See how long-haul truckers cook on the road, from burgers cooked on engines to air fryer lobster tails

• Truckers can spend weeks living on the road and a lack of infrastructure has left many without affordable dining options.

• Insider spoke with two truck drivers who explained how they cook gourmet meals on the road.

• The trucking veterans said they find creative ways to cook anything from steak to pizza in their cabs.

A lack of trucking infrastructure means it's typically too expensive for truckers to eat out while on the road.

28-year trucker Trish Bennett told Insider it can be difficult to find truck stops, let alone stops with adequate food.

"The truck stops don't really have sit down restaurants anymore," Bennett said. "It's usually fast food or coolers of prepackaged food and you definitely get sick of eating that way fast."

26-year truck driver Derek Rogers said as "mom-and-pop truck stops" have been increasingly replaced with chains they've become less "trucker friendly." ⁠

"Most of the spots just don't agree with us," Rogers said. "They're unhealthy and inefficient. I could make three meals for what I'd spend at your standard Denny's at the truck stop."

In the past, truckers would have barbecue get-togethers and potlucks on the road.

Bennett said the practice had gone by the wayside by the time she joined the industry and has become increasingly uncommon over the past few years due to rising crime rates against truckers and COVID-19 restrictions that left drivers even more isolated during the pandemic.

"Nobody has time for that anymore," she said. "It's hard enough to find time to shower and eat on the road these days.

Bennett said the practice was more common before the industry was deregulated in the 1980s. The Motor Carrier Act of 1980 led to large reductions in trucker pay and forced drivers who were paid per load to push themselves even harder ⁠to turn a profit — spending up to 14 hours a day on duty, including 11-hours driving.

Before air fryers and Keurigs made it easier for truckers to make food on the go, drivers would cook on their engine.

"Drivers could wrap their food in tin foil and put it by their turbo," Bennett said. "They could keep driving and have dinner an hour later."

The engine on a diesel semi truck typically runs at between 195 degrees to 220 degrees.

Today, a trucker's cooking options are more modern, but not less creative.

Rogers told Insider he relies on his air fryer, slow cooker, and Keurig for most meals on the road. His kitchen makes up a two-by-two-foot space in the cab of his truck, right next to his bed.

Before Rogers bought the air fryer in 2020, he said he used a George Foreman grill and a single burner stove top to cook most meals.

Rogers typically spends about 10 days out on the road per trip. On New Year's Day in 2022, he cooked himself a meal of lobster tails, shrimp, and steak from the cab of his truck.

Rogers said truckers often share ideas on how to cook on the road and he likes to share pictures of his latest recipes on Facebook ⁠— from surf-and-turf to chicken wings, tacos, stuffed mushrooms, and bacon-wrapped asparagus.

"There isn't much I haven't tried cooking on the road," he said. "My wife jokes I eat better in my truck than I do at home."

"It's all about having the right supplies," Bennett told Insider.

She said she carries a 12-volt lunch box with her to heat up food, as well as a slow cooker with plastic liners for easy disposal.

Many long-haul trucks come with a microwave.

Bennett said she often uses her microwave to cut down on cooking time.

Rogers said that sometimes the trick is to have the meals cook in the back of the cab as you drive.