Camp Cooking

My wife should probably be writing this one. She is a whiz at creative cooking and does most of our cooking in camp. She can make frozen corndogs into a gourmet meal. I can't even come close to matching her culinary skills, but I'll do the best I can.  Fortunately, glamorous, appetizing presentation isn't a prerequisite for camp cooking.

One of the basic principles of successful camp or RV cooking the K.I.S.S. principle (Keep It Simple Stupid). We go camping for fun, so camp cooking should be fun too.  One of the advantages of RVing and modern tent camping facilities is the ability to bring a good hint of home with you -- and that includes mealtimes.  Here are some ideas to get you started.

Camp cooking can be fun.  Even if you're preparing the same things you normally cook at home, doing it in camp adds a little bit of adventure.  My wife and daughter-in-law were giddy as a couple of school girls while fixing breakfast when we went tent camping while my son and I got a nice fire going using flint and steel.

Here are some of our favorite meals, accumulated over years of RVing, OHVing, and camping:

Breakfasts. When the kids were young and (over) anxious to start their day riding, we'd often bring along a dozen fresh donuts (well, they were fresh when we bought them the night before) to get everyone off to a quick start the first morning. Not the most nutritious of breakfasts, I'll admit, but quick and easy and provided lots of sugar-energy.   And what kid every turned down donuts?  Add a glass of milk or orange juice and you can feel good about at least part of the "meal". We noticed that some donuts developed a somewhat rancid smell overnight if they weren't refrigerated. We never had that problems with Foster's brand donuts in California, but I don't think the Foster's chain is still in business.  Too bad.  Refrigerating donuts is a way to keep them fresh and avoid having them smell up your RV, but  you may need to warm them up before you eat them.  Since they tend to be best when eaten fresh,  you will probably want to snack on any leftovers the same day rather then try to keep them for another breakfast.  If you need to warm them up and have a microwave oven in your RV, pop them in for a few seconds to take off the chill.  If they're getting particularly dry, put a damp paper towel over them during microwaving.  When tent camping you might try frying them in butter over the campfire or on your trusty Coleman stove.  We found that is a good way to restore day-old pastries to really tasty treats.   Sometimes we deliberately buy day old treats with that in mind, often at substantical savings.

Once you're settled into camp you may find time for more traditional breakfasts. There isn't anything quite like the smell of bacon cooking on an open campfire. A standard breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast provides much better nutrition than donuts and is not all that hard to fix, even on an open fire. And if you're not up to building a fire first thing in the morning, the RV range, microwave, or trusty Coleman stove will have breakfast ready in a jiffy.

Another favorite, with an almost a pioneer flare, is pancakes. Again pretty easy to make and can be cooked up on the RV or Coleman stove or even over the campfire on a griddle or just in a frying pan. Add some sausage and eggs and you've got plenty of protein to start your day.

Waffles may take a bit more effort, but are even an option when tent camping and campfire cooking using cast iron waffle pans.

Cold cereal is an old standby, however it is not something I enjoy out on the road, especially on cooler mornings. But it is easy, fast, and economical and with appropriate selections is usually a hit with kids.  It is easy to store and transport.   It might be just what you need for warmer desert mornings.

Hot cereal may take a few extra minutes, and since even summer mornings in the desert or mountains can be quite cool, it is a welcome way to start the day. Today's instant packets make it pretty fast and easy, especially if you have a microwave. They may cost a little more than bulk packages, but the convenience is well worth it.  I especially like the instant Cinnabon Cream of Wheat I buy at Dollar Tree --  a box of 3 packages for $1.00.  Pretty good and tasty breakfast for 33 cents a serving!   If you have a microwave in your RV they can be ready in about 1 minute. If you don't have a microwave or don't want to run the generator that early in the morning, boil some water in a teakettle or pan for mixing with instant cereal pouches. If you are feeling a little more adventurous and want to add a pioneer experience to your outing, try corn meal mush. Just cook corn meal in water with a little salt on medium heat for 5-7 minutes. Then serve it with butter and honey.

