Cooking while Primitive Camping

[Auspicious]

On 7/17/2018 at 11:16 AM, blbst36 said:

I will absolutely hang the tarp over a spot (need to get more rope).  I am going to put my grill under it if I need to so I can cook without getting rained on.

 

I would advise against that. The smoke and oils smell like food. Think ... bears. Cook away from where you sleep, haul food into trees, and don't let odors accumulate in your tent, rain fly, or bedding.

[ChocoMom]

@blbst36  If you've abandoned low-carb eating, then you, my friend, must get a Pudgy Pie maker for desserts.  I discovered these while in girl scouts some decades ago, but they still make them. Ace/True Value, Sears, and I don't know who else sells them. 

 

Need a loaf of white bread. Butter (I mean use real butter) the outside of two slices of bread. Fit one piece into one side of the mold/tin. Spread that piece with 2-3 TBS of your favorite pie filling. Slap the other piece of buttered bread over it- buttered side out, then fit the other tin/plate over that slice of bread, and tighten the plates with the little thingy. Cook over the fire-5-7 min each side. Then pop it out, and behold the glorious Pudgy Pie.  Let it cool a bit, 'cause the insides get so hot it'll melt your tongue and teeth right outta your mouth. .  Delicious.   If you want to get fancy, fill a cleaned, empty parmesan cheese container with powdered sugar, and take it along to sprinkle on the pie. 

 

If that doesn't fit your tastes, there's also the marvelous campfire donuts.  You need a metal coffee can, oil, cinnamon and sugar (mixed), and a roll of pre-made biscuits. and paper towel to drain them a bit.  Get your oil hot over the fire. take your biscuit dough out, and separate the little guys. Poke holes through the center, and drop one or two in the hot oil. Once they get all puffy, take them out with tongs, and either drain them right away- or skip that, and throw them in the sugar/cinnamon mix.    

Eat either of these delicacies with your fresh perked coffee.      

 

Once you get home, return to the low-carb diet immediately. 

[blbst36]

28 minutes ago, ChocoMom said:

@blbst36  If you've abandoned low-carb eating, then you, my friend, must get a Pudgy Pie maker for desserts.  I discovered these while in girl scouts some decades ago, but they still make them. Ace/True Value, Sears, and I don't know who else sells them. 

 

Need a loaf of white bread. Butter (I mean use real butter) the outside of two slices of bread. Fit one piece into one side of the mold/tin. Spread that piece with 2-3 TBS of your favorite pie filling. Slap the other piece of buttered bread over it- buttered side out, then fit the other tin/plate over that slice of bread, and tighten the plates with the little thingy. Cook over the fire-5-7 min each side. Then pop it out, and behold the glorious Pudgy Pie.  Let it cool a bit, 'cause the insides get so hot it'll melt your tongue and teeth right outta your mouth. .  Delicious.   If you want to get fancy, fill a cleaned, empty parmesan cheese container with powdered sugar, and take it along to sprinkle on the pie. 

 

If that doesn't fit your tastes, there's also the marvelous campfire donuts.  You need a metal coffee can, oil, cinnamon and sugar (mixed), and a roll of pre-made biscuits. and paper towel to drain them a bit.  Get your oil hot over the fire. take your biscuit dough out, and separate the little guys. Poke holes through the center, and drop one or two in the hot oil. Once they get all puffy, take them out with tongs, and either drain them right away- or skip that, and throw them in the sugar/cinnamon mix.    

Eat either of these delicacies with your fresh perked coffee.      

 

Once you get home, return to the low-carb diet immediately. 

 

I've thought about getting those!!  Unfortunately, I don't like pie.  I was thinking more for grilled cheese, or meat and cheese, or (OMG - just thought of this) chocolate and marshmallows!!  But NOT smores - I do not like smores  Dang.  Now I'm hungry.

 

I don't know how I would do with oil and fire, though   

 

Hopefully, I won't have a rained out camping trip, soon, so I can actually LIGHT a fire!  I have a telescoping hot dog fork I want to try, dammit!!

