Camping Meal Ideas

[jerk bait]

What are some ideas for meals while camping? We are spending a week at Cass lake.

[solbes]

-Just about anything in a Dutch oven (casseroles, stew, fish bakes, desserts, etc).

-I always like to add fried potatoes from a cast iron skillet to complement some of the BBQ meats or fish frys.

-Corn on the cob in foil w/ near campfire coals

-And you gotta bring the pudgie pie irons

[OnAFly]

Potatoes in foil pouches. Add onion, fish, lemon, whatever spices you like. They are super easy with very little for cleanup.

[reinhard1]

depending on how long you stay. if you stay a week i would buy some of my perishables while your up there to save room in your cooler. steaks, chicken, pork for example should be pre-marinaded and frozen in vacume bags and this way ready to go. this saves time on the preperation. i keep it pretty simple. steak with corn on the cob and same with burgers. i pre make a potato salad as a side dish along with home made baked beans. dont make any salads. stuff dont last long and stay crispy as i like it. we usualy have donuts and coffee in the morning and go fishing and have the big meal during early afternoon. in the evening it's hot dogs and polish sausage on a good bun if anyone is hungry.

we also have a fish fry day also mid afternoon with fried potatoes with the skin on fried in bacon fat. a lot depends on the time of the year. cooler months i pre make soups and stews and vacume seal this and freeze it. i can simmer the soup for example in the bag in a pot of water. easy and little mess. good bread also. i'll think of more stuff as this thread builds hopefully. i have done ribs many times also. good luck.

[Toba]

If you are not big into cleaning up eggs in a bag are a great breakfast. I usually put 3 eggs, green pepper, onion, mushroom, salt & pepper in the bag and mush it up. Boil for about 10-15 minutes and breakfast slides right out of the bag the mess is minimal.

[LightningBG]

Eggs keep well frozen in Nalgene bottles.

Hot ham and cheese sandwiched (fried like grilled cheese)(but they are a little labor intensive)

We've done spaghetti.

Summer sausage sandwiches.

Obviously hotdogs, brats, hamburgers, steaks, fish fry.

For sides we do potatoes in tinfoil bag, flavored rice packets (lipton/knorr brand), chips, au gratin potatoes, corn on the cob, asparagus.

For fruit we do stuff that doesn't need to be kept cold, like apples, watermelon, etc.

We bring a couple Shorelunch soup mixes in case we get skunked fishing and have to abandon the fish fry.

[muskiemanAD]

My favorite is tinfoil dinners. Add a teaspoon of butter, hamburger, potatoes, onions and whatever sounds good. Seal it tight and set on the coals for about 30 minutes. Always a delicious meal. Omelet in a bag is also good. Add 2 eggs with whatever else you like, put in a zip lock freezer bag and put in boiling water for 15-17 minutes and you have a great omelet!

[prov1900]

One thing we started for breakfast, in order to get going a little earlier in the a.m. was breakfast burritos and breakfast sammies (ala McDonald's but much better). Get up, make it up and wrap them in foil and shoot down the lake. The flavors and juices meld a little better and it saves on cleanup somewhat. I take a Camp Chef stove with griddle and do the sausage/ham/bacon/eggs/and english muffins right on there. Muffins fried in pork 'trifecta' grease isn't healthy, but wow are they good.

Snacks/sandwiches in the boat for the remaining fishing day.

Dinners range from steak, burgers/dogs, tater tot casserole (dutch oven), beef stew (dutch oven), shrimp (bacon wrapped), etc. Basically plan for your guest's tastes an anything you make at home can be made with a campfire or dutch oven. Enjoy your trip. Food is what makes and breaks a trip. At least for us.

[Walleyehooker]

I also like the tin foil meals. A little non stick spray or butter and potatoes,carrots etc. and meat or fish is great and easy clean up. Polish or brats also last pretty well. I usually bring a ham along as it is good with breakfast and also sandwiches.

[LightningBG]

One thing that I have learned is that cooking oil in the tinfoil bags does not work. Put butter in.

