I guess I better start off by admitting that the title of this post is somewhat misleading. Most of the foods that we refrigerate will require some form of electricity to keep cool unless we are without power due to snow or ice, or live in an area with a climate capable of keeping our refrigerated and frozen food at a safe temperature. Even then we can face some difficulties because many foods that we refrigerate don’t need to freeze. All of those scenarios are pertinent but require their own posts. For this post I’ll stick to the scenario of a power outage in a moderate climate.

It is also relevant to mention that throughout history, even as late as the mid 20th century in the United States, a large portion of the population had no access to refrigeration. Smoking, salt curing, and canning were the prevalent methods of storing meat and produce that would spoil. Each of these topics deserves multiple posts and I hope to cover them soon, however those are preparedness tasks that must be planned and begun far ahead of a power outage. We are considering keeping the things we currently have frozen or refrigerated from spoiling before use in this post.

Why Is Refrigeration Important?

Bacteria have a limited temperature range in which they can survive so we refrigerate or freeze food for the same reason we cook it to a certain temperature, to kill the bacteria. According to FDA.gov, refrigerator temperatures should maintain 40 degrees Fahrenheit and Freezers should maintain 0 degrees Fahrenheit. The FDA also recommends refrigerating or freezing food within 2 hours of cooking or purchasing or within 1 hour if the temperature is above 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

What Should I Do When I Lose Power?

The first two things we should consider doing after losing power to our refrigerators or freezers is to keep them closed and consider alternate power options. Modern appliances are very well insulated, but the rush of warmer air that enters when the doors are opened takes a while to cool even when the unit is running, so the first move is to keep them shut. If we expect an outage longer that 20-30 minutes and have our other preparedness boxes checked, we should have an alternative power source such as a generator or an inverter to plug our necessities into. Now that we have the doors closed and hopefully some backup power going, we have to think longer term. The old economics adage, “there’s no such thing as a free lunch” comes to mind. Generators need fuel. Batteries need to be charged. If our survival needs outlast our fuel and battery charges, we need to be prepared.

What Good Is An Unplugged Refrigerator?

An unplugged refrigerator or freezer sounds pretty useless, but both actually can serve another important purpose. They can both easily become large ice chests! By adding ice and limiting the amount of time that the doors are opened, we can effectively make our appliances continue working for us without being directly powered. Remember, though, that empty space fills quickly with warm air when the door is opened, its much better to keep the voids in the freezers of fridge full of chilled items or ice whenever possible.

Okay, So Where Do We Get The Ice?

Remember my comment from the beginning of the post? Yep, here’s where we have to have some form of power unless we can go scoop bags of snow up outside. With enough forethought in our prepping journey, we can easily maintain a supply of 12 volt DC power with solar, wind, water, and even manual generators. Once we have a method of charging some batteries, we can start to breathe a little easier if we pick up a few items ahead of time.

The first order of business is establishing a way of getting our foods that we need in an accessible place. If we need to keep the doors closed on our large units to preserve the ice and temperature in them, we need to meal plan for the day and only open them once or twice. Since we can’t safely leave all this food out all day, the answer is to use a separate ice chest for the day with some ice added or we can use a 12 volt cooler, which is basically a refrigerator. If you are interested, the one below is by Coleman and is a well known brand of outdoor gear. Click the picture to check it out.

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With the devastation that has hit the Gulf Coasts of Alabama and Florida this past week, we are reminded that the infrastructure, even here in the United States, can only hold up to so much of Mother Nature’s force. While the damage is somewhat localized and fortunately didn’t extend very far inland like monster storms such as Katrina, there is still a substantial loss of power and other infrastructure that we get so accustomed to having at the flip of a switch or turn of a dial, that we forget how to function without it. Cooking is something we usually take for granted right along with clean water, which you can read about in my post here.

Safety Concerns When Cooking With Alternate Heat Sources

The reason I thought about this topic was seeing a safety warning about a sad situation where several people were killed from carbon monoxide poisoning due to a cooking fire they had going in the garage of the home when the power was out. This is an all to common occurrence in disaster stricken areas, especially in cold climates where trying to cook outside is even more difficult. Remember that any time we use any sort of flame for heat or cooking, fuel and oxygen are consumed. The byproduct usually contains carbon monoxide which is odorless, colorless, and deadly. It is also present in car exhaust so never leave a vehicle running indoors!

