Easy camp food.

[waksupi]

I'm in a rut for camp food. I need some variety, that's easy to do. Any suggestions?

[JIMinPHX]

Canned ravioli?
Packets of oat meal?
Roman noodles?
Packets of freeze dried soup?
Spaghetti & canned or freeze dried sauce?
Dried peas?
Canned tuna?


You said easy, not gourmet. I'm mostly sticking with stuff that packs well, isn't too heavy & keeps a long time. The ravioli is a little heavy, but zero prep effort.

[sundog]

A really good bourbon, scotch, or whiskey. Maybe all three, depending on how long in camp. Bottled water.

Well, the prerequisite was easy, eh?

I like canned fruit. Also like brown rice with a can of pork and beans stirred in, a little seasoning to taste.

A big bag of tortillas make good meals with lots of stuff, canned meats, scrambled eggs, beans. A little Tabasco, voila. Lasts several days sealed in plastic bag.

Let's see, y'all have lions, and wolves, and bars. Right. What to do with trash??? Easy often equals lots of trash. Don't want anything for left overs either. Where to put it.

Easy? MREs. In the famous words of Mick Dundee, "tastes like $h|]..." Actually, some are not really all that bad now. The first ones out were,... well, the c-rats were better the the early models.

[Marvin S]

Hungry jack hash browns. They are dehydrated and come in a little paper milk carton and make enough for two meals. You can add some dehydrated onions to them, real tastey. Vigo brand beans and rice that come from the dollar isle, you can get red or black beans and everything is in the package. Both of these are light weight and dont make much trash.

[waksupi]

Geez guys, I'm talking fine dining! I'm a good campfire cook, just need ideas. I hate the pre-packaged stuff.
Weight isn't a factor, I'll be cooking at shoots mainly, so a pickup and a cooler are available.

[nhrifle]

When I was young and still living in Virginia, my folks would take camping trips regularly though the summer, usually near Big and Little Devil's Stairs. It's a magical area for anyone who has never been. Breakfast and lunch were anything that could be rehydrated, but dinner was always cooked fresh and always looked forward to. My favorite meal was corned beef hash over a bed of either rice or mashed potatoes. Warm, comforting heaven on a plate.

[Artful]

I had put this under comfort food but I love it for camping

Kraut baruck aka Kraut burgers or German cabbage & meat stuff rolls...
Imagine if you will a large browned roll - when you bite into it you find cabbage and ground meat spiced to perfection -
They could be found frozen in Mom's freezer to be popped into the microwave -
They could be found in your backpack after a long mornings walk through the woods -
They could be made on a cold dismal rainy day to make the house smell like home.
Often times when baked the stove did alternating duty between Kraut barucks and chocolate chip cookies.

If you want my poor substitute for my mom's hand made ones -
buy frozen roll or bread dough - let thaw

Filling ingredients
Buy hamburger (3 lbs) and Sausage (1 1/2 lbs) - I've taken to using sweet or spicy italian sausage links and just cut them out of the casings.
Dice fine an Onion - preferably sweet white but nice red will work as well
One Large heads of green cabbage shredded (you can actually find this in a bag for cabbage slaw)
Now seasoning is up to you my relatives all put in salt and pepper some add dry mustard some put in extra garlic, I've even added caraway seeds
some use Onion Soup mix - some put in shredded cheese in the cooled mix , you can add celery or other veggies if you so desire but be aware it might not freeze and thaw well like the cabbage does.
You first spice and mix and then brown/crumble the hamburger & sausage in a large pan then add the cabbage and cover until wilted (7-10 min) - set aside to cool and drain then add cheese if your going too

preheat the oven set to 350 F

take the thawed dough and make into rolled out squares about 5x5 then take about 1/3 to 3/4 cup of mix and put in center of square... amount depends upon how well you can stretch your dough ;^)
fold edges up and seal the seams of the dough around the mix. (get out all the air you can) sort of a very large pouch now.

then place seam side down on cookie sheet and let rise in a warm place usually 15-20 and then put in oven for 15-20 min until golden brown - you can brush with butter to enhance the browning.

Then try and wait for them to cool before sampling.

Found in illustration from the WWW
68949
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/original-lauer-kraut-burgers-recipe/index.html

These are made up before hand and taken camping

How about something to make while camping

Eggs in a bag - put one or two eggs into a ziplock sandwich baggie
add leftovers or things you have on hand or have foraged from the wild
drop in boiling water to cook - it helps if you get as much air out of the bag as possible
and flatten the bag out when you float it in the boiling water.

[JIMinPHX]

Geez guys, I'm talking fine dining! I'm a good campfire cook, just need ideas. I hate the pre-packaged stuff.
Weight isn't a factor, I'll be cooking at shoots mainly, so a pickup and a cooler are available.


In that case, how about a classic American stew?
Home made mac & cheese?
Grill up some peppers & onions to throw on top of brats?

[sundog]

Geez guys, I'm talking fine dining! I'm a good campfire cook, just need ideas. I hate the pre-packaged stuff.
Weight isn't a factor, I'll be cooking at shoots mainly, so a pickup and a cooler are available.

Shoulda said that at the gitgo.

Big pot of stew and campfire biscuits in a cast iron dutch oven! Some good beer to go with it.
Brats and sauerkraut. With beer. (Lots of beer).
Shish kabob on a campfire grill served with wild rice. Beer.
Salmon patties (or even [cedar smoked] grilled salmon if so inclined) and fried taters or a nice pasta salad. Beer.
Salisbury (or hamburger) steak and corn on the cob (in the husk on the campfire grill). Beer.
Grilled seasoned chicken breast and bake tater (baked in the fire pit). Beer.
Tacos and tex-mex rice or maybe just a nice taco salad, chips and guacamole (home made, but of course). Sopapillas. Beer.

