Galley Appliances - High Value

Hi All - I've been on the Magic Carpet since September, moved from Port Ludlow to John Wayne Marina (Sequim) with a permitted live aboard. As lovely as Port Ludlow is, and the staff are wonderful, JWM is a bit more live aboard friendly with laundry, shower facilities. Plus with two dogs, nice run abouts for the 4-6 walks a day.

This is about the galley - I love to entertain with friends & make dinners. I've had a couple gatherings so far with 6+ folks. I seem to be constrained to: salad, a hearty soup (bouillabaisse, cioppino, chowders), a baked dish (cauliflower mac 'n' cheese, lasagne), ice cream with fruit. I really like to make meals from scratch, not pick something up from Costco or Trader Joes.

So I'm wondering what appliances have the best ROI. I have about everything - paninis, crock pots, Chinese steamers, mini-pies, deep-fryers. I don't have the Ninja thing that supposedly does everything. I have good storage just want to pare it down to what is most efficacious (might not have spelled that correctly).

Summer is coming up & family, friends are fired up to visit & cruise. Want to be prepared & gracious.

Also...recipes!

P.S. I hope WifeyB responds since she gave me a scolding on my purchase process for the Magic Carpet.....

What cooking appliances do you have built-in to your galley? I'd always look to replace an existing item with something more capable or multi-functional before taking up space by adding more items, especially if they aren't built in and have to be stowed before getting underway.

For example, on my boat, I've got a 3 burner stove (electric) and a microwave built in. No oven, which has me wanting to figure out a suitable convection oven / microwave combo that can be mounted into the spot where the current microwave sits. Or a good way (and location) to mount a toaster oven.

An older Force 10 Marine propane 3-burner stove & oven & a standalone microwave. I like induction but don't know how that works with the battery banks. I had a nice combo miicrowave/convection oven in my r-Pod (sold when I bought the MC). Day by day, I find myself mostly using my wok, but that's a 1-2 person serving.

Come the summer, I'll be having 6-10 folks coming over. Grilling is probably the go-to choice.

My electric stove is older, so it's coils, not induction. Either style could be run off an inverter and batteries given a big inverter and enough batteries for your expected cooking time. In my case, I rely on the generator for using the stove. I don't find that much of an inconvenience as it gives an opportunity for the hot water tank to re-heat, throw a little charge into the batteries, etc.

Induction stove, home style refrigerator and chest type freezer. The stove runs off the generator and the cold boxes off the inverter. This lets us eat like we are at home for a couple of months in the Bahamas.
The induction stove keeps the galley cooler when cooking and lowers the need to run the aircon.

That comes back to my highest priority project - the battery banks. House bank is 3-8Ds, starter is 1-8D and the gen is a group 34. Batteries are circa 2009 or so, same with the inverter. I'm dithered with all the information. All I've really come to is not lithium.

Woodland Hills said:

Induction stove, home style refrigerator and chest type freezer. The stove runs off the generator and the cold boxes off the inverter. This lets us eat like we are at home for a couple of months in the Bahamas.
The induction stove keeps the galley cooler when cooking and lowers the need to run the aircon.

Click to expand...

That sounds like the ticket. I have a 50 gallon marine freezer that runs off the AC. I'm in the process of mapping what runs off what, e.g. the diesel forced air furnace runs off the STB engine. Induction is so efficient, quick, and safe.

Greetings,

Mr. 27. MY latest purchase of a kitchen "gadget" is an air fryer. It's really just a mini convection oven but it fulfills a lot of the tasks formerly done by a deep fryer. Granted, it's in our dirt home and I probably wouldn't have one aboard because of the physical size. Gives deep fried and braised results without all the oil. I've done steaks, chops, shrimp, fries and veggies so far.


For all recipes it's recommended to give fryer basket a quick shot of cooking spray (to prevent sticking).
Shrimp: Throw in shrimp. Turn over once and done in about 3 minutes.
Steak: Marinate or not. About 4 minutes a side and done to medium
Fries: (from raw) 10 minutes, shake and 2-3 5 minute periods thereafter.


There are a LOT of recipes on line.

Mr. Firefly, have you not learned? This is Ms. Squimmy27! So, you wouldn't recommend the air fryer for the boat? I'm leaning towards one...

On Sandpiper, we have 3 burner propane stove with oven, 2 door 12 VDC frig, 110 VAC holding plate freezer and microwave.

For small appliances, we have a Keurig and milk frother for coffee, rice cooker and a crockpot that can all run on inverter.

When we were cruising further north to remote locations where there were few stores, we used a breadmaker on inverter to make bread.