Lunches. Lunches should always be simple affairs, quick and easy to fix, and with little cleanup. You really don't want to stop what you're doing in the middle of the day to fix or even eat a fancy meal. and then have a lot of clean up to do afterwards. Sandwiches and hot dogs are favorites around our camp. Add some chips and macaroni or potato salad, perhaps some pork and beans, and you've got quite a complete meal without a lot of fuss. Serve it all up on paper plates and you don't even have many dishes to do. Hot dogs can be cooked over the campfire, grilled, fried up in a pan, or boiled. Campfire dogs taste best.  You can even toast your hotdog buns on a stick over the campfire if you're careful. I only boil hotdogs if I have to do a whole bunch of them at once to serve a large group all at the same time.

Dinners. Here's where you may want to invest a little more time and make cooking fun. Old standbys, like hamburgers are almost always a hit. French fries are a bit messy and time consuming in camp unless you microwave some frozen fries.  Steaks are great if you have the budget for them and have a special flavor when grilled over the campfire. Be sure to wrap some potatoes in foil and bake them in the campfire to round out the meal in gourmet fashion. Chili and beef stew are nice on cold nights. With the availability of unbreakable acrylic stemware, you can serve up a quite elegant dinner in your RV, including a touch of the bubbly. Your "bubbly" may have to be sparkling cider as alcohol is prohibited in some campgrounds so make sure to check the rules before you get into trouble. Preparing and serving dinner, as well as consuming it, can be a family affair, a chance for teaching and learning and sharing more than just recipes. There are plenty of tasks to go around. Preparing specific dishes, getting the fire going or the BBQ set up, setting the table. You can bake potatoes right in the coals of the campfire and, of course, they are a perfect side to a fire-broiled steak. Wrap them in aluminum foil and bury them in the coals so they will cook evenly all around. I like to brush mine with butter before wrapping them up. Hobo stews are easy dinners too. Wrap meat, potatoes, carrots and (optionally) onions and other favorite vegetables and seasoning in aluminum foil and bury the packets in the coals. We like to pre-cook the meat in the microwave or on the top of the stove to speed cooking in the campfire and ensure the meat is nicely browned and sufficiently cooked to prevent botulism.

RV and camp stove cooking provide an almost home-like cooking experience in camp. I say "almost" because even though RV and camp stoves approximate our residential ranges functionality, they aren't quite the same. If nothing else, they are more compact so you have to make some adjustments in how you use them.  Ovens and burners aren't quite as large.  The temperature control may not be quite as responsive as it is at home, especially on camp stoves (its pretty good on the propane stoves in RVs, but the ovens are kind of picky). You'll need to watch what you're doing more closely and be prepared to remove things from the heat or make adjustments as necessary. Cooking may take longer and you may have to work with smaller portions and do things in shifts.  the large pans you may like to use at home might not fit on RV or camp stoves.

Campfire cooking can be a fun, rewarding and exciting experience. Give yourself time to experiment and to develop your skills. It takes time to get used to cooking on an open fire. About your only way of controlling temperature and cooking speed is by how close you hold the pan to the fire. Things will continue to cook for some time after removing a heavy cast iron pot or pan from the fire. But with a little practice it can be fun. Obviously it can be done successfully. After all, man has survived by cooking on open fires for tens of thousands of years. We just don't know how many burned or raw meals they had to endure before getting it down.

Dutch oven cooking can provide a single dish meal and is great for stews, pot roast, chicken, soups, and a variety of main dishes. Dutch ovens also are a great way to bake breads and desserts. If you are interested in trying this time-proven method, check out one of the many dutch oven cook books or search for recipes and tips online. Charcoal is the preferred fuel for dutch oven cooking, so you need to prepare ahead of time and leave time to get the coals ready if you want to try out this form of camp cooking. I think of Dutch ovens as a pioneer crockpot.  You can toss in all the ingredients, set the coals, and let them cook for hours without any further attention while you enjoy your activities.

Beverages. There is something special about hot beverages prepared on the campfire. You might keep a pot of boiling water ready all the time to prepare instant hot drinks when needed.  Although I'm not a coffee drinker, the smell of it brewing is pleasant and appealing. Even "ordinary" hot chocolate takes on a special flavor prepared on and served around the campfire, but added flavors (caramel, vanilla, hazelnut, cinnamon, mint etc) can make it really special. Try dropping a fire-toasted (not burnt!) marshmallow on top for a super special treat. For warm summer days, a cooler full of cold beverages is almost a requirement. Water and sports drinks are healthier and better at quenching thirst and preventing dehydration than sodas and beer. Alcohol and caffeine can speed dehydration.  We have experimented with a few summer punch recipes over the years. A favorite we found very refreshing is cucumber punch. It is made from ginger ale, frozen lime concentrate, and sliced cucumbers. I like to add a touch of green food coloring. Served over ice, it is incredibly cooling and refreshing, without the sticky aftertaste of many sodas. It is fun to make it up in a wash tub for large groups. For the ultimate presentation, be sure to ladle a slice of fresh lime into each glass.

