How do you cook in camp?

[AndrewP]

Our group tends to go whole hog, so to speak, with trash volumes a problem. Typically, meals are cooked on the grill or large stove, and even Pasquale and Christina have favored us with their giant wok. We have dutch oven desserts, excellent wine, beer in bottles etc. After a week out, we typically have a huge bag of garbage each. I have found that paper plates are superior, since they can *usually* go on a campfire.

The real limiter in the desert is water. At best, it seems 10 gal per truck is about the max possible, and by the end of a longer trip, everyone is down to the last little bit. So the idea of having to do a full on wash doesn't quite work. It's different in the Sierras with it's abundant streams, where wash water and shower water is readily available.

I also think that well seasoned cast iron wipes out as well as teflon, and adds to the camp experience. I'm generally not a fan of teflon lined pans, though for eggs specifially, they rock.

Anyway, crappy camp eating is for backpackers. With a vehicle and a fridge, good camp meals take only a bit of thought and a bit of prep, and the time cooking is usually fun time/social hour(s).

 

[VikingVince]

I never use paper plates...don't like the aesthetics of eating off paper when I've made really good food...plus, as has been mentioned, it accumulates garbage, not environmentally conscious, and if you leave garbage bag outside of rig it attracts animals and rodents. (even in a secured metal container)

I also hate washing dishes...so I don't!! I simply wipe and clean everything with kitchen Handi-wipes...the pre-moistened type that come in the plastic can and you pull them out one at a time. After using the handi-wipe, rub with dry towel to remove any possible chemical residue. This does the job well, is easy, and very little garbage...plus it saves water, as well as not disposing of gray water into the environment.

 

[Mlachica]

Enjoying culinary delights enhance our wilderness experience. Those folks who subsist of canned tuna and ramen noodles only survive, they are not really living. Folks that think that is camping food have no imagination nor do they rise to a challenge – isn’t that what the great outdoors is all about?

Well put! :gunt:

 

[Dave Bennett]

We like good food in camp but like to keep the prep/cleanup as simple as possible. You can do a LOT with one burner!

Most trips we plan each meal and prepare as much as possible at home where water, trash and such is not an issue. So when it's chow time I grab the fixin's out of the Engel and fire it up.

We eat pretty good this way since all the hard work was already done at home, and it makes camp that much more relaxing!

Like Vince, we use real plates and such and bring wipes etc. for quick sanitary cleanup with little trash. Any trash we generate always goes home with us unless it's paper which we burn.

 

[UK4X4]

We are the fuller type kitchen people, and totally agree on the good scenario/good food thing.

The idea of driving for two days and arriving at a brilliant mountain lake and sit down to a hotdog for dinner......just do's not do it for me.

Even on extended trips we use hard plates etc and wash them, only in the worst of deserts can't you find a small river to re-supply from.

Even sea water is OK to wash the dish's

Water, its use and the trip requirements are always part of my planning process, and includes spare....just in case.

I'd rather bring some home, than run out after breaking down somewhere.

Wine and rum for me as my trail tipples, as beer takes up too much room and
requires lots of space in the fridge.

Although my doc has said I need to stop the constant celabrating....!!

 

[Tucson T4R]

Broiled Sea Bass in wine sauce with summer squash. :chowtime:

 

[Mc Taco]

[/QUOTE]

Man I dig that photo every time it comes up.

Prep work is really the key to making camp cooking easy. Pre-cut/dice/chop all ingredients. I'll chop a whole onion and put it in a rubbermaid container and use it all week with no problem. Tomatoes only are good for a couple of days at best. Peppers hold up well. I'm liking the idea of the vacum bag boiled in pot of water.

For clean up, wet/damp paper towels are all I usually need. Will boil water in pans to clean those. Going to incorporate a grey water container to be a little more green.

p.s. Guilty pleasure that you can't tell anybody about: Pop Tarts. As kids we only had them on Boy Scout trips. Always take a couple when I camp. Good luck I think.

 

[Joanne]

3. Iron Chef: Too bad if it is complicated or messy, we will set-up a full kitchen and eat better (or at least as good) as we do at home. I have used this mindset for years. I am in nature, places I love, so I like to celebrate with good food, good beer, etc.

Pros:
The best dinning experience
Varied and elaborate food possible
Classy food presentation on titanium or lexan

Cons:
So much cleanup
Expensive to get the right equipment
Time consuming

Any good ideas on cleanup, food prep, planning, limit water use, etc?

I would have to choose #3. I love to camp cook so I tend to spend a lot of my time cooking when I'm in camp. I drag along way too much iron though.

A few of us have picked up old waffle irons off of e-bay and have started having waffle breakfasts at our gatherings. It's a lot of fun to see folks wonder how you cooked waffles without any electricity.

Here's the cooking table I made. The whole thing folds up for travel. It's heavy though.

Here are some hot garlic-herb dinner rolls.

Here is Matt and me teaching a dutch oven 101 class to a group of teardrop trailer folks.

Keep those coals hot!

Joanne

 

[Christophe Noel]

Since the bulk of my outdoor experiences are backcountry travels such as mountaineering, sea kayaking, back packing and mountain bike touring, I have far more experience with the uber lightweight approach. I'm comfortable, and pretty crafty with one burner and one or two pots. Having spent some time in culinary classes in Dijon, France helps too.:chowtime:

My wife and I let the trip dictate what we bring and how we cook. If water isn't an issue, we go heavy. If water is an issue or if we don't want to spend too much time cooking/cleaning, we go light. The environment can dictate our approach. We don't do the fire thing very often, but if the environment supports the possiblity of a fire, that might change our cooking method.

