Tasty Meals without Refrigeration

[BigAl]

Al, Al, Al...how are you ever gonna get your steaks and escargot to the camp without a good cooler? Of course the escargot comes packed in little cans already, but you still need a cooler for the butter...:chowtime:

I blame you for this entire thread, I used to be quite happy with canned ravioli and spam, but now that you've shown me the light, I can't settle. Thank you everyone for the ideas and recipes, keep them coming:chowtime: I'm going to try the tuna/mac tonight. I forgot about smoked samon, can that be stored warm? I've only had it cold.

 

[calamaridog]

You can get hard smoked salmon in the foil liner packages that is pretty good stuff.

 

[rusty_tlc]

It's hard to beat a big old pan of fresh fried taters and onions.

In a fixed camp beans are good protein. I'm thinking since I got a pressure cooker I'll be making them in camp more often.

Dried fruit is great. I like to simmer up apricots as a desert.

I actually like powdered eggs.

Canned roast beef hash is a perennial favorite with me, I can eat it cold from the can if needs be.

 

[Ric]

Great thread :clapsmile :chowtime:
keep them coming

 

[Haggis]

I forgot about smoked samon, can that be stored warm? I've only had it cold.

It depends on how throughly it was smoked. We do ours in a brown sugar brine and then smoke using applewood. Some is smoked light and kept refridgerated for a more mild taste for the kids and the wife, the rest is done more and is stored in a vacuum sealed bag. How long it would last I'm not sure cause we end up gobbling it up to darn fast.

Then there's always the option of fresh harvested meat, but the is dependent on your skills with a rod (I prefer hand picking myself) or gun and wether anything is in season. Nothing better than fresh trout or game over a bed of red hot coals.:campfire:

 

[Super Doody]

Trader Joes has ton of good stuff that doesn't require refrigeration. There is how bunch heat and serve Indian dish. For thai, bring canned coconut milk and canned chicken, curry seasoning served over rice. Or you can even buy jars of curry simmer sauce and just all the canned chicken.

 

[toyrunner95]

hey i got all the food you need that doesnt need a refridgerator, MREs.. wait.. u said tasty... nevermind. what was i thinking! ************

o and smoked meats do depend on the smoke, my dad and i do a medium smoke which is about the best you can get out of a electric smoker. however up in alaska they do a smoke house type thing, its like a teepee that has a greenwook fire burning in it for like 5 or 6 days. that stuff comes out as hard as a 2x4 but tastes soooo good, add it to some cheese and ritz. thats a delacasy.

OR

heres another idea, get fruits/vegies and either can them or dehydrate them. canned foods can keep up to a year. including meat; that you can can yourself. ive never done it personally, but you can do sausage that way. like the hicory farms stuff.

 

[pinktc]

This is my favorite no-refrigerator camp meal. I make it over a fire in one pot--easy.

At Chinese markets, you can buy cured sausages in vacuum packs. Lap cheung is one type that works well. Slice that up & fry it in your cookpot until warmed through. Then add white rice & fry it with the sausage for a minute or two. Add water (the right amount for your rice plus about 1/2 cup) & a package of dried wild mushrooms, the mixed kind you can get in most grocery stores. Put a lid on it & move it off the direct fire--you want it to simmer for about 20 minutes. At altitude, you will have to cook longer. Just let it sit for a good while. It's done when all the water is absorbed. You can add salt & pepper (or soy sauce) to taste. The sausages are highly seasoned, so it doesn't need much of anything.

--TC

 

[RHINO]

heres a few easy ones,,,, "tasty bite" indian food vacuum packed, just heat n serve. i also really like the flavored cous cous in the cardboard boxes, just add boiling water and let stand for a few minutes, its like instant rice but better.
but you get ALOT of junk with alot of the ready made foods, sodium to name just one. so i also like to do easy stuff, diced potatoes with onion, simered in a pan with water and lots of black pepper,, hmmm. also dont forget about the all mighty legume, you can add all manor of veges and spices to beans for a decent meal.

 

[Alaska Mike]

I'll just add that I freeze water bottles before I leave for a trip and put them in the cooler to keep the food cool for a couple days (depends on the temp). After all, you need drinking water and having the melt-off contained is a nice way to conserve resources.

Keep the thread going. I haven't done much travel recently that required camp cooking, and I'm always open to good ideas for eating healthy-ish on the road.

 

[jim65wagon]

I'll just add that I freeze water bottles before I leave for a trip and put them in the cooler to keep the food cool for a couple days (depends on the temp). After all, you need drinking water and having the melt-off contained is a nice way to conserve resources.

See, that's the whole bit of Al's problem right there...his cooler won't keep anything cold for 24 hours, let alone a couple of days. The big problem is, his "nocooler" is plastered with some really awesome stickers, so he can't delete it from his travel kit. My suggestion is to keep the "nocooler" as a storage unit for dry goods, and buy a 5day cooler or even (dare I say) a fridge. Then Al can have his favorite icy cold beverage, cheeses and escargot without the daily trip to town for ice...

 

[BigAl]

See, that's the whole bit of Al's problem right there...his cooler won't keep anything cold for 24 hours, let alone a couple of days. The big problem is, his "nocooler" is plastered with some really awesome stickers, so he can't delete it from his travel kit. My suggestion is to keep the "nocooler" as a storage unit for dry goods, and buy a 5day cooler or even (dare I say) a fridge. Then Al can have his favorite icy cold beverage, cheeses and escargot without the daily trip to town for ice...

I like the dry goods idea in retrospect using the cooler as a make shift stand for my dirt bike my have adversely effected the lid. But I still love my Coleman Steel belted 54 I stand behind the premise of this thread, I'd like to have just one cooler for drinks, I can handle warm beer but spoiled meat, not so much I just read back thru this thread, now I want to go out the woods and cook something.:chowtime:

 

[jim65wagon]

Where to?

 

[robert]

Some of the newer MREs are quite edible actually. Just be aware of how many calories each packs.

You can buy canned meats (and a ton of other canned and bulk stuff) through the Mormon church (no affiliation, just know a couple of folks who have). You can go on-line and check to see where they have storehouses and contact them.

You can also buy canned pork, beef, beef patties, and chicken in the grocery stores. Just be aware that most of these are have a very high sodium content so if you have hypertension you need to be careful; drink plenty of fluids with them too to avoid dehydration issues!

I've used TVP in recipes too. Check your local organic foods store for ideas; they cater to folks who are vegetarian, vegan, macrobiotic, etc and generally carry an assortment of ingredients you might not think about (or have even heard of)- some of it is very good (and some is terrible).

I tend to just forgo meat after the first or second day if I'm worried about it.

 

[Rezarf <><]

My entire menu has changed due to our ARB Freezer!

That said, my favorites are still.

Mac and Cheese, and tuna! (glad to hear someone else likes it!)
Personally, I love sardines, fresh mustard (packets) and saltines.
I have had good success with the foil packages of smoked salmon and others.

Sometimes I have taken risk for cheese. Coolers keep it fine for a few days. For me though a "pita pizza" is a trail favorite, pizza sauce, cheese, pita breads (opened like a pocket) stuffed with canned mushrooms, olives, and peperoni! mmmm!

Orzo's and Butter Buds/salt is quick easy and hot, even back packed with that before.

For those on the trail who crave hot biscuits like I do, you need to check out a "bake packer." It allows you to bake in a pot, it is simple to use and easy to get great results, then you can use the ready to go Bisquick mix and have hot garlic biscuits, plain biscuits, cheesy biscuits in a few minutes over a stove. One of my favorites!

Rezarf <><