Cooking concepts: Hillbilly cooking stand

THIS is a great bit of kit to have when it comes to cooking straight over the coals. This type of system can be as elaborate or as basic as you want, but its main advantage is its ability to improve the performance and practicality of standard cast iron cooking equipment.

Take the humble hot plate for example. Using it with a cooking stand allows you to fine-tune the cooking temperature by simply adjusting the height of the hot plate in relation to
the coals, instead of fiddling with the fire. The same goes for things like boiling the billy and even using a camp-oven stand.

Another plus is that a cooking stand system allows you to use multiple bits of cooking gear at the same time. So you can have a couple of hunks of steak on the hot plate going while the camp oven cooks the veggies and the gravy simmers in the billy.

It’s fairly easy to set this system up when the ground is soft enough for the stand to dig into. However, if the surface is rocky, hard or super soft, you’ll have a hard time knocking the main pole into the ground and keeping it there – which limits where you can use this design.

The good news is, pretty much all of the cooking accessories used with this system can be used without the stand, but you might need to be a bit creative to make it work properly.

Versatility: 3/5
Running cost: 4/5
Set-up (time and difficulty): 3/5
Weight and ease of storage: 3/5
Clean-up and maintenance: 4/5
Strength and durability: 5/5
RRP: From $55 plus postage, Cook Stand with two hooks
More info: www.campingwithhillbilly.com