also works great with hamburger, quick,easy and pretty filling.
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what do you consider the best meal to cook when camping
- Thread starter benchmadebob
- Start date
also works great with hamburger, quick,easy and pretty filling.
IF you don"t have a dutch oven .Make A fire, dig a pit, put lots of coals in pit,put tin foil above coals put whole leg of lambwith herbs salt&pepper in center, put potatos( cut in half to absorbe juices) around lamb,cover with old sheet or large pillow case, cover with about 6" of DRY sand or dirt,take a hike (3 hours),enjoy.
Ebbtide
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I'll eat what you put in front of me, but don't forget the coffee
When we car camp I hate being a slave to the cooler and ice gods.
Canned goods work for later in the trip when the ice is about gone.
Bratwurst and kraut, steaks, hot dogs early in the trip and canned stuff later on, like DintyMoore stew, beef-a-roni, linguine (pre-cooked) and clam sauce.
Breakfast, bacon & eggs (of course), corned beef hash, and home fries with canned sliced potatos.
Other stuff we like is corn on the cob & mickys. For the corn, open the husk, remove the silk, close the husk and soak in water for an hour. Place around the fire/coals, cook till done. The husk makes a good handle.
"Mickeys" Baked potatos, wrap in foil place around the fire with the corn.
Its hard to pick a favorite...just don't forget the coffee
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I love to cook, but mostly do it at home. For backpacking or canoeing, mac n cheese, pasta, ramen, etc are nice.
However, when car camping (my favorite), things have more variety.
Breakfast. I like a hearty breakfast. A favorite of mine is pancakes. My favorite recipe is Alton Browns, for "instant pancake mix." Download it.
Another is bacon, eggs, and toast. For the bacon and eggs, cook as usual. My favorite eggs types are scrambled, fried, and plain omelettes. I top them simply- no chives or nothing. Just rub with a stick of butter and then sprinkle with salt.
As for the toast- it can be done with any sort of bread, but Sam's club has good double loaves of what they call French bread. It's better than, say, Wonder. Split the bread in half, soften some butter, and liberally spread on both sides. Run the stick of butter over the hot skillet, then cook one side until golden, brown, and delicious. Take the bread out of the skillet, lube again with oil, and then fry the other side until golden, brown and delicious.
For lunch, keep it simple, with no need to fire anything up. Snack mix, peanut butter sandwich, etc.
For dinner, meats. Fillet, seasoned liberallg with salt n pepper, cooked over the Weber grill (you brought your Weber grill, didn't you?) Hot dogs- Nathan's Beef Franks are good. I personally like bratwursts. Burgers. Chicken. Etc. You can also look up Alton Brown's pizza recipe, and cook that- wood fired pizza tastes great.
However, when car camping (my favorite), things have more variety.
Breakfast. I like a hearty breakfast. A favorite of mine is pancakes. My favorite recipe is Alton Browns, for "instant pancake mix." Download it.
Another is bacon, eggs, and toast. For the bacon and eggs, cook as usual. My favorite eggs types are scrambled, fried, and plain omelettes. I top them simply- no chives or nothing. Just rub with a stick of butter and then sprinkle with salt.
As for the toast- it can be done with any sort of bread, but Sam's club has good double loaves of what they call French bread. It's better than, say, Wonder. Split the bread in half, soften some butter, and liberally spread on both sides. Run the stick of butter over the hot skillet, then cook one side until golden, brown, and delicious. Take the bread out of the skillet, lube again with oil, and then fry the other side until golden, brown and delicious.
For lunch, keep it simple, with no need to fire anything up. Snack mix, peanut butter sandwich, etc.
For dinner, meats. Fillet, seasoned liberallg with salt n pepper, cooked over the Weber grill (you brought your Weber grill, didn't you?) Hot dogs- Nathan's Beef Franks are good. I personally like bratwursts. Burgers. Chicken. Etc. You can also look up Alton Brown's pizza recipe, and cook that- wood fired pizza tastes great.
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I will post more on this later, when I have more time. Outdoor cooking is one of the things I am really into.
But, another option for keeping things easy, is making up big batches of beef stew, chicken soup, chili or whatever at home. Freeze them in 1 gallon freezer bags and just throw them in the cooler. They don't take up much space that way. If they are still frozen when you cook them, that is fine. If they thaw by the time you get to them, that is fine too. Home cooked soups and stews with almost no effort.
