Favorite Camping Meals and Snacks

[Marlene]

Sounds great and the the weather should be perfect. Algonquin?

Nope, Bon Echo. It's in no man's land I swear!

Don't know how much access to fire and equipment you have, we usually work with a backpackers little campstove and the campsite fireplace -- 2-3 pots or pans at once. I'm assuming you're not backpacking.

We have a little campstove, a portable gas bbq and of course the fire! - No we're not backpacking. I don't mind rustic, but let's not get carried away here . I'm already not taking my hair dryer which is a major sacrifice for me

All of these suggestions are great!

Last year, when my friend was cleaning up, she forgot to put some of the food away. Those racoons were awfully noisy.

Edited July 3, 2003 by Marlene (log)

[vengroff]

My favorite camping breakfast is pancakes (pre-mix the dry ingredients at home, including dried egg and milk if you are backpacking) topped with stewed dried fruits like apricots, peaches, apples and/or cherries. To drink it's instant coffee with hot chocolate mix added in--both at full strength for a good double jolt.

[torakris]

I love camping!

We have a couple favorites that tend to come on every trip with us.

Our favorite breakfast is oatmeal-pecan pancakes, all the dry ingredients mixed beforehand.

I hate pulling out the fire for lunches, so usually the first day's lunch I prepare the night before leaving, one of a my favorites is a Greek rice salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, feta, kalamatas and what ever herbs I have on hand.

Another favorite lunch are those sandwiches made from a whole loaf of bread. I make this the night before, grilling up some extra vegetables with that night's dinner. I remove the inside of the bread, smear the inside with a black olive tapenade (homemade or bought) and ten layer in the grilled vegetables (usually zucchini, peppers and egglant) add some tomatoes, maybe some ham, basil, arugula, or lettuce, then close it back up, wrap it tightly and enjoy it the next day!

[Foam Pants]

Holy moly in a chicken basket, I am practically caveman in my camping choices! I always go with the protein packed packpacker's favorite, peanut butter and jelly. Kayak camping mean very little room for anything so I try to keep it light. I absolutely love what my dad used to call hobo dinners... hamburger, potatos, cabbage, onion, etc. cut up and baked in foil in the coals. The pre-made, whole loaf, sammich idea is a great one! I'll have to try that. I often go totally vegetarian on camping trips since keeping things cool can be impossible. If you are going to be near water and you have a fishing license, try your hand at some fresh stuff. I've been on a few trips where we chowed on freshly caught salmon which, as you probably know, tastes heavenly with woodsmoke. Of course, you can't rely on mother nature quite so well as a Safeway.

I guess, after all that useless blabber, I only have some advice. Keep it simple since it will be harder to prepare away from your kitchen. I find that I am hungry enough on camping trips after all that activity that I think just about anything is tasty, even stale crackers and cheese whiz.

Edited July 3, 2003 by Foam Pants (log)

[Holly Moore]

I think baked beans are traditional. At least they were during my scouting years.

On a recent outing, someone brought some salmon jerky. Really good.

[Malawry]

Foam Pants, my camping style is more like yours. We almost always go vegetarian although we will cook fish sometimes. We usually carry bread, cheese, olives, pickles, PB and J and trail mix while we hike. Back at the campsite I always make a big batch of vegetarian chili which vanishes rapidly with more cheese and tortilla chips. I usually bring a bunch of relish tray type items...the olives and pickles, hearts of palm and artichoke hearts, celery and carrots...which we eat while waiting for the hot dinner to arrive. Late at night there's more chips and salsa, some M&Ms and s'mores for eating while we play card games by lamplight or sit around the fire chatting. Breakfasts are not involved, we usually want to hit the trail early so we just make oatmeal with dried fruit and eat one or two pieces of fresh fruit as we set out for the morning.

Last time we camped, we packed up early and left the site for breakfast on the last day. Some of the best pork sausage I ever tasted came out of the kitchen where we stopped. It was somewhere in West Virginia and they had 14 or so types of pie on their dessert menu. A real local kind of place.

[Gastro]

No camping trip is complete without cans of vienna sausages and potato sticks. 

Sounds like my Dad going camping... also, canned corned beef sandwiches with chopped onion and miracle whip all mixed in... and corned beef hash in the pan with egges... apparently my dad is a big corned beef fan...

[KatieLoeb]

Katie -- I like your definition of roughing it.

Thanks Busboy! I'm not such a Princess that I'd consider the Holiday Inn, "roughing it" , but I don't feel I have to eat the equivalent of Army rations in the great outdoors to make the experience more "complete" either. The cooler has to get packed and carried along anyhow, so why not fill it with good stuff!