Besides the inhalation hazards of fumes, cooking over a flame requires fuel. Flammable gasses can fill the air if a valve is left on or if the flame is blown out without us noticing it. A small spark can then cause an explosion capable of burning and injuring anyone near it. Liquid fuels can also be dangerous. Not only do they have flammable fumes, but liquid fuels can also be spilled or caught on fire if they aren’t properly contained. We owe it to ourselves and our families to make sure we don’t risk lives in the name of convenience.

Alternate Heat Sources For Cooking

Somewhere back in the stone age, cooking over a flame was born. Harnessing the power of fire was one of the largest evolutionary steps that our distant ancestors made. The act of cooking make eating and getting the number of calories needed to survive much more efficient as well as expanded the variety of foods that could be safely consumed. So open fire cooking is as good a place to start the discussion as any.

Cooking Over An Open Flame

This method can be as basic as it gets or open fire cooking can be elevated to culinary art. It all depends on the resources we have to go along with the fire. The most basic methods of open flame cooking are roasting food on a spit or on a rock angled to catch the heat of the fire. In a wilderness survival scenario, we may not have our mess kit with pans, grills, and racks. In such a case, we simply look to our ancient history and use whatever means we have to get the food close enough to our fire to cook. If we are better equipped, then the options become much more civilized. If we have some cookware, then we can use pans to fry or sauté foods. We can use pots or kettles to prepare soups, broths, and vegetables. A kettle or pot can also supply us with hot water for coffee, instant foods, cleaning, and hygiene. The art of cooking meals over an open flame is one that takes practice, luckily for many of us, cooking out while camping is an enjoyable experience and the effort required to learn is welcomed. Click on the pictures below to see several items that we can add to our prepping cookware supply as well as some items that control the fire itself to help us cook better.

Cooking Over A Camp Stove

For as far as I can remember and I’m sure as far back as my parents can remember, Coleman was the name that came to mind when we discuss almost any camping products. From lanterns to stoves to tents and coolers, the Coleman name was synonymous with camping and being outdoors. I’m sure that time has brought many changes to the quality of some of the products and I have no doubt that other companies have found ways to advance the technology so I will consider camp stoves as a broad category.

Camp stoves come in a variety of sizes to meet many needs and can run on a variety of fuels as well. The smaller varieties are best suited for heating a metal cup or bowl and work well to heat up enough water for instant coffee and a meal of ramen noodles or oatmeal. These are easy to pack and use very little fuel. Some of the backpacking stoves are able operate at extremely high altitudes and poor weather conditions with advanced fuel cells. Others use a petroleum distillate known as “white gas” and sometimes even unleaded gasoline to heat with. The larger camp stoves can have anywhere from one to 4 burners and make camp cooking similar to the indoor range cooking we have become accustomed to in our kitchens. These larger stoves often use propane as a fuel because if the simplicity and convenience. As with open flame, there is a learning curve to using a camp stove, however we can control the flame with a knob instead of having to manipulate an open fire for temperature control so it is a great deal easier. Click the pictures below to look at some good quality camp stoves.

I’ll also include what most people call “Fish Cookers” or “Turkey Fryers” in with camp stoves. they are usually made for larger pots and use more fuel but they excel at getting large volumes of water boiling or large amounts of cooking oil up to frying temperature. I have used them as a camp stove cooking eye as well, however the heat can be difficult to control when using small pans or pots.

Extras For Outdoor Cooking

Food cooked outdoors always seems to taste a little better and there’s no reason that we should have to skimp on flavor just because we have to take our kitchen to a more basic level. When we are at home and cooking outdoors for recreation or during a power outage, we still have access to all of our spices and condiments. Depending on our personal tastes and any health concerns, we usually can find a tasty variety of herbs and spices such as garlic, sage, salt, pepper, and thyme that can make meals so much better. When traveling we can’t take everything, but with the containers below, we can have some of our favorites on hand no matter where we find ourselves.

Disclosure: I am an Amazon affiliate and may make money on qualified purchases.