Campfire cooking

[Harmonator]

On our trips to Canada we have 9 guys. We make the usual shorelunch meals (fried fish, fried potatoes, baked fish baked potato etc.). I am curious if any of you have any meal ideas that can feed this amount of people. We have two very large campfire fry pans and only cook over a fire. Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks, Tom

[Pops']

I would think you would be a candidate for "Dutch Oven" cooking. Here is some info:

A good Dutch Oven resource is the International DO Society (idos.com)

"Get one preseasoned and ready to use. Get an outdoor one with the tripod legs and a lip on the lid. I would also recommend their lid lifter and lid stand as accessories. a travel bag with a padded bottom, is nice to have.

The main concern with Dutch Ovens is the cleaning and care. If you buy a preseasoned one you don't have to worry about that. After cooking, scape out all of the food that you can. I fill mine about half full of water and set in on coals to heat up. I then dump the water and use a metal dish scrubber, like an SOS pad BUT WITH NO SOAP. Rinse again and dry thoroughly. I then rub the entire DO inside and out with a light coating of cooking oil. Don't use soap, every meal will taste like soap thereafter. Don't pour cold water in a hot dutch oven as they will crack.

Cooking in a dutch oven is simple; use regular charcoal briquettes. Heat them while you are preparing your ingredients. Several briquettes on the bottom of the dutch oven to fry items in the dutch oven. Some on the bottom and some on the top for the baking of meals. Invert the lid over hot coals and you'll have a skillet. "

Jeremy Witt

Shipwreck Hash - A favorite camping breakfast

1 Bag frozen shredded hasbrowns

1 "tube" crumble sausage

2 cups cheddar cheese

1 cup milk

6 eggs

Chopped onions and peppers

Salt and pepper

Brown sausge in the bottom of the DO. Add everything else. Cover and bake at 375 for one hour or until done. You can adjust the amount of ingedients any way to compensate for the number of diners. Just dump it in and cook it.

CHEESE POTATOES FOR TWO.

(more people....double or triple recipe)

Wash and quarter one pound red potatoes. (don't peel em)

Place in 10 inch dutch oven with 2 cups water.

Salt and pepper to taste. Add flaked or fresh onion as desired.

Cover and cook in dutch oven with 10 charcoal bricquetts top and bottom for 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on elevation. stir occasionally and add water as needed to avoid scorching.

When cooked add 1 pound shredded chedder cheese, Bacon Bits, and we like Fresh frozen green peas as desired.

Stir 1/2 of cheese into potatoes with bits and peas and sprinkle rest on top. Cover and simmer until top cheese is melted.

(peas are optional)

the above info came from several sources (credited)

Pops'

[abens1078]

Fajitas are pretty easy and you can do alot of the prep. before you leave for the trip. The shells/wraps can also handle about any temp. For your group 4-5 lbs of beef and or chicken should be close. Ask the guy at the meat counter to slice a flank steak or similar cut for fajitas and you eliminate a large part of the work. A couple onions and peppers and maybe a couple envelopes of store bought seasoning. You should be able to make everything in one skillet and that makes life easy. You could also do tacos if you bring along some ground beef.

Philly Cheese steak sandwhiches can also be done similar to the fajitas just add a little different seasonings(garlic and pepper)and bring some Mozzerella and provolone cheese.

Stews/soups can be thrown together fairly quick as well for an evening meal. Mom makes the soup ahead of time and freezes it then we just have to warm it up over the fire which is another way to save yourself some work and time so you can get back to fishing . Chili and Ham&bean soup are good to freeze. Cream and cheese soups can leave a lumpy separated mess though.

Don't forget the simple old pan fried cheese burgers either.

abens1078

[irvingdog]

If you did a search engine for a HSOforum that had "Campfire" and "cafe" and ".com" in it, you'd find an awesome refrence for open-fire cooking. The international dutch oven site is great also.

<I know. No un-authorized links. I have no vested interest in this site. But the food is amazing!>

[rmh2o]

I do this on the grill all the time

Take heavy duty foil

cut up potatoes and onions and whatever else you like

carrots?

zuccini?

rutabaga? etc

few dabs of butter

salt & pepper

seasonings of choice

I also add some meat such as

hamburge patties or ground burger

cubed beef

fish

polish

bacon etc.

