Motorbike archeology and campfire eggs

Testing the Jetboil Fluxring frypan

Lurking there underneath months of common garage accumulation, the trained motorbike archeologist begins to make out the familiar shapes of windscreen, handlebars and mirrors. Yes, with just a bit of digging the comforting shapes of wheels and boxer-twin engine will be unearthed, the signature curve of BMW exhaust pipes yearning for speed will once again, with luck, be exposed to sunlight and allowed to reach operating temperatures.

But it’s early and the thermometer reads just 31.1° Fahrenheit. If the National Weather Service predictions hold, the mercury should reach 45° by mid morning and with luck could climb to 55° by afternoon. Today could be the first day on two wheels since Thanksgiving.

But before beginning any motorbike dig, it’s good to remember that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

A nice windless, sunny morning offers the perfect opportunity to test the latest edition to the motorcamping kit, the Jetboil Fluxring frypan.

The Jetboil cooking system is designed primarily to boil water and it does this with amazing speed — as if boiled at the tailpipe of a Fighter Jet on afterburners. Boiling water is the catalyst for all freeze-dried camp meals, and of course the only true necessity after a night in a sleeping bag besides a bathroom; hot coffee. The basic water boiling system consists of an aluminum cup wrapped in a neoprene cozy, a tiny canister of isobutane/propane fuel, and the burner unit. The fuel can and burner tuck neatly away into the cup, resulting in an impossibly small package — ideal for the motorbike camper who is obsessed with packing small.

But man does not live on freeze-dried food alone. Man must cook meats. More specifically, man must fry.

Enter the Fluxring frypan. The Fluxring refers to a heat distribution device that’s integral to the bottom of the pan, a zig-zaged heating coil of sorts that helps spread out the ultra-focused and ultra-hot flame from the Jetboil burner.

It’s an 8 inch pan that’s 1 ½ inches deep. It’s got a cool folding wire handle that’s coated in plastic and doesn’t get too hot to hold. It’s advertised as “non-stick,” but that’s a term open to interpretation, as any cook will tell you. The pan retails for about $50 but can’t really be used without $20 worth of accessories — little stabilizers for the pan and fuel can.

Bacon slices placed in a cold pan begin to sizzle almost immediately after the burner is turned on, which is accomplished matchless, by turning on the gas and pushing a little button that creates a spark. Luckily the Jetboil burner has a pretty fine control knob, and can be turned way down to low — otherwise the bacon would turn to cinders in a blink.

The center of the pan gets understandably hotter than the edges, but the bacon fries up crispy with moderate attention from the cook. The bacon leaves a thin fond in the pan, which could be deglazed with chicken broth and turned into passable gravy with just a bit of flour.

Most non-stick pans don’t allow any little bits of browned goodness to stick to the pan — caused by the Maillard reaction, occurring when proteins and sugars are heated to more than 360° — but this one does, which is a good thing, in terms of sauces and gravies.

Two eggs plopped into a bit of the remaining bacon fat begin to cook up well, but cling to the bacon bits stuck to the pan. The eggs do scrape up easily with a little coaxing from a plastic bladed spatula. Heat regulation is key to campfire eggs, and this system yields tasty over-medium orbs that are crispy on the outside and smooth on the inside.

Campsite cleanup is something that is usually done in the absence of soap and water, and this pan wipes out fairly well with a dry paper towel. To get it truly clean however, hot soapy water is required along with gentle scrubbing. The pan does come completely clean, true to its non-stick promise.

In the time it’s taken to write this review, the thermometer has risen to 44.4°. With bacon and eggs under the belt, the archeological dig will begin soon. Assuming the battery charger's working and no fuel lines are clogged, the motorbike’s Metzeler tires will taste asphalt and dirt today for the first time in 2008.

More about “first ride” next time.