Favorite Camping Meals?

bikerector

bikerector

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Nov 16, 2016
Messages
6,604
I'm heading out for a several day camping trip with the family in a few weeks and we started putting our menu together last night. One of the meals that often gets put on there is German rice but we substitute in beets for the sauerkraut. It's an easy meal to make and it becomes enjoyable because we get to hang out around a campfire for an hour or so as everything boils and cooks in the big bushpot. It's also fun to do late in the week because it's kind of like a stew or casserole, you put whatever you want in there and it's a great way to consume leftovers.

When I used to hunt with my stepfather, cooking maple-flavored bacon with eggs on the tailgate with a coleman propane stove was how we often started our mornings when turkey hunting. Chili was often the name of the game for deer hunting, often using venison from something harvested early in the year or from last year's hunt if we had some still frozen.

Coffee isn't a meal but I do love coffee. I've upgraded (father's day gift) to a stanley french press this year instead of using a percolator. I'm pretty excited about it and I'm trying to figure out if I want to grind everything in advance or smash up the beans while I'm up there at the campsite.

What are some of your favorite camping meals, snacks, or nutritional pleasures you like to enjoy outside?
 
foil packs -- meat,taters, onions, butter, and seasonings wrapped in a heavy duty foil pouch and grilled. you can also use this technique to make a taigine with the addition of some OJ, dried apricot, and diced sweet potato.

"mountain man breakfast" - brown sausage, diced bacon, and shredded potatoes in a skillet with onion, once it's all cooked, add eggs and scramble it all together.

homemade trail mix: peanut m&m's, cheddar whale crackers, craisins, sunflower seeds, pepitas, quaker oat squares (yes, it's a cereal) and maybe almonds.
 
1066vik said:
foil packs -- meat,taters, onions, butter, and seasonings wrapped in a heavy duty foil pouch and grilled. you can also use this technique to make a taigine with the addition of some OJ, dried apricot, and diced sweet potato.

"mountain man breakfast" - brown sausage, diced bacon, and shredded potatoes in a skillet with onion, once it's all cooked, add eggs and scramble it all together.

homemade trail mix: peanut m&m's, cheddar whale crackers, craisins, sunflower seeds, pepitas, quaker oat squares (yes, it's a cereal) and maybe almonds.
Click to expand...

My Grandpa does the foil pack things at most of our family grill-outs when I make it back to my hometown, but he leaves the meat out of it and grills it separately.

The breakfast sounds quite yummy.

8f043a452a284d7cad7fca31352508fa.jpg
 
forgot to include on the breakfast skillet -- after everything is cooked, smother it in shredded cheese and cover with tinfoil for a couple of minutes so the cheese melts into gooey goodness.

serve with salsa or condiment of choice.

used to do this in a 24" skillet -- 4-6 pounds of meat, 4 pounds of taters, 2-3 large onions, and 4 or 5 dozen eggs......
 
Jose Suprise:
One pot meal.

Beef & venison chili cooked in a cast iron Dutch oven with a candied jalapeno cornbread baked directly atop the chili with a layer of coals on the Dutch oven lid.
 
campfire goulash:
1 large onion chopped
1 pound ground meat
1 package chili seasoning
1 pound pasta of choice (elbow or shells works pretty well for me)
1 large can or bottle of vegetable juice cocktail (I prefer spicy hot V8)

brown meat and onion in 4 qt pot.
stir in chili (or burrito) seasoning
add pasta & V8

put lid on the pot and simmer until the pasta soaks up all the liquid.
(stir occasionally so it doesn't burn)
 
We have done omelettes in zip lock bags in a big pot of boiling water everyone can add what they want in to the bag. Boil for about 5 minutes and your good to go but if you are doing several at a time write on the bags with names. It makes good a omelette and very easy clean up.
 
Good on you for throwing beets into the reistopf!

Finish the evening with Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler. It'll go great with a cup of French pressed coffee in the morning too.

