Favorite Camp Foods

[Leaky]

Just got back from a few days up on Namakan Lake, camped just down from Kettle Falls. It's an annual we've done now or 7-8 years and includes myself and Xplorer from this site as 2 of 5 in our group. The other three are Rangers (Father/ Son combo and another gent from Virginia.). Eating good as easily as possible is always one of my goals.

Night one is homemade pans of pasties slowly warned up on a griddle on the camp stove. One of the guy's sister graciously puts this together for an easy 1st night meal. One was already eaten so I figured I better get a shot before this one is gone.

The next night is usally some kind of signature meal, things like Prime Rib or marinated Pork Tenderlions. This year was Rib fest. I presmoked 2 racks and Xplorer presmoked 2 racks. Another easy meal with sweet corn and doctored up camp beans.

I have another trip coming up mid Sept and need some ideas. I aready know some pulled pork will make that trip. What are your favorite Camp Foods?

[picksbigwagon]

For breakfast my favorite is spam and egg burrito's........I used to add salsa but my 9 yr old son has switched me over to medium taco sauce. Basically the only dishes you have is the bowl from the eggs, knife from the spam and I always use cast iron camping so their really is no pans to wash from this just wipe it out.

[Leaky]

Sweet!! That sounds great. Just like the occasional slider from White Castle, I get that same hankering for spam. My Ma used to make a spam casserole with potatos and carrots and such that was awesome.

[picksbigwagon]

I actually cut the spam into sticks 1/2" cube sticks, they work best in the breakfast roll up

[nofishfisherman]

For breakfast I do omelets in zip lock bags. Everyone gets a bag with 2-3 eggs in it. Then everyone can add their own fixings. I pre-chop everything at home and usually have ham, peppers, onions, mushrooms, cheese, tomatoes, etc. Everything goes into the bag and then you toss the bag in boiling water for a few minutes. Time will depend on how much stuff is in the bag. For a big bag you may need to knead it a little half way through to get the egg cooked thoroughly. Omelets turn out nice and fluffy.

For dinner we do hobos. Lay out a couple large sheets of heavy tinfoil and spray them with cooking spray. Then start loading them up with your fixings. First you add ground hamburger (break it up with a fork) then add whatever veggies you like. I usually do potatoes, green beans, onions, and peppers. But the options are endless. Once you have everything added season the whole pile with your seasoning of choice, some sort of Lawry's or Season All is good but there are countless options. Then once thats done fold up the edges of our foil over the pile and make it into a big pouch (usually best to double layer the foil). Take the well sealed pouch and toss it into a bed of coals that you prepare in the fire pit and let it cook. Takes 10-20 minutes depending on the fire and how big of a pouch you have. Flip once half way though. When its done open and enjoy. Very tasty.

[pushbutton]

Think a lot of it depends how much time you want to dedicate to cooking. In the past, went all out and challenged myself to make anything on the 'fire' that i could at home.....most times successful.....but sometimes not. As nonfisherman mentioned, the key is to prep everything at home to minimize cook/prepware. The last couple years, however, with ice fishing with an elderly father and young son, been really getting into bagging it. Enchiladas, casseroles, stews, potato "bakes", pastas, shredded meats in sauces, veggies, and the "legendary" omelets ...all pre prepared, pre frozen and simply reheated in minutes.

Thanks Picks, got a hankering for spam now

[delcecchi]

Over the years a fish boil has become one of our favorites in Quetico. Best with lake trout, but others work also.

Salted water, a bag or two of zatarain crab boil seasoning. Bring to boil. Throw in carrots, celery, onion, potatoes, cut up to taste. When almost done, add fish, cover for a couple minutes until fish done.

We make this with the big pot from the cook kit and 4 guys clean it up.

[Leaky]

Great Suggestions!!!! Keep em coming!

[titelines]

I love chicken tacos, but with a bit of a twist.

Grill the chicken at home and shred it. Add the flavorings of your choice..I usually do a chipotle, red pepper, onion and pepper. Maybe add a minced jalapeno or pablano to it. You can freeze that mix and keep it in the cooler.

Toss a griddle over low to medium heat coals and spray lightly with olive oil. Toss on a few small corn tortillas and add the chicken mix and some mexican or jalepeno cheese. Just takes a couple minutes for the chicken to warm and the cheese to melt, but the best is that the underside of the tortilla gets just a tad crispy. Remove and add lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and homemade guacamole and salsa. You can usually do 4-5 of these things and they are awesome. What's nice is that you really only use what you need, so you can do a couple meals or add the chicken to some scrambled eggs for breakfast.

[Stick in Mud]

The fish boil sounds delicious....and those pics are pretty awesome. Thankfully I just had some homemade hummus.

Anyways, count me in the "lazy cook, eats only to keep himself full" camp. It just isn't my thing...I prefer to do other stuff than cook when I'm up in Quetico/BWCA/Superior NF. That beign said, it looks like you guys have some pretty easy meals that I could probably justify making.

