
There’s something special about the simple ritual of cooking a meal and sharing it with others, and that singular experience is on full display when we take our pots and pans and cook outdoors. There are plenty of reasons to move your cooking routine out of the kitchen, whether you’re camping with your friends, tailgating before the big game, boiling up some seafood, or homebrewing a batch of maple syrup. Propane is far and away the easiest and most accessible fuel to get the job done, and there are a wide variety of propane-powered cookers on the market that will get you out of the house and into enjoying the deep yet simple pleasure of outdoor cooking.
Here are a handful of our favorite propane cookers currently available.
This single propane burner from Bayou Classic is mounted in a sturdy 14-inch welded steel wide frame and lets out a stream of fuel at a pressure of 10 pounds per square inch, allowing heating and cooking times to drop dramatically. Its three legs are spread wide for maximum stability and the 48-inch braided stainless steel hose ensures a safe distance between the fire and fuel source. It stands at about 13 inches high so it’s great for tabletop cooking, and the frame is even fully enclosed with a windscreen so your fire stays strong while it’s out in the elements.
The Coleman brand is well-known for their myriad of camping and outdoor products, and this portable 8-inch burner is a perfect choice for the avid camper who needs to pack light. The burner fits snugly into the top of a small 16.4 ounce cylindrical propane tank and it includes a stand ring with a wide base to aid in keeping the entire unit sturdy. Despite its small size, it’s capable of pumping out up to 10,000 BTUs of heat to guarantee your water and meals are piping hot in no time.
This high pressure camp stove from GasOne features a cast-iron burner head, a roomy 15.75-inch square frame, and sturdy, height-adjustable legs that allow you to use this cooker in a variety of spaces and contexts. The legs pack away for portability and for table use, but if you find yourself cooking without any available prep surfaces, this cooker will stand on its own and save your back. The heat output of the burner tops out at a whopping 100,000 BTUs, and there’s an adjustable air intake valve to help regulate airflow to the flame and keep the heat efficient.
Cook two dishes at once with this multi-burner propane stove from Camp Chef. Standing at nearly 32 inches high and with a 448-square inch cooking surface, this cooker has enough space and heat for ambitious chefs who have large groups to entertain and a variety of courses to prepare. The cast aluminum burners each put out 30,000 BTUs of heat and are enclosed within a three-sided windscreen. Camp Chef also sells a variety of accessories for this stove, including a stovetop grilling and barbecue box.
This griddle from Blackstone is perfect for cooking large batches of food without dirtying a pan. The H-shaped burner underneath distributes up to 12,000 BTUs of even heat to the 260-square-inch rolled steel cooking surface above. It wipes clean with a paper towel, saving water and minimizing the need for other dishes, and it even includes a pull-out drip tray to catch any runoff. The cooking surface is reversible for compact storage when it’s not in use.