I usually double or triple wrap this with foil

cook till potatoes are done

Use whatever ingrediants you want this always comes out good

[scruffy]

i'm with pops. the d.o. is a NECESSITY on a trip like this. you can use it every meal, and vary the recipes as well. anything you can make in a conventional oven, you can make in a dutch oven. and if you don't want to lug charcoal around, use coals from a campfire.

[Harmonator]

Thanks for all the info, will be checking into a D.O. I also like the ideas of prep the food before you go. Thanks again.

Tom

[cookboy]

The Dutch Oven is awesome. Buy ready made biscuits and cinnamon rolls in the tube. Biscuits and gravy (dry powder just add water and boil) is an easy breakfast, and who doesn't like a hot roll in the morning with coffee. The dutch oven takes a little extra time but, is well worth the end result.

[climbmda]

I agree with the foil cooking, too. This works really easily. My base ingredients are a hamburger patty,sliced tatres, a healthy dollop of cream of mushroom soup, and seasonings. Then add veggies of choice.

If you do this, everyone can add the veggies they want, and there is very little clean-up. You can eat right out of the foil if you want.

Good stuff and you can just throw the foil packets in the coals, rather than use a grill, if you want.

[cheesehead]

Dutch oven and rime rib Take a 6-8 lb boneless rib roast stuff it with fresh garlic cloves, rub it with coarse salt and ground pepper, wrap it with thick sliced bacon, secure the bacon with toothpicks or string. Place the roast on a baking rack in the dutch oven and roast it fom a tripod over medium heat for about 1 1/2 hours or until the meat reaches an inside temp of 135 deg for medium doneness. Slice and enjoy knowing that you are eating better than anyone else in the campground.

[GoodToGo]

Wow cheesehead, I like the way you guys camp. I'll keep a green and yellow jacket in my boat just in case I see a rib roast going into a dutch oven somewhere....

[waskawood]

Quote:

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I'll keep a green and yellow jacket in my boat just in case I see a rib roast going into a dutch oven somewhere....

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There are certain things I just WON'T do, even for a good meal!!! Just kiddin.......

[Gus]

Tin foil cooking is one of my favorites as well. The others have pretty much covered everything. No dishes, eat right out of the foil, each person can add the ingredients they like, etc etc.

I like to layer from the outside in: Potato, carrot, onion, mushroom, burger, and then reverse to cover the top. Add a slice of cheese to melt on the top just as you take it off the coals and mmmm mmmm mmmmm. I may have to try the cream of mushroom as mentioned previously.

[cheesehead]

Well guy's the menu has been set for this year. One guy has a sister who lives in New Jersey . You probably already guessed what where having . We are planning on telling everyone that we cought the lobsters out of Woman lake. How many of you Vikings will believe that it's true I'm guessing about 98% knowing the ones I've already met!

[waskawood]

Quote:

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How many of you Vikings will believe that it's true

I'm guessing about 98% knowing the ones I've already met!

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Grrrrrr, may Brett Favre lead you to another first round playoff loss........ Despite our differences of opinion cheese, I hope the lobsters are grrrrrreat. Enjoy.

[Phred52]

Cheesehead, In Minnesota, those Wisconsin caliber "Lobsters" are called Woman Lake BAIT!!!

[knoppers]

I will do the baked potatoe with the beans and fresh fillets. slice the tators, put in a onoin slice and some butter, wrap it in foil, put them on the fire.

[icehousebob]

Over the years, I've aquired an amazing collection of cast iron cookwear, but one that I like to include for camping is a covered Chicken fryer. Its like a #8 fry pan that is twice the depth;it works as a fry pan and as a dutch oven.

One of my favorite campfire breakfasts for a crowd I call HEART ATTACK ON A PLATE!! I chop up bacon and/or sausage and brown it, then add chopped onions and red bell peppers. When they are cooked, I pour in eggs for scrambling that are mixed with shredded Cheddar cheese and sliced mushrooms. You can slice tomatoes on top if you have them and serve with Picante sauce if available. This meal leaves only one fry pan to clean and is flexible for whatever ingredients that you have.