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Have fun, son!

 

I won't tell you about how much expensive dehydrated meals suck because you asked for us not to. Since you didn't proscribe this though, I gotta tell you that a whole lotta canned veggies suck. Carrots, potatoes, spinach, peas, and most of them are survival mode only. I like canned mushrooms, tomatoes, and corn can go either way. Mostly I avoid canned veggies. 

 

Sending good thoughts for you to have a drench free and enjoyable trip!

[blbst36]

4 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

Have fun, son!

 

I won't tell you about how much expensive dehydrated meals suck because you asked for us not to. Since you didn't proscribe this though, I gotta tell you that a whole lotta canned veggies suck. Carrots, potatoes, spinach, peas, and most of them are survival mode only. I like canned mushrooms, tomatoes, and corn can go either way. Mostly I avoid canned veggies. 

 

Sending good thoughts for you to have a drench free and enjoyable trip!

 

Thanks!  I'm not a canned veg person myself.  I am hoping that drowning it in cream of chicken soup will make it more palatable   Maybe I'll get corn instead of carrots.  I was thinking of this form since it's more of a single serving type deal (they have corn, too).

[blbst36]

I have returned!  It was about half successful and half not so much.  The first day, I was going to hike, but decided to just chill in my hammock in the rain.  I switched the meals around and made some soup the first night.  Cream of chicken, canned chicken, and the "canned corn" linked above.  I added a little pepper, too.  It was DELICIOUS.  Do you know, I had someone think I was weird for eating cream of chicken soup??  @Thanks for the Crepes - the corn was pretty good!  Nice and crisp.  No weird flavors.  I'm not sure what normal canned corn tastes like, but I would eat this again.  I want to try the carrots now, too.

 

 

For dinner, I tried my first ready made meal.  This one wasn't dehydrated.  It was an all in one package that cooked the food and everything.  It was ok.  Not a lot of food, though.  If I was a proper backpacker, this would in NO WAY be enough food.  Plus, all the waste was just horrible.  The heating element stayed hot for a very long time, basically until all the water was gone.  So, if you add too much, it can go on quite a while.  The idea is a good one, but using a silver pouch with no way to pull it out safely caused a bit of an issue.  I had to use a handkerchief to get it out of the boiling packet.  I also had to put it in the pot to eat it.  There is just simply no way to hold the hot pouch.  The only way I could see me buying these again would be for emergencies.  Since any liquid can be used to activate the heating element, I could see it being perfect for emergency usage.

 

Packet

Inside

Pulling the packet out.  I had to use the scissors to open it, too

The food itself

 

The next morning was a DISASTER with the dehydrated eggs.  I missed a step, so the eggs weren't completely hydrated when I ate them.  They were overwhelmed with a bacon flavor with no egg flavor to offer a break.  All of the extra water was a pain to dispose.  I am going to have to figure something else out for breakfasts

 

"cooked"

 

I had a sandwich while hiking for lunch

 

Dinner was another win from my pantry.   Rehydrated broccoli (that was from Trader Joe's in the snack section because apparently there are weirdos that eat dried broccoli as a snack  ), Bear Creek Broccoli Cheese soup mix, and canned chicken.

Heating up the water

Rehydrating the broccoli

All mixed together

 

The last breakfast was another of the OMeals packets.  It was oatmeal.  It looked like oatmeal, I guess.  I still don't think I like oatmeal.  I only ate half of it.  The other sandwich I made had mold on the bread  So, there was no hiking on the day I left since I didn't have enough food for it.

 

I'll tell you what.  I really liked the home pantry meals.  So much easier than dragging the grill around.  I have another camping trip the beginning of September and I think I am really going to try to do it all like this again.  One thing I did lean is that I have to use my good cooler even for a few things.  The other cooler was completely warm by the end, even with two 48-hour cold packs.

