9 Pro Tips and Recipes for Camp Cooking

With this warm weather, I have camping on the brain and am gearing up for my first trip of the season. Camp cooking is my thing! I have catered weddings for 100 people in the backwoods with no running water or kitchen to speak of, and have been responsible for keeping food safe for large crowds while transporting and storing it in coolers. Now that I am more or less retired from the catering biz, I put all that energy and thought into planning a trip’s menu, delegating who brings what, and how to keep food safe 4 days in after the ice melts. Here are my tips for cooking in the woods.

9 pro Tips for Camp Cooking

Keep it simple.
Prep the food ahead of time as much as possible.
Plan and pack strategically.
Extend Ice Life
Eat fresh, ready-to-eat foods first.
Keep a clean camp
Incorporate Wild Foods
Choose the Right Cooking Method For Your Trip
Understand Basic Food Safety

Keep it simple

One thing that I learned early on in my catering career is that, you may want rare beef tenderloin for dinner but if you’re serving it out of chafing dishes at a buffet, it ain’t gonna be what you want it to be. It’s better to adjust your expectations to the realities of your cooking set-up, budget and event logistics and choose items that will work well with what you have to work with.

Depending on what type of camping you are doing you may have single jet burner or a full camp kitchen with a grill over the fireplace and multiple gas burners. No matter what, you will be limited in “refrigeration space.” Whatever your setup, you want to make sure that the dishes you plan and prepare will work for you.

If you have a single jet burner, you should only be cooking meals in one pot, or 2 pots if they are really quick. Breakfast should consist of boiling a pot of water that you use for coffee and oatmeal. If you have a larger camp setup you will have more options but you should still do yourself a favor and keep the preparation as simple as you can so you can spend more time relaxing, because that’s what its all about.

Prep the food ahead of time

I can’t stress this enough. It always seems like there is so much to do as you are preparing to get out of town for a long weekend that it is natural to want to throw everything in the car and deal with it when you get there. But trust me, you want to take the time to prep your food as much as possible before you leave your house. Veggies should be cut and bagged up. Ingredients should be measured out and grouped by meal. Raw meat should be cut and seasoned and very carefully double-bagged in the cooler. Eggs should be cracked and put into mason jars. Pancake mixes should be made. Burritos should be filled, rolled, and wrapped in foil. Tinfoil pouches should be filled and sealed.

You want to do this food prep ahead of time for 3 reasons: 1) to have more time drinking beer, fishing and relaxing around camp 2) to cut down on what you need to bring, 3) for food safety.

Prepping food at camp will never be as efficient as prepping at home. Plus, it takes a lot of stuff to prep food, stuff that you are likely to forget (at least on thing) as you are rushing off – cutting boards, knives, mixing bowls, tongs, whisks, multiple pots and pans, all different seasonings, measuring cups, a sink with running water, and soap. You can leave most of this stuff at home if you prep your food there. If you are prepping raw meat or cracking eggs at camp, it is really hard to wash hands and sanitize cutting boards and surfaces without hot running water. Prepping all ingredients ahead of time means less mess around camp to attract critters, flies, and hornets.

Plan and Pack Strategically

Make a packing list ahead of time, when you are not frazzled. Sit down in a quiet place with a notebook and walk through every meal you are going to make in your head. I use to do this for every catering job I was planning. What will you need to cook and serve it – spatula, tongs, large pot, small pot, frying pan, burner, fuel, grill plate….? What about salt and pepper to finish seasoning it, hot sauce, a squeeze of lemon. Write this all down in list form.

When planning your meals for the camping trip you will want to consider how long your ice will last (probably 2-3 days in an average cooler if you are careful) and bring a mix of shelf-stable snacks and ingredients like dried sausages or jerky, chips, pasta, rice, tortillas, dry soup mixes, dehydrated meal kits, canned beans (if you’re not worried about pack weight), dry milk powder for coffee. If you have space you may want to bring vegetables and fruit that can be held at room temperature for several days (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, squash, cabbage, avocado, and most fruit).