The crockpot comes in handy when it's too hot to run the oven or when we are making a long run and want a meal ready to eat when we stop. The breadmaker provided fresh bread and made the boat smell great.

Greetings,
Ms. 27. Humblest apologies. My memory isn't what it was once were, maybe, sorta, kinda, I forget. What is the question again?



The ONLY reason I wouldn't get an AF for the boat is the physical size. My better 3/4 doesn't eat fried food but the AF gives you the results without the extra oil. There is some oil used in the recipes but substantially less than would be in deep fried items.

Being that we're mentioning refrigeration equipment, I guess I'll throw my info in there as well. I've currently got a Novakool RFU9000 in the galley (12v and 120v). It's 2.5 cubic feet of freezer and 6.6 cubic feet of fridge, which has proven plenty large enough for our use.

We do also have a coffee maker in the galley.

For coffee/tea etc., for years I've used an electric tea pot & french press for coffee folks. The press also works for tea & diffusing herbs. I'm trying to eliminate single task appliances, e.g. a rice cooker, coffee maker. I'm leaning to the AF despite the possible size. This is for a weekend cruise with 6-10 folks aboard...how to make group meals?

My goto for at least part of the meals is a sous vide, ours is Anova. Its small and has relative low power consumption so it's easy on the inverter... When planning a trip we vacuum pack and freeze most meats and veggies. Just plop the frozen vacuum packed food directly into the water bath add about an hour to the cook time and it's ready for the sear or plate....

I tried the Ninja Tender Crisp (all in one) and have enjoyed it s far.


I got the smaller one (6.5 quart) that will barely make 6 servings for some dishes unless tiny servings or 6 can feast of a small chicken.


It isn't perfect and has a learning curve as one adjusts each portion that you cook simultaneously....plus even the small one takes up a lot of room.


But if you look at it as a crockpot, air fryer, indoor griller, pressure cooker, etc, etc.....room can be made.

I too enjoy cooking aboard and have often entertained.

1. Coffee. Aeropress. It's a mini 1-cup French Press. Works better than a French Press and is easier to clean-up and store. Would NOT work for a crowd, but would work for times when a single guest will have coffee.

2. Range. A good friend just installed a 3-burner Dometic RV stove on his Roughwater 37. He likes it a lot. Less than $400 vs $1000+ for Force 10. I noticed trend with sailboat cruisers is lots of solar and induction cooktops which work well and are fantastically energy efficient.

3. Instant Pot. I used to have a slow-cooker and a pressure cooker aboard. No more - ditched those and now have a small size Instant Pot.

4. Tin Foil Trays from Costco. When I did entertain, I would buy the tin foil lasagna trays from Costco. They fit perfectly in a small oven or the Breville SmartOven (large toaster oven). Instead of lasagna, try baked ziti (no need to pre-cook pasta). Other dishes include shepherds pie, baked beans, chicken cacciatore, and others. Pick-up a copy of "Dump Dinners" for your Kindle. Some recipes are junk, but there are a few nuggets of no-prep meals that are pretty good.

5. The Blackstone. For Weebles 2.0 (refit), I am not going to have a BBQ grill. I am replacing with a Blackstone 22-inch griddle. You can cook anything except chicken soup on this thing, and it's easier to clean, and incredibly easy on propane. And it keeps smells and grease out of the galley.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Blacksto...ith-Hood-Legs-and-Bulk-Adapter-Hose/179647360

Ka_sea_ta said:

My goto for at least part of the meals is a sous vide, ours is Anova. Its small and has relative low power consumption so it's easy on the inverter... When planning a trip we vacuum pack and freeze most meats and veggies. Just plop the frozen vacuum packed food directly into the water bath add about an hour to the cook time and it's ready for the sear or plate....

Click to expand...

Never even thought of a sous vide, that's great! I need to leverage the freezer storage for meals. And the other response with the Instant pot, another great idea! I have a small garden up in the hillls for herbs & summer veggies, that I dry & powder, e.g. zucchini pasta, tomato powder.

Great ideas! Thanks!

PS. Amazon Prime, here I come!

Get rid of all those kitchen toys. All you need is a propane cooktop with oven, outdoor grill (prefer propane) a toaster for breakfast, a microwave and one other appliance of your choice (instapot, slow cooker, air fryer, etc.)

Beyond that you will need one large and one small skillet. One large and one small pan. The big one for sweet corn, spaghetti, etc. A baking dish or two.

Keep it simple,

pete

Greetings,
Ms. 27. Ah. cooking for a crowd. Yes that's another drawback to an AF. Despite it's large use of storage area, it IS limited in the amounts that will fit in a single layer in the cooking basket. Multiple layers do NOT do well.


