Dumb question about canister stoves

[swisscross]

Taking my 9 yo daughter on her first over night backpacking trip tomorrow and it is raining buckets as I type.


I typically don't make fires when I hike but thought it would be nice for her first trip.
I am planning on grilling hot dogs and making s'mores for dinner but a little worried we will have no decent wood for a fire.

Can I grill over a canister stove? Will the fuel impart a funky taste? It is safe?
We do s'mores in our natural gas fireplace frequently and have never noticed any taste difference.
Just not sure about IsoPro (SnowPeak). How about Heet? Which is what I typically use in my alcohol stove when solo.

Looking forward to reporting back to all about her first trip. Last night while packing she was showing her mother the poo shovel....this is going to be fun.

[Odd Man Out]

A gas stove burns hydrocarbons and will certainly burn cleaner than a wood fire, so there should be no problem there. Is it "safe"? How long is a piece of string? All that black stuff on a hot dog cooked over a wood fire is probably a complex mix of toxic chemicals (not to mention what the hot dog might be made of). Do I worry about it and am I dropping dead. No. Hope she has a great time! Love to poo shovel.

[nsherry61]

Isn't fuel flavored food part of the camping experience, whether the fuel is wood smoke or kerosene? ;)
The canisters will probably work fine and shouldn't impart too much flavor if any. The heat probably will impart a little flavor and not work to well since it is lots of not-very-hot flame.
There should be no significant safety issues with either flame.
Grilling over a canister is probably just limited by your ingenuity.

[Water Rat]

Speaking as someone who has made hotdogs over the glow of a canister stove - It can be done!

Speaking as a female - Doncha know only the hardcorest of us get excited about poo shovels when we are 9 yrs old? ;) Your daughter is officially part of this club! Anyone can play with Barbie, or text their friends. Only the few chosen females get the honor of going out in the woods and getting to use a poo shovel! Add the fact she will get to grill a hotdog over a canister stove and she will be considered hardcore among her peers! "Yep, the firewood was too wet so my dad set up the canister stove and we cooked our hotdogs over the stove." That will add swagger to the playground. :)

Just be careful if you roast marshmallows over the stove. It gets messy if a marshmallow drops...

I commend you for taking her out and sharing the outdoors with her. You will be creating awesome memories that will last a lifetime. This is only just the beginning of an amazing bond.

[DuneElliot]

During a fire ban in Colorado we roasted marshmallows over a zippo lighter! Tasted just fine.

[rocketsocks]

During a fire ban in Colorado we roasted marshmallows over a zippo lighter! Tasted just fine.
That's rich!

[Feral Bill]

You might want to use fully cooked dogs, for safety's sake.

[swisscross]

You might want to use fully cooked dogs, for safety's sake.

Did not consider that.
Was planning on freezing them, should be just thawed by supper time.

[4eyedbuzzard]

Hot dogs are already fully cooked when you buy them. If they weren't they would be raw meat mush in a tube. But yeah, keep them frozen until you leave.

[perdidochas]

Taking my 9 yo daughter on her first over night backpacking trip tomorrow and it is raining buckets as I type.


I typically don't make fires when I hike but thought it would be nice for her first trip.
I am planning on grilling hot dogs and making s'mores for dinner but a little worried we will have no decent wood for a fire.

Can I grill over a canister stove? Will the fuel impart a funky taste? It is safe?
We do s'mores in our natural gas fireplace frequently and have never noticed any taste difference.
Just not sure about IsoPro (SnowPeak). How about Heet? Which is what I typically use in my alcohol stove when solo.

Looking forward to reporting back to all about her first trip. Last night while packing she was showing her mother the poo shovel....this is going to be fun.


The canister stove burns very clean--it's butane and propane, and is very clean. Shouldn't taste any different than your fireplace.

[perdidochas]

Did not consider that.
Was planning on freezing them, should be just thawed by supper time.

Pretty much all hotdogs on the market are fully cooked. You just need to warm them to the temp/burned color you want. FDA says that you should warm hotdogs to steaming temps, though.

[Kaptainkriz]

You can boil the hot dogs too. Cooking over gas, ok. Cooking directly over automotive fuel additives (heet) i'm not sure i'd do...there's chance of other stuff in there besides alcohol.

[bikebum1975]

You might want to use fully cooked dogs, for safety's sake.
They're fine and already cooked today. Besides if that was the case would've done me in years ago ate plenty over the years "raw"

technically speaking if you think of it grilling a dog over your canister stove in a way is no different then your home propane stove should work just fine