[Marlene]

So here's what I've got so far - we leave in the morning:

Marinated steak kebobs

ribs, currently marinading

steaks

bacon and eggs

hot dogs for quick lunches

homemade coleslaw

pre made pancake mix

hot chocolate and Tim hortons coffee (I just can't drink instant coffee)

Assorted chips and tortilla chips

chip dip and garlic salsa

Assorted wines, coolers, baileys, grand marnier

What am I forgetting? :

[KatieLoeb]

Marlene:

Looks like you've got it under control, unless there's some other small things to bring like cheese, pepperoni to slice, etc. Some fresh fruit? Some dried fruit and/or nuts for quick energy and easy snacks whilst hiking about in God's Country and No Man's Land?? Juice or other drinkables? Maybe more booze...you forgot the tequila and martini fixins'. I'm not sure your outdoor bar is well stocked enough yet. Maybe you should bring a bartender!

Have fun and let us all know how your trip was and how the food all turned out!

[Marlene]

Marlene:

Looks like you've got it under control, unless there's some other small things to bring like cheese, pepperoni to slice, etc.  Some fresh fruit?  Some dried fruit and/or nuts for quick energy and easy snacks whilst hiking about in God's Country and No Man's Land??  Juice or other drinkables?  Maybe more booze...you forgot the tequila and martini fixins'.  I'm not sure your outdoor bar is well stocked enough yet.  Maybe you should bring a bartender!

Have fun and let us all know how your trip was and how the food all turned out!

I've got lots of little foods like cheese and stuff, but I didn't want to list it all here After I posted my list I did go to the liquor store and gee, they had these lovely plastic shakers, so of course I had to get one along with martini fixin's. I already have an acrylic martini glass! Do I really need other drinkables I've got milk and juice and cream for the coffee. Butter and jams and trail mix i mixed up myself. The car is packed and I'm heading for the open road shortly!

[Ellen Shapiro]

Here are a couple of links to previous discussions that have relevance here...

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST&f=3&t=3705

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...ST&f=13&t=17768

I'll post some comments soon that are more carefully tailored to these specs (I'm just back from a backpacking trip myself, sorry to be offline for the long weekend), but let me repost one of my old posts as well...

Responding to Heather in August 2001...

If you have access to high-quality fresh cuts of meat, camp cooking is easy. It's extremely simple to cook fresh fish, steaks, pork chops, hamburgers, Tasmanian devil, etc. If fresh bread is available, great. If you can get hold of some lettuce and other salad vegetables, so much the better. Just be sure you have a full array of basic condiments with you (salt, pepper, olive oil, red wine vinegar, etc.).

When good meat is not available, things get a little trickier, but there are still some excellent options. Eggs, which tend to be plentiful even in the most remote places, can form the basis of a nearly infinite variety of meals. Scrambled eggs, omelettes, fried eggs, and hard-boiled eggs are a major staple of trekkers and campers all over the world. Omelettes are particularly versatile because you can add so many different things to them.

When I do backpacking trips that require in excess of a week of provisioning, we use up all the meat the first day, and all the eggs and fresh vegetables by day four or five. After that, you have to move on to canned foods and vegetarian items that can be dried and reconstituted. Rice and lentils both cook pretty quickly (I usually camp with groups, so we have two burners available). What I do at home in advance of the trip is portion them into individual zip-loc bags with all the necessary seasonings. So I'll put salt in with the rice and write on the bag "1 cup rice, add 2 cups water to cook," and I'll add salt, pepper, and various dried herbs and spices to the lentils. Split peas also work nicely. Actual beans aren't recommended in dry form because they take too long to cook and will exhaust most portable gas units. But canned beans are very good, provided you can get them with a minimum of additives.

Canned fish products, such as tuna and salmon, are useful for lunches. All you need to add some olive oil, salt and pepper, and serve with bread or crackers. Also, if you can get good cheese and dried sausage products (salami, etc.), those make a good lunch served with bread or crackers. When all else fails, you can theoretically live forever on peanut butter and jelly.

Breakfast is probably the most enjoyable camp meal. It's so easy to make pancakes, french toast, and eggs of all kinds. Bacon, ham, sausages, and the like tend to enjoy wide distribution. You wouldn't want to drink powdered milk but it works well as an ingredient in batters and such.

Sweets are also easy, and doubly fun if you have a real campfire. I like to slit a banana down the middle lengthwise, stuff in a few pieces of bittersweet chocolate, wrap the whole thing in foil, and heat it for awhile. S'mores (graham crackers, marshmallow, chocolate) are also an American classic -- do they have these elsewhere?

The trick with any good camp meal is to cook only one or two items and use unheated items to round out the menu. Also you should eat dinner early enough so as to be able to cook, eat, and clean by sunlight. Allow plenty of time. With limited equipment, everything goes very slowly.

