Camp Food

[LadyStitch]

We have had threads talking about the food inside faire but I don't think I have ever seen one about the food outside of the gates.

This year I took over as chief organizer of the clan trip from our poor overstressed monarch (hey what else are servants for?   )  One of the things I started to do was gather together our favorite recipes/ menus from past years.  I was curious what some of the other groups did for meals in your camps.

The menu for us this year. 
Breakfasts are just egg beaters cooked as people wake up, and heat and eat sausage. (BTW reheating biscuits to do busicuits and grave... BAD idea!)
Hot dogs, and bratwurst sausages, with chips. -- This is our 'fancy' night.  We have time and energy to cook.
After one too many cold nights where we were too tired to cook, and didn't get back to camp until nearly 8, we started doing our "pot dumper" meals.  We have a chili recipe that we cook ahead of time, and then freeze.  By the second night it has slowly thawed in the chill chest.  We dump enough for 4 people  at a time into a big pot, and re heat.  Why we do small batches is because we may have one group that come back at 5 pm and want to eat, then another group at 7, and another stays late and doesn't get back until 9.  By reheating in small batches we don't end up with cold or burnt food. 
Another meal we are doing is our "dump it" chicken and veggie soup.   Consists of bag of frozen veggies, couple cans of chicken stock, H2O, couple cans of canned chicken, can of diced tomatoes, can of tomato paste, bag of the pasta of your choice, then spices to taste.  Boil it all up and let it simmer while people come into camp.  Easy simple, and low stress.

I have one recipe that is actually a dim bulb pot recipe but we have done it in no time at home.  Pre cooked shreaded chicken in chicken broth, then cans of red and black beans, corn, and Mexican spices.  All cooked together.  then using slotted spoon scoop out what you want to eat on to tortillas, and dress as you want.  Might do that next year.

Our big thing is having hot, good tasting food, ready when we get to camp, or at least easy & quick to make when we get back.

So what are your tried and true camp recipes?

[Hector_]

When going as a clan, we take one of these
http://images1.showmethead.com/nlarge/discada_bbq_grill_with_stand_east_for_80_21386881.jpg
Breakfast - Eggs a la mode, bacon, weiners, shrooms, whatever
Lunch at faire
Dinner - in ice we carry individual ziplock bags with pre sliced, pre measured amounts of raw: bacon, chicken, beef, (red, yellow, green bell peppers), onion, shrooms, chorizo.  we throw some oil on the disc, let it heat up, throw ingredients in and make kind of a stir fry. Heat tortillas on the sides, add some Tony powder, and make ourselves tacos.

When going derilict (i.e. without the fam) its a simple cast iron pot and tripod (for over the fire). French bread, ramen noodles (add taters), and this year planning to add beef chunks for a frothy stew.

[609wood]

Hearty soups and stews can be precooked and heated up in a pot.
Pasta can be kept from sticking with olive oil and reheated in hot water.
You can heat Thin cut steak or thick cooked roast beef on a spit in no time.
Root vegetables can be microwaved or roasted at home and heated on the spit.
Soft tacos and Sloppy joes can be made in a few minutes with a good fire.
Still, the best dishes are always those that are roasted over coals.

Its hard to beat a designated cook or trading off cooking and cleaning. You can slow cool a lot of great meals in a duch oven with a fire tender. Feed four and trade the next day with another couple people.

[batninja]

Over the years, I've pared down the menu to a few simple meals.  I've loved to cook outdoors ever since I was a Boy Scout in my youth, but there's so much to do and see out at the TRF campgrounds, I don't want to miss a thing slaving over a cookfire.

For our group, Friday nights are usually something pre-prepped, like tin foil dinners (I tried chicken one year, but not as hearty as good ol' American ground beef!) and Ranch style beans.   Since Saturday mornings are usually so hectic (last minute garb repair, clean up the campsite, hurry up - the opening cannon is coming, where the hell are my socks), I like Owens breakfast tacos, warmed up in a nonstick pan.  It's simple, they taste great, and no egg/bacon/sausage frying. 

Saturday nights, I've started to make Zataran's red beans & rice, with sliced summer sausage thrown into the pot as it's boiling.  Sticks to yer ribs in the colder weeks.  I've done the pre-prepped, thaw-and-simmer chili before, too, as well as prepped Sloppy Joe's.

Add fruits (bananas, grapes, apples) or fruit cups, and some cheese cubes and crackers (Triscuit Rosemary & Olive Oil crackers ROCK!) to snack on, and you've got yourself a weekend's worth of food.

Great.  Now I'm hungry.

[<Alex>]

   I'm actually playing a bigger role in determining our clan's menu this year. 