Often, when cooking for a large camp,I'll make stew, spagetti sauce or chili at home and freeze it in ziplock bags placed in bread pans so it freezes in blocks.If you make chili, make it without the beans and add canned beans after thawing. I stack them in the ice chest to use as ice until the day before eating it. Then set it out to thaw and reheat it for supper. That way you don't have to spend hours cooking while everyone else is fishing.

[Windy City Walleye Hunter]

Hey Guys,

Tons of great ideas floating around on this thread. Seems like most are geared around a dutch oven, which was standard issue when I was a Scoutmaster (both my sons are Eagle Scouts). Here is another twist for breakfast that creates...NO MESS...NO DIRTY PANS...NOTHING. It is called breakfast in a bag.

First put on a large pan of water to boil. At least 8 quart pot is best for a crowd. While the water is boiling chop up any ingredients that you want to add to an omelette. Green pepper, ham, onion, shredded cheese etc. Then put a little of each ingredient you want (let the kids make their own and they will eat it up) into a plastic sandwich baggie. You must use the kind that can be sealed not just the folded tops. Add two or three eggs to the bag, salt and pepper and mix up a little just to break the yolks up. Seal the bag and drop into the water for a few minutes. Your breakfast is ready and since nothing gets into the water, you can use the water to make hot chocolate for the kids or instant coffee and tea for the adults. You eat the omelette in a bag right out of the bag which means...NO DIRTY PANS...NO DIRTY DISHES and here's the kicker. The rest of the hot water can be used to wash up the few forks and spoons and cups. Try it and you will be hooked, gets breakfast over quickly with little clean up and gets you off doing more enjoyable things...LIKE FISHING! Later, Curt

[Harmonator]

Thanks for the replies, all of them sound great. I will be trying some of them on our trip in July. I have been looking into DO's and found that they come in a variety of sizes, what would be a good size to start with? It just goes to show that one has to be creative and think a bit to have great meals. Thanks again.

Tom

[scruffy]

wcwh:

hey. for what it's worth: sounds like a great idea, but i'll share with you something i read a year ago. a young girl for a science fair project did a study on heating plastic (as in saran wrap and sandwich bags). she wrapped tofu chunks and various other foods in plastic, heated them, and sent them into a lab. in all the test samples she sent in, carcinogens and various toxins were found leeched into the food. since then i've been careful about how i heat things up. using glass containers instead of plastic. just thought i'd mention it...

[Scenic]

For an easy breakfast try omlets in a bag. We make these and freeze them before the trip:

1) cook bacon, sausage or whatever meat you want

2) mix up a bunch of eggs in a bowl approx 2-3 per person

3) Place cooled meat and eggs in a zip lock quart bag or a vacum seal bag.

4) Add cheese, onions, peppers or whatever you want.

Remove as much air as you can from the bags and freeze. I normally use a vacum sealer machine and after they are frozen you can then vacum pack this mixuture.

When you are at camp place frozen omlets in the bag, in a pot of water and boil until the egg no longer sticks to the bag. Place the bag in the water with the zip lock side up to prevent water from entering the bag. This takes a bit of time but easy and worth the wait.

All your cheese/meat will end up in the middle and you will have a great breakfast. Before we did this at camp for the first time I had to try it at home because the sound of boiled omlets did not appeal to me that much. After trying this it has became a staple breakfast for us at fish camp.

[icehousebob]

I have a food story if you have a minute or two. When my five kids were young, I would often make scrambled eggs for their breakfast. One morning, I chopped ham in my largest cast iron pan and broke a dozen eggs into a bowl for mixing. I like to add a little milk when I beat the eggs. Well, we had a brown tupperware pitcher for milk because the kids couldn't handle gallon jugs so I grabbed it to add milk to the eggs. Someone had put grape juice in the milk pitcher and I poured a slug into the eggs. I wasn't going to waste a dozen eggs so I whipped them up with the grape juice and they turned green. After scrambling them with the chopped ham, the kids decided that I had invented green eggs and ham. It became one of their most requested breakfasts.

[abens1078]

From now on you are IcehouseSamIam.

[moderation]

Scruffy

Was this a fairly reliable source, or something questionable? I love my eggs in a bag the turn out great and if left in long enough they even brown.I have never heard of the carcinogen problem with saran wrap or sandwich bags.

Did they say how much they were heated up in the test, because I think any material that’s heated to the limit would give you problems.