Food to Take Camping

GuitarJerry
GuitarJerry Posts: 6,102 Member
in Chit-Chat
I'm going camping next week. This is my first time since I was a kid. I have everything I need, hopefully. But, now I'm trying to figure out the food situation. I don't care about healthy. I will have a couple of coolers with lots of ice. I'll take the usual, but. I need more ideas. I plan on hotdogs, but that's where I get stumped. I guess chicken? I was thinking about Pre cooking chicken. Breakfast is easy. I'll have eggs, bacon, pancakes, and cereal. It's lunch and dinner I don't have a clue.

Please help. Think easy. I don't mind cooking there. I have a Coleman stove, and there will also be a fire that I can cook on. But I don't want it to be a huge ordeal. I want simplicity.

Thanks.
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Replies

  • gerard54
    gerard54 Posts: 1,107 Member
    Booze, more booze, meat and more booze...
  • usernameMAMA
    usernameMAMA Posts: 681 Member
    For me, camping is not complete without pudgie pies.
  • n2thenight24
    n2thenight24 Posts: 1,651 Member
    S'mores! Duh :)
  • SquidandWhale
    SquidandWhale Posts: 259
    Ramen + whiskey = camping.
  • Dawnomite
    Dawnomite Posts: 37 Member
    burgers
  • GBOGH_5
    GBOGH_5 Posts: 174 Member
    I get MREs for camping. So easy and you don't even have to cook them. They aren't all that great, but when camping it is more about proper nutrition than having a wonderful dining experience.
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  • gerard54
    gerard54 Posts: 1,107 Member
    We always BBQ chicken, pork chops, steaks, bring chips, soda or juice, hot dogs, burgers, cookies, and some canned meat like corned beef if something goes wrong...
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  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    If you want easy, you can't beat freeze-dried backpacking food ;)

    Camping out of a car? Eggs, chicken, pasta (cheese-filled tortellini is great), hot dogs, cheese (grilled cheese, don't forget the butter), oatmeal, bagels, and.... spam.

    I'm not kidding about the spam. Fried spam with cheese on a bagel is the greatest camping food in the world, I swear to god.
  • SquidandWhale
    SquidandWhale Posts: 259
    From the sounds of all the crap, AKA gear, you're bringing it sounds like you're doing some car camping. Bring sandwich stuff, chips, string cheese (if y'all like it) for lunches. Dinners can really bring anything you'd grill out: kabobs, chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, etc. Lots of H20.

    My type of camping requires hiking in, thus I keep it lightweight.
  • XLMuffnTop
    XLMuffnTop Posts: 76 Member
    Ramen + whiskey = camping.

    Oh the thought of that make me vomit a little.
  • cyndyeadams
    cyndyeadams Posts: 6
    Make sure the meat is frozen when you put it in the cooler and block ice tends to last longer than cubed ice camping so use both. Canned chili with crackers makes a quick lunch. Have fun that's the important part.
  • Kamnikar64
    Kamnikar64 Posts: 345 Member
    We always BBQ chicken, pork chops, steaks, bring chips, soda or juice, hot dogs, burgers, cookies, and some canned meat like corned beef if something goes wrong...

    So the meat keeps ok in a cooler? I guess that was my question.
    If there is plenty of ice, it will keep for the day or two that it's in there. You could always make up burgers and freeze them, cook them the second day. Lunch is usually sandwiches and chips with fruit. I usually buy stuff that I don't normally have at home to make it a little more festive.
  • gerard54
    gerard54 Posts: 1,107 Member
    We always BBQ chicken, pork chops, steaks, bring chips, soda or juice, hot dogs, burgers, cookies, and some canned meat like corned beef if something goes wrong...

    So the meat keeps ok in a cooler? I guess that was my question.

    I suggest freeze some of the stuff and keep the stuff ur gonna eat that day and night on ice..how long will you be out there for and most of the time there is always somewhere close to get supplies if needed...
  • spade117
    spade117 Posts: 2,466 Member
    We always BBQ chicken, pork chops, steaks, bring chips, soda or juice, hot dogs, burgers, cookies, and some canned meat like corned beef if something goes wrong...

    So the meat keeps ok in a cooler? I guess that was my question.

    Yes.

    Just keep it packaged/sealed well, if there will be a lot of time before it is used. You don't want the ice to melt and get water into the packages.
  • n2thenight24
    n2thenight24 Posts: 1,651 Member
    Chili? I think that's a pretty popular camping food. You obviously need to make it beforehand though.
  • Angimom
    Angimom Posts: 1,463 Member
    I love camping and have been doing it since I was a kid! Hobo meals are so easy, can be made ahead of time, healthy and can be made so everyone likes them, here are some suggestions:

    Hamburger, potatoes, onions, broccoli, cheese and butter. Lay out foil, put the meat and potato on the bottom and everything else piled on top, fold the foil up to form a pouch and throw on the grill. I'm a vegetarian so I don't actually put the meat in mine, but this is the beauty of it! Everyone gets to put in what they like and how much they like. Potatoes and Hamburger take the longest time to cook so on a grill on med I say about 30 mins, you can open one, stab the taters and see if they are done, if not, refold and leave on longer. TIP: if you made them ahead of time, you can tell whose is whose by toothpicks or the way you fold them. Kids love to help make these. We also have made these with Chicken, sweet potatoes, califlower, butter and some brown sugar, yum. Fish and veggies are always good. There are so many combinations to be tried! Have fun.
  • Mama_Jag
    Mama_Jag Posts: 474 Member
    I want to make these when we camp this year:
    http://eatinginneverland.blogspot.com/2012/09/onion-bombs-camping-food.html

    We love foil packet food. Chicken breasts (I bring a frozen bag in the cooler and eat them the first night) with veggies (canned or whatever you want) is good, too. English muffin pizzas on a grill grate (or wrapped in foil on the fire) are fun for kids, too.
  • theoneandonlybrookie
    theoneandonlybrookie Posts: 341 Member
    Will you have a grill grate to put over the fire? If so, make this. We do every time we go camping (which is often in the warm months) and it's delicious!