Drinks should be packed in their own cooler so you don’t loose the cold in the food cooler every time someone grabs a drink. If the overnight temperatures are in the 40s or lower, you could go without a drink cooler altogether and just keep the drinks in the shade during the day. They might not be the coolest come evening, but hey… you are roughing it.

Extend Ice Life

One trick I have learned over the years is prepping and freezing meals and using those frozen meals as ice in the cooler. This works great for chili, gumbo, chowder base (minus the cream), breakfast burritos, hotdogs/sausages, and meat. Place these frozen meals in the bottom of the cooler for the 2nd, 3rd or 4th night of your trip. This is especially handy if you don’t have a YETI. If you do have a YETI, you want to be a little careful not to load the cooler up too much with frozen stuff as it may freeze your fruits and veggies.

In the morning, check on the meal you plan to cook for dinner and pull it out as needed to thaw.

Also, don’t buy ice cubes for camping. These are pretty much useless as they will melt in 1-2 days and are not suitable for putting in your drinks. I repeat, do not use the ice floating around in the cooler for your drinks, that’s gross. If you do want ice for your drinks, put cubes in a ziplock back and use them only for that purpose. Use ice blocks instead of cubes. They last way longer. You can also save some money and make these yourself by freezing water in empty juice jugs ahead of time. This way, they won’t leak water all over your food. (If you’ve been reading this blog you probably know by now that food floating around in water is a food safety nightmare of mine).

Eat Fresh, Ready-To-Eat Foods First

In the restaurant industry, ready-to-eat (RTE) foods are considered the riskiest for food born illness. These are foods that will not be reheated and often contain things like mayo, cooked eggs, meat products, or dairy. Think potato salad, egg salad, ranch salad dressing, cut vegetables, sliced turkey, sandwiches, etc. When we are camping, we tend to rely on these dishes because we want to eat fresh foods (not just canned beans and jerky), and we don’t want to cook every meal. Plan on eating these fresh RTE foods in the first and second day of the trip while cooler temps are optimal and save those items that can take a little abuse for the 3rd and 4th day and beyond. Things like salsa, yogurt, cheese (esp. hard), hard salami, fermented and pickled things, and butter will be ok for 1-2 days of non-optimal temperatures so long as they are not contaminated with germs from your hands, surfaces, utensils, other foods or yucky lukewarm germ-filled cooler water. Make sure to check the cooler temperature. It should be under 41 F (industry standard), but you can get away with 45 F for 1 day. RTE foods that are at or above 45 F for prolonged periods should be discarded. You can buy a thermometer to put in the cooler and I recommend you do. I bet you will be shocked by how fast a cooler warms to the danger range, unless you have a YETI, because those things stay cold!

Anything left in your cooler after the trip is done should be discarded unless the cooler maintained a temperature of 41 F or less the whole time.

Keep a Clean Critter Free Camp

This is much easier if you do the bulk of your food prep at home before the trip. But no matter what, there will be dishes to clean, food packages, garbage, the smell of food cooking over the fire…. All these things attract flies, hornets, mice, raccoons, coyotes, and bears.

To keep a critter free camp:

Cook and wash dishes away from the tents. Preferably 100 ft or more. Your eating space and cooking space should be separated from your sleeping space.
Dump sink water as far away from your camp as possible or clean your dishes in streams, rivers or lakes away from camp, at least 100 ft.
Wash your hands and face before you go to bed. Did you know bears can smell over a mile away? Some estimate that they can smell over 10 miles away! You don’t want to smell like your dinner as you are laying in your tent asleep.
Store all food (including that granola bar in your day pack), and garbage away from animals. Either hang it in trees (don’t forget the rope and carabiner), in bear-proof canisters, in the trunk of your car, in bear lockers if the campsite provides them, in your bear-proof Yeti, or in your boat – pushed offshore.
Burn all your paper garbage and food scraps in the fire. Scrape plates after the meal into the fire and make sure everything is burned by the time the last person goes to sleep and puts out the fire. Don’t burn plastic or cans. Those should be the only thing in your garbage bag.
Wipe any counters or food prep areas and remove all scraps (to the fire), and all food to the bear-proof containers.
If you are in an undeveloped camp with no bathroom, go do your business away from camp by preferably 100 ft or more and bury that shit by at least 6 inches. Don’t forget the shovel. It doesn’t hurt to cover it all up with a big rock if available.

