Winter camping meals?

matthew krissak

matthew krissak

Joined
Nov 11, 2005
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I leave next Sunday for a 6 day winter camping trip, on Manitoulin Island ON. I'm taking 7 other people along with me, and only 2 of them have equal winter camping experience to me. So Id like to make them a few nice meals, for the others since this is all new to most of them.

Any ideas on meals you bring along on winter camps would be nice. or even some of those wonderful secret recipes you use in on your camps.

looking for ideas for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

thanks in advance for the tips and ideas!
 
Matt,

Don't be afraid to bring fatty foods with you. If you can pack it in your car, a dutch oven can prepare some amazing foods that are hearty and a welcomed treat in the winter. One of my favorite winter foods is a chocolate. Take pillsbury crescent rolls, fill them with chocolate and peanut butter chips, oil some tin foil and put them in individual packets. Place them near the fire and in a few minutes you'll have an easy to make chocolatey/peanut buttery buttery treat.
 
Soups and stews have high specific heat - stay warm longer in the (plastic) bowl when served. Backed with good bread, they are tasty, easy to cook (Can you boil water?), and easier to clean up ("one pot"). In terms of ingredients, they can be as basic or as complicated as you desire.
 
One of my favorite Dutch oven soups I got off another forum. Easy to pack in, or make in camp if you have cast iron Dutch oven.



Back Porch Soup

1 pound ground meat, browned and drained
1/2 cup chopped onions, sautéed
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 (1-ounce) package dry ranch dressing mix
Brown meat and onions, drain, add taco seasoning and dry ranch dressing mix. Place in a 5 to 6 quart cooking pot.
Add:

1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans
1 (15-ounce) can whole kernel corn
2 (15-ounce) cans pinto beans
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (10-ounce) can Rotel brand tomatoes (mild or medium)

Cook over medium heat for about 40 minutes or in a Crockpot on low for 4 to 6 hours.
Serve over Fritos brand corn chips and top with grated cheddar cheese.
Serves 6 to 8.
 
I was their last week, lots of snow and cold be prepared for that , night time lows hitting
-15 to -20. I would bring lots of carbs, good news you won't need a cooler !
 
This is the simplest you can get.
Polish sausage toasted on a stick over an open fire, with a hunk of cheese and wrapped in a tortilla. Tortillas pack well, French bread works to.
Lots of calories for the cold weather. Polish sausage keep well in the cool weather.
A note of warning, the smell of sausage grease on wood fire will bring in every hungry critter on 2 or 4 legs for miles around.
 
Car camping? Even in a backpack, this will go over well....Mac and Cheese. Pack some elbow macaroni and Velveeta cheese. Boil mac and add cheese. Great when it's cold. Top it off with some Rice Krispy treats. Forget the Smores.
 
Great tips by all.

You burn twice the calories just being there breathing in the cold air doing nothing. Add work and you triple quadruple the calorie burn.

Winter is not the time for a diet or worries of colesterol. Pack in the fat, carbs and protein and you will sleep better. Be sure to stay hydrated.

Skam
 
Ground beef, sliced potato's, onions, seasoned to taste, rolled up in aluminum foil. Put it right on the coals for 20 minutes or so. Made up ahead of time this is real easy.

Many people don't drink enough fluids in cold weather. Take lots of hot drink stuff. Tea coffee, etc. Take sugar and make Spruce of Pine needle tea, tasty with a little sweetener.
 
If pack weight isn't a problem, fresh vegetables and meats are great. I bake crookneck squash, bell peppers and potatos in foil on coals while cooking the main meal. Add some strips of bacon or butter before closing the foil.

I find that I get "grease hungry" during extended winter camping. Freeze dried meals work for summer and fall, but in winter, I need more. Don't forget some grocery store quick-fixings like stove top stuffing. Add a foil pack or can of chicken, mix up a packet or two of gravy mix, and bake some pre-made rolls. You can get good yeast rolls frozen, ready to bake (foil campfire reflector oven style).

Breakfasts can be simple as packaged instant oatmeal, or huevos rancheros, sort of like a mexican omelet. Pancakes are good and easy if you have a griddle and get help "assembly line" style. Not too good cold.

Enjoy your trip!

Codger
 
REAL PEMMICAN!

2 cups buffalo jerky or beef jerky, shredded
1 cup dried chokeberries or tart red cherries, chopped
6 TBSP tallow (beef fat)
Combine all ingredients and form into 6 patties. Refrigerate until serving.


A word of caution: Pemmican is a concentrated food that is best consumed sparingly, when you are active, and not for an extended period of time. Consumption of hard fat can be unhealthy for sedentary people, and protein overconsumption can overload the body with uric acid (which may lead to gout) and calcium oxalate (the mineral which forms kidney stones). Ketones may also build up in the system, causing kidney damage. (A sign of protein overconsumption is ketone breath, which smells like nail polish or overripe pineapple.)
 
This may sound crazy but my favorite nighttime drink while winter camping is hot jello. I like raspberry the best.

Just dump one of the big jello packets into a liter nalgene and fill with hot water. Drink it up before you go to bed. that way you got a lot of calories to keep you warm at night. It also keeps the sleeping bag nice and toasty.

I also like to bring lots of fatty food I can just snack on at any time. Pepperoni, cheese, that sort of high calorie stuff.
 
ilbruche said:
This may sound crazy but my favorite nighttime drink while winter camping is hot jello. I like raspberry the best.