    Beer Butt Chicken

    http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Beer-Butt-Chicken/Detail.aspx

    Potatoes are easy to make, baked near the fire. We do pancakes and bacon in the morning. You can buy the add water and shake pancake mix to avoid a lot of cleanup.
  • mrfrodogetdown
    mrfrodogetdown Posts: 54 Member
    Cans of those little potatoes! Puncture the top, put it right in the fire to heat up.. Yumm!

    Premake (or buy) some kabobs.

    How many nights?
  • hazymary
    hazymary Posts: 190 Member
    I marinate chicken, then freeze it in ziplock baggies...I also chop up veggies, zucchini onions mushrooms grape tomatos, put in zip lock baggies and make kabobs. For breakfast I make zip lock baggies full of omelet mix then add meat or veggies when I cook them. Cold cuts work good for lunch. Guess you figured it out zip lock baggies are a campers best friend,,,,well it goes well with wine.
  • lisiloulah
    lisiloulah Posts: 125 Member
    If you have a fire to cook on you can do Jacket potatoes - just wrap them in foil and put them on the edge of the fire (not too close that they burn to charcoal, but not too far away that they don't cook) It's been a few years since I've done this so I don't recall timings, but probably an hour or two as it's a long slow cook.

    As a Girl Guide, when we went camping we all loved stew and dumplings cooked on the gas camping hob, but anything with a sauce like bolognaise, chilli etc would work well, assuming you have a second hob to cook rice and pasta on. Fried Burgers, Sausage, and even Fish Fingers are easy enough on a little stove too.

    A trick to bringing meat with you is to freeze it at home and pack it frozen - in a cooler it will slowly defrost, but it will add an extra day to the freshness (don't do this to the meat you plan on eating the first night!) When I was little we used to take family holidays in a touring caravan, and my mum always packed a roast chicken for dinner the first night (and used leftover meat in sandwiches for lunch the second day).

    Have fun - you've made me want to go camping now though...
  • splashwags
    splashwags Posts: 262 Member
    If you want easy, you can't beat freeze-dried backpacking food ;)

    Camping out of a car? Eggs, chicken, pasta (cheese-filled tortellini is great), hot dogs, cheese (grilled cheese, don't forget the butter), oatmeal, bagels, and.... spam.

    I'm not kidding about the spam. Fried spam with cheese on a bagel is the greatest camping food in the world, I swear to god.

    I was going to suggest spam as well. Slice it up fry instead of bacon... Actually pretty good. Not cleanest mind you. And prepping stuff beforehand also helps. How manys days/nights?
  • Linli_Anne
    Linli_Anne Posts: 1,360 Member
    I pre-pack foil dinners - things like salmon steaks with a couple of lemon slices, a drizzle of maple syrup, throw in some asparagus spears or green beans and wrap it all up in a foil pak to throw in the grill/over the fire.

    Chicken breasts are great for grilling.

    We love sliced up potatoes and onions, again in foil, thrown onto the hot embers of a fire to get nice and brown and crispy.

    Buy some quality italian sausage, and throw into a skillet with some onions, bell peppers, a drizzle of olive oil.

    I love camp cooking...in fact at the end of camping season I often joke to my husband that I am going to permanently set up the old coleman camp stove in our kitchen and use that instead of the silly electric range.
  • Seaglass1123
    Seaglass1123 Posts: 500 Member
    Chicken, potato salad, corn on the cob, sandwiches, burgers YUMMM

    I want to come!
  • gerard54
    gerard54 Posts: 1,107 Member
    Make sure u have charcoal or you'll have McDonalds every night...
  • LittleMissNerdy
    LittleMissNerdy Posts: 792 Member
    Don't forget about canned foods. You could pick up some beef stew and just warm it up/cook it over the fire.
  • liesevanlingen
    liesevanlingen Posts: 508 Member
    I often pre-cook meats so then they just need to be heated up. Lots of finger food- fruits and veggies with or without dips--think bananas, apples, pears, strawberries, raspberries, nectarines, or celery, carrots, peppers, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms--whatever your kids might like. Salad's an easy veggie dish that doesn't require cooking. You can bring sandwich makings for lunches--bread, sandwich meat, cheese, jam, and other spreads. Pre-boil some eggs and bring them along as a handy snack. Yogurt cups are good too. I usually freeze the meats (whether they are cooked or not) and then they help keep the other food in the cooler cold for longer.
  • Natihilator
    Natihilator Posts: 1,778 Member
    If you're planning on doing any sort of hiking or activities, trail mix is your friend. Granola bars freeze too hard if it's cold, and make sure you get Smarties or M&Ms in your trial mix if it's hot instead of chocolate chips, to prevent a melted mess.

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