And, of course, you can always opt for Oklahoma fancy cuisine - a calf fry, squaw bread and salad or cole slaw. Beer.

Watermelon is always a crowd pleaser.

In case y'all haven't figured yet, gonna need a separate (and extra large size) cooler for beer.

None of that is as easy as opening a can of beans, but all of it is easily doable at camp, if you are prepared ahead of time.

So, when is the next rendezvous? I might show up just for dinner!

[toddrod]

jambalaya
pastalaya
sauce picante
fish courtbouillon
Fried fish or frogs
White beans to go with the 1st three above

At least that is what we eat at the camp down here in my area of Louisiana

[gwpercle]

Are we at the hunting camp, fishing camp or duck camp. Here in Louisiana it depends on what you're shooting or catching as to what your cooking. Want recipes for specific stuff...like ducks, venison, squirrels, rabbit, redfish, speckled trout? ....what you boy's bag up in the frozen nawth?

I went on a hunting trip to Montana once, in the Crazy Horse mountian range. Have never seen so much snow in my life..dang near froze to death...got back to the South and have not ventured any further North than Alexandria, LA. since that day. We did bag 3 nice mule deer but I went through enough snow for a lifetime on that trip. Beatiful country but way too cold for me.

Gary

[waksupi]

Shoulda said that at the gitgo.

Big pot of stew and campfire biscuits in a cast iron dutch oven! Some good beer to go with it.
Brats and sauerkraut. With beer. (Lots of beer).
Shish kabob on a campfire grill served with wild rice. Beer.
Salmon patties (or even [cedar smoked] grilled salmon if so inclined) and fried taters or a nice pasta salad. Beer.
Salisbury (or hamburger) steak and corn on the cob (in the husk on the campfire grill). Beer.
Grilled seasoned chicken breast and bake tater (baked in the fire pit). Beer.
Tacos and tex-mex rice or maybe just a nice taco salad, chips and guacamole (home made, but of course). Sopapillas. Beer.

And, of course, you can always opt for Oklahoma fancy cuisine - a calf fry, squaw bread and salad or cole slaw. Beer.

Watermelon is always a crowd pleaser.

In case y'all haven't figured yet, gonna need a separate (and extra large size) cooler for beer.

None of that is as easy as opening a can of beans, but all of it is easily doable at camp, if you are prepared ahead of time.

So, when is the next rendezvous? I might show up just for dinner!


Better start now, this weekend, and Memorial Day weekend both. I'm a scotch drinker, so the beer isn't a problem!

[country gent]

How about this a dutch oven full of cabbage taters and cut up beef pork venison maybe some carrots. a few onions for flavor salt and pepper to taste.

[Rangefinder]

If I'm going out in style and want no-fuss, I assemble at home. Smoke a chicken and throw half into a vacuum bag with some par-cooked potatoes, carrots and onions, then vacuum it shut. Sausage with some cabbage, onions, and butter is good too. When at camp just throw on a pot of water to boil and toss in the packs when it does. Anything you can imagine is doable easily. 10 minutes in the boiling water and you're golder, then use the boiling water to wash up afterward. Vacuum sealers are amazing toys... ;)

[sparkz]

I have use all of these wilderness camping some trips over 2-3 weeks
aand killed game & fished for meat
(Good book for wild herbs, tons out there to eat and seasion your foods)
Rice-a-roni (add hand full of white rice to strech)
Raman soups
mac& Chese
Pastas (all can be spiced up and done with butter,,
powerd milk (last forever)
Eggs and cheese last long time with out cold keeping (Chickens dont have a refrig)
Pancakes that only need water, read how to mix on bag/box
beans , boil all day with salt pork or jowl
Ham, salted, smoked, ect
marinated beef for first nights dinner,,


Look in "Boxed Isle in super market)
tons of stuff need only water,

Patrick

[Bodydoc447]

I use a discada cooker (welded up plough disc on a propane burner) for fajitas, burgers, chicken fried steaks, etc. Makes a good breakfast burrito (left over fajita fixings, eggs bacon and or sausage). I also have a Coleman stove so just about anything is possible in camp. We have used the discadas on Cub Scout campouts to feed a bunch of hungry kids.

Doc

[WILCO]

I'm in a rut for camp food. I need some variety, that's easy to do. Any suggestions?

Before I learned about cast iron, one of my easier recipes was to take a canned ham, two cans of green beans and a can of pineapple chunks. Assembled items in a foil boat, with foil cover and cooked. Whole potatoes wrapped in foil, tossed in coals was another favorite. Standard toppings applied. Baked beans mixed with mustard, ketchup, brown sugar and pre-cooked bacon strips in a
foil boat always worked out well. Stand by meats such as hamburgs and sausages are easy enough.

[sundog]

Gotta be a few good Irishmen in your part of the country. Celebrate Saint Paddy's day a little late.

Corned Beef and cabbage, with potato, carrot, and onion, would be soooo, easy. Soda or railway bread would be a little more of a challenge but doable, especially in a good camp oven.

Scotch it is, for the cook!

[Junior1942]

I just learned that they made pancake water mix. That will go on my next camping trip! Thanks guys!

[WILCO]

I just learned that they made pancake water mix. That will go on my next camping trip! Thanks guys!

Yep. I've used it for breakfast in a duckblind! Good stuff.

[Changeling]

Geez guys, I'm talking fine dining! I'm a good campfire cook, just need ideas. I hate the pre-packaged stuff.
Weight isn't a factor, I'll be cooking at shoots mainly, so a pickup and a cooler are available.

I bake a ham a week or so ahead of time, eat all I want and wrap the Bone/ham leftover in saran wrap/alum foil and freeze.