The nice thing about dutch oven cooking is that they really make clean up easy. You can have a nice big, all in one meal, and only have one pot to clean.
But, another option for keeping things easy, is making up big batches of beef stew, chicken soup, chili or whatever at home. Freeze them in 1 gallon freezer bags and just throw them in the cooler. They don't take up much space that way. If they are still frozen when you cook them, that is fine. If they thaw by the time you get to them, that is fine too. Home cooked soups and stews with almost no effort.
The nice thing about dutch oven cooking is that they really make clean up easy. You can have a nice big, all in one meal, and only have one pot to clean.
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- 14,031
Expensive camping food:
A ribeye, a old style mess kit, and a can of baked beans.
Pour beans ontop of ribeye, put lid on mess kit, wait about an hour.
Add onion if needed.
Cheapskate campfood:
Chicken thigh wrapped in tin foil, along with veggies, takes about hour or maybe a little longer.
Dirt cheap camping:
A couple of MRE's or a couple of cans of tuna, and a few cups of soup.
A ribeye, a old style mess kit, and a can of baked beans.
Pour beans ontop of ribeye, put lid on mess kit, wait about an hour.
Add onion if needed.
Cheapskate campfood:
Chicken thigh wrapped in tin foil, along with veggies, takes about hour or maybe a little longer.
Dirt cheap camping:
A couple of MRE's or a couple of cans of tuna, and a few cups of soup.
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I have different ways for different trips. Coming from the oder generation that canned much of our food because there were no freezers yet, I often can chili or stew. It then needs no refrigeration until it's opened. The same would hold true for canned food that you can buy.
As Brian says, Freezing meals that are cooked at home and then just reheated make things simple and easy if you have plenty of ice.
It's hard to beat fresh cooked food on the fire. Cured meat keeps better so Bacon and Ham are good choices. Eggs keep pretty well as does bread. Be careful with chicken and fish that are taken along because the do not keep well in a cooler. Any fish or game you can catch or kill right on the spot are foods made in Heaven. Burgers fried on the fire are great if you can keep the burger fresh and cold. As another member said, Hot dogs or Polish sausages are as easy as it gets.
As Brian says, Freezing meals that are cooked at home and then just reheated make things simple and easy if you have plenty of ice.
It's hard to beat fresh cooked food on the fire. Cured meat keeps better so Bacon and Ham are good choices. Eggs keep pretty well as does bread. Be careful with chicken and fish that are taken along because the do not keep well in a cooler. Any fish or game you can catch or kill right on the spot are foods made in Heaven.
Burgers fried on the fire are great if you can keep the burger fresh and cold. As another member said, Hot dogs or Polish sausages are as easy as it gets.- Joined
- Mar 19, 2007
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- 664
My personal favorite is hot dogs, just grab a stick and pop 'em over the fire.
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Besides all the great things already mentioned, here are a few more things to think about.
Backpacking or No Refrigeration
Others have already mentioned Mountain House, or MREs. However, I much prefer making up my own. There is a great website out there called Freezer Bag Cooking.
He does sell a book on that site, however there are enough recipes there to really get you going and once you have a couple good recipes, it is not hard to figure out on your own.
I really like these because they are quite tasty, and you can control your portions, and IMO end up taking up less space when packing. It may seem like a bit of a pain, but it is not that bad. Every time we cook dinner and there is ground beef leftover, or taco meat, or extra pepper, I just dry them out in my dehydrator. Before long you build up a quick little stock and when it comes time to put something together, you usually have tons of stuff.
Making them usually only requires boiling one cup of water. You can get away with that using a fire, trangia, white gas stove, propane stove, or for extra light, the pepsi can stove.
If you don't have a dehydrator, dried fruit (especially apples) is one of my favorite snack foods.
With Refrigeration
Most people think if you have a cooler, you must be at a campground. I have been to many remote spots, where you are only going to get there in a 4x4. No campground, no other people, yet the weight of a dutch oven or other such thing is not an issue.
That being said, I love using the dutch oven. I can't believe how many times I go camping with people who have been camping longer than I have been alive and I pull out a dutch oven and they say "What is that?" I am always shocked at that. Usually for those people, I whip up my best dessert possible, because it is most likely to impress them
Dutch ovens are very versatile. Using bottom heat only they can be used as a skillet. The top can be used as a skillet, or to keep things warm. You can make soups and stews. You can deep fry in them, bake rolls, bread or cinnamon rolls. Let's not forget desert either. All with one container. That is pretty impressive.