Just dump one of the big jello packets into a liter nalgene and fill with hot water. Drink it up before you go to bed. that way you got a lot of calories to keep you warm at night. It also keeps the sleeping bag nice and toasty.

I also like to bring lots of fatty food I can just snack on at any time. Pepperoni, cheese, that sort of high calorie stuff.
Click to expand...

hhmmm... hot jello eh'... i might have to try that... i've always been fond of soups and stews, for winter time camping...
 
Here is one of my fav's...
smoked kielbosa or smoked beef sausage
4 or 5 medium to large potatoes peeled and diced or sliced
2 cans of butterbeans
1 onion chopped up
1 can of chicken stock
1/4 or less stick of butter
optional Mrs. Dash table seasoning

Begin by frying up peeled cut up potatoes and onions with butter in frying pan or whatever your using. When potatoes are about 3/4 done to your liking add the sliced up kielbosa sausage cook until sausage is warmed through then add the 2 cans of butterbeans cook a couple of minutes or so then add the can of chicken stock. Season liberally the meal with Mrs. Dash table seasoning.
This is a great filling meal but you may need to adjust the quantity for your party this serves up 4 hungry people. Tastes even better after a few cold beers!
 
Mountain house makes some very tasty meals, super light and just add hot water.
Maybe a bit pricey, though. I really like simple old cheese, pepperoni and fresh rolls and butter, and a roasted apple for dessert. Really anything you cook will taste great after a day of winter hiking and camping, but be sure to bring lots of hot chocolate and tea.
 
ilbruche said:
This may sound crazy but my favorite nighttime drink while winter camping is hot jello. I like raspberry the best.

Just dump one of the big jello packets into a liter nalgene and fill with hot water. Drink it up before you go to bed. that way you got a lot of calories to keep you warm at night. It also keeps the sleeping bag nice and toasty.

I also like to bring lots of fatty food I can just snack on at any time. Pepperoni, cheese, that sort of high calorie stuff.
Click to expand...

Weird,;)

I do exactly the same thing word for word. Did you know that hot jello because of its protein content wil actually pull someone out of mild hypothermia. We use it as a hypothermia treatment on SAR missions. No other hot drink does near as well because of its protein.

I also carry cheese and pepperoni on SAR ops. Great fatty food to stoke the fire in dead winter.

Backpacker meals do not cut it in winter there just isnt enough calories or fat in them, you have to add a lot to them.

Skam
 
We just had some friends over last night to try out their dutch oven peach-cobbler recipie...turned out quite nice. We did our favorite camping/backpacking recipie from our open top off-ground fire pit (just a big steel bowl on legs, but works for practicing your camp meals.

Anywho, my favorite is my wife's Tex-mex burritos. You can backpack them in, just pack accordinly (a lot of the stuff can be put into ziplocs...we did freeze the cheese during the warmer months.

Flour Tortillas
Can of Black Beans
Can of Fiesta/Mexi-corn
Minute Rice (in the bag, easier for boiling)
Chunked chicken; easier in the bag
Taco mix (powdered stuff in a bag)
Tin-foil
Appetite

Boil the minute rice first. Mix and wrap the cooked rice, beans, corn (I think it's half a can) and taco mix in tin foil. Place on coals or grill; takes about 20-30 minutes to heat up. If you have a frying pan you can warm the tortillas up on that or just wrap them in tin foil and place near the fire. Once the mix is ready, you can spoon into warm tortillas and place some shredded cheese (if you have any) onto the mix. We've also carried some salsa in a ziploc which really tops it off. Simple, easy and quite filling. You can easily double the recipie. My wife also said you can pre-mix the corn, beans and taco mix into one ziploc to make it easier to pack and prepare as well.

ROCK6
 
Don't take bean soup! Not for the obvious reasons but I tried that one time and it froze solid in the tuperware. Because the ice block of soup was bigger than the pot I had to hit it with an ax and lost half of it in a snow bank. It was an hour before we found the second half of the soup.

If traveling light is necessary take a walk through your local grocery store. foil packets of tuna, chicken or salmon are reasonable and add the protien that you crave when you are outdoors. Good old mac and cheese with a little meat on the side makes a good a meal. The mac and cheese is light and easy to carry too. Look for dried soup mixes, dried potatos, chili etc. this will save you a lot of money over the freeze dried foods you find in the sporting goods stores.
 
skammer said:
Weird,;)

I do exactly the same thing word for word. Did you know that hot jello because of its protein content wil actually pull someone out of mild hypothermia. We use it as a hypothermia treatment on SAR missions. No other hot drink does near as well because of its protein.

I also carry cheese and pepperoni on SAR ops. Great fatty food to stoke the fire in dead winter.

Backpacker meals do not cut it in winter there just isnt enough calories or fat in them, you have to add a lot to them.

Skam
Click to expand...

Agreed.

If I'm camping in the winter I have the luxury of a fire and a nice campsite.

If I'm say, traversing the White Mountains of New Hampshire in February I don't have that luxury.

For most of my mountaineering trips I like to have a lot of good tasty food that I will enjoy eating. I usually use the stove for hot drinks, not for cooking. Since you also have to melt snow for water wasting fuel on cooking isn't a good idea.

I agree with GL Drew, those vaccum packed salmon and tuna steaks are really good.

I guess if your just car camping in the winter you can do some real cooking, but mountaineering takes a different approach.
 
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