In my camp I just put the dutch oven on/near the fire and let it slow cook the ham bone/meat along with a zip lock bag of cellery/onion/sliced carrots/3-4 bay leaves, etc, spices. Also I would make a BIG pile of cornbread muffins (at home) and take them along in some zip locks, with butter of cource. Sounds like a lot but actually a small packege! OH, almost forgot, take along a couple cans of precooked beans (your choice) to add after you/friends have kept going for more beans. It's never failed for me, awesome!:-D

[Marvin S]

Okay, here's a good period correct breakfast. They are called forced eggs or Scottish eggs. Peel hard boiled eggs then pack bulk sausage around the eggs and put them in dutch oven with lid lip and coals on top also to help cook even.

[John in WI]

if I need "easy" and I'm not terribly worried about weight, I use the old Boyscout tin-foil dinner method. As a matter of fact, I sometimes even make them in my oven at home! You just take a sheet of heavy duty foil (shiny side up) and put a pat of butter or bit of oil (or some fatty bacon works too). Then you put down some onions, carrots, and sliced potatoes with either ground beef or sausage. Salt and pepper as you go. Then you cover it with another layer of foil and roll up the edges to seal it up good and set it on some coal you raked out of the fire and some more coals on top. About an hour should do it. The kids really enjoy making up their own meals too. And cleanup consists of tossing the foil. Or if you're worried about critters, you can burn off the leftover food.

[smokeywolf]

BREAKFAST
Bacon, eggs, hash-browns and coffee

SNACKS
Chips & dip
Bean Dip: 2 parts refried beans, 1part chili (no beans), 1.5 parts salsa, 1 cup grated cheese.
Heat refried beans and chili in pan, lower heat, throw in salsa and cheese, done. Dip your tortilla chips and enjoy.

Cream Cheese & Salsa Dip: 2 parts cream cheese, 1 part salsa.
Mix ingredients together...mix, mix, mix, mix, mix. For spicier dip, add diced jalapeno. Due to the combination of tomato and cream cheese the color isn't very appetizing but it tastes great.
Oh! And beer.

DINNER
Grilled steaks, baked potatoes, corn on the cob and maybe baked beans.
Oh! And beer.

After dinner is finished and the kids are roasting marshmallows, that's when I break out the single malt.

smokeywolf

[gon2shoot]

Sliced heart rubbed with bacon grease, potatos and onions cooked together in a pot (your choice boiled, fried etc.) fried bread. Dessert is a can of peaches soaked in your favorite 1 quart condiment.

[Hickory]

This is sort of like Sundogs.
In a large skillet cut up and brown 1lb of smoked sausage then chop one head of cabbage in fairly large hunks,
Do the same with a med to large onion. Add one cup of water. Add small carrot for color.
Sprinkle with caraway seed, about one tablespoon. Cover and cook down until cabbage is soft.
Serve in pita bread or tortillas

[alrighty]

One of my favorite camp foods is the simple smoked jalapeno poppers.You can also use the stuffing recipe for other peppers as well as making stuffed mushrooms caps.
http://www.grilling.com/smoked-stuffed-jalapeno-peppers/

[dale2242]

Cowboy Breakfast

Good any time of day.
1 dozen eggs, scrambled
2 large potatoes, fried
1 large onion and 1 green pepper, sautéed
1 lb. venison sausage or burger , fried and crumbled
1/2 lb cheese of your choice, grated
Fry the burger/sausage in one skillet
Fry the taters and veggies in a LARGE skillet.
Toss all cooked ingredients in the large skillet.
Scramble the eggs and toss it all in the large skillet and mix.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Spread the cheese over the mess and let in melt.
Add your favorite bread, biscuits, etc and enjoy.
I like hot sauce with my meal
You can toss anything in this breakfast your heart desires and can`t go wrong...dale

[dbosman]

A bag of mixed dry beans, water, & salt pork in a dutch oven. Kind of boring for day three, but fresh from the pot on day one, Oh, that's good.

[kenyerian]

Can't go wrong with a big pot of chili.

[waksupi]

Getting some good stuff here!

[DIRT Farmer]

About anything in the cook book if close to the truck and does not leave the dutch oven in a mess.
Sour dough bread if you have the starter, also sour dough pancakes for breakfast.
One of my favorites , start with a 16 inch dutch oven set 32 brickets of charcoal. one goose, place a mallard in the cavity, place a wood duck in the mallard cavity then a onion in the wood duck cavity. Bacon on top, favorite seasoning 1/3 (10) bricketts on the bottom the rest on top. 30 to 45 minuites later set more charcoal, add (depending on diners) rice, (two cups of beer per cup of rice) potatos, carrots, some celery leaves. ready to serve in 30 to 40 minuites.

In another oven 12 inch place 3 cans of pie filling, (I use three different kinds) one box of yellow or white cake mix sprinkled on top, one cup of dark brown sugar sprinkled on top of the cake mix, one to one and one half stick of real butter. 24 bricketts, eight on the bottom.

Also needed a few quarts of "my" favorite home brew, a nice Burbon for the late fire.

[legend]

i like to grill corned beef(straight out of the vacume pack you bought it in), with whatever spices you enjoy all done up in tinfoil. i use 2-3 layers,and sometimes put barbeque sauce on it about 10-15 minutes before its done,and i like montreal steak seasoning on it as a general rule. doing it this way i do not use the little spice pack that comes with it.enjoy !

[km101]

Check out the Jalapeno Poppers in Cookin' Recipes. They are a great camp food idea.

Also, get a good chili recipe. That's always a winner.

Make up some homemade beef or deer jerky. We go through 2-3 pounds in camp in a week.

If you are cooking at a shoot and need to feed a crowd, a fish fry with slaw and hushpuppies is always good. (if you are a fisherman)

Don't know if you have access to crawfish in Somers, but if you do, a crawfish boil with corn-on-the-cob and new potatoes cooked in the boil is a real crowd pleaser!