[kayb]

If I were you, I'd strongly think about preparing some foil package meals (meat and veggies and seasoning) that I could heat right in my fire or on a grill, and either freezing or refrigerating those. Protein bars for hiking. You might look at making up some sort of egg bites/muffins, a la Starbucks, for breakfasts. And of course, sandwich makings. The cheap cooler will do well for keeping non-refrigerated foods that need to be secured from open air.

[blbst36]

10 hours ago, kayb said:

If I were you, I'd strongly think about preparing some foil package meals (meat and veggies and seasoning) that I could heat right in my fire or on a grill, and either freezing or refrigerating those. Protein bars for hiking. You might look at making up some sort of egg bites/muffins, a la Starbucks, for breakfasts. And of course, sandwich makings. The cheap cooler will do well for keeping non-refrigerated foods that need to be secured from open air.

 

Right now, I am not lighting fires.  The weather currently is devil's buttcrack, so it's not very appealing to me.  When it gets chillier, I am hoping to do a lot more fire cooking.  I kind of liked not lugging around the grill this time, though.  That's why I'm looking more towards meals that can be cooked on the camp stove.

 

The egg muffins is a good idea.  How would I reheat those, do you think?  Without a grill or fire.  With a fire, I'm totally putting them on a skewer  

 

I usually make the sandwiches before I leave.  One less thing to do on site.  Less food to carry.  Less clean up, etc.  I like sandwiches with hiking.  I don't see a need for protein bars if I have a sandwich.  

 

I could do that with the cheap cooler, but all the food goes back in the car at bedtime or if I leave the site.  It's suggested by all the state parks to prevent attracting animals.  I could also use it just for drinks - who cares if they get a little warm.  No harm there.  And it would save room in the good cooler.

 

Thanks for the comment!

[blbst36]

I recently went camping again and did the cooking all over the fire   I apologize for the quality, at the time, I was rushing to get things cooked so I could eat 

 

For the first night, I cooked a beef sausage, peppers, and packets of potatoes.  I didn't get a pic of the whole meal (see hunger above), but here's some shots of different elements.  I definitely need to work on the potato cooking.  They were mostly not cooked when I took them out of the fire.  I put them back in as I was relaxing so I could use the potatoes in the morning.  Unfortunately, one ripped open and the potatoes were mostly burned in that packet

 

Packets of LIES

 

The next day, I used the edible potatoes and some of the sausage to eat with eggs.  It took about 2 hours to get the fire started and I definitely didn't heat up the sausage and potatoes correctly, but I was so hungry by then, I didn't care 🤣

 

I kept that fire burning ALL day so I wouldn't have to re-light it.  I used it to cook some ham for later use and burgers.  I forgot the spatula to turn them, so I decided to use some foil to cook it.  That way, if it fell apart or something with the tongs, it would be saved.  It worked pretty well.  The only thing I adjusted was I poked some holes in the foil so the fat could drain.  So. Good.

 

With cheese of course

 

I also had sandwiches, chips, trader joe's instant ramen, and tried to have some soup (that fell over and spilled when cooking)

 

I don't have any other trips scheduled, but since it's fall, I think I'm going to have to go again.  Definitely need to practice lighting the fire and the packet potatoes!!

Edited October 11, 2018 by blbst36 (log)

[Smithy]

1 hour ago, blbst36 said:

I kept that fire burning ALL day so I wouldn't have to re-light it. 

 

If you're staying nearby all day, instead of moving to another campsite, you may wish to explore banking the fire so that it doesn't go out but doesn't require fuel until you're ready to expose and use it again. (An alternate term is "smoor", but I've just learnt that it isn't so commonly known among the internet sources.) I'm glad to see you making progress in the camp cookery! 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

4 hours ago, blbst36 said:

Unfortunately, one ripped open and the potatoes were mostly burned in that packet

 

Your food looks great! Yum.

