Outdoor/Camp food

[bydand]

The new section and knowledge base of fellow outdoor enthusiasts caused me to wonder how you think of your food and eating while out in the boonies. Is it a major consideration and one you put lots of thoughts into, or just something you have to do once in a while when you are out there? Along the same train of thought, what is some of your favorite things to take with you? I am always looking for something new to take out to camp, or whip out during a Scouting overnight for the boys.


For right now, the big snacks here are:
S'macos: Take a soft tortilla, wrap mini-marshmallows and either chocolate chips or butterscotch chips like a burrito. Wrap with tin-foil and toss on the coals for about a minute or so, then flip over for about the same time. They are less messy than s'mores and kids love making them. You can use different jellies with the marshmallows as well.

Banana Splits: Take a banana and slit it down the length still in the peel, spread open and put mini-marshmallow and chocolate chips in the slit. squeeze shut and put on the coals slit side up until the marshmallows melt. tastes just like a banana split, but without the ice cream.

 

[bushidomartialarts]

Trail mix, trail mix and more trail mix.

My favorite blend includes peanuts, cashews, sunflower seeds, raisins, golden raisins, dried apples, dried apricots and m&ms.

Absolutely essential. Quite possibly the most densely packed batch of protein and carbs available.

 

[Makalakumu]

Food is a huge consideration whenever you go out and it all depends on what you are doing. Certain kinds of camping and certain areas require totally different foods and preparation styles.

In general, these are the guidelines I follow...unless I come across some specific peice of information that makes me alter them.

Car camping - Most things you can make in the kitchen, you can make over the fire. You can haul all of the equipment you need in the bed of your truck.

Backpacking - I usually pack very light and plan easy "one-pot" dinners with "no cook" breakfasts and lunches. All of this depends on the distances and number of days out, though. For a couple day trip, you can haul in more food, but for a long haul, you have to be concientious.

Canoe camping - depending on how much work you want to do at the portages and how fast and far you want to move, you can bring as much or as little as you want. I've packed in coolers with steaks and I've limited my food pack to 50 lbs and brought all freeze dried food for longer trips.

Here is my suggestion for a nice and easy no cook trail lunch. Take tortilla shells and put in a spoon of peanut butter and jelly. Then throw some trail mix on top. Roll it up and eat. Very quick, hardly any mess, and you can get right back to work when you are done.

 

[HKphooey]

poptarts!

 

[bydand]

To tell on myself a bit, I never really gave food a thought when going out for the longest time. Either I would go out by myself, or my brother would come along and we would just head out for a few days. Sometimes it was with about 5 minutes thought put in to what we wanted to do that week-end. I would grab a travel fishing rod and my rifle and if he were going he would do the same. A sheet and some matches and I was good to go. First time we took his new girlfriend and a few other friends out with us and set-up camp they wanted to know where the cooler of food was. Loren and I looked at each other, grinned and I pointed to the lake and he pointed to the woods. They were appalled and asked what if we couldn't catch lunches, Suppers, and Breakfast. Never gave it a thought before that moment really, we ALWAYS had plenty to eat, even make pancakes in the morning. Boil up a rabbit with wild onions, carrots, and maybe even some cat-tail rhizomes in a birch bark pot, and it is a feast. Fresh trout cooked over a Maple, or better yet, Apple fire is to die for.

That is the idea behind the thread. What do you bring as a "special" treat when you are out there? Now that I bring things, I would like to expand my menu out there with the Ruffians, and show them some great things to eat/cook out over an open fire. I still would prefer to go out so light again, but with the kids I can't scrimp and feed them something they might not like. They try everything I make, and show them, but I have to have some stand-by items to pull out.

 

[HKphooey]

To tell on myself a bit, I never really gave food a thought when going out for the longest time. Either I would go out by myself, or my brother would come along and we would just head out for a few days. Sometimes it was with about 5 minutes thought put in to what we wanted to do that week-end. I would grab a travel fishing rod and my rifle and if he were going he would do the same. A sheet and some matches and I was good to go. First time we took his new girlfriend and a few other friends out with us and set-up camp they wanted to know where the cooler of food was. Loren and I looked at each other, grinned and I pointed to the lake and he pointed to the woods. They were appalled and asked what if we couldn't catch lunches, Suppers, and Breakfast. Never gave it a thought before that moment really, we ALWAYS had plenty to eat, even make pancakes in the morning. Boil up a rabbit with wild onions, carrots, and maybe even some cat-tail rhizomes in a birch bark pot, and it is a feast. Fresh trout cooked over a Maple, or better yet, Apple fire is to die for.

That is the idea behind the thread. What do you bring as a "special" treat when you are out there? Now that I bring things, I would like to expand my menu out there with the Ruffians, and show them some great things to eat/cook out over an open fire. I still would prefer to go out so light again, but with the kids I can't scrimp and feed them something they might not like. They try everything I make, and show them, but I have to have some stand-by items to pull out.

Fesh trout any way is to die for!!!!

 

[bydand]

Ah yes the GORP (trail mix) wouldn't leave home without it now. The tortilla "sandwich" sounds like a great idea! Only problem with the pop-tarts, is that they don't have what type is inside on the silver wrapping. That would make life so easy.

 

[HKphooey]

Pop tarts are the choice of many tri-athletes. Quick energy on the go.

Beef jerky is the other favorite.

 

[Makalakumu]

Fresh Grouse, wild onions, blueberry and oatmeal stuffing. Slow roasted in an earthen oven. Every time I've made that for a group, they thought they died and went to heaven. My advice is to not even bother with the feathers, just skin the bird and make sure your wrappings keep the juices in.

 

[bydand]

We call them "Dollys" up here. Because once you clean and skin them you are left with nothing but breast. Have to try it the way you said, that sounds mouth-watering.

 

[Makalakumu]

We call them "Dollys" up here. Because once you clean and skin them you are left with nothing but breast. Have to try it the way you said, that sounds mouth-watering.

Yeah, that's pretty much it, but you can pick the bones apart if you want. That's part of the fun IMO. If you bother with the feathers, the skin acts like a natural pot. Plus, the sub-cutaeneous fat really adds a lot to the whole dish. When I stew a bird in the crock pot, I usually leave the skin on. On trail, its too much of a hassle unless you have the time...

 

[benj13bowlin]

I guess it would depend on what type of camping I am doing. In the summer I spend a lot of time at the lake and end up drinking many of my meals from a 12oz can.
I also like to rough it, out here in the Pecos Wilderness, and up in Colorado. When we do that we usually live out of a backpack for about a week, so I break down a few MRE's into the parts I like, such as the crackers and peanut butter, the fruit, and the main meal. I also love beef jerky.

 

[Doc_Jude]

Two books that gave me great ideas for cooking out in the field were The One-Pan Gourmet (Jacobson) and Roughing It Easy (Thomas). I recently took both of these books up to Big Bear with a group, and between the campfire and my two MSR stoves, we made feasts day & night.

I'm also in the process of putting together a group of recipes for thermos cooking (large vacuum Stanleys & the like) for a book. Google thermos cooking & you may find it's up your alley. For me, the weight & space of a large thermos or two is worth it for time & fuel saved. A little practice and you can cook all kinds of soups, stews, and grains.