These are a few ideas from recent deer camps.

[10-x]

Mean Beans:
Depending on how many you have to feed start with 3-4 medium cans of pork and beans, 2 large onions and 2 small/ medium green peppers and 1 pound of sliced bacon. Cut bacon in 1/4"-1/2" strips. In large pot or cast iron skillet fry up bacon til done, remove bacon, set aside, remove most of bacon grease, add chopped/minced onion and green pepper(minced or chopped garlic if you like), cook til done. Add bacon and beans, stir well. Add 1/4-1/2 cup of molasses, 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 1/4-1/2 cup of what ever barbecue sauce you like, 3-4 table spoons of mustard, stir well and simmer for 30 minutes. Add what ever hot sauce you like for a little heat. These are good for a week on chips even cold.
Not intended to re-create the "Blazing Saddles" scene but these will work on you...LOL

[rush1886]

Slightly different take on dale 2242's cowboy breakfast;

Sausage, ham, bacon, whatever meat strikes your fancy--brown in a dutch oven and remove to a bowl, leaving some drippings in the oven
Throw in a bag of frozen, diced hash browns. Brown and warm up real good.
If you like, onion, peppers or mushrooms can be added while hashbrowns are warming up. For real quick and easy, a jar of salsa works well here.
Add the meat back in, warm up the whole concotion well, stirring and seasoning to taste.

When the meat and spuds are to your liking, what I like to do is sort of trowel off the whole pot to level full. Using a large spoon, ladle, or your knuckles, form appropriate number of "divots" in the troweled off surface. Into each divot, pour in an egg, yolk intact. S&P to taste.
Put the lid on and bake anywhere from 5 to 10 mins, depending on how well done you like your eggs.
Take the lid off, top each egg with a mound of shredded cheese, we like pepperjack, and ring the dinner gong!

Putting the lid on is the secret to getting the eggs done proper. It sort of steam/bakes them.

[redneckdan]

Wrap yourself up a burrito with your favorite burrito fixings; sausage, cheese, egg, veggies and some thawed freezer hash brown makes a great breakfast. Wrap up the burrito with a layer of aluminum foil and place on some low coals or hot ashes. Flip a couple times and keep an eye on the process. You want toasted on both sides but not burnt. You will end up with something like a T-Bell Grilled Stuft Burrito...but oh so much better...

[tward]

Just an aside to the add water pancake mixes, premeasure into ziplock bags add water to bag and mix, cut corner off bag and pour batter into skillet! Also a nice frittata, potatoes, onions, peppers, any leftover veggies (corn, green beans, cabbage, broccoli) pork sausage or other meat. Cook the ingredients until done, add a mess of scrambled egg, cover til eggs are set. Add cheese of choice cover til cheese melts. Good hot or sliced cold. Tim

[garym1a2]

Hot dogs and pop tarts

[Hickory]

Hot dogs and pop tarts

:groner:

[Jupiter7]

Stupid simple, gourmet-ish. One whole grapefruit, halved and 1/2 scooped and eaten, crack egg into scooped out rind, set on coals, wait. Poached egg a la grapefruit.

I also roll up biscuit dough into balls and pan fry, roll in cinnamon sugar. Kinda like doughnut holes.

Whole vidalia onion, peeled and cored. Fill core with butter and a little garlic. Wrap in foil, throw on coals til tender, eat as desired.

[TXGunNut]

Easy is grilled meats and veggies. Can also be a pot of beans. Other recipes can be made easier by prepping and prepackaging at home ahead of time. I'll trim and marinate a venison or pork loin and freeze it the week before a camping trip if I want to be a little fancy. Dutch oven cooking looks fancy but is pretty easy once you work out times & temperatures.
Quite honestly I don't work too hard on the "easy" aspect, most nights in hunting camp there's plenty of time for cooking and I enjoy it. When its not my turn to cook it's my job to marinate the cook, that's where a nice single malt comes in handy.

[starmac]

We do a version of Dales cowboy breakfast, when we have a crowd, but in a dutch oven and start with 5 pounds of sausage. I usually slice up and melt a thing of velveeta cheese in it. PLUS what is left gets wrapped in tortillas, wrapped in tin foil, thrown in the cooler to be laid in the coals the next morning.

For supper for a crowd, fried catfish, crappie, pike whatever is available along with fried taters, squash and a beeg pot of pinto beans is just plain quick easy and hard to beat. A cold beer goes along with this pretty well too.

[frankenfab]

These things are awesome. I don't add the corn flakes till 15 minutes before they're done. I have been using Ore-Ida hashbrowns that are cubed, but I plan on trying it with fresh diced red potatoes at some point.


Trace Creek Stag Night Potatoes - Recipe - Cooks.com

1 (32 oz.) pkg. frozen hash browns
1/2 c. melted butter
1 (10 1/2 oz.) cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 (8 oz.) carton sour cream
12 oz. grated American cheese
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 sm. onion, chopped
2 c. crushed corn flakes
1/2 c. melted butter

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place thawed potatoes in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Mix together next 7 ingredients and pour over potatoes. Top with corn flakes and drizzle 1/2 cup melted butter over all. Bake uncovered 45 minutes.

[DLCTEX]

+1 on fajitas and a variety of burritos of the breakfast type or other meals. I prefer flour tortillas, but I'm allergic to corn. The flour variety generally wrap without breaking easier. You can wrap anything in them and you don't need a dish.

[waksupi]

One thing I tried this weekend that worked well, was pesole made with chicken, rather than sausage. Came out great!

[starmac]

A big pot of jambayala (I'm sure that is not spelled right) is also easy fixins and goes a long way too.
Shrimp or crawfish boil, with new potatoes, half ears of corn, carrots and any other vegetable you want to throw in is soo easy and hard to beat.
Heads of cabbage quartered and wrapped in bacon, then grilled until bacon is done is good eats too.
Geesh now I'm getting hungry.