Incorporate Wild Foods

One of the best things about camping is catching and gathering wild foods. It fills the days between meals and keeps the kids busy and entertained. Huckleberries, thimbleberries, blackberries, wild strawberries, morels, turkey tail mushrooms, miner’s lettuce, chickweed, salmon, trout, clams, mussels, and crawdads are all great scores. I highly recommend picking up a book on edible plants in your area and taking it with you. Make space in your meal plan to work these items in but don’t rely on them. For example, pack sausage gumbo and if you are lucky to catch a bunch of crawfish, add them to the meal. Or plan on making pesto pasta and if you catch fish or clams, incorporate those into the dish. If not, no one will go hungry.

Rice, Gumbo and Crawfish on Camp Chef Stove

Camp Gumbo with fresh caught crawfish.

Choose the Right Cooking Method for your trip

Some factors to consider are your skill level, your menu, how big your group is, how far into the woods you have to haul your stuff, what kind of fuels are allowed where you’re going.

CAMP FIRE COOKING

Campfire cooking is the most rewarding method and it requires you to bring the least amount of stuff, however, it also takes the most skill. If you have never done it, practice in your back yard a couple times before your trip. The possibilities are endless with campfire cooking. You can grill, bake, smoke, rotisserie and cook with pots and pans. Some of these methods are pretty advanced and require elaborate set-ups at camp. However, grilling and cooking in a pot over coals is something everyone can do.

When cooking with a campfire the most important thing to remember is you do not want to cook over flame! You want to get the fire burning ahead of time to make a bed of coals, spread the coals out and place your pots and pans or grill rack over the coals. You should start your fire at a bare minimum, 1 hour before you plan to start cooking and factor in extra time during cooking too. You also want to rig the cooking set up so there are hot spots, medium-heat spots, and low-heat spots. You do this by piling the coals up high and close to the grill grate for the hot spot and letting them taper off for the medium and low-heat spots.

If you’re camping in California/the West you may run into fire restrictions which is definitely a consideration. If you are free to have a fire and gather wood for it, make sure that you are clearing adequate space around the fire ring. It should be bare dirt for 5 ft or more. You can use your foot to sweep away pine needles and dry leaves. Make sure there are no tree branches immediately above your fire ring. And don’t make a fire bigger than it needs to be. A slow steady fire will require less wood gathering and will last longer.

Charcoal Grills

I never use them. In my opinion if you are going to cook over charcoal you might as well cook over a campfire. That being said, I know a lot of people do use them and if that’s what you are comfortable with and you have space for the charcoal and the grill, by all means, have at it.

Propane burners

I have used a 3 burner Camp Chef to reheat food for parties of over 100 people and camping trips for 10. This stove breaks down pretty small relative to its capacity, requires one standard propane tank, is really easy to use, can accommodate large pots, has the ability to both simmer and crank the BTUs. You can also stand while cooking instead of being hunched over a single burner on the ground or a fire ring, which is an added bonus. For groups of 10 or more, I highly recommend this method. This stove requires you to be able to drive a car or boat to your camp site.

Propane camp grills

These are easily portable grills that accommodate either burners or grill grates and use small propane tanks. These are great for groups under 10 when a 4 quart pot is the largest pot you will be using. For larger groups you will need, or wish you had, more than one of these and if you’re going to bring more than one, you probably have space to bring a Camp Chef instead.

Single Burners

These are used primarily for backpacking as they are small and lightweight. I have used an old Coleman single burner stove that uses white gas for decades in the back country. I don’t think they make my model anymore. As I have been slowly upgrading my camping gear over the years, this is one item I haven’t switched out for the newer lighter more efficient technology. It is heavy compared to the featherlight backpacking stoves but you can adjust the heat from low to high which for me, is really important. Many of the other lightweight stoves just blast the heat and are meant to boil water for dehydrated backpacking meal kits or coffee and not much else.