Here are a couple links to dutch oven recipes, but be sure to read my warning below:
Bryon's Dutch Oven Recipes
Lovin Dutch Ovens
Now my warning. I am not a big fan of overly simple and plain things. Many have suggested hot dogs and sticks. While you almost HAVE to do that sort of thing when camping, hot dogs are not good for you, and I don't want my family eating too many of them. Back on topic......many recipes in those two sources are overly simple. Your typical onion soup mix, and gravy sort of thing. While that is just fine, loving cooking and all, I generally strive for something more.
The Lovin Dutch Oven book does have at least a handful of unique recipes that make it worth buying. Other than that, I find you almost better off adapting your own recipes for use in a dutch oven. Remember, if you can fit it in, you can probably cook it all right.
I also recently ordered one of these. When it gets here, and I use it a bit, I might have some more ideas
If you are interested in some of the dutch oven recipes that I normally use, that are not in the sources above, let me know and I can post some. I don't want to if there is really no interest.
Backpacking or No Refrigeration
Others have already mentioned Mountain House, or MREs. However, I much prefer making up my own. There is a great website out there called Freezer Bag Cooking.
He does sell a book on that site, however there are enough recipes there to really get you going and once you have a couple good recipes, it is not hard to figure out on your own.
I really like these because they are quite tasty, and you can control your portions, and IMO end up taking up less space when packing. It may seem like a bit of a pain, but it is not that bad. Every time we cook dinner and there is ground beef leftover, or taco meat, or extra pepper, I just dry them out in my dehydrator. Before long you build up a quick little stock and when it comes time to put something together, you usually have tons of stuff.
Making them usually only requires boiling one cup of water. You can get away with that using a fire, trangia, white gas stove, propane stove, or for extra light, the pepsi can stove.
If you don't have a dehydrator, dried fruit (especially apples) is one of my favorite snack foods.
With Refrigeration
Most people think if you have a cooler, you must be at a campground. I have been to many remote spots, where you are only going to get there in a 4x4. No campground, no other people, yet the weight of a dutch oven or other such thing is not an issue.
That being said, I love using the dutch oven. I can't believe how many times I go camping with people who have been camping longer than I have been alive and I pull out a dutch oven and they say "What is that?" I am always shocked at that. Usually for those people, I whip up my best dessert possible, because it is most likely to impress them
Dutch ovens are very versatile. Using bottom heat only they can be used as a skillet. The top can be used as a skillet, or to keep things warm. You can make soups and stews. You can deep fry in them, bake rolls, bread or cinnamon rolls. Let's not forget desert either. All with one container. That is pretty impressive.
Here are a couple links to dutch oven recipes, but be sure to read my warning below:
Bryon's Dutch Oven Recipes
Lovin Dutch Ovens
Now my warning. I am not a big fan of overly simple and plain things. Many have suggested hot dogs and sticks. While you almost HAVE to do that sort of thing when camping, hot dogs are not good for you, and I don't want my family eating too many of them. Back on topic......many recipes in those two sources are overly simple. Your typical onion soup mix, and gravy sort of thing. While that is just fine, loving cooking and all, I generally strive for something more.
The Lovin Dutch Oven book does have at least a handful of unique recipes that make it worth buying. Other than that, I find you almost better off adapting your own recipes for use in a dutch oven. Remember, if you can fit it in, you can probably cook it all right.
I also recently ordered one of these. When it gets here, and I use it a bit, I might have some more ideas
If you are interested in some of the dutch oven recipes that I normally use, that are not in the sources above, let me know and I can post some. I don't want to if there is really no interest.
mmmm yeah, I've been wanting a Potjie too:
My favorite dutch oven dish is Bobotie (afrikaans dish):
http://atheisttoolbox.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5839&sid=c20a3d9b4390b1a756b054b125370dcc
My favorite dutch oven dish is Bobotie (afrikaans dish):
http://atheisttoolbox.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5839&sid=c20a3d9b4390b1a756b054b125370dcc
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That's one of my favorites, grill a T-bone and pour a can of Ranch Style brand pintos with jalapenos over it