Camp Cooking

[Joseph]

One thing I've learned in over thirty-five years of camping is that I don't go camping to cook. (Making coffee doesn't count as cooking - that's life support.) Anyway, if it takes more effort than meat thrown on a grill, it gets made up ahead of time and brought along in a plastic container, usually a zip-lock bag that can be thrown away after the meal.

Joseph

[Mike B]

I do enjoy cooking, Joseph. But it doesn't have to be real fancy - most of the stuff I cook on a camping trip is "throw it in the dutch oven and cook it" stuff. Any real preparation can usually be done at home beforehand.

On the other hand, for breakfast and lunch I make minimal effort. We have better things to do than to stand in front of a cookstove all day, right?

Mike B

[tdhombre]

I am comprising a list of easy, tasty receipes that will allow us to stock the teardrop with both ingrediants as well as pots/pans/spices/etc. That will take the drama out of what to cook when on the road, and let the wife enjoy the trip as well when I do most of the cooking. After all, if it is already decided and everything is already there it can't be difficult can it?????

I am actually looking forward to some really good one pot meals that we have had over the last 20 years!

[Joseph]

Hey Mike,

On the other hand, for breakfast and lunch I make minimal effort.

I probably put most of my effort into breakfast. Not because "it's the most important meal of the day," but because I love bacon & eggs outside. Well, I love them indoors too, but something about having the al fresco makes 'em all the better.

Unless I'm really exerting myself (as in backpacking, which I haven't done for more years than I care to remember) I skip lunch. A one-pot heat & eat supper does me fine. Then it's whisky & cigar time.

Jospeh

[capnTelescope]

:idea: Supermarket fajitas for din-din! (That's fah-hee-tuz, for those of you way north of the border). Stir fry in a little olive/sesame/veg oil. Add tortillas if you like.

Breakfast? Canned corned beef hash with egg on top in a small covered sauce pan, low heat. Put it on, do a few chores, magically, it's ready when you come back. 1 can & 2 eggs = 2 servings.

[tdthinker]

Now I love to cook a hour long breakfast tops, lunch is deli meats out of the old cooler and supper is usally something easy like chicken legs, hamburgers, or porkchops. And if you like breakfast alot have it again!

[Guest]

Joseph,
I'm sorry to hear that, quite the contrary with me. I've been camping since I was a kid and learned way back in the Boy Scouts that a decent meal in the outdoors is incredible. So I say, why not put a little effort into it and prepare a great meal; That is what camping is all about for me.
I'm new on this board and I don't know anyone yet and it's going to be quite a while before I get around to building a trailer. Currently, I'm on a similar board like this one, but it's a boat building forum. I'm building a cedar strip canoe. You can see my construction photos and project specs by going to http://www.bearmountainboats.com. Click on the project directory and follow the links and click on Redbird by Dean in Eureka, CA

Here's a very simple great meal to fix using a Brinkmann Smokin'Grill:
soak about six good sized chunks of hickory when the briquets are started. When the briquets are ready, place them in the bottom pan and place the middle grill inside the chamber. Place 5-6 ears of corn with husks still on the ear, around the edge of the grill. Then place 5-6 foil wrapped baguettes of bread split with garlic butter added, around the perimeter of the grill on top of the corn. Now insert the upper grill into the chamber and cut up two racks of baby back pork ribs and sprinkle them with montreal steak seasoning (Costco) and place them on the upper grill. Cover the cooking chamber with the lid, open the access door and add the water soaked hickory chunks on top of the briquets. Cooking time is about one hour. I flip my ribs at about 1/2 hour. I keep an eye on the thermometer that's in the lid and if the temperature get above ideal, I just open the access door and douse with a squirt of water from a spray bottle. Try it! I personally gaurantee that this will change your outlook on cooking while camping!
The smokin' grill runs about 35-40 bucks and is worth every penny. It also has an optional water pan for water smoking too.
One other thing you can do is soak the corn in sugar water for about 1/2 hour prior to placing the husk covered ears on the grill.
The only other thing I do to add to this meal sometimes is to take my turkey kettle cooker and do up a batck of deep fried garlic fries.
I'm currently building a pizza oven to take camping that I'll be using on the propane fired turkey cooker. (That was a request my kids made a few weeks ago while camping)
BTW I couldn't agree with you more about the coffee.

[campadk]

Sounds like a good topic for a poll!

I'm with Joseph on this one. Fancy meals, high def tv, hot tubbing and the like are for at home. Teardropping is going back to the simple needs of life. Mind you its REAL simple for me, cuz my wife actually does all the cooking at camp (I cut wood, drink mudslides, adjust the tarp, meet the neighbours and feed the chipmonks).

She brings stuff already made, or items that are simple to make. No fancy fry pans, ovens or baking stuff. Meals are fast and wholesome and go down well with cheap wine or a beer.

We do have friends that go ALL out. They bring way too much food, cook from scratch, spend a few hours making and eating meals and have to bring a lot of dish soap to scrub all those dishes. But thats them...

Thats the take on it here anyways from way up north...

[Guest]

Hey Dave,
Was that you I saw last weekend in that group of about 15 people that wandered into my camp that I ended up feeding my "Dad's Two Camp Beans" and ribs too?
Yaa, you were the guy that was feeding the chipmunks, rigt?

I say let's put it to a vote!
(Where's the poll feature on this forum?)

BTW nice canoe.

[Gus]

Beer for breakfast is ok for me!!

[Woody]

Ah yes Beer , the breakfast of champions. Barley pop, bread in a can. You should always enjoy life 12 ounces at a time or mutiples of 12 at a time

[SteveH]

Let's see.....24 cans in a case.....24 hours in a day....coincidence? I think not!

[David Grason]

But Steve, that's only one beer per hour. That's just wrong.