   Breakfast tended to be fend for yourself, but I made breakfast for my sick wife one morning and ended up being promoted to breakfast cook.  Grits, eggs, and sausage are my old standby.  We just got one of those camp ovens and I wanted to try my hand at biscuits and gravy one morning. 

  As far as dinner's concered, our usual cook has a nice grill set up, so  I was thinking of using it to do kabobs.  I fixed some the other night, and plan on trying out different combinations of meats, veggies, seasonings, and cooking methods between now and opening weekend.

  On All Hallow's Eve, the Bayou Scoundrels will be providing some Gumbo.  Since the weather starts taking a turn for the cooler, I was thinking something warm, hearty, and easy to prepare ahead of time like soup or chili.

  We usually have a "Wild Game Weekend" where people bring venison, wild hog, game birds, and whatever else they've managed to get in the previous season.

   My growing appreciation Indian/Middle Eastern cuisine will also result in some experimenting in later faires.

[Laird Fraser of Lovatt]

Lets see... Stuffed cheeseburgers was a Thursday night hit a couple of years ago, especially since it was raining cats, dogs & other small mammals.(cold too). Pre-made chili has gone over well as to has chicken & ranch veggies.  The Italian Ragu, last year vanished by day break...and my Irish Stew made a good Sunday morning breakfast a few years back ... *people felt like drinking more than eating Saturday night... I wonder why?*.   

[Lady Kaalyn]

We usually cook something light the first night like sausage or hot links.  Lately we have been cooking more than needed and then we will reheat the sausages in the morning, chop them up and then throw them in a pan with some scrambled eggs and cheese.  Put it on a tortilla and we are good.  If you keep it in a covered container it stays warm quite a while and still tasted great reheated.  As for dinner we pre cook meals that are easily reheated such as Fajitas, chili and goulash.  they are simple to heated up as needed and taste great. 

[Catherine DArtois]

Baking potatoes wrapped in foil in the embers of the campfire helps us make chili or stew go farther.

I like to come back to the campsite in the late afternoon to relax a bit, so on chili night, I guard the fire, stir the pot, and sip cider with whoever else happens to be ready to chill(i) with me.

For thanksgiving, I precook pumpkin pudding (I find it easier to serve than an actual pie), green beans (bringing the topping frozen in a separate bag for crossing up right before serving -- IF we have the RV), and stuffing. But we bring the kettle grill to smoke the turkey on site. There is nothing to beat that aroma and the anticipation in builds as the day progresses. And I premake the cranberry-jalepeno cranberry sauce, putting it mason jars to bring along.

I pre-boil eggs and use the leftover cornbread crumbles and spices to make gluten-free scotch eggs the next morning -- making extra for evening snacking or carrying into faire in a haversack.

Breakfast is often oatmeal, soaked overnight to make it cook more quickly in the morning. Always with cranberries and cinnamon and a few other things tossed in before putting on the fire. And coffee. Can't forget that.


Catherine D'Artois
McLotofUs charter member

[Catherine DArtois]

Oh -- and a standby faire snack (each family member has their own haversack full): mixed nuts and dried fruit pieces mixed with cut up pieces of jerky or dried sausage.

We do still buy food inside faire, but having this available helps us get from one section to the next. Else our ravenous kids would tug us toward every vendor and we'd never get anywhere else


Catherine D'Artois
McLotofUs charter member

[RenStarr]

Here's something that I've done several times while camping that works well (tastes good, easy to fix).

At home:  Bake a pork tenderloin till done (2-3 hours @ 325-350).  I bake it in baking pan covered in foil.  Once it is done, remove and let cool for a bit.  Take a stiff fork and shread so you have pulled pork.  Put the pork in a stove top pan and add a bbq sauce, maranade, etc of  your choice.  Turn on the burner and just cook the sauce into the pork turning often.  This doesn't take long.  Let cool, put into a sealed container and into the frig.

At Camp:  Heat up in or on a pan/griddle.  Throw on a bun and enjoy.

Add a side dish (pre-made and out of the cooler) and your set.  I ususally bring some potato salid.

[Laird Fraser of Lovatt]

This year it'll be sandwiches & chips Friday night, AHE... Saturday night looks to be chicken breasts smothered in mushrooms, taters and gravy... some french bread on the side for "sopping" purposes... 

[Dracconia]

One of my favorite things to make for faire is a large pot of hearty stew, put it into mason jars for traveling and then heat it up in a pot, make bread bowls out of fresh rolls and you have an amazing, yummy dinner!

Super excited to have Alex as a cook for the clan too! I've heard amazing things about his breakfast, but the real question is....Coffee?!

[Bonny Pearl]

This year it'll be sandwiches & chips Friday night, AHE... Saturday night looks to be chicken breasts smothered in mushrooms, taters and gravy... some french bread on the side for "sopping" purposes... 

Is it too late to make a reservation for Saturday?