Cooking outside is one of the real pleasures of life on the road. Instead of steaming up a tiny caravan kitchen, you set up under the awning, throw a couple of snags on the plate, and watch the sun drop over a free camp. The gear you choose makes the difference between a smooth cook-up and a frustrating juggle of hot pans and no bench space.
This guide covers the outdoor kitchen and cooking accessories that actually earn their place in your storage. We’ve focused on what works for extended travel: durable, packable, and worth the weight you’re carrying.
The Cooker: Your Outdoor Kitchen Centrepiece
Everything else in your outdoor kitchen works around the cooker. Get this decision right and the rest falls into place. Most Big Lappers end up running one of two setups: a portable gas BBQ like the Weber Baby Q, or a two-burner stove that lives in a slide-out drawer or on a bench.
The right answer depends on how you cook. If you love a proper roast, a steak with a good sear, or baking damper, a Weber-style BBQ with a lid gives you an oven and a hotplate in one unit. If you’re more of a boil-the-pasta, fry-the-eggs, simmer-a-curry cook, a two-burner stove gives you more control and takes less time to heat up.
Plenty of full-timers carry both: a Weber for the low-and-slow cooks and a two-burner stove for quick everyday meals. If you’ve got the storage, it’s the most flexible setup going.
The Best Portable Cookers Compared
| Product | Price | Key Feature | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weber Baby Q (Q1200) Best Overall | ~$400 | Lidded BBQ + oven in one | Roasts, steaks, baking |
| Gasmate 2 Burner Stove | ~$90 | Twin burner, fast heat | Everyday quick meals |
| Ziggy by Gasmate Traveller | ~$320 | Burner + hotplate combo | All-rounder cooks |
✔ Pros
- Lid means you can roast and bake, not just fry
- Cast iron grill sears beautifully and cleans easily
- Huge range of accessories and parts availability
✗ Cons
- Bulky and heavy to store
- Needs a stand or a solid bench to sit on
✔ Pros
- Two burners for genuine multi-tasking
- Heats fast, no warm-up needed
- Cheap to replace if it cops damage
✗ Cons
- No lid, so no roasting or baking
- Windshields help but it’s exposed in a breeze
✔ Pros
- Cook two ways at once
- Lid keeps the wind and dust off
- Compact for what it offers
✗ Cons
- Smaller cooking area than a full BBQ
- Hotplate needs proper seasoning to stay non-stick
Benches, Tables & Work Surfaces
The mistake most people make is buying a good cooker and having nowhere to put it, or nowhere to chop and plate up. Bench space is the difference between a relaxed cook and a chaotic one. You need somewhere to stand the cooker, somewhere to prep, and somewhere to rest hot pans.
A folding aluminium camp kitchen with a windshield and a few shelves is the tidiest solution if you’ve got the storage. The cheaper approach is a sturdy folding table for the cooker plus a smaller prep table. Whatever you choose, height matters: cooking bent over a low table for months will wreck your back.
~$180
Look for a bench with a heat-resistant surface panel. Setting a hot Weber or a scorching pan down on a plastic tabletop will melt it fast.
Cookware Built For The Road
Home cookware doesn’t survive the big lap. Corrugations rattle non-stick coatings to bits, and thin pans warp on high heat. Build a small set of durable pieces that nest together and cover most of your cooking.
A cast iron camp oven (a Dutch oven) is the one bit of cookware that pays for itself. Bake bread, slow-cook a stew, do a roast over coals. It’s heavy, but nothing else does what it does. Pair it with a good stainless or hard-anodised frypan and a couple of nesting pots and you’re covered.
Season a new cast iron camp oven before its first cook and re-season it after every wash. Never put it away damp or it’ll rust through in humid coastal climates within weeks.
The Accessories That Make Life Easier
The small stuff adds up. These are the accessories that stop the little frustrations from building up over months on the road.
- A quality set of tongs and a spatula: Long handles keep your hands off the heat. Steel, not flimsy plastic.
- A windshield: A three-panel folding windshield doubles your gas efficiency in a breeze and stops flames blowing sideways.
- A collapsible washing-up tub: Fills a drawer when packed flat, gives you a proper sink for dishes when you’re free camping.
- A gas bottle level checker: A magnetic strip or a simple hang scale so you never run out mid-roast.
- Chopping boards with grip feet: They won’t slide off a folding bench when you’re pressing down.
- A decent knife roll: Two or three good knives beat a drawer full of blunt ones.
~$25
Your cooking setup ties directly into your gas and power planning. If you’re running an electric induction cooktop instead of gas, or you want to understand how much power your appliances draw, our wider setup guides cover that in detail.
What To Look For Before You Buy
- Storage size: Measure your drawer or boot space before buying anything. Great gear you can’t fit stays home.
- Weight: Every kilo counts against your payload. Balance durability against how much you’re prepared to carry.
- Gas compatibility: Check the cooker matches your bottle and regulator setup so you’re not chasing adaptors on the road.
- Cleaning: Cast iron and stainless clean up in the bush far better than fiddly non-stick with tight corners.
- Parts availability: Stick with brands like Weber and Gasmate that stock spares nationwide.
- Wind protection: If your cooker has no lid, budget for a windshield from day one.
- The Weber Baby Q is the best all-round cooker for the big lap thanks to its lid and versatility.
- A two-burner stove like the Gasmate is the best-value everyday option for quick meals.
- Bench space and wind protection matter as much as the cooker itself.
- Cast iron cookware outlasts everything else and does jobs nothing else can.
- Measure your storage and check your payload before buying anything.
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