[Leaky]

The only camping I do anymore is to boat into some remote spot in Voyaguers Park with some buddies and hang out, do some fishing and eat for 4-5 days.

I like to pre-make & freeze. Makes extra ice for the cooler and great meals made simple at camp. Things like:

*Spaghetti or Alfredo Sauce - Cook noodles at camp

*Sloppy Joes - Bring fresh buns

*Prime Rib Roast - Season at home, freeze & cook slow on a small Weber while watching your bobber and enjoying a beverage shore fishing from camp. Bring meat themometer with alarm as to make sure you don't over cook while catching fish for tomorrow's dinner.

*Soup (See the recipes on this site - some dandys)

*Chunk of Ham - Sandwiches to go with your soup and to dice up for eggs.

*Package of Wild Rice Brats - Take with on your all day fishing excursion and build a fire on an island sand beach for lunch. Whittle a stick and you're all set - Go for a nice before/after lunch swim.

Of course you need to bring some burgers (that goes without saying, right?) but hopefully these are a few other ideas.

[Mike89]

Just remember to use freezer bags if you make eggs in a bag, other wise the bag could blow.

[jwmiller33]

Spaghetti is always a favorite... Make the meat sauce before you go on your trip. Mix with your spaghetti sauce of choice and freeze. Being that it is frozen will help keep other things in your cooler cold. Usually best to make on day 2 or 3 after the sauce starts to thaw out a little. Warm up the sauce over the fire and then boil water on the propane stove (if you have it) for the noodles. Pretty simple meal and spaghetti tastes WAY better when you are in the woods IMO

[jerk bait]

Thanks guys. Alot of good ideas. I forgot to mention that I will be in my pickup camper. Where we are camping there is no electric. I do have a small generator but it will not run any cooking appliances. We do have the small stove in the camper but I don't use it much. Mainly a grill and coleman stove. Steaks, burgers, brats etc are good old staples. I guess I was looking for something different. We usually have a big breakfast after early morning fishing and a nice dinner which is usually after happy hour. I would like to prepare some dinners at home where I have better equipment. Do you think I could partially cook a roast or turkey and finish it off on the grill later? Kabobs are great idea. Thanks for the input. Let's keep it going maybe some gourmet type ideas too.

[Leaky]

With a grill, coleman stove and a fire pit, you can make pretty much anything you want. But I'm with you, always looking for new ideas of what to cook out in the woods.

Where are you going to be? A pickup camper with no electric sounds like it could be fairly remote? My kind of camping.

[jerk bait]

Actually the federal campground on Cass Lake. All of the sites have electric and water with the exception of about 10 but we are directly on the water and can pull our boats on the beach. The rest of the sites are off the water is a good trade off. We have a group of 4 families and have been vacationing up there for 25 years. We used to stay at resorts butfor the last 5 years have been camping which is much better. I might just throw the smoker in also.

[Walleyehooker]

People always like when I bring shrimp along and either boil them in crab boil or grill them. Sounds like you have everything you would need to do a turkey or roast right at the lake. If you need to be away from it for a while when cooking just put it in a aluminum foil pan so you dont get fame ups.

Some real good cheeses and crackers are good snacks. I also sometimes go to Sams or Costco and get a jar of stuffed olives or dips etc.

[prov1900]

As far as your partially cooked turkey/roast question? I am no expert but I would bet that the turkey would fail. I think the roast would be ok like that. Meat thermometer would be crucial to get the right amount of 'doneness'. I guess my fear would be that they would dry out, esp the turkey.

Do you have access to dutch ovens? If so, they become just like your home oven, only better IMO. They are heavy and bulky, but they could be stored out of the way when not in use.

[reinhard1]

do not partialy cook anything and then freeze it especialy poultry. fully cooking ensures it will be safe to eat. with beef it may be ok but may as well have it ready to go. all my "meals" so to speak in vacume bags are cooked and ready to go. it saves prep time and less of a mess. i do marinade steaks and freeze them ready for the grill. refrigeration in a cooler cant be controled like at home. good luck.