Some rides end before dark. The better ones have a habit of running long.
One minute you are telling everybody you will make one more loop. The next minute the headlights are on, the machines are wearing half the trail, and the whole group is deciding whether dinner is going to be whatever is left in the cooler or something worth slowing down for.
We vote for the second option.
When the side-by-side becomes base camp
Once we stop for the night, everything gets simple. Find a safe place to park. Get some light on the cooking area. Set the grill on a stable, heat-safe surface away from fuel, dry grass, and anything that can melt or burn. Then get the charcoal going while everybody digs through the cooler.
This is where a charcoal grill earns its keep. Nobody needs a formal menu. Chicken, sausage, hot dogs, corn, potatoes, foil packets, bread — whatever made the trip can become dinner.
Cook the slow stuff first
When several different foods hit the grill at once, a little order keeps everybody from standing around staring at the grate.
Start chicken and thicker items early. Corn and foil-wrapped sides can go on while the coals are settling in. Sausage and hot dogs are perfect later in the cook because they move quickly. Bread goes on at the end, when all it needs is a little heat and color.
It is not fancy, but it works. More important, everybody can eat at roughly the same time.
What we keep handy for after-dark cooking
- A headlamp or work light. Phone flashlights get old fast when both hands are busy.
- Long tongs. Keep one utensil for raw meat and another for cooked food when possible.
- A small instant-read thermometer. Especially useful for chicken and thicker cuts when you cannot judge doneness well in the dark.
- Heavy foil. It turns vegetables, potatoes, leftovers, and odds and ends into easy sides.
- Water and a cleanup bag. Pack out what you brought in and leave the stop better than you found it.
The part of the ride nobody plans
The meal is usually where the stories catch up with the day. Somebody explains how they absolutely were not stuck. Somebody else has photographic evidence. The machines cool down, smoke rolls off the grill, and the woods get quiet enough that you remember why you came out there in the first place.
That is the difference between carrying a grill because you might need it and carrying one because it has become part of what you do. We have cooked enough meals beside muddy machines to know that hunger rarely waits for a convenient location.
So if the trail runs late, that is fine. We brought dinner with us.
Looking for a charcoal grill that belongs in the same places your side-by-side goes? Take a look at the Full Size Slot Grill.