Best camping recipes?

[Buzz Rules]

Best camping recipes?

 

[Boopuff]

My family loves a good pudgie pie. Using the cast iron sandwich maker. Fill them with pizza fillings and heat over the campfire... delicious

 

[JaxDad]

Search foil packet recipes (aka hobo dinners)—lots of options.

 

[seven dwarfs]

I like to do prep work for camping. Example, cut up chicken (for a kabob, or chicken in a stick, or leave it whole) and season it in the fridge over night to soak up the marinade, then freeze it. Once you are at the camping site you can take it out to thaw and cook. Have pre made chili as well, freeze and then heat it up. Italian sausages over the fire is another favorite. If you want to get fancy can serve it with a scoop of spaghetti sauce and topped with some mozzarella. Brats are also yummy. We cut a slit in them, add a cheese stick (flavor of your choice), wrap a slice of bacon around it and cook on a stick or in a skillet. I have made these ahead of time, freeze on a cookie sheet first, then place in a freezer bag so they don't stick together. I keep these in the freezer for the kids to grab easy at home as well. They also cook great in the air fryer.

 

[Frozen Canuck]

Beef and Cheddar Sandwiches: deli roast beef, cheddar, mustard if desired, wrapped in foil and heated over campfire

Beef Dip Sandwiches: same as above, but add a packet of au jus mix that you can just add water and heat up. Add some pre-cooked sautéed sweet onions if desired and use provolone cheese.

Ham and Swiss Croissants: as above...wrap in foil and heat through

Pesto Chicken Quesadillas: 6-inch tortillas, pesto, shredded, cooked chicken, spinach, cheddar. This can obviously translate to any kind of quesadilla you would like to make.

Barbecue Beef or Pork on buns with cheddar (I make the pulled pork or whatever ahead of time, freeze flat, then use it as part of the "cold packs" for the cooler. Thaw, reheat, put on buns with whatever you like. If you enjoy cole slaw on top, grab a small container from a deli.)

Meatball subs: Make and freeze meatballs ahead (approximately 4 meatballs/sub). Spread sub/hoagie rolls with garlic butter and return to bag. Jar of marinara sauce, sliced provolone cheese, grated Parmesan cheese, foil. Heat meatballs in sauce, toast buns, add meatballs to subs, top with cheese, wrap in foil, and heat long enough to melt the cheese.

As a general rule, I prefer to not deal with raw meats much while camping. Exceptions may include things like pre-marinating meats (McCormick Mesquite Marinade is awesome) in a zip-lock, where there is minimal touching of the meat, as washing/disinfecting can be a hassle at a campsite. Getting raw meats cooked through while burning on the outside can be an issue if you don't have your coals/fire right. I'm probably not going to assemble a complete spatchcocked chicken onsite.

Everything takes five times as long to prepare and cook at a campsite by the time you get your fire started, dig out everything, etc. so keep everything simple and do as much preparation ahead of time as you can. This also helps streamline your clean-up afterwards. It is hard to chill leftovers, so try to only pack just enough food per meal and then have lots of snacks to tide people over (muffins, cookies, bagged popcorn, trail mix/hot roasted nuts, charcuterie meats/cheese/crackers, fruits, chips and salsa/guacamole, etc.). Do bring some extra zip-top bags just in case you have leftovers of something.

Bagged salad mixes are great. Just make sure you have a bowl large enough to toss them in.

 

[Colleen27]

What kind of camp cooking are you looking for? If I'm cooking on a campfire, I lean hard into pre-cooking everything. Not only is raw meat messy and a little gross to deal with when camping, I never feel altogether confident in cooking times and doneness temps when using the uneven heat of a wood fire. So I do a lot of the same kinds of things @Frozen Canuck suggested - pre-cooked taco/sloppy joe meat, meatballs, shredded pork, grilled cubed chicken for quesadillas or to add to salad kits or seasoned pasta/rice, cold cuts for toasted sandwiches. I've also pre-made beef stew and other complete meals to freeze in gallon zip-locks, which serve as ice packs and heat-and-serve meals, and we love our cast iron sandwich makers for crescent dough pizza pockets as well as grilling ham/turkey and cheese sandwiches. Foil packets with pre-cooked meats like shrimp or smoked sausage and assorted veggies are great too.

But if I'm camping for any length of time, I adore my propane camp stove and end up using that much more than the campfire because it is much more controllable for doing things like egg-and-cheese breakfast sandwiches, omelets, jambalaya, and other one-pot meals. Plus it makes morning coffee a million times easier.

 

[Frozen Canuck]

I forgot all about this one. It should be right up your alley, Buzz, given your east coast lifestyle. I have always wanted to try it.

This Brilliant Twist on a Classic Clam Boil Is the Best Dinner I’ll Have All Summer

If you are looking for foil packet meals, this one looks promising: You could season the chicken ahead of time, pre-grate the cheese, and cook the bacon ahead of time. Do not cut the potatoes ahead of time, as they will blacken. I would also caution against pre-chopping the onion, as then your whole cooler will smell like onion. Just carry a whole onion and chop it up when you are assembling things.

Chicken Foil Packet

You could also do a baked potato bar: bring some chili or pulled pork, have cheese, butter, sour cream, bacon, chives, steam some broccoli, seasonings, whatever. Scrub potatoes at home and par-bake them so that at the campsite you just finish cooking/warming them (kind of like twice-baked potatoes, which is another good option) and then they can be topped however people like.

Here is a post on how to steam broccoli when camping.

Walking tacos (may go by other names elsewhere) would be easy to prep. Pre-cook your taco meat and freeze, grate the cheese, grab some salsa and other taco toppings, and then get enough bags of Doritos for each person. You can do the same thing, but with nachos, heating up the chips and cheese in a cast iron frying pan or Dutch oven and then having the other toppings (sour cream, salsa, etc. ready to go. Toss on your taco meat, if you want.

The other thing that is awesome when you are camping, but which I didn't mention previously, as it isn't really a recipe, is to take cold pizza along. Pizza that is warmed up in foil over the campfire really hits the spot after an afternoon of hiking or whatever. You can make pizza ahead or just pick up an extra pizza at some point before your trip and freeze some slices.

 

[WalkingintheFog]

Great ideas!
I bring instant powder skim milk, and mix with some cold water in my mug before I add teabag and boiling water

Also, I put 1 meal of pancake mix in ziplock bag. Add however much water you want & mix in the bag.

 

[mrodgers]

Dehydrator. Make any thing you want except dairy. Dairy doesn't work, I made that mistake once. Easy to pack. Boil in a pan with water for 5 minutes, let it rest for 20.

I camp on bicycle touring so carrying fresh food is out for me. If it was an overnight, it's simple. I want a good thick steak laid directly on the coals of a fire and I'll carry a frozen steak in a small lunch cooler bag that will be cold and thawed by dinner time.

There is camping and then there is camping and to me you can't take fresh food camping because there's no way to preserve it for longer than that night's dinner. If camping to you is living in a miniature house with normal amenities, I'm not much help. Whatever you would do at home, do it camping I suppose.