What are your favorite campsite meals?

[Caseyd]

Great ideas, appreciate the input!  However I don't appreciate the 10 pounds I have put on just by reading the replies...

I will be upping my game for sure with some of these ideas.  I think my key takeaway is, I don't do the pre-trip prep.  I tend to start everything right before I start cooking.  That will speed things up and increase quality and variety of food.

And backcountry ideas are NOT off the table so that does not screw the thread up. 

One time on a Mt. Baker climb one of our team members had put a whole large pizza in her pack.  Every time we stopped she pulled out a piece to eat.  By the time we figured it out she was half way thru the pizza!  She had to start being discrete from that point on as we were all quite jealous and not above stealing.

Prep is key for cutting out time and dishes. Think of a menu and try to do anything you can at home.


Example: this year I did a crab boil for elk camp    Made a condensed broth at home and froze it in gallon ziplocks. Cut the red potatos in half and broke the corn. Crab was froze in clusters. Shrimp was frozen raw/cleaned ready to roll. Added water at camp and got the broth up to temp and added everything. Only addition thing I could have down ahead of time was cut the kielbasa but was easy to fit that 1 minute in. In total used one large pot and slotted spoon

[Crunchy]

Our has always been tacos.  Fresh clean elk grind, peppers, homemade salsa, avocado on a soft warm tortilla.  Damn it is good. 

[greenhead_killer]

In our Idaho camp, we have one guy with a trailer. Has a gas stove/oven in it. We all divide the trip up and bring a meal accordingly. Usually 2 per person. Nice not having to be responsible every day for eating dinner after a hard hunt day. There’s always a pulled pork dish, spaghetti or some sort of pasta, and a chicken and rice. Those are staples. We’ll build off that for variety. We never get through all the food. Usually have enough for another 2-3 weeks. Key is making it all in 9x13 al pans ahead of time. That way there we just pop in the oven and walk away.

[Wingin it]

Our Montana camp is a house. That one is super easy as we all rotate who cooks for the day. We bring a crockpot and we all do dump and go meals. It is pretty sweet to get back to a house that smells amazing with the evenings dinner. Dive right in and cleanup is easy too.

[highside74]

A half tub of red vines and a coke zero. Followed by Nutter Butters and a solo cup of milk. No cooking, no cleaning.

One of our favorites was clam digging then coming back to camp and my brother who was a chef for many years would make a giant pot of Clam Chowder. It was an annual event for many years. My boys still talk about it.

[Okanagan]

Highside74’s comment about “no cooking, no cleaning” resonates with me.  I HATE any kind of dish washing when camping.

We cook nothing in camp that requires cleaning cooking or serving gear, with possible exception of a large cooking spoon and fork.  I have a deep cake pan that fits inside my Dutch oven.  I cook biscuits etc. in that so the Dutch oven stays clean.  Biscuit pans just wipe out.

We keep a pot of water hot, and cook or drink anything that requires only hot water:  instant coffee, cocoa, Ramen, etc.  Foil wrapped items in coals is our main way to cook full meals:  corn on the cob, salmon, potatoes, grouse breasts, a mix of veggies and meat.  Of course, many kinds of meats can be grilled on a stick over a fire. 

Paper plates etc. and everything used to cook and serve goes in a garbage bag.  A pot for hot water is the only non-disposable.

  I’d sure prize to eat some of the meals described in this thread, but we have made a conscious choice to focus on the hunt and save the great cooking for home. We want energy for a few days, not a balanced diet.  FWIW we are back pack hunters who are adapting to camping by a vehicle.  Minimal is almost a fetish.   

[follow maggie]

I precook everything except what I’ll bbq. I freeze it in those heavy aluminum foil type containers & I have a Camo Chef stove/oven that I  use. Take something out of the cooler in the morning & that evening it’s as easy to fix as a mountain house but way better. My favorites are lasagna, meat loaf, chili & enchiladas..

[bb76]

Beer pancakes
Sausage patties
Breakfast burritos
Stew
Steak
Hobo dinners
Fried eggs
Sandwiches
Oatmeal
Breakfast Sandwiches
It all depends on how and where I'm hunting. I precook or do prep work at home.

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[Angry Perch]

Beer pancakes
Sausage patties
Breakfast burritos
Stew
Steak
Hobo dinners
Fried eggs
Sandwiches
Oatmeal
Breakfast Sandwiches
It all depends on how and where I'm hunting. I precook or do prep work at home.

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You had me at "Beer pancakes"!!

[OutHouse]

I love to buy a nice big steak, cut it into one inch cubes, season them individually, and then cook them on a stick. That's a meat only dinner.

Another favorite is carne asada on a hanging grill. Have refried beans heating on the stove. Cook the carne, throw a corn tortilla on the grill for a moment, add some beans and the meat, some cotija cheese and eat small quesadillas all night. When we do that, dinner lasts about four hours cooking and handing them out to people.

[hunter399]

Beer pancakes
Sausage patties
Breakfast burritos
Stew
Steak
Hobo dinners
Fried eggs
Sandwiches
Oatmeal
Breakfast Sandwiches
It all depends on how and where I'm hunting. I precook or do prep work at home.

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You had me at "Beer pancakes"!!

Fried egg sandwich sounds good right now. 😂🤤

[bb76]

Beer pancakes
Sausage patties
Breakfast burritos
Stew
Steak
Hobo dinners
Fried eggs
Sandwiches
Oatmeal
Breakfast Sandwiches
It all depends on how and where I'm hunting. I precook or do prep work at home.

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You had me at "Beer pancakes"!!

Fried egg sandwich sounds good right now.

We've had those in camp a few times.

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[Alchase]

Back in 91, hunting up by Spider lake on the peninsula. The four of us paid $40 each and a buddies wife came along as camp cook. She was an amazing camp cook! Every morning woke up to scrambled eggs and bacon with coffee. In our lunch was fresh fried Indian bread with sugar cinnamon or black berry jelly, and Squaw Candy (she skokomish and yes she called it sqwaw candy as well) every day after the hunt we came back to camp to either chili, stew, or 7 bean soup!
I never ate that well on in deer camp since.

[pianoman9701]

When I worked for the gourmet foods and wild mushroom company, Mikuni, we'd have special treats in camp like expensive caviar, bourbon maple syrup for pancakes. It didn't suck.

[EnglishSetter]

Well duh..........liver & onions and backstrap from freshly killed venison.