The wife makes what she calls camp supper sometimes when she is in a hurry.
It is pork and beans, ground beef and brown sugar, this and fried taters makes a meal.

[sundog]

One thing I tried this weekend that worked well, was pesole made with chicken, rather than sausage. Came out great!

So, made with either condor or spotted owl it should be awesome!

[starmac]

LOL I am not sure about condor or spotted owl, but there is no way that a buzzard would taste like chicken, them things are stanky.

[redgum]

My Wife & I use this CHEAP & EASY recipe Quite a lot in the bush.
5-6 sausages cut into chunks,
Fry the Chunks in a deepish pan on the fire.
When cooked, stir it a can of spaghetti and heat through.
Meanwhile boil a bit of water to mix up some dehydrated Mashed Potatoes
('Deb' or similar) to serve with it.

[BSalty]

Fried Chicken and scones in a dutch oven is family camping favorite with us.

Dip the chicken in the eggs, then into seasoned flour a couple times and deep fry it in oil in the dutch oven. Then use the same oil to do your scones. Any extra scones get put in a ziplock and used for breakfast the next morning. We use either the frozen rolls, or pre-mixed dry scone mix.

Another tradition is Flank steak. When you buy it from the butcher have him run it through the tenderizer twice (This is a must do). Then marinate it in the cooler in Worchestershire sauce with Thyme and grill it up. Whatever sides you prefer. Any leftover makes good sandwiches with just a bit of BBQ sauce on bread the next day.

Always need a Dutch oven cobbler to go with it too.

Peaches/Apples/Pears, etc. Topped by a yellow cake mix, dust the top with cinnamon and sugar, bake in a dutch oven. If you have a big cooler bring whipped cream of your choice for the topping.

[waksupi]

I wouldn't know a scone if it jumped up and bit me! What are those, exactly?

[Shooter]

I wouldn't know a scone if it jumped up and bit me! What are those, exactly?

Biscuit dough with a lot of sugar, cut into a wedge.

[Dale in Louisiana]

I wouldn't know a scone if it jumped up and bit me! What are those, exactly?

Here's a quickie: Scone-like objects
(http://mostlycajun.com/wordpress/?p=2240)
Great with coffee or tea...

dale in Louisiana

[fourarmed]

Take your favorite sausage (I use my venison sausage) and slice it in half-inch long pieces and throw it in the dutch oven to brown in some grease. Cut up some onions and peppers and throw them in, too. When they are getting pretty close to done, throw in a cup of uncooked rice and let it brown a while, then add water with some of your favorite hot sauce mixed in, and put the lid on and forget it for 45 minutes.

[Dale in Louisiana]

Take your favorite sausage (I use my venison sausage) and slice it in half-inch long pieces and throw it in the dutch oven to brown in some grease. Cut up some onions and peppers and throw them in, too. When they are getting pretty close to done, throw in a cup of uncooked rice and let it brown a while, then add water with some of your favorite hot sauce mixed in, and put the lid on and forget it for 45 minutes.

Wow! You just invented jambalaya! If you want a little more Ummph, stir in a can of Ro-Tel tomatoes, strength of your choice.

dale in Louisiana

[Greg]

Ric-


bed of coals

A Dutch Oven

olive oil & garlic

big piece of Venison, chunked up

red potato for each participant, ¼’d up

yellow onion ¼’d up

some celery, chopped

couple of carrots for each participant, cut in large chunks

1 can each, cream of mushroom and cream of celery soup

Fresh cracked black pepper


Sauté Garlic in olive oil, brown Venison chunks

Add vegetables, then cream of soups last, then cracked black pepper

3-4 hours of cookin, then it’s supper time

Best enjoyed with friends




Geez guys, I'm talking fine dining! I'm a good campfire cook, just need ideas. I hate the pre-packaged stuff.
Weight isn't a factor, I'll be cooking at shoots mainly, so a pickup and a cooler are available.

[Lance Boyle]

good stuff here.

I got that fried cabbage recipe similar to what was posted above.

fry several strips of bacon in a cast iron pan til they're crispy, remove bacon, Crumble up your bacon on your set aside dish, In the pan put in one large onion sliced thin, and carmalize it. , Set aside with bacon, brown sliced smoked sausage/kielbasa, set on your set aside dish. You should have a nice pan of pork fat by now, if not add some butter. Toss in green cabbage diced into manageable chunks. You can fry it til it's cooked but yet still crunchy, or render it right down or even brown it while rendered down but damn well don't scorch it.

Add all you set asides back in, add some caraway seed, a tbsp of brown sugar, salt to taste, and a couple tsp's of flour and half a cup or so of water or chicken broth to make some sauce. Serve over egg noodles (best if thick home made variety) or for simple and rustic serve over mashed or boiled cubed potatoes. beer and rye bread go well here.

recipe 2

dutch oven corn bread, my buddy just cooked this so I'm stealing it. Make your basic corn bread mix, add some chopped jalepeno pepper, some green onion, hot dogs cut up into 1" pieces, mix in some shredded cheese of your choice. Bake it up. Oh my this is slap your mamma good. It's like corn dogs but better and less work.

[Lance Boyle]

Pan friend strip streak, set aside, toss in a couple pats of butter into fry pan, a minced shallot or onion if need be, when the shallot is cooked add in some sherry to deglaze and pick up the meaty fond, add your steaks back in. for a thicker sauce sprinkle in a tsp and a half of flour and stir in to the fat before adding in the sherry.

It's gourmet and easy enough in camp.

