Hot Food Without a Camp Stove

There's no better feeling than pitching your tent after a long day of hiking, relaxing and taking in those beautiful views you earned while eating a hot meal. Hot food is undoubtably better than cold food for dinner. In this article, I will show you a simple trick that you can use to eat hot food without having to carry the weight of a camp stove around.

Toilet Paper Tuna

Yes, that is what it is called. The concept is simple. You take a can of tuna, take the lid off, put a piece of toilet paper overtop, and light it on fire. It’s not rocket science.

You don’t consume any toilet paper, and you get a nice hot meal at little effort and very minimal weight.

How it Works

The first step is to purchase the right tuna. Canned tuna often comes in two kinds of packings: in water, and in oil. It works by using the oil that it is packaged in as fuel for fire. The toilet paper is just a catalyst and a solid that keeps heat and flame. If you use water, you won’t see any results.

My personal favorite is Starkist’s roasted garlic which you can buy for a great price on Amazon here. Not only have I found it to be the best tasting, it also packs the most calories in. Any tuna that comes in a can with oil will work.

Tip #1: Setting the Toilet Paper

The amount of paper you put on is crucial. If you have thicker toilet paper, you might only need one or two squares. If you use thinner toilet paper, two or three squares is the right amount for you.

Once you’ve got your can of tuna open, and your toilet paper ready, it’s important how you set it in. Don’t just lay it on top, push it in. Start by laying it on top, then take two fingers on each hand and press down at the edges and center. You should start to see the oil come through the toilet paper, and it should look moist, like the picture below.

Tip #2: Lighting and Maintaining a Flame

Having a flame always is important as it heats up everything. Not only does it heat up the tuna itself and the paper, but it also heats up the metal which can heat up spots the flame doesn’t reach.

To accomplish this, when you go to light it, light it from multiple points. Try to hit all four corners. Ideally, you have a flame around the whole can. Sometimes, this doesn’t happen, and you only get a flame at a small section of the tuna. This is not the end of the world, as the tuna is able to be ate straight out of the can. Warming it up just makes it taste five times better.

As the tuna heats up, make sure to keep an eye on it to make sure there is always a flame. If the flame ever extinguishes itself, try to lift a piece of paper up and relight it. We’ll talk about preventing the flame from extinguishing in the next tip.

Tip #3: Protect it from the Wind

If you’re out hiking in the desert, plains, or by the water, it can get windy fast. This is not ideal for heating up the tuna.

To prevent this from happening, find a location like an old firepit, or build your own little shelter for it with rocks. A great example of this is right below, where you can see from above top how three sides of the tuna are protected from the wind.

Tip #4: Lifting the Paper Off

After about 10 or 15 minutes the flame should burn out. You know it’s done once the flame extinguishes itself after a time like that. Once the flame is gone, you’re ready to eat.

Make sure you don’t go and pick the can up with your bare fingers. Let it sit for a minute and use something to insulate your fingers like a sock. Lift it to wherever you’re going to eat it at. You could use your bare fingers if need be as the can isn’t dangerously hot, just make sure you do it quickly.

Now you’re ready to lift the paper off and eat. Use your fork to wiggle under the paper and pry upwards. Put the paper in a plastic bag and dispose of it at a trash can. DO NOT LITTER!

Enjoy!

The last step is to enjoy your meal and prepare for another long day of hiking. Tuna is one of the healthiest foods that I’ve found I can enjoy on a backpacking trip. It provides protein that might be hard to get otherwise, and tastes pretty darn good!

Thank you for reading this article, I hope you enjoyed it and use this simple trick. Make sure to follow me on social media by clicking the little icons.

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