Cooking While Camping: Campsite Cooking Tips

We all know that food tastes better in the outdoors, especially after a long day of hiking, fishing, exploring and other outdoor activities. Still, you don’t have to settle for burgers, canned chili or roasted hot dogs, there are plenty of delicious meals you can cook on a campsite. Cooking outdoors, away from your kitchen is challenging for most people, but with little preparation and planning, following some tips and tricks, anyone can be a Camp Master Chef.

Planning is an obvious first step, but it cannot be overemphasized. You don’t want to end up in the middle of nowhere and realize you have forgotten something essential as a lighter or matches. You should also have a backup plan for what to do if the weather is not what you’ve hoped for. If it’s too rainy to build a fire, and you’ve only brought raw meat, better have a propane stove and perhaps a tarp to shield it.

In any case it is a good idea to bring some no-cook meals and snacks, like trail mix, granola bar or anything than does not require cooking or refrigeration. You never know what can strike you on your outdoor adventure.

The best thing you can do is to make a long list of everything you need to buy and/or pack (even the little things like the salt and pepper grinder) and check it, re-check it, and then cross the things off as you pack them in the car or your backpack.

For enjoying in tasty meals at campsite you don’t need to bring your kitchen with you, and you really don’t need a ton of expensive gear. All you need is a few basic pieces of camp cooking equipment. It comes down to three essentials.

The amount of cookware you’ll bring again depends on the type of camping you’ll do. If your car is parked close to the campsite, then by all means, bring the heavy, cast-iron cookware. It’s very durable and reliable. Together with pie iron and a Dutch oven, this trio basically covers all your cooking needs and plans.

You must not forget about the utensils either. We wholeheartedly recommend buying a dedicated camping kitchen utensils set that is stored separately. You don’t want to rifle through your kitchen drawers right before a trip, as this is the best way to forget something important. Here are few things to consider: silverware (forks, knives, spoons), tongs, spatula, ladle, wooden spoons, can and bottle/wine opener, flat metal skewers, box grater, and a cutting board.

To cook you need heat, and heat in the outdoors comes from fire. Wood fire is a classic way of cooking at the campsite, which requires some caution, of course. We won’t go into the details about building a camp fire, but make sure that flame suits whatever meal you choose to make. Making a stew calls for a smaller flame, while a quick boiling requires a large one. If you intend to broil or fry, then laying the cookware on the hot coal should be enough.

Cooking on a stove or a grill is easier than on the open fire, as you can regulate the flame. Lighting it up is also way easier, but make sure not to forget to pack matches. For grilling on the propane grill you done even need cookware.

Which food you’ll bring depends on whether you are car camping or backpacking. The easiest option by far is dehydrated food, that is a breeze to cook, and surprisingly tasty. If you are able to be close to your vehicle there is no limit when it comes to what you can eat while outdoors. You can bring any food you like, just make sure fresh and perishable items are kept cool. You can chop the ingredients and prep side dishes like rice to streamline the cooking process at the campsite. You can also marinate meats or freeze them to keep them fresh for longer. For extended trips, canned food really comes in handy to provide flavor and variation to your camping meals.

When it comes to drinks , water is the most important, and you should have plenty of it to keep everyone hydrated. If you are car camping you can bring a cooler with ice to keep drinks cold. Have in mind though that ice melts quickly, and since you probably won’t be able to bring your nugget ice machine with you, don’t expect having ice cold cocktails every day. Tea, coffee, and hot chocolate are also great options to have on hand, especially in cooler weather.

The first things that comes to mind when you think about cooking at camp is roasting foods over open fire. But even if you can’t demonstrate your advanced cooking techniques like ‘sous vide’ or ‘brain-marie’, there are plenty of ways you can prepare delicious meals at campsite.

Propane stoves and gas grills are simple to use and do not require much explanation. There are plenty of excellent ones to choose from, from lightweight backpacking stoves to compact camp grills. There is no superior option, you should pick the one that fits your needs.

Do not use a stove in a closed area, such as a tent, a propane stove should be only used in the open, away from camp fire or any other heat source. Everything else is more or less just like a stove in your kitchen.

On a camp stove you can use a pot or a pan. You can boil pasta, make stews, soups, and you can fry anything in an iron skillet. A large stove makes it easier to fit everything you need to feed a large group, but if you’re sticking with smaller pots and pans and have fewer people to feed, a small stove may be just right. A basic stove will have room for a big frying pan and a small saucepan on its double burners.

For cooking over fire it is important to choose the right type of wood. Hard woods like white oak, hickory or cherry are long lasting and can burn for a long time, and also infuse great flavor to the food you are cooking. There are several ways to cook food over open fire. First, you can boil it, you just need the right type of dish to cook the food in. Another way is frying, which allows you to make delicious meals, but you absolutely have to make sure not to put the pan filled with oil on an open flame, as it will catch fire. The right time to fry food is when the fire starts to die down and it is close to getting to just embers. The arguably most delicious way to cook food over fire is grilling. This is also better done over the coals or directly on them. It does not matter whether it’s charcoal or wood, the important part is that the heat is more consistent and there is no smoke. Get your fire going at least an hour before cooking to allow plenty of time for flames to die down and coals to get hot. Also, keep in mind cooking on a campfire takes longer than it does in your kitchen at home.

A Dutch oven is one of the most versatile pieces of camp cooking equipment you can own. Sauté, steam, boil, fry, and bake – if you can imagine it, you can probably make it in a Dutch oven. To cook with Dutch oven you can use either charcoal or wood embers, but you can also use it elevated over live fire. It can be used as a pot, a skillet and as an oven, as its name implies.

Aluminum foil is a must-have for any camping trip: it takes up very little room, it is inexpensive and you can toss vegetables, meat or fish in foil packets, season it with any seasoning you like and place them on hot coals for cooking. Make sure that you do use a thicker kind, and large pieces, enough to completely wrap the food. Best of all, aluminum foil is easy to clean up, just throw it away.

Buddy burner is a type of heat source for camping made out of a tin can, candle stubs and cardboard. It is a fun project that boy scouts have been doing for years, and it can replace the propane stove just fine to boil water, cook soup or make noodles. Here is a video that explains how you can make a buddy burner yourself:

In addition to all of the advice above, here is a list of helpful tips to make your campsite cooking easier and more enjoyable:

• Use a cooler to keep things cool, not to cool things down. You can freeze water in bottles to keep the cooler chilled, and you will also have drinking water when it’s thawed.
• Set up a dedicated kitchen area, but make sure it’s far enough from the tent. Delicious smells and leftovers can attract wildlife.
• If you plan to cook over a live fire read up on rules governing wood gathering in the place you’re going, as well as any burn restrictions. If you are in doubt about whether you’ll find a source of kindling at your site, you can pack firewood.
• Clean after you’re done. Cleaning cookware and food preparation surfaces after you are done cooking you keep the nature clean and make sure that you don’t attract any wild animals.
• A pot scraper or brush is great to have on hand for cleaning your cast iron pan (once it’s cooled) or your pot making cleaning quick and easy.
• Do not be afraid to experiment a little. Each and every one of us has our special taste and recipes, and being in the wild does not need to stop you from trying them.