[Lance Boyle]

Getting to be one of my favorites; grilled marinated pork steaks,

get some 1/2 inch thick pork steaks
make a dry rub of brown sugar, salt, black pepper, a touch of cayenne, garlic powder and onion powder. Rub on your meat generously and put in ziplock and toss in the cooler for 2-4 days before you cook it over coals or on the grill. Damn it's good served with rice. alternate is to slice it into strips and cook it on the grill and serve with rice in lettuce leaves. (no dishes)

[Lance Boyle]

Beef short ribs,
brown them in dutch oven in oil, add salt and pepper, thin cut onion, ginger powder (and chopped fresh ginger and or chopped candied ginger , a dash of sugar, a cup and a half of water to deglaze, a few heavy dashes of soy sauce, some red hot and or red pepper flake. Lid it and let it braise in the liquid and cook til the beef is fall off the bone tender. This one can sit for hours over slow coals or in the crock pot in a fixed camp. This is another than is fantastic on lettuce wraps with rice.

This would be easy enough to make at home and bring with you, warm it up and serve with rice or egg noodles.

I made this up after messing up my mother's hawaiian short ribs.

[Lance Boyle]

Look up how to make a spanish paella. This is good with whatever you killed or caught just like the spaniards did; rabbit, sausage, chicken or fowl, shrimp, fish, clams, mussels, fish. Mix and match what you like. I like mixing chicken thighs, shrimp, and italian sausage......the correct sausage is chorizo or the portogese version but I've done just fine with italian, polska kielbasa and even browned cubes of spam.

Anyways brown your meats in large skillet, shallower the better. Set aside brown meat if large stuff like chicken peices, Add in some olive oil, Add in diced onion saute it til translucent. Add in lots of chopped garlic and saute a bit, then add in a can of diced tomatos, stir it in to get up your fond bits (meat browned to the pan). Add in a cup or two of rice depending on how many you are serving. Stir it in evenly around the pan, add in 2x the amount of chicken broth or water with boulion cubes. (1 cup rice gets 2 cup liquid, etc., classically you add in saffron and smoked paprika) Arrange your fried chicken thighs/ rabbit pieces into the rice, some sliced red bell pepper, frozen peas, shrimp and clams if you got it and set the whole sucker on the grill or over slow coals. Turn THE PAN occasionally to prevent hot spots burning the rice on the bottom. You only stir in the rice and liquid at the beginning, after that you DO NOT STIR IT, Now here a bit of explanation is in order, a browned crust of rice on the bottom is actually desired and wanted, browned, not burned. The browned crust has it's own name, the soccorat if I spelled it right. This should take twenty minutes after you add the liquid. Don't lid it like you normally would with rice, just make sure your rice has liquid up to the top of the rice. After 20 minutes check it, I check the bottom with a fork to see if I got my brown crust, now is when you take it off the heat, lid it for 10 minutes of rest off the heat. Serve with lemon wedges, beer, wine, etc.

If you can't tell I like food.

[Twinkiethekid]

I been doing ground deer or small chunks of venison with hamburger helper, it just calls for a pound of meat and hamburger helper has a lot of variety.

[Lance Boyle]

A can of cambells mushroom soup over fried venison steaks with some rice or noodles is good too and does a fair job of looking and tasting gourmet.

[timberhawk]

This is something we fix at the deer lease 'cause it's easy.

Cube two or three potatoes
Chop an onion
Cut a pound of summer sausage into bite size chunks

Pan fry the potatoes and onions and set aside

Fry the summer sausage. Drain and combine with the potatoes and onions.

Pour a can or two of your favorite beans into the mix and reheat. (I like Ranch Style beans, but my wife likes Pork & Beans)

Season with salt and pepper and enjoy.

You just can't go wrong with fried potatoes and onions!

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

Excellent instructions even an engineer can follow. I've not heard such sensible instructions on the "crust of rice" on the bottom. Thanks for taking the time to detail this.

[Dale in Louisiana]

Excellent instructions even an engineer can follow. I've not heard such sensible instructions on the "crust of rice" on the bottom. Thanks for taking the time to detail this.

the brown, crispy 'burnt' rice on the bottom of the pan is 'gratin' in Cajun country. I still cook rice on top of the stove occasionally just to get that. My Japanese rice cooker cooks perfect rice, except no 'gratin'.

dale in Louisiana

[MaryB]

If you have a weber grill at camp this was a standby for us at the lake camping. Day one cook as big of a turkey as will fit on the grill, day 2 use the bones to make a stock and any leftover meat goes into a gumbo, day 3 leftover gumbo(if there is any) gets mixed in with more rice and turned into a fried rice side dish for whatever fish we may have caught or for a steak or brat.

Breakfast we made a lot of Bisquick egg pie, like a pancake batter with extra eggs, bacon, lots of cheddar baked off in the weber or in a dutch oven on the fire. Recipe is on the box and their site.

[375RUGER]

If you've had a good fire going in a pit and you've got lots of coals you can mix up some baked beans. Put them in a dutch oven or turkey pan, wrap with wet burlap and cover with coals and seal with dirt over night and let them slow cook.
Here's my recipe:
4# dry beans, black and pinto
2# bacon chopped
2 lg red onions
12 oz tomato paste
2 c. brown sugar
2 c. molasses
1/4 c. black pepper
6 tsp. salt
8 cloves garlic
1/2 c. mustard
3/4 c. Kentucky Bourbon

1 Disposable Turkey pan will hold this recipe.

Soak dry beans 48 hrs. Chop onions and bacon and cook in large pot, covered, over medium heat till the onions turn translucent. Remove from heat. There will be a lot of moisture, this is good. Mix all other ingredients into this.
This recipe was designed to be cooked in a pit (underground, wrapped in burlap) and that is the only way I've done it. It should stay underground at least 10-12 hrs, I like to leave it 18 my self. I also put it in the hottest part of the pit.
No reason it can't be baked in an oven at 300 F overnight, 10-12 hrs.
It's also easy to divide the amounts given above into fourths to make a smaller batch.

