted island.
Knowing how to cook without electricity is a valuable survival skill everyone should know. It’s not just about having cooked food. This skill will also be useful in boiling water and making it safer to drink. Also… coffee.
Cooking Over Open Fire
Our ancestors didn’t have the luxury of microwave ovens, electric stoves, or even gas stoves. They didn’t even know how to cook their food until someone figured out what fire was good for around a million years ago.
To cook over an open fire, you need to start a fire first. You can use matches, lighters, magnesium rods, or other fire starters. You’ll also need tinder to light things up a whole lot easier and faster.
There are lots of other ways you can start a fire even if you don’t have any kind of fire starter. Let Art of Manliness show you how.
Decide on the method of cooking before you get your fire going. If you only need to cook your meal, the “hunter’s fire” is the better choice. Use the tepee method if you plan to gather around the fire later to tell scary stories and sing songs. Real Simple details how to make these two methods of open-fire cooking.
Cooking with Charcoal
Using charcoal is another way to cook without electricity. This method is pretty similar to cooking over an open fire. Instead of using branches and other pieces of wood, you use charcoal to cook your food.
You also need matches or other fire starters to light up the charcoal. Once the charcoal becomes an ember, it’s ready to start cooking.
Portable Camping Cooking Bag
Many people believe it’s okay to cook food while still in their cans. They say it’s to kill the bacteria in the canned food. However, others say the cans are only meant for storing the food and not for cooking. While the debate rages on, you should at least know that you can cook or at least heat up canned food without electricity by using a portable camping cooking bag.
This simple invention uses heating packs, water, and a resealable food warmer bag to prepare your meal. Make sure the can is sealed when you cook it in the bag. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes before the food is ready to eat.
Pocket Stove with Fuel Tablets
A portable stove is one of the essentials every camper, hiker, backpacker, and prepper should have. Simply put, you can use it to boil water and cook without electricity.
The folding camping stove, pictured here, comes with hexamine fuel tablets. These tablets burn without smoke, which is great if you’re trying to conceal yourself from threats.
Portable Butane Stove
Another way to cook without electricity is by using butane gas. Yes, butane is the same thing that is used in lighters. The good thing about portable butane stoves is that you don’t need matches or a lighter to start cooking.
Solar Stove
You can also cook without electricity by using the power of the sun. GoSun offers a variety of solar stoves that make cooking a breeze. As long as the sun is shining brightly, you’ll only need at least a couple of minutes to cook, bake and grill.
GoSun solar ovens such as the Sport and the Grill are capable of reaching a temperature of up to 550 degrees Fahrenheit. They also come in stylish designs. They’re also easy to clean and safe to use since there’s no fire involved.
Cook With Your Car
When you leave your car under the sun for quite a while, you’ll return to a pretty hot chunk of metal. Take advantage of this by using your car to cook food.
If you want cookies but can’t cook without electricity, there is another way that involves your car. Just make your cookie dough as you’d normally do. Place them on a tray and take the tray out to your car. Place it inside right under the rear windshield. Wait for an hour then go grab your baked cookies and enjoy.
There are a few other ways to cook without electricity. Check out this list by Ask A Prepper, which includes methods such as using candles, alcohol stoves, and such.
If you know of other ways to cook without electricity, please share them with everybody else. Also, go to The Gentleman Pirate to know more survival hacks that could one day be of great help.
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