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camp food
nemesisenforcer
Member Posts: 10,513 ✭✭✭
going camping this summer and it's been a loooooooong time since I've had to fend for myself in the wilds, so what's the best type of food to take on a primitive camp that's cheap, light, and filling?
Comments
Silly me, expecting an honest answer to an honest question on this forum. [xx(]
Come on......did you really expect anything different?
How primitive and for how long?
Rice, oatmeal, beans, pastas.
Cereals (frosted flakes, Raisin Bran etc) Open the box, remove the "bag" and pierce a small hole in it. Then crush the cereal to compact the package.
Flour, oil and whatever you use to bake bread. This can also substitute for pancake batter.
Dried instant potatoes, soups, Ramen noodles, powdered eggs and milk.
Herbs, Spices, salt, pepper, Sugar (can be added to boiling water to make a sweet tasting syrup)
Instant Coffee or tea
The main thing about primitive camping is finding a good water source. For it takes far more water camping wild than you would expect.
jerky
This works for everything from sausage/scrambled eggs to hamburgers to steaks.
This might not fit with some folks idea of camp cooking, but when you have plenty of other things going on there's a lot to be said for quick, no muss, no fuss and easy cleanup.
It really does matter a lot what sort of camping we are talking about. Is it all on your back? Transport by hiking boots for miles and miles? Or are there pack horses involved? Off road vehicles? Canoes?
When I did wilderness SAR work I always had several Mountain House freeze dried-compressed meals in the pack. Not cheap, but light and fast and hits the spot. Snackable trail foods like granola bars and Power Bars that last a long time in foil wrappers were always in the pack.
When there was time on the way to a jumping off point, I may pick up bagels (hard to kill a bagel), some hard cheese like cheddar, few cans of Coke, an apple or orange.
When backpacking on my own I figured the weight of a can of Dinty Moore Beef Stew included water I'd need anyway. So I'd pack one along at least.
Have taken the instant Lipton and assorted noodle meals. Pay attention to the list of ingredients on the back, some reguire butter.
Used to own a cast aluminum frying pan with three sections to it. Same thing you may find in cast iron, but very light. Took that backpacking sometimes, surprises the heck out of other backpackers to see that big thing come out of the pack. Make a three part meal over a fire, such as a stew, mashed potatoes, some veggies.
The rest will work out.
Ziplock baggy, steak, freeze hard, roll in newspaper, will stay cold for a day or two. Oatmeal for breakfast works, add raisins for better. Bisquick is great, dozens of ways to make camp bread, anything is better with warm bread. Cornbread made in beef stew can.
Popcorn in a foil bag is good in the evening (eat popcorn, sleep warm). Of course, the Hobo dinner previously described (hamburger patty, taters, onions, carrot) goes very well.
Stop by 7-11, individual packs of hot sauce, mustard, ketchup, relish, mayo, salt/pepper.
Agree you will need more water than you think. We try to visit areas with good springs or river. Have a Katydn filter- about size of a can of tomato soup.
http://www.mountainhouse.com/M/bkp_fds.html
Mule
if your taking food its not very primitive
I agree with this statement, sounds as most want to take the kitchen from home [:D]. I say take plenty of ammo, fishing line, hooks, the basic salt & pepper, maybe 1 each pot/pan....you do the rest [;)]. Anything else is not primitive.
"Never do wrong to make a friend----or to keep one".....Robert E. Lee
http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php/27234-Bushclass-Index
Check out making Bannock:
Couple different ways to cook it:
This is a really simple to make bread / pancake / roll over a fire.
In a ziplock bag add:
1 cup of flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
A shake or 2 of salt and sugar
I added dried cranberries
When you are ready to cook it, add a 1/2 of cup of water and mix in the ziplock.
Here's my results:
I burned mine in this homework assignment:
Still came out pretty tasty:
We normally car camp and have some Mtn House pouches in our kit.
Normally only use them for the 1st night there as all you need to do is add boiling water to the pouch. They taste pretty good but I don't think I'd want to eat them 3 meals a day for a week.
When we car camp we bring a couple 3 coolers. 1 with beer & the other 2 with food. I like to buy eggs from local farmers outside the state parks we camp at.
Love cooking those on the fire with bacon in a cast iron pan. We'll do steaks over the fire in the evening.
I burned mine in this homework assignment:
Way to much heat for cooking with Cast Iron over a camp fire. That appears to be an 8" skillet. Two or three tuna can full of hot coals would cook a breakfast meal of bacon, eggs, pancakes.
Those aluminum camp cook sets are about useless for anything but boiling water in. I have tried many different aluminum cook sets for camping and got the same results every time. Burnt or stuck on food
Check into the Chocolate Chip Skillet You can pick up a "kit" made by Skookie for around $15. The skillet are a shallow 7" cast iron unit that makes a great little camp cookware for one or two people. You can even find the kits with a 4" skillet that is great for frying eggs.
The aluminum fry pan / mess kit was a pita to clean. The aluminum pot (IMUSA Grease Pot sold at wallyworld) worked good for boiling water.
The cast iron skillet worked good. I've seen the smaller skillets but am not ready to just to that size yet.
I'm enjoying these homework assignments. Each has a video with how to, then a section to post results. I've completed 6 of 14.
Here's a couple more:
Feather Sticks / curls:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=14vtvs98KrM
My results:
The twig fire:
My go at it:
http://www.amazon.com/Patuoxun®-Backpacking-Camping-Stove-Ignition/dp/B00DAEWHZ4/ref=sr_1_10?s=outdoor-recreation&ie=UTF8&qid=1395692368&sr=1-10
If you wish to go fuel. Get a good stove like the MSR Whisperlite or the cheaper Coleman Sportster and a few MSR fuel bottles and use only White Gas (Coleman fuel) in them.
I've been working up on my fire building skills via homework assignments from this website:
WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR KITCHEN COUNTERTOP????!!!!!
Did it burn in the fire?
[:D] [:D] [:D]
Are you cooking over a fire or a pack stove, this makes a difference on what you carry it.
One handy thing is to make a good meal and freeze it prior to starting out. At least the first night you will eat good as the meal will thaw on the hike in. You can even do this with some good steaks, just make sure they are frozen and sealed in something that will not leak.
Some drink flavorings can be useful if you are drinking water you filtered from a mud hole. The single tubes for 16oz is what I carry.
If you can't burn the wrappers and have to pack them out you need to think about that as well.
Oh, camp food can sometimes have funny effects, don't forget some * wipe and something to bury it with [;)]
I learned the hard way on my first back pack trip at 12 years old and my Brother was fresh out of Vietnam that was with me. "Never get water from the shore line no matter how clean it looks."[:D][:D][:D] He was right...