Pour a big can of sliced peaches (heavy syrup, of course) into the bottom of the Dutch oven. Pour a box of white or yellow cake mix over the top of the peaches. Pour in a can of 7Up and put the lid on. Drop the oven into the fire and cover the top with coals for an hour. Voila', it's over. You don't have to mix the ingredients even.

You can throw the Dutch oven onto a BBQ too, or even cover it with charcoal briquettes. Don't matter really.

You'll perfect this recipe over several camping trips, and make it your own. It'll become a camping tradition that spans generations!
 
This time of year (this may be dependent on where you love) one of my favorites is simply sweet corn and fresh, sliced tomatoes. You can boil the corn over the fire or roast it, then just add some butter and salt and dinner is served. About as simple as can be and absolutely delicious.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
This time of year (this may be dependent on where you love) one of my favorites is simply sweet corn and fresh, sliced tomatoes. You can boil the corn over the fire or roast it, then just add some butter and salt and dinner is served. About as simple as can be and absolutely delicious.
Click to expand...

I like that, very simple. I did similar on our recent camping trip but substitute in potatoes. I'll add in onions or black beans if I have them too. But, simple is really nice, especially when camping.

We found pancakes worked out really well and then they made a good snack for the kiddo when we were out and about. We discovered the kodiak cakes which have some whey protein and whole wheat flour in them so they are a little more nutritious than the standard buttermilk pancakes.

I'm going to have to try the cobbler thing, sounds yumtastic.
 
Truck camping or backpacking?

Fresh food for a car or truck, but dried and freeze-dried for hiking it.

I've packed a copper pot and a butane stove in a Volvo station wagon with us to produce restaurant quality dishes in federal, state and provincial parks.

Backpacking always seemed to include ramen and dried sausage of some sort.
 
marchone said:
Truck camping or backpacking?

Fresh food for a car or truck, but dried and freeze-dried for hiking it.

I've packed a copper pot and a butane stove in a Volvo station wagon with us to produce restaurant quality dishes in federal, state and provincial parks.

Backpacking always seemed to include ramen and dried sausage of some sort.
Click to expand...

We were hoping to do both when I started the thread, have a base camp and then do an overnight or two in the national forest. My wife ended up getting too out of shape with her pregnancy to feel comfortable doing much backpacking so we just stuck to some hiking and kayaking day trips.

I've never used a copper pot... I'm not even sure I've seen or heard of one, to be honest. Most of my gear is stainless steel for car camping and aluminum for backpacking.
 
When my brother and I would go camping we had a simple recipe for dinner. Basically meat and fire. :D We’d go to the store and see what meat was on a good sale, bring some Tony Chachere’s, some hot sauce, and some way to start a fire.

We’d usually go fishing at the river nearby and if we caught anything decent we’d clean that, season it up, and hang it over the fire with the meat we brought. If we had extra money we’d get taters, onions, carrots, and tomatoes and wrap in foil with the meat. We called those “hobo meals”.

Now when my family goes camping we get a little more elaborate, but we still try to keep meals simple and use one pot. We make a lot of chili and casseroles. Good times. :D
 
bikerector said:
We found pancakes worked out really well and then they made a good snack for the kiddo when we were out and about. We discovered the kodiak cakes which have some whey protein and whole wheat flour in them so they are a little more nutritious than the standard buttermilk pancakes.
Click to expand...

Kodaik Cakes has a cinnamon-oat flavored mix that is to-die-for good.

No syrup necessary.
 
Velitrius said:
Kodaik Cakes has a cinnamon-oat flavored mix that is to-die-for good.

No syrup necessary.
Click to expand...

My wife mentioned waffles in that flavor she had tried before. I picked the pancakes up as an impulse buy when getting the fresh stuff for our camping trip. It was worth it. I'll definitely look into them more.
 
I've seen the brand - guess now I need to buy and try it.
made pancakes for breakfast today after canning 14 pints of "peach cream" (i.e. low sugar peach butter that didn't set) - had 1/2 cup that didn't fill a jar, so it went on the pancakes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top