Camp Cooking

[s_curran]

Can any one recommend some meals for cooking while camping? The two of us will have a small car with a big cooler in it, for 4 days in Acadia. I realize we could make a lot work, but what really works well? What do you enjoy most while camping? Maybe the type of meals were we could prepare a part of it early, and put it in the cooler, are what I'm really looking for.

We are going to be cooking over an open fire for the most part, or a backpacking stove if we are out on bikes. I think I'll just be bringing a cast iron pan or two.

Last camping trip someone brought some flank steaks, and some homemade chimichurri sauce, which I may try to replicate. All I know is, If i'm going to convince my girlfriend to ride up Cadillac with me, I'm going to have to reward her well.

[jdp211]

Bring a bunch of potatoes and some foil. Throw them into the fire while you're making the rest of your dinner for a lovely, piping hot side. Steaks and chicken are great for car-camping. If you're bringing along a pan or two, its pretty easy to whip up a stir fry. Acadia definitely has resources as far as picking up food and whatnot. Their campsites are great, too.

[Wisco]

My advice:

1. Keep it simple
2. Plan plan plan
3. Since you're car/bike camping, prep what you can before hand. Chopping vegetables or pre-mixing things like all the ingredients for a camp cobbler or cake in a Dutch Oven.

Your challenge may be your cooking source. Cooking well over a fire is an art as much a science and a single burner backpacking stove is really designed to boil water for rehydrating food.

To me a foil packet dinner is a camp classic, cooked on coals of a fire not the flame! Remember to add some moisture to the meat which could come from any vegetables. Season to taste. A second classic is a Dutch Oven cooked cobbler or cake. You have to have the Dutch Oven, but other than that is can be pretty easy with some recipes referred to as "dump cakes" cause you dump and mix in the Dutch Oven.

Does this help at all or can you provide more details?

[caleb]

I'll add that paper towels and a proper large cutting board really help.

[echelon_john]

You can make really simple, good pasta with some garlic, some olive oil, some salt, and some hot pepper flakes. You could make this mixture at home, sautee it briefly just enough to soften the garlic up (NOT brown it), put it in a mason jar, and it will daily keep a few days. Boil & salt water, cook some pasta, then drain & toss with the oil/garlic/hot pepper mixture. Good stuff.

I usually plan steak for one night; as recommended above, get some potatoes (I like fingerlings for this), lay out some tinfoil, arrange potatoes, add butter, garlic (can you tell I like garlic?) a bunch of salt, and wrap tightly in tin foil. Rotate in the coals so you don't burn them all on one side, and cook them longer than you think you'll need to. (crunchy potatoes suck)

Another good choice for a single pan dish is an egg scramble for any meal. Butter, eggs, then take it whatever direction you want. Olives, capers, goat cheese is a favorite here. Or pepperoni (travels great), cheddar and onion. Pick up some Captain Mowatt's hot sauce (the Fireberry is great, as is the "Bar Harbor-Q") and Robert's your mother's brother.

PS—Nice hors d'oeuvres take a lot of the pressure off. Some nice cheeses, olives, baguette/crackers, spicy peppers, hummus, etc. Oh, and Scotch.

[Too Tall]

Others have great suggestions. I'm always up for a challenge. When we went into the Boundary Waters and Quatico I always used a reflector oven to bake cool stuff like coffee cake and muffins but I'm THAT kinda camper ;)

You can do wonders with quinoa / bulgar and other quick cook grains + freeze dried veg. and some simple spices.

[s_curran]

Awesome stuff here, thanks everyone!

[BShow]

...We are going to be cooking over an open fire for the most part, or a backpacking stove if we are out on bikes. I think I'll just be bringing a cast iron pan or two.

Last camping trip someone brought some flank steaks, and some homemade chimichurri sauce, which I may try to replicate. All I know is, If i'm going to convince my girlfriend to ride up Cadillac with me, I'm going to have to reward her well.

I like to do beef over the fire. I'll buy a big chunk of whatever thick steak is on sale and slice it up. Throw it into a gallon zip lock with your marinade of choice. At camp, Skewer it and cook on the fire. At this point you should already have your baked potatoes in the coals along with a foil pouch of peppers, onions and shrooms seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper getting nice and happy. And/or a foil pouch of asparagus. If you can keep from eating the steak pieces, you've got a nice steak dinner in the making. You can also make it into a steak sammich.

[robin3mj]

A nice block of parmesan travels extremely well, and adds flavor to pretty much anything.

[Shinomaster]

My GF and I camp a lot. I usually bring simple things to grill like a steak, burgers, brats, breakfast links, and my GF will pack salads. We've had pretty good luck with cooking potatoes wrapped in foil and corn on the cobb (the leftover spuds are good for breakfast the next day). She usually makes a pasta salad with Israeli couscous and veggies and some beans or chickpeas, which keeps for a few days in a cooler. remember not to keep bread in the beer cooler! I usually bring my own grill as the campsites are unreliable and she brings her Sir Edmund Hillary camp stove for making Turkish coffee and pancakes.
We bring a huge Jerry can full of water for cleaning and drinking. It's hard to clean dishes in a campsite hence my reason for wanting to cook on a grill.

[Gattonero]

Cooking on open fire or Meths burner doesn't allow to simmer, or if you can, it requires patience and a bit of skill.
Go for simple things then.

Past with pesto o vegetables. Spuds. Scrambled eggs, rye bread.
And you'll never have enough peanut butter if you're there riding.