We have this one: https://www.walmart.com/ip/GoWISE-U...cipes-for-your-Air-Fryer-Book-White/550147958 And it WILL do about a pound of chicken wings or two medium steaks, it is not the best for say...4+ guests. Perhaps a larger capacity model would be best BUT again, bigger space needed for storage.

rslifkin said:

What cooking appliances do you have built-in to your galley?

Click to expand...

We have a 12v/110v refrig/freezer, a microwave, and a Keurig coffee Maker. My favorite, however, is a NuWave Induction cooker. Buy a "Cake Save" to cover when cooking as it captures the splatter. In warm weather I prefer to cook in the cockpit on the barbecue.

Pete Meisinger said:

Get rid of all those kitchen toys. All you need is a propane cooktop with oven, outdoor grill (prefer propane) a toaster for breakfast, a microwave and one other appliance of your choice (instapot, slow cooker, air fryer, etc.)

Beyond that you will need one large and one small skillet. One large and one small pan. The big one for sweet corn, spaghetti, etc. A baking dish or two.

Keep it simple,

pete

Click to expand...

Yes, big fan of simple, too!! I've been off grid for over 15 years. We do not have a microwave. Don't need it. Gas stove, Grill outside. We have 2 pots, 2 sizes cast iron pans, 1 pressure cooker, 1 wok, 1 dutch oven, 1 stainless steel coffee pot --- all function on a stove top or in oven. We cook every day and can cook for a small army. Parchment paper and foil are also useful. (I make toast on cast iron pan on stove top. Best toast in the world! (well our homemade bread made in the dutch oven could be part of the secret! shhhhh)

My wife Ann is a gourmet cook. I've posted pictures of some of her handiwork here including full blown, all the fixin's and sides included Thanksgiving dinners cooked while at anchor. We had no need to clutter the galley with gadgets. In addition to the full sized appliances and blender shown below, we had a toaster and a built-in food processor. In over six years of living aboard and many dinner parties and gatherings, it never occurred to us to add any more gadgets.

Beware of installing some non boat appliances below decks that use propane.


The new range in my RV does NOT have thermocouples to shut off the propane when not ignited like my Force 10.2X I have bumpred the range knobs in the RV and within the hour the propane alert alarm has sounded.

squimmy27 said:

For coffee/tea etc., for years I've used an electric tea pot & french press for coffee folks. The press also works for tea & diffusing herbs. I'm trying to eliminate single task appliances, e.g. a rice cooker, coffee maker. I'm leaning to the AF despite the possible size. This is for a weekend cruise with 6-10 folks aboard...how to make group meals?

Click to expand...

There is a rice cooker which doubles as a steamer. If you convert most of the boat to galley everything should fit nicely.
I`ve had a compact espresso machine onboard, would not be without it.

I second mvweebles recommendation of the Instant Pot! Replaces pressure cooker, slow cooker, and rice cooker as well as others. Cooks MUCH quicker, more tender, and an added benefit of cooking FASTER is less generator time required!

slowgoesit said:

I second mvweebles recommendation of the Instant Pot! Replaces pressure cooker, slow cooker, and rice cooker as well as others. Cooks MUCH quicker, more tender, and an added benefit of cooking FASTER is less generator time required!

Click to expand...

An Insta Pot or other combination cookers are convienent if space is tight. We have plenty of storage so that is not an issue for us.

But for cooking Japanese rice (sticky), nothing will match a true Asian automatic rice cooker. Having lived in Japan for awhile, I tend to be a rice snob.

syjos said:

An Insta Pot or other combination cookers are convienent if space is tight. We have plenty of storage so that is not an issue for us.

But for cooking Japanese rice (sticky), nothing will match a true Asian automatic rice cooker. Having lived in Japan for awhile, I tend to be a rice snob.

Click to expand...

I'll agree that a proper rice cooker makes far better rice. The instant pot is faster though. And on the boat, I'd save the space and live with the instant pot. At the house, it's no contest.

Life is too short to eat crap food drink bad wine or own ugly boats. Do what it takes to live well.

Errata:
I have been reminded by a certain someone that we did have a crockpot on board that we used fairly often. And that knowing what we know now, we'd have a sous vide machine (oh yes!). In addition to the shown appliances, we had a big gas grill up on the flying bridge.

syjos said:

An Insta Pot or other combination cookers are convienent if space is tight. We have plenty of storage so that is not an issue for us.

But for cooking Japanese rice (sticky), nothing will match a true Asian automatic rice cooker. Having lived in Japan for awhile, I tend to be a rice snob.

Click to expand...

I hear you. on one of my trips to Japan I bought a clay pot rice cooker. it can be used on gas or electric stove. Makes the best rice. That pot is what we use everytime we cook rice.