High Sierra Topix

I've found I really like the Pack It Gourmet stuff, but many of their dinners require tortillas. Those tortillas would be much better toasted, but all I have is a pocket rocket and a kettle, and toasting the tortillas on the thin lid of my kettle proved completely unworkable.

What I really need is some sort of screen device to hold the tortilla so I can toast it over the open flame of the rocket. A handle and a small screen at the end, big enough to hold a tortilla folded over, perhaps with stuff in it. I'm probably going to have to make it and I am eager for suggestions on how to do it, unless someone know of a lightweight packable comal that is out there.

Also wondering if I could do it with aluminum foil and a pair of lightweight tongs.

I think foil will burn. You need a screen with a handle. I have one I use for day hikes made from some sort of steamer screen that I found in a small hardware store for a couple of bucks. It works well enough but it's too heavy for backpacking.

Something similar but lighter might be found in the housewares section of an asian market.

I generally just use my fingers, switching hands and waving the free one to cool it. I wonder if years of rock climbing and, more recently, guitar playing have made my fingertips essentially asbestos-clad.

I have used a forked stick a few times and it works ok. I drop one every now and then but what's a little camp dust hurt anyhow.

If you're not concerned about weight, look at this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000H ... UTF8&psc=1

There are wire nets used to put on top of frying pans to keep down grease spatters. They are light weight, but I have not seen any in small sizes. They are not particularly sturdy, so you would have to be careful packing them. Not sure they would stand up to direct heat from a flame. But they are cheap, so you could buy one and try it.

If you simply wanted to warm up the tortilla, instead of toasting it, perhaps you could just lay it over the top of the cooking pot. Again, this should be tried at home to see if it works.

I carry a solid Ti, 10 1/2 inch fry pan...<6 oz.

I saw this done one time. First, you start with a bunch of rod-type tent stakes. Titanium is good, or else you might do something with a steel coathanger that you cut up. Three pieces are attached vertically and fastened around the stove burner at the bottom. Maybe use some fine-gauge steel wire. Then you build a horizontal wire plane on the top of that. Again, fine-gauge steel wire. Then you flop your tortilla on and light the burner. When you are done, you disassemble it and haul it to the next camp.

robow8 wrote:If you're not concerned about weight, look at this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000H ... UTF8&psc=1

I was looking at that! 5.6 ounces though. Hmmm.

Wandering Daisy wrote:There are wire nets used to put on top of frying pans to keep down grease spatters. They are light weight, but I have not seen any in small sizes. They are not particularly sturdy, so you would have to be careful packing them. Not sure they would stand up to direct heat from a flame. But they are cheap, so you could buy one and try it.

I have one! Came in a set of spatter shields of various sizes. I will give it a try at home and see how it works.

I was also looking at these tongs, trying to figure out if I could use them somehow to toast the tortillas directly or wrapped in foil. They weigh less than an ounce:
https://www.amazon.com/AMG-Titanium-Lig ... 09GMCXGP76

bobby49 wrote:I saw this done one time. First, you start with a bunch of rod-type tent stakes. Titanium is good, or else you might do something with a steel coathanger that you cut up. Three pieces are attached vertically and fastened around the stove burner at the bottom. Maybe use some fine-gauge steel wire. Then you build a horizontal wire plane on the top of that. Again, fine-gauge steel wire. Then you flop your tortilla on and light the burner. When you are done, you disassemble it and haul it to the next camp.

Interesting. So the wire mesh holds the tortilla, and the stakes form a tripod that holds up the mesh? I was trying to figure out how much an eight inch circle of this stuff would weigh, and how to hold it. Maybe you have the answer...
https://www.twpinc.com/wire-mesh-materi ... steel-t316

Corn or Flour tortillas? The diameter of the tortilla could dictate what utensil you use. I don't have a jet-boil but I do bring corn tortilla chips and just throw them into the pot of food thats cooking or use the meal as a dip for the chips. I also cut down flour tortillas to the exact diameter of my cooking pot and let them sit on top of the lid to get warm then into a cozy then use the cut portions of the flour tortilla for lunches and snacks.

Mark- do you know what type of pan that is? I have had a hard time finding a 10 inch Ti pan at that weight.