Btw, here's a tip for carrying eggs safely while riding

[Steve-O]

My family car camps roughly 6-8 weekends a year. We normally camp with a couple of other families thus I get to see some creative camping meals. Some feedback:

- Calzones: If you make in advance you can wrap in foil and heat up over the fire. We make small ones that are approx 5 inches long. Bake them in advance, freeze, then reheat over the fire.
- Chili Verde: I pre-cook the sauce (Tomatillos, onions, cilantro, jalapenos, and chicken broth) then freeze. Cube up the pork, season and throw in a ziplock. A couple of hours before dinner break out the dutch oven and brown the pork in hot oil. Once the pork is cooked throw in the frozen sauce and let it simmer while partaking in pre-dinner drinks.
- Mushroom / tomato Risotto: Dried mushrooms and sun-dried tomatos make this easy. Brown the Arborio rice in lots of butter in the dutch oven. Once it's slightly browned add water and bullion... Periodically stir and add more water to hydrate the rice. When roughly 1/2 done toss in the mushrooms and tomatoes.. Let it simmer away monitoring water once in a while. Add white wine before the bottle is drank up then top with pre-shredded parm cheese...
- Tacos: pre-cook the beef, heat up the tortillas on the fire. Have toppings pre-cut... It's pretty easy to heat up a pound or so of beef on a backpacker stove... Once ready start eating.

Burgers and steaks are great too but we've lost a few to windy evenings and even poor skills with the spatula.. Also mentioned above, its great to pack lots of appetizers. Hard salami, good cheeses, fancy crackers, castelvetrano olives are all favorites...

Final note, Trader Joes has some pre-packaged Indian foods that are good for a nights meal. Think spicy lentils, Jadspur vegetables, etc... Heat and eat over rice....

[Clyde]

IMG_0443 (640x480).jpg

Love me some camp cookin'.

[Gattonero]

That is cheating, you have half of your home's kitchen with you

[caleb]

Quick question about camp stoves.

I've had an MSR Dragonfly for 15 years. Other than the noise, it's a pretty amazing stove.

I just got back from a two week road trip using a Coleman Tritan two burner propane stove. It's quiet, and having two burners is nice. The problems with it are that the burner modulation is poor to nonexistent, and I wish it ran on white gas instead of disposable propane cylinders.

I have two more canoe trips to Quetico scheduled this summer, and I'm tempted to bring the Coleman because two burners are nice, and I like to make coffee in the morning without the sound of a jet engine in the background.

But, this being VSalon you probably already guessed it, I'm wondering if there's something better out there. By "better" than the Coleman Triton I mean has better burner modulation, and ideally runs on white gas without making a bunch of noise. For example, how are the Coleman white gas stoves, such as the 414? Or, if I stick with propane, the new Hyperflame burners look like a step up. Has anyone used them?

[robin3mj]

Quick question about camp stoves.

I've had an MSR Dragonfly for 15 years. Other than the noise, it's a pretty amazing stove.

I just got back from a two week road trip using a Coleman Tritan two burner propane stove. It's quiet, and having two burners is nice. The problems with it are that the burner modulation is poor to nonexistent, and I wish it ran on white gas instead of disposable propane cylinders.

I have two more canoe trips to Quetico scheduled this summer, and I'm tempted to bring the Coleman because two burners are nice, and I like to make coffee in the morning without the sound of a jet engine in the background.

But, this being VSalon you probably already guessed it, I'm wondering if there's something better out there. By "better" than the Coleman Triton I mean has better burner modulation, and ideally runs on white gas without making a bunch of noise. For example, how are the Coleman white gas stoves, such as the 414? Or, if I stick with propane, the new Hyperflame burners look like a step up. Has anyone used them?

I think noise is unfortunately par for the course. Does MSR still make the Internationale? That thing would run on blubber and sarcasm if you could get it into a bottle.

[caleb]

Does MSR still make the Internationale? That thing would run on blubber and sarcasm if you could get it into a bottle.

I love this place.

[Too Tall]

Find a old Coleman white gas two burner camp stove. They are fantastic. All repair parts are still available.
I have one passed down from my family and a second some fool threw out!!!!
Here is an example:. Coleman 3 Burner Camp Stove | eBay
I would buy this in a heartbeat :. Coleman Camping Stove Vintage 2 Burner 413G Gas Camp Fuel Green 12 79 1979 | eBay

Quick question about camp stoves.

I've had an MSR Dragonfly for 15 years. Other than the noise, it's a pretty amazing stove.

I just got back from a two week road trip using a Coleman Tritan two burner propane stove. It's quiet, and having two burners is nice. The problems with it are that the burner modulation is poor to nonexistent, and I wish it ran on white gas instead of disposable propane cylinders.

I have two more canoe trips to Quetico scheduled this summer, and I'm tempted to bring the Coleman because two burners are nice, and I like to make coffee in the morning without the sound of a jet engine in the background.

But, this being VSalon you probably already guessed it, I'm wondering if there's something better out there. By "better" than the Coleman Triton I mean has better burner modulation, and ideally runs on white gas without making a bunch of noise. For example, how are the Coleman white gas stoves, such as the 414? Or, if I stick with propane, the new Hyperflame burners look like a step up. Has anyone used them?

[summilux]

Find a old Coleman white gas two burner camp stove. They are fantastic. All repair parts are still available.

This is good advice. You can buy them new but used ones should be going for $20-40. They should be all over craigslist and kijiji. As long as the fuel cannister is not punctured, everything is cleanable/fixable.

The propane ones do modulate nicely but those cannisters end up as landfill somewhere. And when it starts to get a bit cold, they don't work as well.

[caleb]

For anyone else interested in camp stoves, I'm just going to leave this here and see what comes of it: PS Stoves