Novelties. I have previously mentioned one of our favorite campfire novelties: instant pies. You need bread, pie filling, and, obviously, the pie-makers. Campfire pie makers are long-handled clam shell cookers.  You put a slice of bread in one side, add a scoop of your favorite pie filling, put a second slice of bread on top, close it up and put it in the fire.  In a few minutes you have fresh baked pie.  It was surprising how much ordinary white bread tasted like pie crust when cooked this way.  Of course don't forget the traditional S'mores. Just be prepared for plenty of pyrotechnic entertainment and sticky marshmallow everywhere! On hot days, snow-cones are an instant hit and very refreshing. You'll need lots of ice and a grinder plus various flavors of syrups. Snow-cone syrup can usually be purchased at restaurant supply stores like Smart and Final.  In a pinch make your own from Kool-Aid mix or even dry Jello.

Baking in camp.  RV ovens are a little more than half the size of the one at home.  That puts the burners closer to the cooking platform, sometimes resulting in over-cooked bottoms and raw tops on baked goods.  Baking in camp is going to take some practice  Also pay attention to elevation and follow the special high altitude instructions on the package for things like cake mixes.  Convection ovens are helpful in providing more even heat distribution and reduced cooking times.  Coleman makes an oven that sets on top of your camp stove so even tent campers can do some baking.  They're only about 1' square, so you may have to make smaller portions and bake in shifts.

The availability of microwave ovens to many RV campers gives you a lot of options for quick and easy meals in camp.  There are microwave version of just about every meal or snack.  Frozen meals might be a bit more expensive than those made from scratch, but the added convenience might be worth it. 

Cooking adventures. I've seen Scoutmasters with special wilderness training prepare a whole breakfast in an orange peel. If that kind of experimentation appeals to you, do check it out.  It can be fun.  I've seen it done but never tried it myself. It really looks to be quite fun and tasty as well as ecologically sound. We've cooked up rattlesnake on a couple of desert outings, and, yes, it does taste like chicken. Anyone who has watched Survivorman has seen him cook rodents on a stick. I'm not sure eating rodents appeals to me, but it might be worth trying if you think you'll need the skill for survival. Not sure I could stomach it under normal circumstances, but it would probably be good practice and might be critical in a survival situation.

Speaking of adventures, there are some you WON'T want to experience, such as spilling grease into the fire. This is not uncommon when cooking bacon in a fry pan on a campfire. The resulting flare-up will likely ruin a lot more than your breakfast fare! I've seen more than one unhappy camper go home sans eyebrows and missing hair on their hands and arms. Flare-ups may also catch your clothing on fire. If that happens, DON'T PANIC! About the worst thing you can do is run when you're on fire. The best thing is to drop to the ground and roll to put the fire out. Of course, if you're exercising proper fire safety procedures, you will have a bucket of water and/or sand close by to assist with putting the fire out. If you are burned, by either hot grease or by the flames, immediately cool the burned area with clean cool water. You may minimize your chances of spilling grease into the fire in the first place by using a cooking grid to support your frying pan instead of placing it directly on uneven and unstable wood and coals. Lacking a steel grid, you might make a temporary one from green tree limbs, but it won't last long over a hot fire. Rocks can sometimes be arranged to support pans. Just make sure they aren't porous.  Porous rocks may contain moisture than can expand with explosive force!  A frequent mistake of novice campfire chefs is grabbing the handle of a pot or pan with a bare hand. Bad mistake! The handles get very hot, so use gloves, hot pads, pliers or oven mittens to grasp the handles. Dutch oven lids have special "lifters" or you can use a pair of pliers (I find Channelock style slip-joint pliers work best because of the angled jaws). More than one camper has been badly burned trying to rescue his dinner from the fire. Very few meals (none I know of!), are worth the agony of blistered fingers or burned hands, so if you must retrieve something, use a utensil or a stick, and not your bare hands. Better to drag that steak out into the dirt and wash it off than end up with the flesh of your hands more cooked than your dinner!

Bon appetite!