Cooking RV Style

Vicki and I recently bought an RV. It’s a small travel trailer that really makes good use of space. That’s what got our attention – it looks very small from the outside, but it’s got a Murphy bed that lifts up to reveal a sofa with foot rests. There’s a small table and bathroom. Inside, there’s a 3 burner LP stove and a decent oven. Outside … yes, friends … outside there is a track to which you can attach a shelf AND LP griddle.

If we’re being honest here, what precipitated the purchase of both the truck and the trailer was COVID-19. Vicki and I wanted to visit my mom for her 80th birthday. My godson and best friend’s kid is getting married at the end of October.

After talking about it, we felt that these were important events that we wanted and needed to attend in person, but we didn’t want to fly or drive and stay in hotels.

So, here we are, trekking across the country from Northern Virginia to Houston, TX.

But then … food! What would we eat? How would we avoid eating out and junk food? The answer for us was … bring it with! The challenge is that we have very limited space for cooking tools, pots, pans, and spices.

Of course, this is our first outing, so, we’re in learning mode.

We chose to take a few pots and my trusty cast iron skillet. I have two tongs and a spatula. For our proteins, I chose a few filet mignon“`s, salmon, and hamburger from Heartland Home Foods. For spices, I brought kosher salt, table salt, pepper, fresh rosemary, garlic, sweet onions, olive oil, butter, and duck fat. Hey … don’t judge … fats are great for flavor. These fats with onions, garlic and fresh herbs … magic!

For our first meal on the road, I chose the filet, skillet cooked red potatoes, and sugar snap peas.

Ingredients

2 filet mignon
4-5 small red skinned potatoes
Sugar snap peas, thawed
Duck fat
Kosher salt and pepper
2 tsp Fresh rosemary, diced
Garlic, 2 cloves, minced

Directions

1. If the filet is frozen, thaw it. But then let it sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes with a nice bit of Kosher salt on both sides.
2. Start the skillet, grill for the filet.
3. Put the cast iron skillet on low to get the pan warmed.
4. Chop the red potatoes and set aside.
5. Peel the garlic.
6. Wash and dice rosemary.
7. Once the cast iron is warm, turn it up to medium-high heat and add 1-2 TB duck fat.
8. Once fat is melted, add red potatoes and season with Kosher salt and pepper. Turn occasionally. The duck fat, in addition to giving great flavor, helps create a lovely crust on the potatoes. These will cook for about 20-25 minutes. Turn them to ensure browning on all sides.
9. Once potatoes have cooked about 15 minutes and a nice crust is developing on all sides, turn the heat down to medium-low and add some of the rosemary and garlic.
10. Once the potatoes have been on for about 15 minutes, put the filets on the preheated skillet. Depending on the heat of the grill surface, these will be about 4 minutes a side. Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness. I like to pull the steak at about 135° and let it rest 5-10 minutes.
11. Once filets have been on for about 5-6 minutes, add sugar snap peas to the griddle with a dollop of duck fat (again … stop judging until you’ve tried it).
12. At this point, you’re managing the doneness of each of these items. I like to use a roasting pan for the meat to rest and sugar snap peas to hang out until supper time.
13. As the filets get close, add some rosemary and garlic with a little butter or duck fat to help crisp and flavor the outer edibles of the filet.
14. Plate, take a picture, and enjoy!

Try it and see what you think! Take a picture and share!