It helps to plan ahead so as to avoid waste. In the US, which I hear is just like Tasmania, there are huge supermarkets all over the place that have enough good ingredients to satisfy most camp-cooking needs. There's only one place where you never, ever find one of these supermarkets: Near your campsite. So what you don't want to do is set up camp and then go looking for a supermarket. You buy when you can so you can eat well when you need to.

Given your cooking equipment, you want to stay away from anything that requires very long cooking (such as potatoes) or large quantities of boiling water (most pastas).

Flip through some basic cookbooks before you depart. Things like Joy of Cooking, where the recipes are very basic. You'll be surprised at how many of these things can be cooked quickly on one portable gas burner with a minimum of hassle.

In terms of sanitation, the most important thing you can do is keep yourself clean -- especially your hands. Pack a box full of antiseptic moist towelettes and use them on your hands before and after you handle food.

Use zip-loc bags liberally to separate all your ingredients, and especially to protect meat.

Use twice as much ice as you think you need in your ice chest, never let it get exposed to direct sun, and never let your ingredients sit in the sun.

If you have the opportunity and extra fuel to boil water, that is of course the best way to clean and sterilize your utensils. When I lead trips for Sierra Club, this is our mandatory procedure. We just suck it up and take the time to get everything totally clean, and nobody has ever fallen ill on one of these trips. If that's too much, at least be sure you pack an antibacterial dish soap and clean your utensils under plenty of running water (I assume you'll be camping only where there is water, but if not you should always have a few gallon-size containers of water in the trunk of your car, one of which should be designated for dishwashing), then dry them thoroughly.

[I. Reilly]

Luckily we have a large refridgerator in our bus that's plenty enough big to store fresh meat. So we often end up eating a lot of things like venison and sometimes quail. Personally, I can't stand eating too much venison but don't tell my wife. She loves the stuff. By the way, I really like this website, a little intimidating maybe but it sure seems like I could learn a lot here.

[Lan4Dawg]

there is a group of about six of us that go camping at least 2x a year (some of us go more often but this group is an annual event). I am usually in charge of food b/c these guys could not boil water w/o help. Bisquick, love it or hate it, is a campers' best friend--you can always make your own if you are so inclined and prefer your own blend. Give just about anything else, a box of bisquick, & a dutch oven to me & we will be fine.

I will make chicken & dumplings, fruit cobbler, breakfast casserole-brown the sausage in the dutch oven over the fire, pour out the grease, top w/ whipped eggs, cheese & bisquick w/ milk, hot sauce, s&p, & you are set.

I also like to hit the market and get a whole bunch of different sausages. They are wonderful grilled over an open fire. Throw whole potatoes in the coals (wrap in foil or not). Always take bacon, dill, & lemon just in case you catch a mess of fresh trout & I do the kabob thing often esp if I do not know what people will like. People can make their own kabobs w/ whatever they like. Serve over rice made in the, you guessed it, dutch oven.

Vidalia onions, or any other sweet onion, cut the top off & spread a little butter & salt on it then just let it sit on the grill for a while. Corn works as well--leave the outer shuck but remove the silk, rub w/ butter & salt then set on the grill over an open fire

[I. Reilly]

Sounds wicked. Yeah, we love raidin' the grocery store--especially late at night when the weirdos come out. Oh by the way, I travel 8 to nine months a year in my new RoadTrek with my wife Lynne. I'm based-if you can call it that out of a small town named Milford, Mass. That's where our house is. You may need to know that. I used to be a private chef but retired last year. I did a lot of celebrity jobs...my favorite being Elvis Costello....guy knows how to eat. I travelled with him on his Spike Tour in 1989. You'd think he'd be eating crumpets and finger sandwiches but he's a lot more cosmo than you'd think. So now we just motor around looking for kicks and stay at campsites and cook in our kitchen. We've refitted the rig with a kitchen that would make The Surreal Gourmet blush. Good to be hear.

Edited August 3, 2003 by I. Reilly (log)

[Marlene]

How do you like the RoadTrek? We are looking at that as well as a couple of class C's?

[I. Reilly]

We absolutely couldn't live without it. We used to tow a 27"Airstream. In fact we went through two of them in the late eighties, early nineties. But I've had no trouble and great gas mileage out of the RoadTrek. The countertops are all fiberglass--which I've updated with some chopping block and a nifty built-in knife rack. Our copper pots are proudly displayed above the sink, facing out on the changing scenes. I highly recommend the RoadTrek. It's 19', plenty for what we do.

Edited August 3, 2003 by I. Reilly (log)

[BobMcNabb]

We're motorhomers and out "camping" most months a year. Whether out on a long weekend or on the way across the country, I've long subscribed to what a number of posters have already described as pre-mixed and pre-prepared menu items. Over half of the meals I prepare for camping weekends were prepped at home. For cooking outdoors, there are some great items to go onto a barbeque grille, but things like burger patties can be shaped at home.

