The great thing about cooking while camping is you can go as simple or as gourmet as you'd like. On a budget? Ramen soup with some added carrots, onion and celery can feel fancy and filling. A can of chili reheated in a pot can taste wonderful. But if you're feeling a little fancier and have the space for either a fire or a stove with a couple of burners, you'll be able to pull off some amazing meals to fuel your hiking, swimming, or even just relaxing day in the woods. Here are some of the best camping cooking tips I've learned over the years.
EGGS IN A BOTTLE
Probably the best camp cooking "hack" I ever learned helps make breakfast a breeze. Before leaving home, crack a dozen or more eggs into a cup or bowl with a pour spout and whisk, adding a couple tablespoons of water. Pour that mix into a cleaned "disposable" 1-liter water bottle or coffee creamer container (or multiple containers if you need more eggs). Not only does this make space-planning in the cooler more convenient, you won't be dealing with soggy egg cartons or worrying that your eggs will get crushed the whole trip.
While you're at it, par-bake a couple pounds of bacon (depending on how many people are joining you, this may need to be done in batches) at 350 degrees on a baking sheet to roughly an 80-percent-crispy factor. Save the bacon grease in a small airtight container — I like to strain mine to remove any bacon bits — and bring the grease in the cooler to use as cooking fat. Put the bacon slices into another airtight container or zipped baggie.
When breakfast rolls around, heat your burners and use the bacon grease in a large skillet to help make some delicious scrambled eggs on one side while you reheat the bacon in a pan or on a griddle on the other burner. When it's empty, toss the eggy bottle in your trash bag (pack it in, pack it out) for easy cleanup.
FIRE BURRITOS
A friend once premade a bunch of breakfast burritos that ultimately came in clutch for nighttime munchies around the fire. Before your trip, make a bunch of scrambled eggs, cook up some ground sausage and veggies, then add cheese, salsa, hot sauce or whatever suits your personal taste, roll them up in soft tortillas, and wrap tightly in foil. Put those into a Ziploc bag and freeze. Then toss them in the cooler on your way to camp and when needed, pull them out and rest the foil-wrapped burritos on a grill over or near the fire when you've got some good coals, making sure to turn them every few minutes until they're hot and ready to eat.
PREP
In general, if you know you want to make something like chili, tacos, or another dish with several ingredients or seasonings, you can often do the prep in the comfort of your kitchen at home. Preslice green onions and keep them in an airtight container. Same thing for diced tomatoes, and even sliced lettuce if you put it in a container with a moist paper towel and plan to use it within about a day or two. For something like chili or the taco seasoning, only bring as much seasoning as you need in a small container or bag rather than packing a ton of spice jars. You'll feel much better when the main work comes down to browning up some ground beef and all the other elements are ready to go right into the pot or into individual bags of chips for those walking tacos.
CLEANING STATION
Bring a bucket and a 2-gallon jug of water with a pour spout for easier handwashing and dishwashing. Use biodegradable dish/hand soap as you wash and rinse, collecting the dirty water in the bucket under the jug. Setting this up on the edge of a picnic table works wonderfully, and don't forget to create an air release by poking a hole in the top of the jug when it's set up. Use the dirty water to put out the fire at the end of the night.
GOING FANCY
For the very ambitious, it's possible to bake a cake in the woods if you've got a dutch oven. Dump cakes are some of the easiest around, and they're customizable. For a peach dump cake, line your dutch oven with foil (to make cleanup easier), dump in two 29-ounce cans of peaches including the juice/syrup, sprinkle one box of yellow cake mix over the peaches, sprinkle pats from an entire stick of salted butter around the top, and pour a 12-ounce lemon-lime soda over the top. Put the lid on and bake over hot coals, making sure to put some hot coals on the top as well using proper safety (tongs and/or a heat-safe glove). Let that bake over the coals for about an hour for an ooey gooey dessert. Not a fan of peaches? Try swapping in another canned fruit or pie filling for similar results. Pie filling has less liquid content so you may need to keep a closer eye to prevent it from burning. ♦