 

Heavy duty aluminum foil is your friend when cooking in a campfire. I used to use two layers of it on HUGE whole russet potatoes while cooking them directly in the coals. It worked great, but you have to just chill out for over an hour, carefully turning them with tongs until they are done. Beer helps with the chilling out, but remember that NC state parks are supposed to be alcohol free. He He. Keeping your cooler locked in the trunk of your car and pouring your beverages into plastic cups while keeping any noise level down keeps the fun police away. That should be easy if you are my yourself, but harder if you have a bunch of people on your campsite. Also. Pro tip, drop empty beer cans back into the cooler rather than into the campsite garbage receptacles. These fun police are serious! I have it on good authority that they party like mad on the confiscated alcohol they steal from campers. They usually do not arrest anyone after stealing your stuff, but that can happen if you mouth off or otherwise resist.

[chromedome]

3 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

Keeping your cooler locked in the trunk of your car and pouring your beverages into plastic cups while keeping any noise level down keeps the fun police away.

 

In my neck of the woods, a carefully-kept and rinsed Tim Horton's cup is generally reserved for that purpose. You can walk around pretty much anywhere (maybe not a Starbucks, I guess) with a Tim's cup and nobody thinks anything of it.

 

 

[blbst36]

9 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

If you're staying nearby all day, instead of moving to another campsite, you may wish to explore banking the fire so that it doesn't go out but doesn't require fuel until you're ready to expose and use it again. (An alternate term is "smoor", but I've just learnt that it isn't so commonly known among the internet sources.) I'm glad to see you making progress in the camp cookery! 

Ooooo.  Thanks for the tip!  I will check it out for next time.  When I go, it's the same camp site the whole time.

 

6 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

 

Your food looks great! Yum.

 

Heavy duty aluminum foil is your friend when cooking in a campfire. I used to use two layers of it on HUGE whole russet potatoes while cooking them directly in the coals. It worked great, but you have to just chill out for over an hour, carefully turning them with tongs until they are done. Beer helps with the chilling out, but remember that NC state parks are supposed to be alcohol free. He He. Keeping your cooler locked in the trunk of your car and pouring your beverages into plastic cups while keeping any noise level down keeps the fun police away. That should be easy if you are my yourself, but harder if you have a bunch of people on your campsite. Also. Pro tip, drop empty beer cans back into the cooler rather than into the campsite garbage receptacles. These fun police are serious! I have it on good authority that they party like mad on the confiscated alcohol they steal from campers. They usually do not arrest anyone after stealing your stuff, but that can happen if you mouth off or otherwise resist.

 

Thanks!  I was pretty happy with how everything turned out. 

Sadly, I used heavy duty foil   Maybe because it was store brand?  I actually almost threw a whole potato in the fire, but that's when I realized I forgot my butter.  Baked potatoes with no butter?  No thanks.  

 

I have books to distract me   No booze needed.

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

We just spent some time in northeast Arizona on the Navajo Nation. No booze allowed anywhere on the reservation, though in campgrounds it's pretty hard to enforce. If you're not a jerk about it and are discreet, and you don't try to sell it to a Navajo, you shouldn't have a problem. By the way, Canyon de Chelly (pronounced "shay") should be on everyone's bucket list. Stunningly beautiful red rock country, and the ancient dwellings are fascinating. There are many similar ancient sites throughout the southwest but this one is special. It's near Chinle.

 

Now we're waiting for the snow in Boulder to clear before we head home. About 8" on the ground but the sun is coming out and melting is happening rapidly. I gave up snow when we left Colorado, so this has been disappointing.

 

Nancy in Pátzcuaro

[btbyrd]

We do a fair amount of backpacking and camping in NC (and the surrounding high country of TN and VA). I'm going to leave backpacking out of this, because that's its own weird thing with its own weird constraints. But for car camping, I've found that few things are as valuable at the campsite as having a portable butane burner. I use an Iwatani 35FW, which comes with a handy-dandy carrying case. It's actually better than the burners on the 3 cheap gas ranges I've used long-term in rental properties. And the nice thing is, it's not a camping-only unitasker. Most people's kitchens, myself included, have garbage ventilation that doesn't allow them to properly sear meat without smoking out their entire house. The Iwatani allows you to take the fire outside. Or anywhere you want, really. It cranks out a ton of heat for its size and craps all over the standard 2-burner Coleman camp stove (which I also have). Just as important as having access to a reliable heat source is having cookware that cleans up easily. There's nothing worse than doing dishes in the freaking woods. Or trying to. So I take a nonstick pan with me, that can be wiped out with a paper towel before a quick rinse. I don't have a nonstick pot, but if I did, I'd take it with me too. 