UNDERSTAND BASIC FOOD SAFETY

There are a couple of food safety protocols that every camper and camp cook should know. Here they are:

Avoid Cross-Contamination

Cross contamination happens when germs/pathogens from one person/surface transfer to another location. When it comes to food, the classic example is cutting raw chicken on a cutting board and then cutting raw salad ingredients.

There are many less obvious examples. For instance, many people carry the bacteria staph. aureaus on their skin. On your skin, it is benign. When this bacteria is able to grow and reproduce under the right circumstances (RTE foods at room temp. for prolonged periods of time), it can cause violent severe illness. If you have this bacteria on your hands and use your hands to touch RTE foods, and those foods hang out in sub optimal temperatures for hours, you could ruin your whole party.

Also, if your camping and prepping raw meat and don’t have the ability to wash your hands with soap in hot running water for 20 seconds (industry standard), then you probably have some potentially harmful bacteria under your fingernails. When you reach your hands into the water in your cooler from melted ice, you have transferred those bacteria to your cooler water. Now, the exterior of every single container that is in contact with that cooler water is contaminated with those pathogens and when you grab them to make lunch, you transfer them to the foods you are touching.

Now, don’t freak out! There are a couple simple solutions. 1) Don’t use your hands to touch RTE foods and never submerge your hands in cooler water (drain it as the ice melts) or any other liquid that contains food (pickles, etc). Use utensils! 2) Wash your hands the best you can and use hand sanitizer. 3) Prep raw meat at home and use tongs or gloves to handle raw meat at camp.

KEEP RTE FOOD COLD

It is especially important to keep foods that will not be cooked and are not acidic (like pickles) out of the danger zone 45F-130F.

Germs like lukewarm to warm moist environments. That’s their happy place. That’s where they grow and multiply and some reproduce and create harmful toxins in that environment.

KEEP THINGS DRY

Germs don’t jump (at least the common food born pathogens don’t), they swim. Puddles of water, wet foods and meat juices are the method that these germs use to move from one surface to another. Let your dishes air dry. Hang your cooking utensils using a string tied between trees in your camp kitchen, or a low branch. Drain cooler water as the ice melts. Avoid leaving anything in pooled water.

When in doubt – cook it longer

Most of the world relies on cooking, not refrigeration, to make food safe to eat. If you have travelled to Central and South America, Africa and Asia and been to the open air food markets there, you likely saw chicken meat and sides of beef covered in flies at tropical, humid, warm temperatures all day. Stacks of eggs are commonly kept at room temperature. These aren’t the eggs to poach or make aioli out of! These are for scrambling or baking cakes. And perhaps you know the safest foods in these places are soups and street foods, cooked right in front you and hot of the grill. It is commonplace throughout much of the world to make a big pot of soup for the week, leave it on the stove top and reheat it every time you want to eat it. Our health guidelines in the US do not recommend this. You can get ill from cooked food held in the danger zone for prolonged periods of time that are not reheated thoroughly.

If your cooler gets too warm, all is not lost. Just make sure you heat your food thoroughly!! Planning ahead will ensure that the foods left in cooler at the end of your trip are foods intended to be reheated. Even botulism, the scariest and hardest food born illness to control for, can be prevented by holding food above 180 F for 10 minutes. The boiling point is 206-220 depending on altitude. In the absence of a good, accurate thermometer, rely on boiling as your temperature gauge and boil your food for 10 minutes.

More camp how-to:

Leave No Trace

5 Rookie Mistakes to Avoid When Cooking Over An Open Fire.
How to cook over a campfire (without a grill)

19 Tips for Camping With Kids

FAVORITE CAMP-FRIENDLY RECIPES FROM THIS BLOG (and how to adapt them for camping):

Click on the pic to go directly to the recipe.

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Street Corn Pinwheels for the Grill or Campfire - Home Cooks Guide says:

June 29, 2022 at 3:49 pm

[…] Tinfoil pack cooking is made for camping. You can prep this up at home before your trip and throw the tinfoil pack in the cooler with the chopped cilantro and crumbled queso fresco bagged up separately. After your day of sun and hiking and fishing, it is ready to simply throw on the grill or campfire. No mess and no hassle. For tips and tricks on Camp Cooking check out this post: 9 Pro Tips and Recipes for Camp Cooking. […]