I'm a pure foody to the core, but sometimes in the backcountry, I want to spend more time interfacing with nature and less time scrubbing a pot. I also spent the better part of a decade as a backcountry guide with much of that labor being dinner duties for 6-12 people. Trust me....I've done the full blown, portable kitchen thing many, many times. It really is a treat to just cook for two with one pot.

If we do add a complex element to our food, it's usually baking something. I've mastered the art of back country baking. Baked brie with fig and port confit, anyone?

 

[7wt]

Oh man I need to step up my game. I have been mostly a boil and pour kinda guy but those meal pics make me think differently. I remember camping with deal old dad and the meals were alway long and difficult. They took too long to prepare, make and clear up but they didn't take long to eat. Man I kinda miss those days. I agree with Vince on the paper plate thing, that is a bummer. I have a couple of stainless MSR plates and bowls that I love to eat from plus the clean up is super easy. Being of matt stainless, all you gotta do is put a little bit of sand in the and rub it around with a paper towel that gets burned in the campfire. Rise with hot water and you are done. It leaves less scratches than you'd think. Besides, it kinda adds to the appeal.

 

[alvarorb]

On the last trips I've been on with more than 3 rigs, people have had assigned cooking nights. That way every utensil, pot and pan is not out of every vehicle.

There's nothing like cooking out doors. Grilling steaks, chicken or sausages on the grill are great. Pasta is always a camp favorite. I've made a fresh pomodoro sauce on the spot many times. Also, my wife does an awesome chimichurri and that always travels with us.

But it's also fun to bring stuff from home already done. I've made several chilli and stews that go over great when everyone is tired and cold.

Cast iron for me works best. I carry a cast iron skillet inside my drawer system at all times. You never know what you may have to cook at a moment's notice.

Finally, I'd like to say that if everyone was responsible for their plate, cup and silverware, we would not have to use plastic or paper. But people like convenience. Under those conditions, paper I think is way better than plastic. Plus there's nothing worse than people burning plastic around the camp fire.

Regards

Alvaro

 

[tdesanto]

Life is too short to eat bad food...those folks who subsist of canned tuna and ramen noodles only survive...

Merv,

I couldn't agree more. I certainly like to cook better in the field than I do at home. It enhances the overall experience.

Paper plates and flatware and such are not only a PITA to use and eat with, but simply add serious bulk to the trash management while on a trip.

I like to use Lexan plates when I need to cut steak and such and MSR stainless steel plates when eating anything else. Both are very easy to clean up. Also, I use non-stick pots and pans. They scratch more easily; however, they clean up so easily and require so little water.

A trick that FlyingWil taught me is to use the scotch pads that already have soap. They're very small and clean up anything quickly and efficiently. I scrup everything down using less than 8oz of water and then about 8-16ozs for rinse.

Another trick I use is to place one of the larger pots below my water can to catch the runoff; this can be used to soak or scrub utensils too before rinsing.

Finally, if you grill everything, then you only have your plate, utensils, and grill grate to clean...maybe a cutting board or two, but it's still a quick clean-up.

Scott, I've looked at that IGT table/ Snow Peak system that Ho is using in that photo, but I've never experienced the setup/ breakdown. It seems like it would take some serious time to set up the table, BBQ box, and stove. What's your take on it?

 

[kcowyo]

Count me in as one who loves to eat, likes to cook, but hates KP. So I've taken to prepping food as much as possible before I leave.

My latest trick is to use those Glad lunch meat containers, the ones like Tupperware. I can fill them with pre made salads (sans dressing), cooked potatoes, tuna or chicken salad, chopped burrito ingredients, pasta el dente or marinated meat. When it's time to eat I often use them as bowls as well. They hold an individuals portion of food quite well.

When it's time for KP, I clean them if I plan to reuse them on the trip for cereal in the morning, a quick soup at lunch, etc. If I don't plan to reuse them, I wipe them out, stack them and store them till I get home. Then throw them in the dishwasher at the house. They're great for a stackable, sealed food storage solution yet take up minimal space after being used.

Seems like I use my biggest pot for making rice or pasta at dinner almost nightly. When I'm done eating, I pour water in my big pot, heat it on the stove, add soap and use it as a wash basin for the smaller items like utensils, cups, bowls, etc. Then I wash the pot out last. Consolidating like that seems to keep my water waste to a minimum.

I also keep a few dish towels on hand in lieu of using paper towels for less waste. They make for a decent potholder as well since I always forget to bring one. The little purple Crown Royal bags work well as a potholder too and I never seem to forget to bring the Crown.

One of my favorite parts of any trip with others is checking out their kitchen set-ups. You can really learn a lot just by seeing what your friend's do and don't do. This thread is almost as good, only no free samples....

 

[articulate]

I could have sworn, KC, that your favorite method of getting dinner at camp was mooching.

 

[kcowyo]

"Sampling," not mooching...

Gosh, you make me sound like a third world street urchin or maybe Oliver Twist. "More gruel please, sir?"

By the way, you put way too many green peppers in the burritos. Gave me wicked heartburn. <:burp:>