 

I'll also plug for cook->chill sous vide as my preferred way to deal with protein. This is one place where "sous vide for insurance purposes" really shines. You can cook and pasteurize your proteins at home, chill them down, and pop them in the cooler until it's time for dinner at the campsite. You know everything's been thoroughly cooked through (and all the germies are dead), so it's not the end of the world if your fire's unevenly hot or the meat is a few degrees under in the center.

 

I also like to bring my TS8000 blowtorch along for firekeeping duties. I also throw in my charcoal fan to work as a bellows. It's amazing how much wind (and heat) you can generate with a handheld fan.

 

One of the most important things you can do when cooking is taking chance out of the equation. Primitive campsites introduce a lot of variables. But having access to proper heat sources (and torches/fans) can quite cut down on the most troublesome variable of all -- temperature. And if you can't have reliable heat on-site, sous vide can take care of that at home. 

[chromedome]

I love those little butane single-burners. I had four that I used for catering and farmer's markets, and have kept two of them (the other two went to my daughter and my GF's daughter). They're great to have for when the power goes out, and I usually throw one into my vehicle before any long highway drives in winter, just in case.

 

I also pull one out for wok cooking, every once in a while.

[blbst36]

@btbyrd - Where in NC do you go camping?  I want to do backpacking, but I don't have the equipment or companions.  I find that I like car camping.  I keep most of my stuff in the car and work out of there.  Maybe I'm just more suited for that

 

I went on a spur of the moment trip on Halloween to the same place I went previously.  This time, I remembered all the cooking utensils I needed.  I also had just gone grocery shopping, so had some good food to cook.  I've made the food pics into collages for easier viewing.  The first night, I got there late, so I just had some soup.  It wasn't exciting, so I didn't take a picture.  It was even missing chicken because I was smart and brought the canned chicken that needed a can opener. 

 

The next day, it was supposed to rain.  I wanted to make sure that I got to use my hot dog fork, so that's what I had for breakfast 

I also successfully cooked a potato!  Remember last time it got all burned??  I'm learning.

 

Before lunch, I decided to experiment with some small loaf pans I got at the grocery store.  Potatoes and eggs.  I thought it would be a neat thing to make breakfast in a loaf pan.  Unfortunately, I over cooked it slightly.  It still needs some tweaking.  The potatoes on the other hand, were great!  Such a lovely crust on the bottom

 

For my actual lunch meal, I had some of the potatoes, steak, and frozen cauliflower.  That, too, needs some tweaking.  The coals under it were too hot or I left it too long.  Still, I enjoyed it.  The steak was slightly underdone for me, but still good.  Luckily, it was still in my tasty range.  Do you see the crust on the taters?  It's a little over because I "reheated" them on some coals before lunch

This next one was an experiment I was eager to try - mashed potatoes, chicken gravy, and chicken (of course).  I used instant mashed potatoes with powdered milk.  I think it worked out ok.  It might have been better with something other than non-fat milk.  It looks a little grey.  I also used butter buds, but I don't think I added enough, I couldn't taste anything buttery at all.  I added the dry ingredients to my insulated jar, poured in boiling water, closed it, and let it sit.  Next, I heated up the chicken I cooked earlier (a little well done).  The gravy mix said to mix it with cold water, so I used the dry potato jar to do that.  I boiled some more water and added that to finish it.  The potatoes were still hot in the jar, add some chicken, and gravy on top.  This would have been better without the burned chicken, but I think it was an over all successful experiment