Rationale: It's often difficult to contend with cleanup at a campsite.

I've got a full set of Cuisinart cookware aboard, but seldom have two pans working.

[Marlene]

We're motorhomers and out "camping"  most months a year. Whether out on a long weekend or on the way across the country, I've long subscribed to what a number of posters have already described as pre-mixed and pre-prepared menu items. Over half of the meals I prepare for camping weekends were prepped at home. For cooking outdoors, there are some great items to go onto a barbeque grille, but things like burger patties can be shaped at home. 

Rationale: It's often difficult to contend with cleanup at a campsite.

I've got a full set of Cuisinart cookware aboard, but seldom have two pans working.

Yes, and I've discovered counter space is at a premium! I do a lot of the prep work at home too. Marinades for ribs etc and finish them off at the campsite. Clean up can be interesting especially if you aren't connected to water and sewage. Then you're off dumping and filling every couple of days. Still, I've fallen in love with RVing. I think we've narrowed it down to either a 24' Gulfstream or 24' Forest River.

[marie-louise]

I don't camp, but I love to take day hikes in the hills around the Bay Area. Lately, I've been taking three or four hour hikes, and find I feel better if I stop and snack somewhere in the middle. (Of course I am drinking water all the way.) My favorites: a Scharffenburger bittersweet chocolate bar; a homemade cookie (although they can get kind of funky if it's hot); and roasted nuts. Anyone else have any ideas? Those have lost their appeal. I'm not really hungry , it's just that I just feel more energetic after I eat something. So it would help if the snack was something very appetizing...

[Eric_Malson]

I'm not much of a hiker (or particularly outdoorsy in general), but there is one food item "for the trail" that I love. Of course, my feelings about it are inextricably linked with the surroundings in which it is consumed.

In Asturias (northern Spain), perhaps the most traditional thing to take along to eat while hiking one of the many rutas throughout the province is the bollu preñáu (literally, "pregnant roll" in bable asturianu). It is stuffed bread, ranging in size anywhere from "large dinner roll" to "large loaf of bread". Inside are chunks of bacon, chorizo, often a hardboiled egg....the paprika and garlic of the chorizo permeate the contents. Food for the gods.

I have an indelible memory of hiking the Senda del Cares, a 12-km trail blasted out of rock face and mountain in the heart of the Picos de Europa, built by the governement to monitor a hydroelectric project, stopping when tired or hungry to perch on a rock and nibble some bollu. That hike is one of the most unbelievably beautiful and dramatic walks you can take anywhere, and a bollu preñáu the perfect accompaniment.

[C Squared]

I like simple things when I'm hiking. Plain old roasted peanuts. The shells are natural, not litter and can help you find your way back when hiking off the trail. Landjagers, and for a quick energy boost I carry a block of Non Such mincemeat to nibble on. (it is loaded with sugar and fat)

[Sweet Willie]

for the first night we hike in w/T-Bones frozen, by the time you make camp the steaks are ready for grilling.

We've also done pre-cooked frozen ribs, that you just reheat in the package in some hot water.

Also like to hike in w/a chub of summer sausage and some cheese which lasts a couple days.

Otherwise we catch fresh fish and grill. YUM best fish anywhere!

[Bicycle Lee]

marinated pork tenderloin is always good....just wrap it heavily in foil...

what you do is build a fire, let a good amount of coals grow, spread them out and set the pork on top. if it gets too hot, move some coals...it is usually hot as hell so you have to keep an eye on it, but the reward is divine....

We made a traditional cheese fondue once in the desert, kiersch wasser and all....that was good...

[Kayakado]

I kayak camp, too but save space by making up dinner packages of say a meat and two veggies and triple wrapping them in tinfoil and then freezing them. They stay frozen/cold for as long as two or more days in a soft side cooler. We heat them over the stove or fire in their packages. They are usually items of envy by those having to actively cook their meal. A can of boiled peanuts has become a favorite and something I am expected to bring. It's a quick warming protein fill-in while sitting around waiting for dinner to heat. They are already boiled and just need minimal heating, we add cajun seasoning to spice them up. In winter, we take soups and stews in a thermos for lunch, with cheese and crackers. A cold fruit soup for summer. Breakfast is a hit with prepackaged prepared hash browns and pre-cooked bacon. I often pre-brew coffee and reheat it for breakfast, but it has to be good coffee to start. I always try to surprise everyone with homemade cookies or brownies for dessert. We also take a small alumnium roll-up table (12"X12"X6)or car floor mat on which to cook so we don't have sand in our food. We camp out in Florida and Georgia and sand gets in everything if you aren't careful.