I like to take my discada camping cause it's like a dutch oven you just have to wipe it once it's seasoned.
Cut up some taters however you like. Start them frying in a little oil. Add seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic, ???. Cut up some sausage links and toss them in. Stir occasionally till done.
Got me to thinking-I may fry some bacon and cabbage next time out.

[375RUGER]

Really got me to thinking now. Something I like from the Middle East is Shakshuka, but only if it’s spicy enough to not taste like spaghetti sauce. This is good camp food. edit:Should have mentioned earlier that Shakshuka can be anything you want, you don't have to add meat at all, just omit it. Instead of fish you can use cut up sausage links, another favorite variation of mine. You could put a hamburger patty on there if you wanted.
.

Shakshuka
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 Anaheim chiles or 3 jalapeños, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
8 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tbsp. paprika, or to taste
5-6 good sized fresh tomatoes cut up or 1 28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, undrained
And whatever and how much of your favorite hot sauce to kick it up. I like Crazy Jerry’s Brain Damage, Ring of Fire, and Scotch Bonnet( I don’t know which one, it’s one my Dad keeps around)
4-6 fillets of bass, crappie, catfish, walleye
Kosher salt, to taste
8 eggs
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, optional for campfood
1 tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley, optional
Warm pita or tortilla, for serving

1. Heat oil in a 12" cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add chiles and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, and paprika, and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is soft, about 2 more minutes.
2. Put tomatoes and their liquid into a medium bowl and crush with your hands. Add crushed tomatoes and their liquid to skillet along with 1/2 cup water, add the fish and your hot sauce, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, about 25 minutes. Season with salt.
3. Crack eggs over sauce so that eggs are evenly distributed across surface. Cook until the eggs are done to your liking. Cover if needed to get the eggs cooked to your liking. Sprinkle shakshuka with feta and parsley and serve with pita bread or tortillas. Serves 4-6.

.
Pita Bread
This is not the hard junk from here in the states. Never tried to make this in camp but can be made ahead of time. I wish I could say I’ve mastered this to get the best sharp yeasty flavor but I haven’t.

3/4 c. hot water
1 pkg. yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. flour
Dissolve yeast in water. Add other ingredients. Cover and let rise for 1
hour. Knead 2 or 3 times. Make dough into small portions to be rolled
into 5 inch rounds, 1/8 inch thick. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake until light brown at 500 degrees for 7 minutes.

[unclogum bill]

One cup Marconi noodles, one pound hamburger , can of tomato sauce, can of corn, cast iron skillet, salt, pepper . boil the noodles till soft in skillet , then drain and place on plate. Use same pan and fry up meat breaking it apart with spoon. pour in noodles , add tomato sauce and corn. Some salt and lots of pepper. Best served with 16 oz. beer as a side dish but other drinks will do. You will be stuffed and passing gas with the best of them next day.

[Lance Boyle]

messed up quote of 375's Pita Bread
This is not the hard junk from here in the states. Never tried to make this in camp but can be made ahead of time. I wish I could say I’ve mastered this to get the best sharp yeasty flavor but I haven’t.

3/4 c. hot water
1 pkg. yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. flour
Dissolve yeast in water. Add other ingredients. Cover and let rise for 1
hour. Knead 2 or 3 times. Make dough into small portions to be rolled
into 5 inch rounds, 1/8 inch thick. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake until light brown at 500 degrees for 7 minutes.[/QUOTE]

375 that sounds pretty good, I've made pita bread from the recipe in "how to cook everything" D. Rosengarden. It's good if it's hot and like you said, they get dry like the store bought stuff. What is a little nice is indian naan bread which is pretty much like pita except they put a dollop of yogurt in as part of the wet mix. Just like oil, or milk in white bread, it keeps it softer. Also the naan is traditionally dipped in a pan of melted butter. You could dip an old shoe tongue in butter and still be good.

[cephas53]

Nothing fancy here but well received in the dead of winter. Chop up an equal amount of potatoes and onions and add some salt and pepper. I use an electric skillet but have done it with a cast skillet also. Cover with water and let it simmer for an hour or so stirring it every so often. Add more water along the way if needed. Cook off the excess water and it'll almost be the consistency of mashed potatoes. Has never failed to warm someone up.

[CrusaderMilitia]

Why not go hunting and fishing use that to eat and Sun dry or salt the rest remember use all of the animal. And save the skin.

[fatnhappy]

chinese beef and peppers. I like to jack it up with a few habeneros at deer camp. It's a good recipe for deer camp since you can cook it in a slow cooker. Works real well in a dutch oven (bean pot) left on a wood burning stove FWIW.


CHINESE BEEF AND PEPPERS

Combine and brown in Tab. oil:

1 large round steak (2 pounds), cut in strips
3 green peppers sliced
1 onion cliced
2 stalks celery

Add:
4 Tab. soy sauce
2 tea. sugar
2 tea. salt
clove garlic
2 cans mushrooms undrained
28 oz. can tomatoes
8 oz. tom sauce
1 bouillon cube

Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours. Combine 2 Tab. corn starch in 2 Tab. water. Stir into pot. Stir until thickened and clear. Serve over noodles or rice.

[Oreo]

chinese beef and peppers. I like to jack it up with a few habeneros at deer camp. It's a good recipe for deer camp since you can cook it in a slow cooker. Works real well in a dutch oven (bean pot) left on a wood burning stove FWIW.