My favorite meals: 1) spanish rice, rehydrated salsa, onion, green pepper. Mix in some cheddar and toss on a tortilla, or 2) rehydrated hamburger in mac and cheese. Easy and tasty!

[itchmesir]

Count me in as well as the "rather do other things than cook" group... I keep it simple.. potato packs.. granola.. oatmeal.. jerky.. dried fruits.. maybe grab some dogs or burgers to throw on the grill.. and my collection of condiment packets I pocket from the gas stations.. but that's it.. I can barely get in what I wanna do when I go camping to begin with.. let alone dedicating more than an hour into cooking something

[OnAFly]

I'll bring a frozen steak with me and by the time we get to where we are going that first day, it's thawed. It's a nice end to a long first day of paddling. I also use pita bread instead of regular bread since it travels better.

For something a little more extravagant, I do foil pouches with fish and potatoes. Pancakes are also an easy breakfast.

[Slabasaurus]

Most of what I have in the way of meals camping is simple. Sandwiches, brats, etc.

i like to cook taco meat, beans, peppers, and onions before I leave so I can just warm that up when I feel like, it keeps fine in the cooler and is really simple.

Two new things I'm going to try:

Johnny Cakes - Should be easy enough with a cast iron skillet

Camp Coffee - This will be interesting. I have a portable water pot, and am making a tin can "stove" deal that the pot can sit on. I've found a handful of methods for making the coffee, we'll see which one works best.

[Duffman]

The 8" personal size pizza in the reflector oven will be making another appearence next week.

[Walleyehooker]

I like doing stuff in foil packs. Meat,potatoes,carrots,mushrooms,onions,veggies etc. or anything else you like. Easy to make and easy cleanup.

[Archerysniper]

I like doing stuff in foil packs. Meat,potatoes,carrots,mushrooms,onions,veggies etc. or anything else you like. Easy to make and easy cleanup.

+1 some times i need more then luke warm canned hash with some eggs cooked in.

[Archerysniper]

Spam and texas toast. It will fill your belly and keep you going,

[muskiemanAD]

I like doing stuff in foil packs. Meat,potatoes,carrots,mushrooms,onions,veggies etc. or anything else you like. Easy to make and easy cleanup.

This is a favorite of our group. Get a fire going and throw in some foil meal, can't go wrong!

[muskiemanAD]

We always do venison sandwiches. Put a roast in a crock pot with some beef broth, add a jar of peppercorni peppers with juice and slow cook it for 8 hrs or so. It will pull apart and be some of the tastiest sandwiches meat you can have!

[Leaky]

The 8" personal size pizza in the reflector oven will be making another appearence next week.

Love it!!

[Slabasaurus]

Fall Camping is when I tend to spend more time with actual cooking. When the sun sets before 7 and you're in the middle of nowhere... what better way to spend the evening cuttin veggies, meats, and sippin on a nice dale's pale ale (or riverpig, or furious, or coca-cola)?

This weekend my meals were still relatively simple though.

Lunch: Loaf of bread, deli cut salami, deli cut turkey, pocketed packets of mayo from the gas station. gatorade, and a tall IPA. Dessert: Apples. Best served along the banks of a river, but will be just as tasty from the trunk of the car.

Afternoon: Brew the coffee (or boil water and add your instant starbucks coffee), trail mix.

Dinner: Fajitas (sliced sirloin, red/green bell pepper, sliced onion, salt n pepper, black beans, and of course the two important things I forgot at home: Lime, garlic)

Dessert: small glass of Knob Creek Single Barrel, on da rocks

Breakfast: Breakfast burritos (leftover beans/peppers/onions from night before, then hash browns, eggs, smoked pork chop, and precooked sausage)

Starbucks Instant coffee is actually pretty decent, I tried the italian roast this weekend. I'll be doing that again.

[leech~~]

The 8" personal size pizza in the reflector oven will be making another appearence next week.

That looks like it's doing a d@m fine job there Duff!

[DonBo]

Love the grill when there's time for it. My favorite is my marinaded, bacon wrapped wild turkey breast.

Those ribs on the grill look great!

[TruthWalleyes]

I do several weekend long trips on the st. croix river in the fall. I tend to bring way more food than i acutally eat. For some reason after being in the boat for 24hrs, i just don't get hungry anymore...

But i have along a sunflower heater for coffee. Sometimes i'll bring foil and wrap a chicken kiev and heat that on the sunflower. Otherwise, it's steaks, burgers, brats, hotdogs. Maybe a can of soup if its cold out. Always some sandwich meat for when i'm hungry mid day and in the middle of fishing.

Big fan of the HOBO dinner (Foil/meat/etc.) but I haven't done one of those in a while.

Even after 4 days on the river (And i usually bring enough food for 5 days) i come home with enough food to eat the whole next week. Maybe i should bring less beer!

[OnAFly]

Less beer? You better not get too crazy