CHINESE BEEF AND PEPPERS

Combine and brown in Tab. oil:

1 large round steak (2 pounds), cut in strips
3 green peppers sliced
1 onion cliced
2 stalks celery

Add:
4 Tab. soy sauce
2 tea. sugar
2 tea. salt
clove garlic
2 cans mushrooms undrained
28 oz. can tomatoes
8 oz. tom sauce
1 bouillon cube

Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours. Combine 2 Tab. corn starch in 2 Tab. water. Stir into pot. Stir until thickened and clear. Serve over noodles or rice.

That's kind of a family recipe for my wife & her folks. They also use somekind of Chinese black bean that gets mushed into a thick dry paste and added to the mix. The dish is served over rice of course. We call it "pepper-steak".

[Roosters]

Chicken and Dumpling Casserole
-------- Substitute Dutch oven for casserole dish-------
Ingredients
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (boil in seperate pot and save broth)
2 cups chicken broth (from boiled chicken or canned)
½ stick of butter
2 cups Bisquick
2 cups whole milk
1 can cream of chicken soup
3 teaspoons of chicken granules or 3 chicken bouillon cubes
½ teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon of salt or more to taste

Directions
Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Layer 1 - In 9 x 13 casserole dish, melt 1/2 stick of butter. Spread shredded chicken over butter. Sprinkle black pepper and dried sage over this layer. Do not stir. Layer 2 - In small bowl, mix milk and Bisquick. Slowly pour all over chicken. Do not stir. Layer 3 - In medium bowl, whisk together 2 cups of chicken broth, chicken granules and soup. Once blended, slowly pour over the Bisquick layer. Do not Stir. Bake casserole for 30-40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown

[Dale in Louisiana]

Nothing fancy here but well received in the dead of winter. Chop up an equal amount of potatoes and onions and add some salt and pepper. I use an electric skillet but have done it with a cast skillet also. Cover with water and let it simmer for an hour or so stirring it every so often. Add more water along the way if needed. Cook off the excess water and it'll almost be the consistency of mashed potatoes. Has never failed to warm someone up.

Not bad!

But let's bump it a bit.

Start with bacon or good fatty sausage (preferred) in the pot. Over medium heat, get those to browning and rendering off a bit of fat while you chop the onion up. When you get the onion chopped and the meat is browned and you have some grease in the pot, dump in the onions. Get them sizzling and browning off while you cut your potatoes up.

When the onions take on a definite BROWN (not that foppish 'translucent' **** from the Food Network. BROWN!) add the potatoes and bit of water. Let things steam to get the potatoes cooking, then lower the ehat a bit until the potatoes are cooked through. Let the mess sit until the potatoes on the bottom of the pot start to brown a bit them sleves, and stir to give some other potatoes a chance at this glory.

Salt and pepper, and serve.

Dale in Louisiana
(who just gace you a recipe of "Smothered Potatoes and Sausage")

[pmeisel]

Wouldn't call it gourmet, but a favorite side dish is a big bag of frozen shredded hash browns, mixed in a greased baking dish with liberal amounts of shredded cheese and sour cream. Goes good with any meat.

Then for breakfast or lunch, eggs scrambled in the leftover potatoes, with any leftover meat included optionally.

[clintsfolly]

Make your Chili in a dutch oven when done cover with Jiffy Corn Bread Mix And bake till done. Step back as you may get run over by hungry campers!Clint

[cainttype]

JAMBALAYA... 1 pot Cajun satisfaction.
There's many versions, but the basics always please crowds.
Cast iron dutch oven larger than you think you need, with a well-fitted lid.
1)Boneless chicken thighs cut into larger bite-sized pieces (also pork backbone, ham, and if added near the end... shrimp. All are mainstays... in ANY combination)
2)Favorite WELL-SMOKED sausage, sliced about 3/8 inch (real Cajun stuff obviously preferred)
3)Chopped onions, bell pepper, celery, garlic (lots of all 3, but about 40% onion, 30% bell pepper, 30% celery, and fresh finely chopped garlic added to your taste). You should probably use about 2-1 meat-to-veggies as a start.
4)Chicken stock (water if you don't have stock)
5)Rice (par-boiled preferrably)
6)Salt, fresh ground black pepper, red pepper (cayenne pepper)


I'm being vague on quantities on purpose. This is a MEATY dish, served spicy, and bold. Your meat-to-sausage ratio can be close to even. Your tastes will dictate that eventually.
First, season your meat well with all spices and massage it in.
Next, add a little oil to coat the bottom of your pot and brown your meat(s). Do it in batches when cooking BIG pots. Brown sausage.
Remove meats (drain accumulted fats and oil, leaving enough to well-coat pot's bottom) and set aside while you saute the onions, bell pepper, and celery (you should have about 2-1, meat to veggies). Stir,stir,stir, making sure all the brown caramelized bits from the meats are scraped off the bottom and incorporated into your veggie mix. Add garlic after the rest is beginning to brown well and cook until garlic is fragrant.
Add meats (and ALL juices that might have accumlated in the dish where they rested) back to dutch oven and use enough stock to easily cover all, but not too much (1/4"-1/2" is fine for a meaty dish. You'll figure it out quicky for next time). Keep track of how much liquid you used (it's important). Bring to a gentle boil.
CHECK your seasoning... It should be VERY SPICEY. The end dish will mellow out with the addition of the rice.
Now, add half as much rice as you did stock and give it a quick, gentle stir. Let your pot simmer GENTLY for 15 minutes uncovered.
TURN the jambalaya with a larger spoon/paddle instead of stirring (stirring tends to break the rice too much). Cover well and gently simmer 15 more minutes. You may need to lower your heat slightly to prevent scorching.
Remove from heat. Turn your dish once more. Immediately cover well and let steam for 15 more minutes.
You've just made a real jambalaya...Where's the beer?
Chopped green onions and parsley are a great toppings. They can also be chopped finely and added with the rice if you like the extra cooked in flavor.

[cainttype]

Almost forgot... the beer is always better when appreciative guests furnish it.